High RTP or high volatility, what do you actually chase?

[slotsuzie]

I have been keeping a little spreadsheet of my slot sessions on my PA app for about three months and the numbers are making me rethink my whole approach. My high volatility sessions either end with a $300 hit or I burn through my $100 in twenty minutes with nothing.

Meanwhile the lower volatility games with a published 96 plus percent RTP let me play for an hour on the same $100 and I usually walk away within $20 of where I started, win or lose.

So it comes down to what you actually want out of a session. Big swings and a shot at a real hit, or long entertaining playtime that barely dents the bankroll.

Which do you personally chase, high RTP for survival or high volatility for the big hit, and has tracking your own sessions changed your mind?

[kc_chiefsbettor]

I went the same direction you did once I started logging spins. High volatility is fun for about ten minutes then it is just watching your balance evaporate between bonus rounds.

Now I mostly stick to games listed at 96 percent RTP or higher and treat the volatility as a separate knob. My rule is high vol only when I have a session bankroll I am genuinely fine losing in one go, otherwise it is medium vol all the way.

The spreadsheet habit is the real unlock though. Once you see your own dollar in versus dollar out across 30 sessions, the marketing on the splashy high vol games stops working on you.

[tailgate_travis]

Counterpoint, I am a high volatility guy and I am at peace with it. I am not playing for an hour of entertainment, I am buying a lottery ticket with better odds and I size my bankroll for that.

I set aside $200 a week, expect most sessions to go to zero, and accept that the value is in the rare $500 to $1000 hit. Two months ago a high vol game paid me $840 on a $2 spin and that one session covered six weeks of losses.

If you cannot stomach long dry stretches it is not for you, no argument. But RTP and volatility are different things, you can have a high RTP game that is also high volatility, so do not lump them together when you read the game info.