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Slots vs Other Casino Games, Statistics
It’s an oft-repeated theme. The 2nd largest casino in the US, the Mohegan Sun, has 377 gaming tables and 6,500 slot machines, and the third (Foxwoods Resort Casino) has 280 gaming tables and 5,500 slot machines. You can plainly see the dominance of slots. As they are so popular, many people wonder what is the best time to play slots at casino establishments. It’s a question that deserves an answer, but before we do so, what about slots at online casinos? Are they just as dominant?
The biggest online casino is Video Slots. With a name like that, you would expect it to major in slots, and so it does, with 8,000 slot titles as compared to 1,000 other games. The second-largest online casino, Mr Vegas, offers 5,170 slot titles, 70 table games, and 372 live dealer games.
Further proof of the dominance of slots was provided by SilentBet.com, which conducted a survey of 327 online casinos to establish which platforms offered which games. The results are shown in the table below.
| Game Type | Percentage of casinosWith Game Types |
| Baccarat | 96.94% |
| Bingo | 9.79% |
| Blackjack | 98.17% |
| Jackpots | 94.5% |
| Live Dealer Games | 97.5% |
| Lotto | 22.32% |
| Roulette | 96.94% |
| Slot Machines | 100% |
| Video Poker | 92.05% |
As you can see, slots are just as dominant in the online casino world as they are in the offline casino world. Now let’s turn our attention to the best time to play slots at casino sites – online or offline.
The Best Time to Play Slots
The fact of the matter is that there is no such thing outright as the best time to play slots. Having said that, there are certain things that might influence the best time to go to the casino to win, be it a traditional, bricks-and-mortar casino or a virtual, online casino. The underlying reason that time is irrelevant is the fact that the outcome of most casino games is subject to the calclulations a Random Number Generator, or RNG for short.
The Evolution of Random Number Generators (RNGs)
Prior to the 1990s, the outcomes of slot machine spins were determined by physical mechanisms. The old-style one-armed bandits relied on the spinning of their mechanical reels and gear mechanisms, which were influenced to some extent by the strength of a player’s pull, as well as the action of the machine’s spring and lever mechanism.
In those days, the fairness of spin outcomes relied on the physical components working correctly, and the honesty of the slot machine owners and operators. As the popularity of playing slots began to increase, so did the need for the prevention of tampering to try to get a more honest result.
As the 1960s rolled in, we saw the introduction of electromechanical slot machines. Their reels were powered by electrical circuits, and they offered more paylines. However, the random outcomes of each spin still relied on the physical stopping of the reels. Although these machines were of a more sophisticated design, if a person were to fiddle with the internal mechanical elements, spin outcomes could still be manipulated. It meant that the best time to go to casino establishments too, was open to manipulation.
By the time the 1980s were ushered in, slot machine design had gone completely electronic. Microprocessors controlled the reels, which allowed for much more complex gameplay and payline structures. The old dependence on physical randomness was replaced by the introduction of software algorithms. It was the dawn of the Random Number Generator (RNG) era.
Through a complex system of algorithms, RNGs generate numbers that influence where the reels will stop, even when a slot machine is not in use.
In 1994, the first online casino appeared, courtesy of software provider Microgaming. It signalled the beginning of the online casino revolution. As physical reels were replaced with digital replicas, the possibility of creating new slot themes multiplied overnight and in order to keep pace with their new online rivals, physical gambling establishments ditched the old machines for new digital slot machines, but it was still the RNGs that ruled the roost, so knowing when is the best time to go to the casino was still something of an unknown.
Nowadays, software developers and providers have to follow strict licensing practices. Regulatory agenies like the UK Gambling Commission demand that games be independently assessed, making sure that RNGs work correctly, and that Return to Player (RTP) statistics are accurate.
Factors that Influence the Best Time to Play Slots at Casino Establishments
Left to their own devices, without any outside influences or stresses, slot machines will pay out roughly in accordance with each game’s published RTP and volatility (also sometimes referred to as ‘variance’) ratings. As far as RNG percentages are concerned, and as far as we know, timing is not a consideration. It does not get factored into their algorithms. The same applies to variance ratings. They are statistically determined by the number of spins played and the number of payouts made within them.
But what that does tell us is that the more spins any slot accrues, the quicker it will reach those predicted stats, and this is therefore something you can use to determine when the best time is to go to the casino and stand a better chance of landing some wins.
Think about it. The more people that are playing any given slot machine, the quicker it will reach those payout points. Now, some people will tell you that you should avoid peak times when there are loads of people playing, because more people means having to divide the prize money even more.
