Volatility is, essentially, the playing-style of a slot, and it incorporates a few elements; how often it pays out, how big it pays out, and how likely you are to have a hit.
For example, a low-volatility slot would deliver frequently, but small wins, while a high-volatility slot would pay wins a lot less regularly. When it does pay wins, however, they’re generally higher than were you playing a low-variance game.
High-variance slots games are well-suited to players looking to enjoy a nail-biting gaming experience – and they’re perfect if you’re happy to go long periods of time without much in the way of wins, with the hope of hitting a big win, later on.
Low-variance games on the other hand, are ideal for players who want to see continual action while playing. For example, if you’re not too fussed about hitting 100X + your stake wins and prefer, instead, to just keep the gameplay going without busting out too soon, then a low-variance game is perfect.
There is, technically a medium-variance category too, although in reality, most games are categorised either by “high”, or by “low” variance. It’s necessary to point out, again, that the RTP is a theoretical calculation, assumed over millions of spins. There is no guarantees either way, that a slot will pay out a certain amount of money, in a given time-period.
So, while it’s beneficial to have a good idea of what an RTP percentage is… what it means… and how it affects the slot. Remember, that your individual playing experiences aren’t going to be affected by it, and the shorter your playing-session is, the less of an effect it has. You can always view the RTP of a slot (while playing it) within the “Help Files”. This is found within the game itself, and is also sometimes known as “Game Rules”.