The hit frequency in slots tells you how often the game produces a winning combination. For example, a game with a 25% hit frequency pays out on roughly one spin in four.
We’ll explain how slot win frequency works and what makes it vary between games. You’ll also find out how hit frequency differs from volatility, and how it relates to RTP.
What Is Hit Frequency?
A slot’s hit frequency is the percentage of spins that produce a win. If the slot has a 19% hit frequency, it pays on 19 spins out of 100 on average.
What it doesn’t tell you is how big those wins are. You could bet $1.50 and get $0.47 back. That counts as a hit, even though you’re down $1.03 on the spin. If you bet $1.50 and win $75, that’s also a hit, but you’ve earned a large profit.
That’s why hit frequency only makes sense alongside two other numbers: volatility and RTP. Here’s how all three fit together.
Hit Frequency and Volatility
Hit frequency tells you how often a slot pays, whereas volatility tells you how much those payouts vary. Two games can share the same hit frequency and feel very different.
Let’s say you play two slots. They both have a 30% hit frequency, so they pay on three spins in 10, and they both have a 96% RTP rate (explained below).
- Game A: You play 10 spins at $1 per spin. During that session, you win three times, earning $4.10, $3.90, and $4.40, and the other seven spins lose. You end up with a $2.40 profit.
- Game B: You also play 10 spins at $1 per spin. You win three times, receiving $0.20, $0.50, and $11.70, and the other spins lose. In this case, you also end the session with a $2.40 profit.
Game A has a low volatility rate. The wins are predictable, with no major surprises in either direction. Game B has a much higher level of volatility. A couple of tiny wins barely register, but one big win ensures you end the session with a modest profit.
These games have the same hit frequency and the same RTP. The difference is volatility: how much the individual wins vary in size, and how far your balance swings as a result.
Hit Frequency vs RTP
Hit frequency explains how often slots pay, while the return to player (RTP) rate tells you how much you can expect back.
For example, let’s say the slot has a 96.38% RTP rate. That means you can expect $96.38 back from every $100 wagered across millions of spins. That’s a long-run average, not a session forecast. Over a few hundred spins, you might earn a healthy profit or sustain a loss.
The two figures are independent. A slot can pay on half its spins and still have a poor RTP if those wins are tiny. Another can pay on one spin in 10 and have a strong 98% RTP, because the wins that land are large. Frequent payouts don’t always mean generous ones.
The link between them is average win size. RTP is the hit frequency multiplied by how much the average win returns.
How to Use Hit Frequency When Choosing a Slot
You can choose a slot win frequency that suits your temperament and session goals. If you have a small budget, but you want a long session, a slot with low volatility and a high hit rate would work well. Wins land often, the payouts are modest, and your balance moves slowly. Ideally, choose a slot with a high RTP rate (96.5% or above) too.
If you’re chasing a large payout, the opposite applies. Lower hit frequency and higher volatility means you’ll probably encounter longer dry spells, but your wins should be worth considerably more.
You can also tweak your game selection when clearing bonus wagering requirements. Choose a slot that delivers frequent, small wins, as that will boost your chances of satisfying the requirements on crypto casino welcome bonuses.
FAQs
That really depends on your personal preferences. Slots with a high hit frequency are ideal if you like grinding out small, regular wins. Online slots with a low frequency are better if you prefer patiently chasing large, irregular payouts.
No, hit frequency isn’t the same as RTP. The hit frequency tells you how often a slot produces a win, whereas the RTP tells you how much the slot returns on average over millions of spins. Slots with high hit frequencies and low hit frequencies can have identical RTP rates.
No. A high RTP slot with low volatility tends to pay on a regular basis, whereas a high RTP slot with high volatility delivers large, infrequent prizes. It’s worth playing high RTP slots, but choose a slot win frequency that suits your temperament too.
No, you can’t alter a slot’s hit frequency. Changing your bet size, playing at a specific time of the day, or grinding out a longer session won’t have any impact on how often slots pay. The slot hit rate is determined by the software provider, and it’s governed by the underlying math and the symbol distribution, so you can’t change it.
Not necessarily. A high hit frequency in slots means that more spins produce a win, but it says nothing about the size of those wins. Plenty of games pay frequently and return very little, so you also need to consider the RTP and volatility when choosing a game.
Ilija is a CCN writer with 7 years of experience covering all things crypto. Ever since a fateful run-in with Litecoin in 2013, he's been an avid investor and writer in the space. When he's not maniacally hacking away at his keyboard, Ilija spends his time either hiking in nature or holed up in his apartment gaming.
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