RTP is the most quoted and least understood number in online pokies. It's a theoretical long-run figure calculated across millions of simulated spins — not a prediction of your session, and not a rate of return on your money. Understanding what it does and doesn't tell you is the difference between choosing games sensibly and chasing a number that was never going to do what you hoped.
Last reviewed: September 2026
The honest starting point: every pokie is built with a mathematical house edge. A 96% RTP game is designed to keep 4% of everything wagered through it over the long run. No RTP figure, no volatility setting and no playing strategy changes that. RTP helps you pick a game you'll enjoy — it is not a way to make money.
RTP is the proportion of total wagers a game is designed to return across an enormous sample size. A 96% RTP means that across millions of spins, the game returns 96% of everything wagered through it and retains 4%.
The word doing the heavy lifting there is millions. That figure describes the behaviour of the game across all players over its entire lifetime — not what happens in your two hundred spins on a Tuesday night.
The most common misreading is treating it as a rate of return on your deposit. It isn't. A 96% RTP game does not return AUD $96 for every AUD $100 you deposit. It returns 96% of everything wagered, and wagering is cumulative — winnings that get re-staked are wagered again. Play a $100 balance through a game repeatedly and the total amount wagered can easily reach several hundred dollars, with the house edge applying to all of it.
Over a short session, actual results scatter widely around the theoretical figure. You can finish well ahead on a 94% game and lose everything on a 97% one. Both outcomes are entirely normal and neither says anything about the RTP being wrong.
If RTP is how much a game returns in theory, volatility is the shape of those returns. Two games with identical RTP can play completely differently.
| Volatility | What happens | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Frequent small returns, shallow swings | Longer sessions on a small balance |
| Medium | A mix of both | Most players, most of the time |
| High | Long dry spells, rarer larger hits | Bigger balances, higher tolerance for swings |
This matters more than RTP for most players. A high volatility game can run for hundreds of spins without a meaningful return, and a small balance often doesn't survive long enough to reach the payouts that make the maths work. If you're playing a modest amount and want the session to last, low or medium volatility is the practical choice regardless of what the RTP says.
A useful way to think about it: RTP tells you the long-run average, volatility tells you how bumpy the ride is on the way there. Your bankroll decides which bumpiness you can absorb.
Most online pokies publish it, and it takes about ten seconds to check.
If a game doesn't publish an RTP anywhere, that's worth noting in itself.
Different studios build games with recognisably different characteristics. This affects what you get more than small RTP differences do.
One caveat worth knowing: some games are released with more than one RTP configuration, and which version an operator runs can vary. The figure shown in that specific game's paytable is the one that applies to you — not a number quoted on a third-party site.
Not in any way you can rely on. The difference between a 94% and a 97% game is three percentage points of theoretical long-run return — real, but invisible across a few hundred spins, where random variation dwarfs it entirely.
What a higher RTP does give you, on average and over a long time, is slightly slower erosion of a balance. That's a genuine benefit if you play regularly. It is not an edge, and it doesn't make the game profitable — 97% still means the house keeps 3%.
A few things worth being clear about, because they come up constantly:
Most online pokies sit between 94% and 97%. Anything at 96% or above is at the better end of typical. Bear in mind that even 97% means the game is designed to retain 3% of everything wagered over the long run.
No. It means the game returns 96% of everything wagered across millions of spins. Wagering is cumulative — re-staking winnings means the same balance is wagered many times over, with the house edge applying each time. Over a single session, actual results vary widely in both directions.
RTP is how much a game returns in theory over the long run. Volatility is how those returns are distributed — small and frequent, or large and rare. Two games with the same RTP can feel entirely different to play.
Neither is better — they suit different bankrolls. Low volatility stretches a smaller balance across a longer session. High volatility means long dry spells punctuated by rarer, larger wins, and it can empty a small balance quickly.
Open the game and look for the information or paytable icon, usually a small "i" or menu button. RTP is generally listed on the last page alongside the rules, often with a volatility rating.
No. Every spin is independent of every spin before it. A game that hasn't paid in hundreds of spins has exactly the same chance on the next one. The idea that a machine is due is one of the most persistent misconceptions in gambling.
No. RTP is a percentage and applies equally at any stake. Betting more increases the amount the house edge applies to, which increases both potential wins and expected losses proportionally.
No. Outcomes are generated independently of the time of day, the day of the week, or how many people are playing. There's no off-peak advantage.
Play within your means. No RTP figure makes pokies a way to make money — every game keeps a percentage over the long run by design. Decide what you're willing to spend before you start, treat it as spent the moment you deposit, and never increase stakes to recover a loss. Chasing losses is the most common path to real harm. Strictly 18+.
iJoker88 provides deposit limits, session reminders, cool-off periods and self-exclusion — see the responsible gambling tools guide for how to switch them on.
Need to talk to someone? Gambling Help Online offers free, confidential support to Australians 24/7 on 1800 858 858, or at gamblinghelponline.org.au.