If you’re tired of the Mega Joker Slot from NetEnt this is the best alternative! Not quite as high RTP but greater Max Win and a more engaging layout (we think).
Max Win: 6 000x | Paylines: 5 | Freespin: No | Stakelogic (2016)
Best Medium Variance Slots
Slots with Medium Variance gives really Big Wins without being as volatile as High Variance Slots. Maximize your wins by playing these Slots with High RTP (Return To Player).
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Twin Joker: 97.79% RTP
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Børk the Berzerker Hack ‘N’ Slash Edition: 97.30% RTP
With expanding wilds in both Freespin and base game plus potential of high wins this otherwise very standard Slot becomes a good medium range option.
Max Win: 2 100x | Paylines: 20 | Freespin: Yes | Thunderkick (2018)
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Spartania: 97.22% RTP
No Freespin round but a click me Bonus game as well as a wheel of fortune that can multiply your last spin up to X250. Also expanding wilds in base game.
Max Win: 1 040x | Paylines: 30 | Freespin: No | Stakelogic (2016)
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Monkeys of the Universe: 97.16% RTP
Monkeys is a favorite theme for us (maybe because we identify with our primate cousins?). It’s not be the funniest Slot out there but definitely worth a shot.
Max Win: 5 000x | Paylines: 10 | Freespin: No | Stakelogic (2017)
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Toki Time: 97.10% RTP
A Thunderkick Slot from their early years and even though it doesn’t compare to Slots from recent years this Starburst (NetEnt) look-a-like might be worth a try.
Max Win: 1 130x | Paylines: 11 | Freespin: No | Thunderkick (2014)
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Sinbad: 97.08% RTP
One of the first Quickspin Slots and even though it has a modest Max Win we recommend it because of the fun Freespin (choose between 3 different).
Max Win: 715x | Paylines: 40 | Freespin: Yes | Quickspin (2013)
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A great NetEnt Slot that shows that Slots don’t necessarily have to have a Freespin round to be funny. The Feature in this one is simple but crazy addictive.
Max Win: 1 600x | Paylines: 40 | Freespin: No | Year: 2016
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Jukepot: 97.07% RTP
A favorite NextGen Slot! Nice old school 60’s feeling and a really entertaining Feature + Freespins. The only minus is the low Max Win but a great Slot!
Max Win: 1 215x | Paylines:243 | Freespin:Yes | NextGen (2016)
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Treasure Island: 97.07% RTP
A Slot with a fun feature and a Freespin with great potential. The feature consists of a cannon ball being shot at the board triggering wilds if it hits dynamite.
Max Win: 1 785x | Paylines: 40 | Freespin: Yes | Quickspin (2013)
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A favorite NetEnt Slot! Why? Well Freespin round is great and can give lot’s of extra spins. It’s also fairly easy to activate. Big Wins are rare but we gladly try again.
Max Win: 2 000x | Paylines: 15 | Freespin: Yes | NetEnt (2015)
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Diamond Strike: 97.02% RTP
Diamonds are forever and especially in Slot games. The Freespin round throw out extra diamonds (wilds). Extra points for the nice audio in this.
Max Win: 1 246x | Paylines: 15 | Freespin: Yes | Pragmatic Play (2017)
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Sinbad’s Golden Voyage: 97.01% RTP
Nice Slot with calm steady pace and fun Freespin. The downside is that it pays pretty lusy. Getting a good hit on so many paylines feels great and should be rewarded much better!
Max Win: 700x | Paylines: 164 | Freespin: Yes | Playtech (2015)
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Frozen Diamonds: 97.00% RTP
Not the most entertaining Slot out there but it’s high RTP and very steady pay out structure brings it in from the cold. Can bring decent wins also.
Max Win: 1 000x | Paylines: 20 | Freespin: Yes | Microgaming (2016)
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Barber Shop Uncut: 97.00% RTP
Time to get a buzz cut? Hop in to the barber shop and get sticky symbols on the whole board. In Freespin the multiplier can trigger huge wins. Fun but not original.
Max Win: 2 355x | Paylines: 40 | Freespin: Yes | Thunderkick (2017)
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Nitro Cirkus: 97.00% RTP
A Slot we really can’t decide if we like or not. We find the base game and feature slightly boring but the Freespin has some ambitions of being fun. 50/50 call for us…
Max Win: 2 000x | Paylines: 25 | Freespin: Yes | Yggdrasil (2018)
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Reel Rush: 96.96% RTP
One of the real classics from NetEnt and we played it endless of hours. Has a perfect touch that makes the Freespin feel reachable. Can pay up very well! Great!
