Changing settings on slots, like the denomination, bet level or number of pay lines, can impact things on a slot machine. Sometimes, a slot is more transparent about this, and displays a message:
I mainly see this with Aristocrat high limit slots, but do certain slots have the RNG programmed differently depending on the bet denominations? I only ask because I frequently see the message “probability has changed” appear on Dragon & Lightning Link games. Does this mean the probability of winning has changed, or the probability of the amounts in the bonus features have changed, or does it mean anything to the player?
Vincent
We can focus on the Dragon Link/Lightning Link example, but it’ll be similar across other slots. Generally speaking games like this have one progressive jackpot or set of jackpots for many bet levels and denominations. They also have Mini and Minor static prizes that are the same for the entire set of bets within a denomination.
Logically, winning a $10 mini on a 1 cent denomination 50 cent bet will be harder than winning a $10 mini on a 1 cent denomination $5 bet. Similarly, your odds of winning the Major between those two bets will also differ.
Generally that difference will be proportional to your bet, so winning the Major at a $5 bet will be 10x as likely (but you’re betting 10x as much for that privilege, basically cancelling each other over the long term.
Probability can also change when the lines are changed, which is a consideration when switching between denominations. Newer Link series games can give you a choice of lines as well.
And finally, the return to player settings can be configured for each denomination, so the long term slot payback can differ on one denomination versus another. Generally, the RTP is expected to go up as the denomination increases, because the bet ranges are higher and casinos expect players to play more on those denominations.
Normally, other things like hit frequency, bonus trigger frequency, etc. don’t change, especially within a denomination, where the RTP is traditionally identical for all bet levels within a denomination.
But things may vary subtly on different RTP settings, because there’s more or less money to go around. But it won’t differ in any dramatic way, because the frequency a line hit or bonus comes out is part of what makes a particular slot feel like that slot. And a 1% change isn’t dramatic enough to yield anything vastly different.
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