Australian Pokie Game Rules
Pokie games generally consist of reels and rows. How many exactly can vary from game to game. The most common size is still 5×3 (5 reels and three rows), but smaller and (sometimes considerably) larger playing fields are becoming more common.
The aim of spinning the reels is to form winning combinations with the available symbols. What constitutes a winning combination varies from pokie to pokie. Three cherries in a row, for example, can yield credits, but three lemons or two bells can also mean a win.
The playing field consists, for the most part, of regular symbols. These can be divided into basic symbols (Low Paying Symbols) and premium symbols (High Paying Symbols).
All are associated with a certain payout per type and number, as seen in the paytable of the respective pokie. These amounts are stated in euros, credits, or as symbol multipliers. Your prize win is always displayed immediately and added to your balance.
For the standard extra-fast spinning of the reels, the turbo mode is available. This can be recognized by a lightning bolt symbol in the menu bar as a clickable button or can be selected under 'settings.' Microgaming calls this option Quick Spin.
Determining Your Bet
Many pokie games give you two options to choose how much you play per spin:
Deciding your total bet per round at once.
Determining how many credits and how many pay lines you play with. And how much one credit is worth.
If you put money in the pokie machine, it is automatically converted into credits. Compare it to buying coins when you go to a discotheque. It makes calculation easier. The value in dollars (or another currency if you play abroad or on the internet) can, of course, always be found.
You often place your bets in credits. If you choose option 1, you determine immediately how many credits you bet and thus how much money you spend per spin.
The second option is more complicated. Here, choose the number of credits you want to bet per pay line and determine how many pay lines you will play with. In addition, you determine the value of the credits (the coin value).
The coin value usually varies from $0.01 to $1. For the bet per line, also called line bet or bet level, you typically choose a number between 1 and 5. This is multiplied by the coin value and the number of lines you want to play. The result of this is your total bet for that paid round.
If there are 40 winning lines in the game, and you have selected a coin size of $0.01 and a bet per line of 1, your total bet is 40 x $0.01 x 1 = $0.40.
If you have 20 pay lines, a coin value of $1, and a bet per line of 5, then using the same math, your bet is as high as $100 for one round on the pokie.
Spin the Reels
Setting the reels in motion can be done manually with the spin button or selecting the autoplay mode.
The spin button, usually found at the bottom right of the screen or on the far right of all buttons in land-based casinos, allows you to set a new bet each round if necessary. The same button can also be used to stop the reels prematurely.
Autoplay gives you the chance to spin the reels a certain number of times on a pokie machine. Furthermore, you can determine that this mode stops after reaching the bonus game or sometimes after winning or losing a certain amount.
In an arcade, for example, you also have to deal with the above buttons.
Sometimes, especially in Las Vegas, you'll find another big lever on the right side of the cabinet. If you pull it down, the reels will spin. It is these levers that have given pokie games the nickname "one-armed bandits."
Cash-Out
When you have finished playing, you can cash out. On the pokie machine, you'll find a button with 'cashout' written on it, often in the lower-left corner.
If you choose this option, you must wait until the machine prints a receipt for you. After a few seconds, your ticket comes out with the value of the ticket written on it. There is also a large barcode on it.
You can insert this ticket into another pokie machine (see Step 1) and then continue playing. You can also go to a bill breaker machine where you can receive the value of the ticket. Finally, you can take your ticket to the cashier, where the cashier will pay out your money.
When playing online, you can stop by clicking away or selecting 'stop.' The amount of credits will automatically be converted back to your currency and added to your account.
Different Ways to Win at Pokies
There are hundreds of different pokies games, all with their symbols and ways to win. We've listed the most common ways to win:
Win Lines
The most common way to form winning combinations with symbols is by creating win lines. These are fixed patterns that run across the reels and rows from left to right. If an identical symbol combination falls on one of these winning lines, you win. Usually, it would help if you had at least a three-of-a-kind for this.
Depending on the pokie machine you play, you may adjust the number of pay lines downwards. This also has an immediate effect on the size of your bet, which drops accordingly.
Ways to Win
A Ways to Win mechanism works slightly differently. There are no fixed patterns here. It would be best if you had identical symbols on consecutive reels. It doesn't matter which row they land on. How many different winning ways are possible varies.
If you have a pokie machine consisting of 5×3 symbols, there are 3x3x3x3 = 243 Ways to Win. Let's say a five-of-a-kind with watermelons earns $250 for a single win. If these are spread across the reels in the form of 3x1x2x4, then this is a total of 24 Ways to Win. Multiply 24 with $250, and you have the total win you will receive.
