Low Variance Slots
Like playing Slots but don’t want the risk of losing too much? Can you settle with smaller but more frequent wins? If yes then Low Variance Slots is the right choice!
When you are playing a low variance slot you will often find the jackpots on offer are modest in value, and when playing such a slot you will get more low valued winning combinations forming on your activated paylines, and as such those regular yet low valued winning payouts keeps your account balance fluctuating in value and will not drain it away as rapidly as some of medium and high variance structured slots. Low variance slots and low volatility slots are those which offer the least risk. This means that, regardless of the stake you put in on a slot, you will generally have a really good chance of cashing out. This means that your chances of winning on bonus features and games, for example, tend to be higher than those slot machines with high. In gambling, variance or volatility is an indicator of the frequency and volume in which a slot game is likely to pay out. Low variance games typically generate small, regular payouts, whereas high variance games produce irregular but bigger payouts, with long lean spells of dry spins punctuated by big, blockbuster wins. Low Variance Slots. It is very important to know the variance of a slot game before preparing to play the specific offering. Also known as ‘volatility’, the variance of a slot has a lot to do with the typical behaviour of the game; when and how it will payout.
Best Paying Low Variance Slots
Maximize your wins by playing these Slots with High RTP (Return To Player).
1429 Uncharted Seas: 98.50% RTP
Very standard slot from Thunderkick with expanding wilds and a freespin round that comes often….very often! No wonder it’s almost never allowed in casino bonuses.
Max Win: 670x Paylines: 25 Freespin: Yes Provider: Thunderkick Year: 2015Blood Suckers: 97.99% RTP
Classic slot from NetEnt with one of the highest RTP of all slots. It has such an even pay out structure that this also is always restricted from playing with bonuses.
Max Win: 1 014x Paylines: 25 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2013Gold Train: 97.16% RTP
An old school 3-liner with great RTP. If you like retro one armed bandit style slots with little risk this one is for you. The game itself is a bit different though (based on collecting).
Max Win: 513x Paylines: 3 Freespin: No Provider: Pragmatic Play Year: 2017Jack Hammer 2: 97.07% RTP
Used to be riskier but nowadays it seems like NEtEnt have adjusted down the variance. You get a lot of Stick Wins and Freespin comes relatively often. Nice change!
Max Win: 1 980x Paylines: 99 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2013Classic 243: 97.00% RTP
I remember playing a bonus and winning up to a decent sum. Halfways in to the bonus I started playing this slot and that gave me a nice cash out! VERY stable slot machine.
Max Win: 888x Paylines: 243 Freespin: Yes Provider: Microgaming Year: 2017Motörhead: 96.98% RTP
For all you rock lovers who miss Lemmy (we miss him too). Expect no riches but a pretty neat feature and of course great music. Free spins round could be better though.
Max Win: 570x Paylines: 76 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2016Coins of Egypt: 96.97% RTP
Not the funniest slot but the free spins round is OK. It’s not as easy to unlock as you might expect with low variance but in compensation it has a great max win.
Max Win: 3 000x Paylines: 20 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2017Jack Hammer: 96.96% RTP
There is an old saying. “If you haven’t played Jack Hammer you haven’t played slots”. No that’s a joke but we want to emphasize that Jack Hammer and it’s sticky wins is slot history.
Max Win: 3 000x Paylines: 25 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2011Blood Suckers 2: 96.94% RTP
One of the most anticipated follow ups for low variance lovers. It won’t disappoint and even though the bonus game is harder to unlock it’s fun and can give decent wins.
Max Win: 1 298x Paylines: 25 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2017Carnaval: 96.94% RTP
This slot is something so unusual as a 9-lines low risk slot (with good max win). So if you like playing less pay lines but don’t wanna lose all your money in a few spins this one is for you.
Max Win: 1 800x Paylines: 9 Freespin: No Provider: Microgaming Year: 2013Jimi Hendrix: 96.90% RTP
Actually a really fun slot with many nice features. The freespin round is also very well crafted and even though wins can’t get really high it’s still a nice ride.
Max Win: 400x Paylines: 20 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2016Dazzle Me: 96.90% RTP
A simple slot that don’t offer anything really special except perhaps the freespin where the wheels have decent opportunities of syncing and give good wins.
Max Win: 760x Paylines: 76 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2015Butterfly Staxx: 96.80% RTP
Harmonic slot that gives you the butterflies (note the word joke). The feature is fun and the freespin round is actually something extra. Only a low max win drags this one down.
Max Win: 400x Paylines: 40 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2017Aladdin’s Treasure: 96.58% RTP
Nothing extremely special about this one but it has a clean cut design. Genie is wild, X2 multiplier in freespin and a bonus game. That’s pretty much it!
Max Win: 745x Paylines: 50 Free spins: Yes Provider: Pragmatic Play Year: 2015Mythic Maiden: 96.58% RTP
One of the nice older slots from NetEnt. It has that pure slot feeling and lots of smaller big wins. A big plus is the high max win that can be achieved with 10x multiplier.
