Million USD Jackpots in Land-Based Casinos – Why are they so lucky?

A Guide to Progressive Jackpot Variance

How do some players become so lucky?

The phrase “hit frequency” refers to how frequently a machine may land on a winning combination when playing online games (particularly slots).

Games with the highest success rates typically let users win more frequently but in smaller quantities. That is the essence of a low-variance slot, but this will be based on the player’s risk tolerance. Players with a higher risk tolerance will inevitably bet more, with more risk and significantly higher returns.

Casinos will continue to tweak RNG and variance levels, ensuring they maintain the phrase “the house always wins” to maximise their profits. Probability is on the side of casinos, but people gamble for fun, and there is always a possibility of winning the jackpot that will keep gamblers coming back… win or lose.

A Brief Explanation of RTP?

It means ‘return to player’. It is the theoretical percentage you expect to win playing a casino game. For example, most slots come with a 96% RTP on average. It is the also the opposiste to house edge, which in the 96% example would be 4% because it represents how much the house will win.

A more detailed guide to RTP: Visit our guide explaining RTP to get the lowdown on this topic with examples of exactly how the concept of RTP works on slots and other casino games.

To Play or Not to Play – How Does Variance Come into Play?

People who frequent online and offline casinos come across a wide variety of games to play. Slot machines are one of the most popular because they are easy to play, esthetically pleasing, and cater to customers who may have a connection to the title of the game, sounds, flashing lights, and bonuses they offer.

The bonuses can vary from high, medium, and low payouts, depending on the type of slot – progressive, 3D, fruit machines, multi-line, etc., with some payouts over USD 10m. Slots are a game of chance, determined by algorithms called Random Number Generators that determine the swing of good and bad luck, which is commonly named variance.

Variance is the amount of uncertainty attached to a bet. The higher the risk, the higher the erratic results that generate generous payouts. The hit frequency is also the terminology that describes how often a game pays out.

Want to keep track of progressive jackpots? Every 2 weeks we track all progressive jackpots in online casino. We also occasionally announce the odd land-based jackpot win. You can see our most recent report here – Casinoplusbonus Bi-Weekly Progressive Jackpot Report.

Online Casinos with Life-Changing Progressive Jackpot Slots

Volatility Explained

As an FYI – ‘Volatility’ is also referred to as ‘Variance’ by some software providers or casinos. You will usually see low, medium, or high variance. However, there are online slots with low-medium and medium-high variance. Too keep it simple, we’ll explain the low, medium and high volatility/variance factors.

Low Variance

All gambling games have differing degrees of variance, such as blackjack and roulette (betting on red/black, odd/even/high-low), possessing a higher chance of winning and, therefore, a lower variance. Sports betting can also provide low variance if you are betting on the favourite team/player, but payouts are considerably lower as the odds are not in the bettor’s favour.

Also, the more games you bet on, the more your variance will decrease, and your chances of winning will be higher. Slots with low variance have lower payouts but offer the player frequent wins, appealing to that type of gambler.

Medium Variance

Games with a medium variance are generally slots, roulette (dozen & column betting) and certain poker games. These games have a slightly higher chance of bigger jackpots while minimising losses with an average amount of smaller losses.

High Variance

These games produce very few wins, but the payouts can be substantial. The games associated with high variance are roulette, poker and slots. The risk linked with the game is very high, and the buy-in or bet will be hefty, but the payouts can be astronomical. The chances of winning are minimal, with very high odds, so this type of betting is generally associated with ‘high rollers.’

We have a full guide covering variance when playing casino games here. It explains the concept of how it works in full. However, before you read that, here are some quick explanations to get you started.

High Variance Slots

An example of a high variance slot is the famous Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead and some of the slot game in its 12 slot series (I expect more to come too!)

Full Book of Dead Online Slot Series

Developing a Variance Strategy

There are many ways for bettors to minimise the impact of variance on betting results:

• Personal Financial Management is the most important. Bettors have a saying, “Only bet what you can afford to lose”, and this amount should be set aside and not be raised in any circumstances. The betting amount must be a small portion of your income that will not affect your daily life. This method will reduce the impact of long-losing streaks and keep the player in the game for long periods.
• Cap your bets by betting on low-variance outcomes with smaller odds. Of course, this lowers payouts, but there is less risk of losing large amounts of money.
• Bettors can hedge their bets to minimise losses also. Hedging involves betting on two or more outcomes in hopes of one (or more) of those results being in your favour.
• Recent data is another misunderstood tactic. Players can base their bets by analysing recent data (football, baseball games, trends), which can be time-consuming but may help the bet maker make more informed decisions.
• By reducing the size of your bets. Doing this minimises losses and payouts. if a player is on a losing streak, the overall outcome of your financial bankroll.

Does Variance and RTP Work with Jackpots

In one sense, yes, they do. However, the chances of hitting a progressive jackpot with variance in mind could take several lifetimes.

• Non-Progressive Jackpots:You have more chance of landing a jackpot from a non-progressive slot like one of the Wild Link Frenzy slots on the Game Global jackpot network. The top jackpot win pays a fixed jackpot of 5,000x. If you pay long enough, eventually, you can hit this. In this case we could say, the low the jackpot value, the lower the variance.
• Networked Progressive Jackpots: Jackpots that pay millions or multi millions are pure luck in the case of variance. It is a case of being in the right place at the right time, on the right spin! On the large jackpot networks like Mega Moolah (games Global), WowPot (Games Global), Dream Drops (Relax Gaming), Jackpot King (Blueprint Gaming), and other like this, there is a slim chance of winning. I’d say more chance than winning than lottery, but still slim.
• Stand-Alone Progressive Jackpots: With stand-alone progressive jackpots, there is a lightly better chance of winning the jackpot so variance lowers slightly, but we are still talking about a life time of spins. Therefore, its still a case of being in the right place, at the right time, on the right spin.

If you still want to know about progressive jackpots, You can learn more about how progressive jackpot games work here.

Popular Stand-Al0ne Progressive Jackpots