Payback Percentage

The percentage of players' money that is returned as winnings over an extended period of time on a slot machine.

In this case, an extended period of time refers to hundreds of thousands of handle pulls. Anything can happen in the short run.

Payback percentage is calculated using the amount of play, not the original bankroll, as a measuring stick.

For example, say you put $200 in a slot machine and play it through and only have $100 left after betting the entire $200. Then you play through that $100 and have $50 left. Then you play through the $50 and have nothing left. Your payback percentage is not 0, even though you don't have any money left.

You actually played $350 ($200 + $100 + $50) total through the machine. The machine paid out $150 in winnings during that time. ($100 + $50). So the payback percentage in this case is $150/$350, or about 38%.

Most slot machines have payback percentages in excess of 90%. (The example above was for illustrative purposes only.)