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Slot RTP & Volatility Simulator

“96% RTP” sounds generous. Here's what it looks like over 500 spins, a thousand times over — including the “wins” that pay back less than you bet.

Machine settings

Return to player (RTP): 96%

Volatility

Bet per spin ($)

Starting balance ($)

Spins per session

Sessions

—Hit frequency

—“Wins” that lost money

—Sessions ending ahead

—Sessions that ran dry

—Median ending balance

—Biggest single win

Ending balance across sessions

Try a single spin

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Credits: 100.00 · virtual, no value

Pay table for these settings

A simplified model: probabilities are scaled so the long-run return equals the RTP you chose. Real machines use far larger pay tables, but the math works the same way.

RTP is a promise about millions of spins, not yours

RTP (return to player) is the share of all money wagered that a game is designed to pay back over its lifetime. A 96% game keeps 4% on average: $4 of every $100 wagered. But you don't play the lifetime of the machine. You play a few hundred spins, and that is where volatility takes over.

Expected loss = bet × spins × (1 − RTP) $1 × 500 spins × (1 − 0.96) = $20 expected — but the spread around $20 is enormous.

Low-volatility games hand back small amounts often, so your balance drifts down slowly. High-volatility games pay rarely but big, so most sessions lose faster while a few win big. Both end at the same average. Learn more in RTP vs. Volatility and The Near-Miss Effect & Losses Disguised as Wins.

Tip: watch the “wins that lost money” number. When a spin pays $0.50 on a $1 bet, the machine celebrates — but you are down $0.50. Researchers call these losses disguised as wins.