A session budget is easier to judge when it is counted in spins. Dividing the money set aside by the stake gives the number of spins it covers before any wins, and on a volatile game a long run without a meaningful payout is a normal event within that count. Lowering the stake stretches the same budget across more spins and gives the rare features more chances to appear. Raising it shortens the session without improving the odds of any single spin.
Volatility measures how widely results scatter around the average return. A game rated low pays modest amounts at a steady pace, and a game rated high concentrates its return in rare, large wins, often inside a bonus feature. Studios describe it on scales of three or five levels, sometimes with lightning bolts or bars instead of numbers, and the scales are not comparable between studios. Choosing a level is a matter of taste and budget, while the cost over the long run does not move.
Many slots cap the largest win a single spin can produce, often as a multiple of the stake. Once the cap is reached, the round ends and any further winnings are forfeited, which trims the top of the payout range. Games that sell entry to their bonus round list a separate return for the bought feature, sometimes higher and sometimes lower than the base game. Both figures sit in the game information or the rules, and both change what a large stake can realistically return.