Return to player (RTP) is the percentage of winnings awarded to total stakes played, calculated over a theoretical lifetime of games played.
The RTP percentage will vary widely in either direction due to the statistical variance in the large number of theoretical games played.
In English that means the profit margin of the machine, or how it's programmed to pay out winnings against stakes received. Essentially, for every £1 wagered, what will the game give back in prizes.
The RTP percentage will vary widely in either direction due to the statistical variance in the large number of theoretical games played.
In English that means the profit margin of the machine, or how it's programmed to pay out winnings against stakes received. Essentially, for every £1 wagered, what will the game give back in prizes.
Return to player is an important factor in deciding what sort of game or slot you will play to work your way through a casino bonus. Games like blackjack, roulette and craps have relatively high RTP percentages, slots are lower, and scratch cards often offer the lowest return to player.
In fact it's easy to guess what sort of RTP a game will have. If it's a traditional casino game then the RTP will be high, if it's a newer video based game then the RTP will be lower. The reasoning for this is probably based on human psychology; the flashing lights, 'entertainment' and bigger jackpots being offered as a fair exchange to the customer for a larger profit margin for the casino.
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Often with casino bonuses you'll see that lower margin (high RTP) games are excluded from bonus wagering, or given a lower weighting (meaning more hands need to be played to turn over the same amount).
You can see what a game's RTP is in the rules for each specific game, but some sights do also list them all in one place. Ladbrokes has a page devoted to their game's RTP and when you look at it it's striking how much they vary. There's no consistancy in the slots at all. Anything from mid 80's to hihg 90's seems acceptable, presumably on the basis that if someone is playing it doesn't matter whether they're being gauged quickly or slowly!
If I play a game and don't get the stated RTP does that mean it's broken?
No. It simply means you are experiencing some of the variance inherent with gambling. Take the flip of a coin as an example. The odds of each result are 50/50, but you wouldn't think the coin was broken if it came up with heads four times out of five. It's all about the long term and the average. The RTP is calculated over thousands, if not millions, of spins across every player using the machine.
In the short term you're going to experience variance. You should be happy about this, the alternative is that you could never win, you'd simply exchange each £1 you stake for 95p back every spin, which wouldn't be fun or profitable (for you anyway).
Remember that an RTP is not a guarantee. The National Lottery has an RTP of approximately 45%, but that is heavily skewed by the jackpot wins so realistically you could actually expect more like a 30% return.
How can Casinos advertise 99% return to customers on their home page?
The vast majority of casino games have a lower RTP than 99%, but it's all about the law of averages with casinos. Some players will win, some will lose. Overall and over time the only winner will be the casino.
Essentially it's just advertising, and don't forget.........they control the sample that provided that figure.
The best you can do is select a game for your bonus wagering that you either enjoy (so you don't mind paying the house edge for) or with the highest possible RTP.
Which game should you play through a casino bonus on?
There's no one answer to this, as it will depend on the casino's own terms and conditions related to their bonus. What you need to do is complete the EV calculation on bonus wagering on the casino bonus page. That will determin whether you should, in theory) come out on top or not. There's still no guarantee, but the whole point of advantage play betting is putting the odds in your favour, not the casino or bookmakers.
In fact it's easy to guess what sort of RTP a game will have. If it's a traditional casino game then the RTP will be high, if it's a newer video based game then the RTP will be lower. The reasoning for this is probably based on human psychology; the flashing lights, 'entertainment' and bigger jackpots being offered as a fair exchange to the customer for a larger profit margin for the casino.
.
Often with casino bonuses you'll see that lower margin (high RTP) games are excluded from bonus wagering, or given a lower weighting (meaning more hands need to be played to turn over the same amount).
You can see what a game's RTP is in the rules for each specific game, but some sights do also list them all in one place. Ladbrokes has a page devoted to their game's RTP and when you look at it it's striking how much they vary. There's no consistancy in the slots at all. Anything from mid 80's to hihg 90's seems acceptable, presumably on the basis that if someone is playing it doesn't matter whether they're being gauged quickly or slowly!
If I play a game and don't get the stated RTP does that mean it's broken?
No. It simply means you are experiencing some of the variance inherent with gambling. Take the flip of a coin as an example. The odds of each result are 50/50, but you wouldn't think the coin was broken if it came up with heads four times out of five. It's all about the long term and the average. The RTP is calculated over thousands, if not millions, of spins across every player using the machine.
In the short term you're going to experience variance. You should be happy about this, the alternative is that you could never win, you'd simply exchange each £1 you stake for 95p back every spin, which wouldn't be fun or profitable (for you anyway).
Remember that an RTP is not a guarantee. The National Lottery has an RTP of approximately 45%, but that is heavily skewed by the jackpot wins so realistically you could actually expect more like a 30% return.
How can Casinos advertise 99% return to customers on their home page?
The vast majority of casino games have a lower RTP than 99%, but it's all about the law of averages with casinos. Some players will win, some will lose. Overall and over time the only winner will be the casino.
Essentially it's just advertising, and don't forget.........they control the sample that provided that figure.
The best you can do is select a game for your bonus wagering that you either enjoy (so you don't mind paying the house edge for) or with the highest possible RTP.
Which game should you play through a casino bonus on?
There's no one answer to this, as it will depend on the casino's own terms and conditions related to their bonus. What you need to do is complete the EV calculation on bonus wagering on the casino bonus page. That will determin whether you should, in theory) come out on top or not. There's still no guarantee, but the whole point of advantage play betting is putting the odds in your favour, not the casino or bookmakers.
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There are also casinos attached to all the major sports books, all of which will give you generous (and beatable) bonuses to try and convert you from low edge (or high RTP) sports betting, to high edge casino games. In the same way as bookmaker sign up bonuses can be beaten, so can the casino.
For a list of extra casinos, check out the bookmakers page, and then when that's exhausted, there's a list of around 50 on The Gambling Times.
For a list of extra casinos, check out the bookmakers page, and then when that's exhausted, there's a list of around 50 on The Gambling Times.