Max Win: 2 000x Paylines: 30 Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2011Aloha! Cluster Pays: 96.42% RTP
A slot you can spend hours with. It feels like it doesn’t eat the money so fast but can still bring massive wins. A perfect lower risk slot for those who still want potential BIG wins!
Max Win: 2 000x Paylines: Cluster Pays Freespin: Yes Provider: NetEnt Year: 2016Sunset Delight: 96.30%
This delicious ice cream machine has a neat set up and a free spin where the goal is to build an ice cream high as the clouds. Decent max win!
Max Win: 1 750x Paylines: 5 Freespin: Yes Thunderkick Year: 2016
Play Low Variance Slots with Bonus
Low Variance Slots
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- There are slots missing! Why??
There might be slots with higher RTP not included in this list but we only enlist slots with the highest quality when it comes to entertainment value, graphics, sounds and of course security. We have also not included slots that have been removed by the slot provider or is not working anymore (other sites unfortunately still promote none active slots)
Also we only enlist the RTP in the base game of the slot. This means that we exclude all RTP values that is only achieved by playing in a certain game mode or setting (example Big Bet in Barcrest slots). We can however write in the slot description if a higher RTP is possible.
What is 'Variance' in a Slot?
The Variance of a Slot game is simply the size and regularity of the pay-outs of a slot game. In some texts, it is referred to as the Volatility of the Slot game. There are a few different types of Variance in Slots.
Low, Medium or High Variance?
Understanding the variance of slot games will help you choose games that suit both your wanted risk and your bankroll management.
Roughly said there are three different types of slot variance: Low Variance Slots that you find on this page, Medium Variance Slots and High Variance Slots. Some slots are in between these level though and in our RTP Top Lists we call these “low – med” or “med – high” variance.
Medium and high variance slots are suitable if your looking for thrills, uncertainty and bigger wins while low variance slots fits better if you want more control over wins and losses. You’ll have to accept that the wins will be more limited in Low Variance Slots though.
How do you know if a Slot is Low Variance?
Well…of course the no. 1 answer to that question has to be that you stay on this site since we tell you what variance slots have.
However, you can also measure the slot variance by looking at the game’s pay-table. If you notice that a winning combination where the difference between the amounts won for three the same symbols, and the amounts won for six the same symbols is small, then you’ve got a Low Variance Slot game.
Play Low Variance Slots if you like winning
A Low Variance Slot refers to a slot game that pays more often. However, the payouts from this kind of slot are often small or at best medium and wins are usually limited to around 1 000x your stake.
In a low variance slot game, it’s common that every three to four spins comes with a small amount of profit. This takes away the risk that comes with multiple spins without any wins at that often come in of a high variance slot game.
However, a low variance slot game is a low profit, slow profit slot game. Low variance slot games require you to play for a very long time to win a larger amount of money.
Casino Bonuses and Low Variance Slots
If you play a Casino Bonus you need to wager a certain amount before you can cash out potential winnings. Something that can be deeply disturbing is when you have wagered let’s say half of the bonus and have won a substantial amount. You then end up losing everything in the end of the wagering of the bonus.
Most of the time the reason to why people lose their winnings in the end of a bonus is that they keep playing medium and high variance slots.
If you hit a bad losing streak in a slot with high variance it’s easy to get stuck chasing down that free spins round. This can bring heavy losses and it’s common all the winnings end up being lost.
How do you stop that from happening?
Well our general recommendation is to play high variance slots more in the beginning of a bonus and more low variance slots towards the end.
Of course this also depends on if you have won up and want to lose as little as possible of those winnings. If you have little money in the end it can be the right choice to go for higher variance.
It must of course also be said that it can be very beneficial to keep playing high variance slots in the end of bonuses. Sometimes luck strikes over and over again…
Differences between High and Low Variance Slots
A High Variance Slot is different from a Low Variance Slot. High variance slot is like long term investment. They are high-risk slot games that give huge returns on success.
However, playing a high variance slot game could empty your bankroll in minutes, just like winning a high variance slot game will make you a casino jackpot champion.
Pros in Slots with Low Variance
- Lower risks
- Profits can still be decent if you play high RTP slots
- Good to play when you're in a bonus and don't want to risk your winnings
- Good if you want to play mostly for fun
Cons in Slots With Low Variance
- Less thrill and excitement
- Smaller 'big wins'
Conclusion
The Return To Player (RTP) rate of a slot game shows the expected profit of a slot game after several spins. In contrast, the variance of that slot game will show the player how this profit will come around—either large and irregularly (high variance), or small, and regularly (low variance).
Since level of variance in the slot predicts how you will be winning you can also calculate what risk you’ll be taking.
In as much as the variance of a slot game will help you take that a calculated risk, and gain more if you have a small bankroll, it isn’t a superior yardstick for choosing which game you should play.
The RTP rate of the game slot can make a low variance game a good game—allowing you to take low risk, and yet win a considerable sum.