There are a couple of scenarios where betting the maximum could potentially improve your chances — occasionally. On most modern online slots, however, the maximum bet button simply determines how much money is at risk on each individual spin. It doesn’t determine your odds of winning; your return to player (RTP) or hit frequency does. With the exception of a small number of slot machines, which we’ll discuss later, the maximum bet button really only serves to quickly raise the stakes. This is why betting maximum has largely become a matter of determining how well your bankroll can survive swings of both the positive and negative variety.
That’s the focus of this complete Slot Bet Sizing guide. We will explain how maximum bets work, provide some insight into where the “maximum bet makes you win” myths originate, outline the unique cases in which increasing your bet makes sense, and offer an approach to determine your bet size using your bankroll and the Volatility rating of the slot you’re playing.
What does maximum bet mean in modern video slots?
Maximum bet refers to the highest possible total bet allowed in a slot. Most modern video slots typically allow users to create the maximum bet by choosing the maximum coin value and/or betting level and/or number of paylines/ways.
Most modern video slots display a single total bet amount. Although older slots were displayed as line bets and coins, most current slots display a single total bet amount. Total bet ranges vary widely. While many online slots begin at $0.01 per spin and top out at approximately $100 per spin, others such as megaslots top out at $500 or more per spin. Additionally, while most slots feature a static number of ways or a fixed-sized grid, some slots’ numbers of ways or grids are dynamic. Users choose a total stake and the number of ways or grid size remains constant.
For the majority of modern video slots, particularly those created in recent years, the primary word associated with bet sizing is “proportional”. Proportional implies that if you bet 100x your base bet on a game featuring 100x multiplier wild symbols, you’d receive 100x your bet amount if five wilds appear. The relationship between your stake and your winnings is linear.
Can betting maximum increase chances of winning?
No. As previously mentioned, the results of each individual spin are randomly generated and completely independent of how much you’ve wagered. Therefore, regardless of whether you’re wagering .02 or $20, the probability of receiving a certain outcome from the reels remains exactly the same. The difference lies entirely in the potential magnitude of your winnings. While it’s true that each individual spin represents an opportunity to win thousands or tens-of-thousands dollars, it also represents an equally significant opportunity to lose that same amount of money. Your actual losses would be proportionally larger when playing at higher stakes, making your overall experience riskier.
Many players incorrectly assume that betting maximum somehow increases their chances of hitting a large payout. However, this belief arises directly from an incorrect assumption regarding the way slot machines operate. Players who’ve been fortunate enough to land a large payout on a high-stakes spin often attribute their good fortune to having played at higher stakes. Conversely, players who’ve lost money while playing at lower stakes tend to attribute their bad luck to not having played at higher stakes. While neither assumption is correct, this phenomenon occurs frequently. Unfortunately, many players fail to recognize this bias and continue to chase large jackpots by betting too aggressively.
How does maximum bet impact RTP and Volatility?
While RTP and Volatility are two different aspects of a slot machine‘s behavior, they are commonly discussed together. Let’s examine each individually:
RTP
Theoretical return to player (RTP) is a measure of the average percentage of all money wagered on a slot machine that is paid back to players. For example, if a game has an RTP of 96%, that means that theoretically, the house edge would be 4%. Regardless of the stake level chosen by the player, RTP is always consistent within a given slot machine. For example, on a 96% RTP slot machine, the theoretical return to player will remain constant across all stake levels.
Since RTP is consistently distributed throughout a slot machine’s various stake levels, it stands to reason that betting maximum will never increase RTP on any given slot machine. Instead, what does change is the potential magnitude of each player’s wins and losses. Using our previous example, if you play a 96% RTP slot machine at an extremely aggressive bet level ($100), and win a $1,000 prize during a hot streak, you will likely leave thinking that betting maximum helped you win that prize. In reality, what changed was merely the size of the potential win. The underlying mathematics behind that prize remained the same.
Variance/Volatility
Variance/Volatility measures how wildly payouts are spread out on a given slot machine. Examples include low-variance games that distribute wins relatively evenly throughout a session (e.g., frequent smaller wins), and high-variance games that concentrate wins into fewer large hits. No matter what your chosen stake level may be on a proportional slot machine, your variance/Volatility will remain unchanged. This is because the RNG uses identical seeds for each spin regardless of the stake level chosen by the player. Therefore, your win potential and frequency will remain constant across all stake levels.
Hit Frequency
Hit Frequency refers to the percentage of all spins on a given slot machine that return some sort of win. Most modern video slots typically fall into the range of 20%-35% although this can vary greatly depending upon game design and implementation. Hit Frequency is essentially unrelated to stake level. Irrespective of whether you choose to bet $0.20 or $100, the Hit Frequency remains exactly the same.