Max Win: 3 840x | Paylines: 3 125 | Freespin: Yes | NetEnt (2013)
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Mighty Arthur: 96.94% RTP
King Arthur himself that can appear as a whole wild block on wheel 2,3 and 4 is the highlight here. Little fun but not very long lasting.
Max Win: 621x | Paylines: 20 | Freespin: Yes | Quickspin (2017)
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Goldilocks: 96.84% RTP
Very entertaining Freespin as in many of the Quickspin Slots. Collect Goldilocks scatters and advance towards papa and mama bear and lot’s of wilds. Fun!
Max Win: 819x | Paylines: 25 | Freespin: Yes | Quickspin (2012)
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High Society: 96.80% RTP
One of our favorite Microgaming Slots with appealing design and a really fun game engine. 2 versions of the Freespin round that are both fun and can pay pay well!
Max Win: 2 000x | Paylines: 25 | Freespin: Yes | Microgaming (2017)
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Mystery Jack: 96.79% RTP
Wazdan isn’t the most famous Slot provider but they have some Slots with fairly high RTP. Worth checking out. This one has nice old school feeling.
Max Win: 710x | Paylines: 27 | Freespin: Yes | Wazdan (2019)
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Dragon Shard: 96.77% RTP
Has neat design and fantasy fans won’t be disappointed. Also has big stacked symbols and mystery symbols marked (?) that transforms into any other symbol.
Max Win: 800x | Paylines: 40 | Freespin: Yes | Microgaming (2019)
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Kitchen Drama Sushi Mania: 96.77% RTP
Has the good old setup where symbols get replaced by new symbols on every win. Not boring and not bad maybe just no the most innovative Slot.
Max Win: 697x | Paylines: 20 | Freespin: Yes | Nolimit City (2017)
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Space Wars: 96.75% RTP
All wins triggers a re spin with extra symbols of the same symbol you had the win with. Simple but addictive and fun! (give me those Kryptonite looking crystals!!)
Max Win: 1 000x | Paylines: 40 | Freespin: No | NetEnt (2013)
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Hot as Hades: 96.75% RTP
Surprisingly entertaining game where the highlight lies in the 2 versions of Bonus games. One is a pick and click “adventure” and one a more traditional Freespin. Fun!
Max Win: 2 000x | Paylines: 20 | Freespin: Yes | Microgaming (2015)
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Easter Eggs: 96.75%
Innocent little Slot with a simple Bonus game and a straight up multiplier Freespin. Sometimes we need the good old way…right? No?
Max Win: 500x | Paylines: 20 | Freespin: Yes | Play’n GO (2015)
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Energoonz: 96.73% RTP
Not exactly our cup of tea with these types of grid Slots. We like Cluster Pays set ups but these…well they just don’t do it for us. Maybe you like it better?
Max Win: 1 000x | Paylines: 5×5 grid | Freespin: No | Play’n GO (2013)
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The Wild Chase: 96.72% RTP
On the surface just another sticky win Slots that locks symbols on wins. It actually has it’s own vibe though and we like everything except the ridiculous Max Win.
Max Win: 423x | Paylines: 25 | Freespin: Yes | Quickspin (2016)
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Bridesmaids: 96.71% RTP
An entertaining Slot! Base game is not outstanding but the Freespin Bonus weighs it all up! Let’s get some cupcakes (scatters).
Max Win: 1 200x | Paylines: 40| Freespin: Yes | Microgaming (2015)
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Hot to Burn: 96.71% RTP
A straight up 5 lines Slot without any special features except maybe that symbols can come stacked. Exciting? Not really but let’s try it anyway.
Max Win: 1 000x | Paylines: 5 | Freespins: No | Pragmatic Play (2020)
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Drive: 96.70% RTP
Deserves all the attention it can get! We like EVERYTHING about it. From base game to Freespin to design and music. This is truly amazing Slot craftsmanship!
Max Win: 5 109x | Paylines: 15 | Freespin: Yes | NetEnt (2016)
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Banana Drop: 96.70% RTP
Looks funnier then it is. Boring base game and Freespin makes a boring game. It has however a decent RTP and a very good Max Win that makes us try it a few times.
Max Win: 6 031x | Paylines: 4 096 | Freespin: Yes | Microgaming (2020)
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- What is RTP?
- What is Slot Variance and how does it relate to RTP?
What is a Medium Variance Slot?
Slot players nowadays turn to Slot machines with Medium Variance since they offer pretty much the same excitement as High Variance Slots but without being as costly. This is probably why slot manufacturers have produced a a lot of Medium Variance Slots the last few years.
