One of the most important things about playing games on an online casino is that you'll want to look for the games that give you the best chance of winning. To figure that out, you'll have to consider that there are a lot of different factors that play into that such as your skill level at that particular game and the odds itself. However, some games can yield more wins than others and you also have to take a game's variance level into account, which is what we're going to explain here.
What is variance?
The variance of a game is defined by the distance between a set of numbers or in the case of online video poker, how often certain hands will come into play for you. This can be measured by complicated mathematical formulas and it is almost impossible to try and figure out the variance of a game without experience, so a lot of it has to do with feel. That is something you can only measure by playing a lot.
The level of variance obviously changes from game to game and you can find certain games that always have a high level of variance. For example, games that have a 100% rate of return are better for you as it is more likely that you can score big hands, which lead to big jackpots. Meanwhile, a game with a low rate of return is very sporadic and you can go from having a huge week to not seeing any good cards for three others.
How to get variance in your favor
The issue is, you cannot just look at a machine and say, "oh, that has a high level of variance, I should stick to that". If it was that easy, everyone would know which games to play and that would give players a huge advantage. Online casinos are not in the business of giving players huge edges.
However, you can help yourself out in a couple of ways. You can always work to improve your skill level at each game, so you can control your own destiny as much as you can. You should also try and match the level of variance to your bankroll because the smaller your budget, the higher level of variance you should be looking for. You probably will not win big jackpots but you will win more often and that will allow you to play more, which makes everyone happy.
Variance is something that even experienced players can have issues with, and it is not something you should concern yourself with until you get the basics of your favorite online and video poker games down. But it is something that you should at least study up and try to figure out the nuances of it as you delve further into online poker because a game with a low rate of return can be infuriating and cause you to quit before you hit that one jackpot. Combined with your bankroll, variance can help or hurt how long you stay in the game.