Why betting maximum makes sense
Although it may seem like “don’t ever bet max,” it’s not as black-and-white as that. There are a limited number of slot machines designed specifically to reward players for betting more aggressively (more on this later). These are primarily responsible for keeping the concept alive.
Slot machine types that reward aggressive bets
In addition to providing the foundation for slot machine development and game design concepts outlined earlier in this section, some types of slots inherently reward players for betting maximum.
Progressive jackpot games
Some progressive jackpot games require you to place a qualifying maximum bet or a specific minimum qualifying bet in order to participate in their top-tier progressive jackpot drawings. Other progressive jackpot games do not require qualifying bets or require qualifying bets of varying amounts.
Examples include Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune. These progressive jackpot games allow players to compete for their top-tier progressive jackpots with any bet amount placed on each individual spin. Although placing larger bets increases your chances of triggering their respective jackpot features in Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune, please note that both slots permit competing for their respective top-tier progressive jackpots with any bet amount.
High-variability games
As previously stated, high-variability games produce infrequent but exceptionally large payouts compared to other types of slot machines. Because of this design choice, they are inherently rewarded for betting more aggressively.
Additionally, because they often contain maximum jackpots that significantly exceed their base-game jackpots, high-variability games attract players seeking massive wins. Consequently, high-variability games are often developed with maximum-jackpot sizes that correspond with larger-than-average progressive jackpots.
Bankroll multiple guidelines
To help you select an appropriate bet size for your bankroll for your next session and determine whether you should consider maximizing your bets on any given game type, follow these guidelines:
First, determine session bankroll
Determine your session bankroll prior to commencing play and view it as committed prior to commencement of play.
Determine game Volatility
Determine the Volatility rating of the slot you wish to play from either the game description page or from detailed documentation provided by the software developer.
Select bankroll multiple
Select a bankroll multiple: anywhere from 100x to 200x for low Volatility games; 200x to 300x for medium Volatility games; 500x or greater for high variability games.
Divide bankroll by bankroll multiple and round down to nearest stake option available
Divide the session bankroll by selected bankroll multiple and round down to closest available option in game options.
Set loss limit and win limit prior to first spin
Establish a loss limit and win limit prior to beginning play.
Using a $300 session bankroll on a high-variability game
If you chose a $300 bankroll and plan to play on a high-variability game with a recommended bankroll multiple of 500x or more (such as book of Ra Deluxe), then divide $300 by 500 = $0.60; thus you would set your initial bet size at $0.40 or $0.50 depending on what minimum bet-sizes are available on your selected game.
This will allow you to maintain sufficient funds in reserve to weather extended periods of reduced activity prior to eventual activation of bonus features on high-variability games.
Bet-sizing rules for low-Volatility games
Games with low variability are characterized by frequent smaller wins rather than extreme highs and lows in winnings. Although low-variability games tend to reduce bankroll erosion by distributing wins over extended periods of time, they are typically best suited for long-term play as opposed to shorter sessions.
Therefore, low-variability games can typically afford slightly higher bet-sizes than can high-variability games with comparable Volatility ratings. Therefore, bankrolls for low-variability games typically need only be 100x to 150x larger than bet-sizes rather than 200x to 300x larger as is typical for medium-variability games.
Bet-sizing rules for medium-variability games
Games classified as medium variability typically combine characteristics inherent in both low-variability games (i.e., smaller wins) and high-variability games (i.e., occasional large wins). Medium-variability games provide moderate frequency and amplitude for bonuses and other special features.
Because bonus features occur moderately frequently on medium-variability games, sessions can continue for moderate lengths of time prior to depletion of funds. Given that bonus features are moderately frequent on medium-variability games and moderate frequency yields somewhat predictable win/loss patterns over time (albeit unpredictable in absolute terms), recommended bankroll multiples are generally suitable for medium-variability games.
Recommended bankroll multiples for medium-variability games are generally between 200x and 300x.
Bet-sizing rules for high-variability games
Games classified as high variability generate extremely infrequent but extremely large wins compared with other types of slot machines. Due to this inherent characteristic of high variability games, they are intrinsically rewarding aggressive betting strategies.
Because high-variability games produce infrequently occurring extremely large wins (which often exceed the maximum prize available in base-game) they inherently attract players looking for enormous payouts.
Consequently, developers creating high-variability games often develop these games with larger-than-normal progressive jackpots corresponding to these exceptional winning opportunities.
Because high-variability games exhibit extreme Volatility in returns from gameplay (and conversely extreme swings in bankrolls), banking more money per spin reduces potential exposure but also dramatically decreases potential upside.
