Even if you’ve only been playing online slots for a short period of time, you’ve probably come across certain games being described as ‘Hot’ or ‘Cold’. But what is a Hot Slot, and how can you tell if a slot is running hot or cold? We’ll explain everything in this guide, from the basic information down to the science behind it all.

What are Hot and Cold slots?

Hot and Cold slots are terms used to describe how much slots are paying out. This is calculated against its Return To Player (RTP) rate, which refers to how much of the wager the player can expect to see returned to them in the long run.

This means that if you wager $100 over a play session, then you can expect to have $90 returned to you and $10 lost to the casino. This is why many players prefer to play on slots with high RTP, because it means that statistically, they'll walk away with more!

If a slot is Hot, then it’s paying out more than it's meant to, according to its RTP. If it has an RTP of 96% but its Statistical Return Percentage (SRP) is 110%, then it’s a Hot Slot.

On the other hand, if a slot is paying out much less than its RTP, then it’ll be deemed a Cold Slot.

Is there science between Hot and Cold slots? Or are they a myth?

Considering that everything is based on mathematics, it’s fair to say that there is some science behind whether a slot is Hot or Not. The RTP is only a guide when it comes to paying out, it’s certainly not a limit nor a guarantee.

The only thing the science cannot predict is whether a slot will continue to be Hot.

Slots are like volcanos and earthquakes. If there’s a lot of activity, then all we can do is record it and continue to watch the situation carefully.

Of course, there have been rumours for years about those classic fruit machines in pubs paying out or being empty for years. You only need one disgruntled patron to complain about a machine for it to get a bad reputation for years!

Fortunately, with online slots in the US, we don’t need the guesswork or the rumours. We can use maths to see whether a certain jackpot slot is paying up more than it’s meant to.

Should I play Hot slots?

Just because a slot is paying out well for now, that doesn’t guarantee that it’s going to do the same for you once you play it. A slot can run Cold just as much as it runs Hot.

Instead of chasing Hot Slots for guaranteed wins, try and keep an eye on the charts to see if one of your favourite games is paying out well or badly instead. This way, you can decide which of your usual games to play, depending on whether any of them are running Hot or Cold.

Many of the best US online casinos will have an indicator of which slots are Hot and which are Cold, but there are also many websites which show the same figures.