Payout rate, also called return-to-player, is a percentage of the total bets given back to the players as cash outs or jackpots, while hit frequency refers to the number of times the slot will show a winning combination. A higher hit frequency gives the impression of winning but will always be smaller amounts, while a lower hit frequency will provide very few, and far in between, big wins. Regardless if a slot machine is programmed with a high or low hit frequency, the amount of the win will always be close to the RTP.