Do High-Limit Slots Pay Better?

In light of the fact that certain high-limit slots can pay out winnings in the millions, they are undoubtedly among the top games in online casinos for winning money. 

At their most basic level, high-limit slots are video games that enable players to place huge bets. This does not imply that games with higher limits have better odds than games with lower limits. Based on the game you play, both have large odds and short odds.

Algorithms

To function, all casino games must adhere to rigid algorithms. The algorithm guarantees that no two spins are similar by producing random results each time. That algorithm may allow for the predetermination of how frequently and how much a slot can pay. 

Wager Denominations 

Casino payback markets often highlight their greatest paybacks on machines with higher denominations. According to studies, machines with a $25 value or more are among the highest-paying machines in most casinos. 

However, the $100 machines are often lower, possibly due to how rarely and with what fluctuation they are played in general. Does that imply that machines with greater denominations will always pay more? 

The architecture of the machines themselves, as well as a few other factors, can decide the payback levels included in such reports. The reporting gives us a little hint, but only the casino fully knows what any specific machine is programmed to pay back. 

Winning Payouts

Casinos are still limited to the payout possibilities that a slot manufacturer provides. The steps are too great for the casino to contemplate going up a tier for the higher denomination. Thus, unless the manufacturer expressly develops a high-limit version of a given game, it may decide to have the same payout at a 1-cent or 2-cent denomination. 

When multi-denomination machines provide the option of payout variations at each denomination, casinos may not necessarily opt to make each denomination unique. 

What Does This All Mean?

The preceding information is intriguing from a theoretical standpoint, but you won't have much success identifying the machine that's designed with larger paybacks since, for practical reasons, those general reports of payouts will be all you'll have to go on. 

However, since we know that a game with a larger denomination may be set at a higher payback, we may still make an informed decision to increase our odds of winning. There is no assurance that the high-limit machine will have a larger payback. 

You may reasonably assume that it won't be worse than the penny slot machine and, ideally, that it will be better. 

Payback Percentages vs Hit Rates

The distinction between hit rate and payback percentage is unclear to many players. The payback % is what a machine is anticipated to return over the long run based on its programmed results and the RNG performing its function over time. 

The percentage of spins that result in wins over time is known as hit frequency, also known as hit rate. Both play a part in the math of the machine, but each plays a different one. 

Payback refers to how the machine payouts are controlled. The frequency of hits is determined by the hit rate. Additionally, hit rates between games with similar paybacks might vary greatly. 

The Bottom Line 

Even though higher-limit slots will, on average, pay out more than lower-limit slots, this does not necessarily translate into an increase or decrease in the frequency of winning spins. That depends entirely on how the game is made. 

And while a game with a larger payback may have a little better hit rate to make up for it, other adjustments to the game, such as more often appearing symbols with greater payouts, might achieve the same result just as well.

Giuseppe Faraone

Giuseppe Faraone

Author & Online Gambling Expert

1173 Articles
Being so close to the action in iGaming, Giuseppe is on top of any new developments the minute they come through the door, as his book is testament to. Published in October 2022, his first book; The Untold Story of Online Gambling is available on Amazon.
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