Mines RTP: 99% at every mine count, and the arithmetic that proves it
Mines returns 99% at every mine count and at every cash-out depth, and you can check it with a calculator: each payout is 0.99 divided by the exact chance of reaching that depth. Multiply any payout by its own probability and the answer is 0.990000, every time, on every board. That invariance is the whole return model.
payout = 0.99 / [ C(25 - m, k) / C(25, k) ] · Source: Derived from a 25-tile board; no operator serves a retrievable page, so none is cited · Last verified 11 Sep 2026The formula the game runs on
A 25-tile board with m mines leaves 25 minus m safe tiles. The chance of turning over k safe tiles in a row is the number of safe combinations divided by all combinations of the same size:
P(survive k) = C(25 - m, k) / C(25, k)
A fair payout would be 1 divided by that probability. The offered payout is 0.99 divided by it:
payout(m, k) = 0.99 / [ C(25 - m, k) / C(25, k) ]
The 0.99 is the entire house edge. It is applied once, identically, at every depth, which is why no cash-out point returns more than any other.
The full ladder on a three-mine board
| Safe tiles revealed | Chance of getting there | Payout | Payout multiplied by chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88.0000% | 1.1250x | 0.990000 |
| 2 | 77.0000% | 1.2857x | 0.990000 |
| 3 | 66.9565% | 1.4786x | 0.990000 |
| 5 | 49.5652% | 1.9974x | 0.990000 |
| 10 | 19.7826% | 5.0044x | 0.990000 |
| 15 | 5.2174% | 18.9750x | 0.990000 |
| 20 | 0.4348% | 227.7000x | 0.990000 |
| 22 (full clear) | 0.0435% | 2,277.0000x | 0.990000 |
Changing the mine count does not change the return
More mines buys larger payouts at smaller probabilities, in exact proportion. The last column stays put.
| Mines | Reveal 3 | Reveal 10 | Full clear | Return at every depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.1250x at 88.00% | 1.6500x at 60.00% | 24 tiles, 24.7500x at 4.00% | 99% |
| 3 | 1.4786x at 66.96% | 5.0044x at 19.78% | 22 tiles, 2,277.0000x at 0.0435% | 99% |
| 5 | 1.9974x at 49.57% | 17.5154x at 5.65% | 20 tiles, 52,598.7000x at 0.0019% | 99% |
Why 99% is higher than a slot, and what that does not mean
A 1% house edge is low against a slot ladder that runs from about 96% down to the mid 80s. It does not mean Mines is safer to play for long. The edge is charged on every round you stake, so the total you lose is the edge multiplied by everything you put through the game, and a fast game with a small edge can cost more per hour than a slow one with a large edge. Return per unit staked and cost per hour are different questions.
Where this figure comes from, and where it does not
This page does not cite an operator, and that is deliberate. Stake, whose original Mines is the reference implementation, answers anything that is not a browser with a 403, so it serves no page we could honestly link. BGaming publishes a catalogue entry under a similar name for a different game. Rather than cite a source a reader cannot retrieve, we derive the whole table from the rules of the board, publish the formula, and invite the check: compare the numbers above against the payouts your client offers before you commit a tile. If they match, the edge is 1%. If they do not, you have learned something more useful than any review could tell you.
Quick answers
What is the RTP of Mines? 99%, at every mine count and every cash-out depth, because each payout is 0.99 divided by the exact chance of reaching it.
Does a higher mine count pay better? Not in return. It raises the payout and lowers the probability by the same factor, so the expected value stays at 0.99.
What are the odds of clearing a three-mine board? 1 in 2,300, and the game pays 2,277x for it.
How do I verify my casino runs the real payout table? Take any offered multiplier, multiply it by the chance of reaching that depth from the table above, and check the result is 0.99.
References
- Derived from the rules of a 25-tile board. Formula and full table published above; re-derived independently in exact fractions on 10 September 2026.
- No operator is cited: stake.com returns 403 to any non-browser request and serves no retrievable page, and a similarly named BGaming catalogue entry is a different game. Our verification rules and open data: playstories.co/methodology.
Reviewed by the PlayStories editorial team. Last updated September 10, 2026. Numbers verified per our methodology. Informational only, not betting advice. 18+. Play responsibly.
Related
- Is Mines rigged?
- Mines strategy: why every depth pays the same
- Dice RTP, computed the same way
- What provably fair actually proves
payout = (100 - house edge) / win chanceDice and Limbo payouts follow the published identity: multiplier equals 99 divided by the win chance in percent for a 99% RTP build. Expected value is therefore the same at every win chance, which is what fixes the house edge at 1%.
Full verification method · Editorial standards · Corrections are logged on the method page.
Stake publishes its house edge and provably-fair method on its own site, which blocks automated retrieval, so we do not link it as a source. Every figure here is instead re-derivable from the published payout identity, and any finished round can be verified by the player from the seed pair.
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