Slot Machine Math II - Standard Deviation

What range (standard deviation) would most penny video slots fall into? The Wizard worked the numbers for one game on his website and the SD = 8.74. My guess is penny video slots would be much higher, but how much higher??? Also, what games tend to have the highest variance and which tend to have the lowest?

I should have known this post wouldn't provide too many answers. There are so many hidden variables that are needed to produce even a "reasonable guess"! I will simply use the only standard deviation known at this time and expect my results to lean towards a less favorable outcome......

Yup, slots are basically a free-for-all when it comes to their design. You have no way of knowing what the stats are without knowing all of the rules and parameters of the game.

I am told that, in Australia, for a game to be approved by regulators (for use in their B&M casinos), the standard deviation of a video slot must not exceed 15 (based on a single-coin, single-line bet).

Quote: JB

I am told that, in Australia, for a game to be approved by regulators (for use in their B&M casinos), the standard deviation of a video slot must not exceed 15 (based on a single-coin, single-line bet).

Hmm. I'm working on games that my company is getting into Western Australia, and I haven't heard that yet. The do have some other idiosyncracies, though. For instance, almost all games are progressive and the progressive must be available at every wager and the game must have an identical return percentage at every wager. Many games here have a higher pay with max bet.

Most slot machines here buy your depositing additional coins and those machines that do not offer more for that final coin will generally benefit by the player's assumption that depositing the final coin is the proper thing to do.

Quote: CrystalMath

Hmm. I'm working on games that my company is getting into Western Australia, and I haven't heard that yet. The do have some other idiosyncracies, though. For instance, almost all games are progressive and the progressive must be available at every wager and the game must have an identical return percentage at every wager. Many games here have a higher pay with max bet.

If a progressive is available at all coin-in from 1 .. N, and the meter reads X, then the jackpot payout for 1 coin has to be in the neighborhood of X/N in order to preserve equal RTP (there are a few ways to implement this). If a naive slot player gets the progressive-triggering combination but doesn't win the amount shown in the meter, he's liable to be angry. How does your company market that behavior to players without getting them mad?

Also, what company are you working for? (Feel free not to answer if you don't want to, or send back in PM.)

In Vegas there are signs that advise that Jackpot displays are estimates for advertising purposes. This prevents local malfunctions from being binding on the casino and allows for linked progressive machines to display enticing sums despite data communication disruptions.

Quote: MathExtremist

If a progressive is available at all coin-in from 1 .. N, and the meter reads X, then the jackpot payout for 1 coin has to be in the neighborhood of X/N in order to preserve equal RTP (there are a few ways to implement this). If a naive slot player gets the progressive-triggering combination but doesn't win the amount shown in the meter, he's liable to be angry. How does your company market that behavior to players without getting them mad?

Also, what company are you working for? (Feel free not to answer if you don't want to, or send back in PM.)

For the Austrailian games, the progressive must be available at all wagers. I saw a demo at G2E and spoke with a mathematician from Austrailia and they usually have something like a separate reel which determines whether the player is elegible for the progressive. The separate reel dynamically changes the weights of the progressive symbol to correlate with the amount wagered. So, instead of offering a lower pay, the player just has a lower likelihood of getting the progressive.