However, we maintain this is not the case. A payout is awarded to the player playing the machine at that time. It is not shared. Therefore, logically, the best time to play slots at casino establishments is the peak hours when the reels are spinning the most and getting closer to those payout points.
But there is something to be said for playing in off-peak times, too. The fewer the people that are around, the more idle slot machines there will be. It means that you have the opportunity to try out different machines, and the more you try, who knows? – You might stumble across a machine that is ready to pay out. So, is this the best time to go to casino haunts?
Let’s take a look at various time frames and what they mean.
- Weekends – likely to be busier as more people are off work.
- Weekdays – likely to be quieter as more people
- are at work.
- Early mornings and late nights – likely to be fewer people around, but those that are around are likely to be party-goers or die-hard professionals.
- When special promotions are running – a limited period when you can collect loyalty points which can be exchanged for gifts or more plays, or promotions that offer free entry into tournaments or raffles, etc.
This all relates to conventional, bricks-and-mortar casinos. But what about online casinos? Is there a best time to play slots at casino sites online? Let’s find out.
What is the Best Time to Play Online Slots?
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Timewise for many playing at conventional casinos is limited, particularly if it’s an occasional event, such as a holiday in Las Vegas or Macau. But playing at online casinos has no time constraints. With today’s modern mobile technology, some people play spontaneously for a few minutes whenever and wherever the urge arises.
Another consideration when contemplating the best time to play slots at casino sites on the World Wide Web is that online sites can be anywhere on the planet, in different time zones. It means that you can play from home at whatever time is local to you, but on the other side of the world, the time difference can be several hours.
When Bonuses and Special Promotions are Available
Online casinos usually advertise a far wider range of bonuses and promotions than conventional brick-and-mortar casinos. Matched bonuses can give you a lot of free money you can use to play slots, but the timing of maximising these deals is critical. Deposit too late and you could lose the opportunity and any winnings you might otherwise make. It’s essential to read the terms and conditions of any bonus offer.
Thanks to RNGs, Slot Payout Predictability is Unpredictable
Image by Masbebet Christianto from Pixabay
It doesn’t matter where you play slots; at conventional or online casinos that operate under bona fide gambling licenses, the outcome of every spin is still controlled by a Random Number Generator and is therefore unpredictable. Nonetheless, some players still have a preference in their minds regarding the best time to play slots at casino sites. Whatever that preference might be, there are some things you can do to give yourself a better chance of landing some wins.
The closest you can get to predicting when and how much a slot might pay out is the game’s RTP (Return to Player) percentage and volatility rating. You should therefore use them to your advantage. However –
RTPs Can Influence the Best Time to Play Online Slots, But They Might Vary
Did you know that the RTP (Return to Player) for a specific game can vary significantly from one casino to another, whether offline or online? Well, it can, and on some slots, the RTP they choose can be anywhere from 84% to 98%! The reason for this is that when software providers create a new slot, it might be developed with multiple RTP options or fixed. Some even have both options.
We have seen some slot reviews that show different RTPs for a specific slot. They seem to suggest that the RTP changes depending on a particular feature of the slot. This is not so. When a software provider calculates a slot’s RTP, the percentage figure takes the entirety of the gameplay into account.
Casinos do not own the slots they offer. They rent them from the software providers, so they can only change or select the RTP with the software provider’s permission. However, the RTP shown on the casino site must tally with the actual RTP of a specific slot.
Many casino review sites will tell that it means for every £100 you wager playing a slot like Starburst, if the published RTP is 96%, you can expect to get back. What they might not tell you is that RTP percentages are calculated over thousands, maybe even millions, of consecutive spins. In other words, as your sessions playing the slot are likely to consist of fewer spins, you cannot rely on the accuracy of the RTP.
Volatility Is a Better Win Indicator
As well as RTPs, all slots have volatility ratings. These roughly and generally indicate how often a given slot will pay out and how much. For example:
- Low volatility: A slot that pays out often, but in smaller amounts of prize money.
- High volatility: A slot on which you’ll have to wait longer for payouts, but when they come, the amount of prize money is much higher.
Volatility ratings are assigned in steps: low, low to medium, medium, medium to high, and high.
Conclusion
There is no hard and fast answer when it comes to the best time to play slots at casino sites, as it’s impossible to predict when payouts will land. But whenever you do decide to go, you can improve your chances of landing a few wins by choosing slots with high RTPs and low volatility ratings. If you’re a patient player and you have a large payroll, you might opt for slots with a high volatility rating in the hope of winning a bigger jackpot. When all is said and done, the best time to play slots at casino sites, brick and mortar or virtual, is very much down to the beliefs of the individual player. There is no hard-and-fast rule.