The term Medium Variance Slot refers to a Slot game that pays out money with medium regularity. Your wins will neither come very often nor very sparsely but can still get pretty high. Max Win in the medium variance segment of online Slots can sometimes get as high as several thousands times your bet.
Even though they don’t compare to Max Wins of the most volatile Slots, players often think it’s enough to be able to win 2000x your stake. If you have a bet size of €1 and win €2000 most people won’t complain with that.
The characteristics of Slots with Medium Variance
The list with Medium Variance Slots on this page include many different Slots with various features. Their similarities is however that they are in between low and high risk.
Medium variance or Medium Volatility Slots (as they’re also called) are meant to have a balanced pay out structure. The goal is to give the player the possibility of both really big wins but without “eating up” the money too fast (as highly volatile Slots often do).
In other words the payouts in medium variance Slots will be less regular then in Low Variance Slots but more regular then in High Variance Slots.
Other characteristics of Medium Variance Slots is that they tend to include freespin rounds and with bonus games with the potential of really good wins. An example of a Slot provider that have many medium risk Slots is Thunderkick.
5 reasons to play Slots with medium risk
- You get the potential of great wins but without risking too much.
- You have mostly played Low Variance Slots and want more excitement.
- You feel that High Variance Slots are too volatile.
- You want higher hit frequency then in high volatility Slots.
- You want more frequently Freespin rounds and bonus games.
Can we determine Slot Variance ourselves?
Yes we can but it’s not a straight up answer. The best known practise to get a feel for what kind of Slot your playing is to…well play it. First of all want to say that you of COURSE can just stay at our site since we offer lot’s of information about Slot variance for many popular Slot providers.
If you however want to find out the variance of a Slot you can play a decent amount of spins on it (more then 1000 is recommended) to see how it behaves. You can spin with a very low bet size or even try demo versions for free.
After a while you’ll start to see things like. How hard is it to activate the freespin round?, how well does bonus game or other features pay? How many of the spin you get your money back or at least win something?
How hard is it to activate the Freespin?
From our experience with Slots a high variance Slot would activate a freespin round around every 50-60 spins (in average).
A Medium Variance Slot would probably activate the freespins at around every 30-40 spins and the low variance Slots around maybe ever 20 spins you make. This can of course differ depending on how the Slot is constructed but the average would probably lie around these numbers.
What’s the potential in the Bonus game?
A bonus game in a High Variance Slot could pay up to 500x and even up to 1000x and sometimes more. A bonus game in a medium variance Slot would probably pay up to a maximum of 500x but more likely from 200x – 300x. A low variance Slot would most often pays at most 200x – 250x but more often 100x – 200x.
Take a look at the Paytable
You can also look at the paytable of the Slot and see how much the different symbols are paying. In Slots with higher volatility the highest paying symbols pay a lot more then the medium and low paying symbols. The medium and low paying symbols in the high variance Slots usually pay out fairly modest.
In Medium Variance Slots the highest paying symbols pay (obviously) less but more important the gap between them and the lower paying symbols is also typically smaller. Meaning the the differences in payout of the high, medium and low paying symbols is not extreme. Medium is as we know the middle more balanced way.
Low paying symbols are often just well low in Slots with all kinds of variance but maybe they tend to pay a little better in the lower variance Slots.
Paylines
Another thing to consider is how many paylines the Slot have. Lower amount of paylines (15 or less ) traditionally indicates a Slot with higher variance. Well that’s seems reasonably logic right? It’s harder to get a win with less paylines. It’s not always so easy though to say how volatile a Slot is just by looking at the paylines.
Nowadays Slot manufactures can make Slots with paylines over 100 000 extremely volatile also. An example of that is all the popular Megaways Slots from BTG.
Hit frequency
Last but not least you can have a look at how often you win on a spin. The more often you win the lower the variance the Slot probably has. Highly volatile Slots typically have a very low hit frequency and you can go many spins without even getting your money back.
Medium Variance Slots have an average hit frequency where the wins don’t come very often (as in Low Variance Slots). The wins do however come more often then in the high variance Slots where you can run in to really long streaks of winning pretty much nothing.
Summary
The things above are not at all written in stone and often rules are bent or even broken. Slots are smart nowadays and can have very sophisticated pay out structures. The variance in Slots from recent years is determined by much more then how often the freespins is activated and how many paylines it has.
Different features with expanding and walking wilds as an example can make the Slots more volatile then they appear on the surface.
