Casino games should be enjoyable. We all want to win, but having a good time should be the main aim when playing either roulette, blackjack, or slots online. There are plenty of games and variants to choose from, so you should be able to find the one that suits you and your budget.
Some of these games will require skill and strategy, while others are complete games of chance. But whichever online Vegas casino game you choose, you want to think that you have at least a chance of winning. The good news is that you do, although the majority of online casino games rely on a random number generator (RNG), which makes the game as unpredictable as possible, and as realistic as those in a real life casino.
But sometimes it will feel as though you are doing everything right, making the right moves, utilizing a good strategy – and still you keep on losing. But don’t worry if this is happening. It is very common and is something called negative variance. Read on to find out all about negative variance, how to mitigate it, and why it doesn’t really matter much in the long run.
What is Negative Variance?
In very basic, layman’s terms, negative variance is when you are putting in a good performance but not experiencing a successful outcome. It can be thought of as going through a run of bad luck through no fault of your own. It will always be a part of casino gaming, and all online users will experience it at one time or another.
In many online casinos, there is another acronym that is used to attract new players – RTP. RTP stands for return to player and is the average payout percentage of a game. A high RTP is considered attractive as customers should win more often. But variance will still play its part, meaning that you may feel as though a game should be paying out when you are stuck in a losing streak.
Negative variance will occur with any casino game, but it should be considered as just part of the experience. There are still inbuilt mechanisms that give you the opportunity to win while playing, although there will be different chances for different games.
Different Games
Sometimes a feeling of negative variance experienced by a casino gamer will be more down to the type of game. Online casinos tend to have a mixture of high variance and low variance games. Progressive jackpot slots and playing single numbers on the roulette wheel are examples of high variance casino gaming. With these games, winning will be more infrequent, but when you do win, the prizes tend to be bigger.
If you are betting on the ball landing on just red or black in roulette, or playing a table game like blackjack with a low house edge, there is a much better chance of regular payouts. The thing you have to remember about these low variance games is that the payouts are not usually very big. As an online casino game customer, you need to choose which type of game you are more comfortable playing. For good measure, video poker and standard slots tend to fall somewhere between the two and can be called medium variance.
It should also be noted that with any type of game, there is always the chance to experience negative variance.
Mitigating Negative Variance
So, if variance – and negative variance – is just a part of online casino gaming, is there anything you can do about it? Well, the first thing to think about is your bankroll. There is always a chance that you will experience this run of bad luck, no matter how much thought you are putting into your chosen game. So make sure that you have strict limits on how much you are willing to lose.
Taking a break and setting limits are good ideas, but you can also mitigate negative variance by thinking carefully about the type of casino games you are going to play. If you are quite happy to take steady, but potentially smaller, payouts, the low variances games are for you. If a jackpot is the only thing on your mind, then you will have to put up with the possibility of a more infrequent win. Remember, you can always mix and match as well – no one is telling you what game to play, or even to play at all.
Long Story Short: Don’t Worry!
Sometimes it just isn’t your day. You will be doing everything right and not coming up with the results that you are looking for, and probably deserve. That’s negative variance, and it comes with the territory when playing online casino games. You can still have a lot of fun and be luckier with your gaming, and that unpredictability is part of the reason why so many people enjoy online casinos.
With RTP and RNG, you will figure out that you have just as much chance of winning over time, so you should really just enjoy the experience for what it is. You should play for fun, without worrying about making a profit. Online casinos are for your entertainment, and once you understand the way the games you work, you are going to have so much more fun.
