Gambling Concepts – Return to Player (RTP)

One of the most important concepts to understand in the world of gambling is Return to Player or RTP. Understanding this concept will help you make better decisions when choosing which real money pokies to play. Today, we will cover the concept of RTP and why it is vitally important to casino gambling.

What is Return to Player?

You’ll often see the acronym RTP thrown around at sites talking bout online pokies and online casino games. This term is short for Return to Player. Return to Player is the theoretical percentage referring to how much money a pokie will payout to a player.

For example, if you play a game with a 92% RTP, you can theoretically expect that $92 out of every $100 wagered will be returned to a player. Keep in mind that we say theoretically. This doesn’t mean that every time you sit down you will get back $92 out of every $100. Instead, it is the long-term theoretical statistic on the game.

It is possible that you will get more or much less returned to you in a game. Ten players may play the game and lost 50% or more. Ten others may play and get a return of 125% or more. It is random for each player.

Another way to look at this is that RTP is the theoretical house edge that a casino has for online pokies. The great thing about online pokies is that you’ll find much more favorable odds over live casinos.

Online vs. live casino RTP

In live casinos, pokies can be huge moneymakers. That’s because they have RTPs ranging from 80 to 90%. That’s a massive edge for the house. At online casinos, you’ll find much more favorable Return to Player percentages.

The average RTP for an online pokie is around 95%. In some cases, you will find games offering a Return to Player as high as 99%. While this sounds too good to be true, there are several reasons why casinos can do this.

First, online casinos can offer an unlimited number of online pokie games at one time. That’s why most casinos have hundreds and even thousands of pokies. Also, there’s no limit to how many players can play a particular game. One problem experienced in live casinos is the difficulty in finding seats at popular games. You don’t have this online. A popular game can have thousands of players playing the game at once.

Next, online casinos have a much lower overhead than live casinos. They don’t have to hire staff, provide constant maintenance on machines, or incur any of the standard costs that live venues incur. This means they can offer better odds and still make an insane profit.

Picking casino games based on RTP

Now that you have an understanding of the concept of Return to Player, it is time to use that knowledge to pick online pokies. In most cases, you can easily find the RTP of a game by doing a little research. There are multiple ways you can find this information.

First, if you look in the details screens of a pokie, you will often find a mention of the game’s RTP. It is usually buried at the very bottom of the details or setting screen. If you’re playing in live casinos, you can sometimes find the RTP information listed on the outside of the game.

If you can’t find the info on the game, don’t worry. Go to the manufacturer for the game. Most companies list the RTP of their games. Real Time Gaming is an exception. They are one company that does not list the Return to Player of its games.

Another option you can use is to do a Google search for the game. Put in the game’s title and RTP and you will find links to reviews or game info. Sites like this one will often review games and give the RTP of the game. You can even find manufacturer game links that can give you RTP.

Once you find the Return to Player info, you can use that to make the best choices for gambling at online casinos. Your best bet is to pick games with an RTP above 95.5%. It will be difficult to find games much above 96.5%, but they are out there. By picking high RTP games, you will improve your odds of winning at online pokies.