Cluster Pays
In the case of Cluster Pays, you need to form a cluster with identical symbols, of which the shape doesn't matter. This offers endless possibilities, such as a complete profitable reel with only one symbol type. The playing field, in this case, is usually significant. Think of six reels and seven rows. Usually, you need at least five symbols for a winning cluster.
This system is linked to a Falling Blocks mechanism, which is called differently by each game maker. This means that winning clusters disappear from the reels immediately, after which the symbols above them fill the empty spaces during a free "re-spin." Game maker NetEnt is the inventor of this. They integrated this system for the first time in the enormously popular online pokie machine Gonzo's Quest. It is thus logically also one of the most cloned games.
MegaWays
MegaWays is a relatively new concept, which Big Time Gaming wholly owns. They are the only party allowed to give license to game developers to incorporate this mechanism in their games. These online pokie games feature six reels, while rows vary per round (and even per reel). This has an automatic effect on the different win ways you can form. The first ones featured 117,949 MegaWays. Nowadays, there are even online games that offer up to 586,971 winning ways. Game manufacturers now have been licensed include WMS, Blueprint Gaming, iSoftBet, and Red Tiger Gaming.
Don't rely solely on the number of win ways a game has. A staggering number of win ways does not necessarily mean that it has better winning chances than pokies online with only five win lines.
Most Frequent Additional Symbols
When you press the button or pull the handle, the symbols shoot across the screen or roll by. It happens so fast, and there are so many different ones, it can make you dizzy.
We've listed the most common additional symbols you might encounter when sitting down to play a pokie machine:
Wilds
Wild symbols are the game's jokers. Like a joker in a card game, a wild symbol can be used in front of any other symbol. For example, if you need a three-of-a-kind to form a winning line, you can do so with a pair together with a wild.
Wilds come in different types.
Standard Wild
First, there is the standard wild, which has the same size as the other symbols and spins on the reels by default. Apart from helping you form a three-of-a-kind with, say, two cherries a wild, you can also regularly win cash prizes with a payline full of only wilds.
sticky wilds
A variation on the regular wilds is the sticky wilds. These are wilds that stick to their location during the re-spinning of the reels.
Expanding Wilds
Expanding wilds are wild symbols that clone themselves across the entire reel for that one spin.
Stacked Wilds
Stacked wilds are also reel-filling wilds, but as such, are already present on the reels by default.
Scatters
Scatters are the only symbols virtually never tied to ending up on a pay line or any other specified winning way. Three or more of these symbols scattered randomly across the reels are already a prize. That makes the scatter a unique symbol. They also often have another vital function in the game, namely, a gateway to a bonus feature.
Multipliers
Multipliers can also spin on the reels. If you form a winning combination, this multiplier is calculated over the prize won.
Example: If you have a payline that pays out $1,500 and there is also an x2 multiplier somewhere on the reels, you will receive a total of $1,500 x 2 = $3,000.
House Edge and RTP
The theoretical payout percentage is a significant influence on gameplay, better known as RTP (Return to Player). If you play at a land-based casino, the average RTP of pokies games is between 80% and 98%. In land-based casinos, the RTP is often 80% to 92%, while it is somewhat higher in online casinos.
The RTP is the opposite of the house edge. If a pokie machine has a payout percentage (RTP) of 98%, the house edge is 2%. If the RTP is 92%, the house edge is 8%.
Pokie Machine Variance
Variance also plays an important role. It is inextricably linked to the RTP and comes in low, medium, and high variance.
Low variance means low risk. Prizes are relatively frequent, although the amounts involved are mainly low.
A medium variance is riskier. The chance of winning cash is smaller, so you might run out of money sooner. If you do win, however, you may well win a more considerable amount straight away.
A high variance requires a long haul. Rounds in a row, nothing may happen at all, while you see your balance go down. However, if you manage to land a winning combination with high variance, the chances are most excellent that you will receive a generous cash prize.
The variance is not generally found in the rules of the game. If the casino has not mentioned it with the game, the symbol values are the most important indicator. Can the game payout 2,500 times your bet, or even more? Then you're probably playing a high variance pokie machine. If you can win much less often than that, then the variance is perhaps lower.
Variance should not be confused with variety. Variance refers to the number of different symbols you find on a pokie machine and how varied the game plays. Variance relates to how often a machine pays out and how large those amounts are.
Example: 1,000 people all put $1 in a pokie machine and play one game. The machine is set (for this example) to pay out the full $1,000.
High Variance: 999 of the 1,000 people get nothing, and all lose their $1 deposit. The last person wins $1,000. The chance of you winning is minimal, but if you do, the payout is high.
Medium variance: 750 people out of 1,000 get nothing at all, and all lose their $1 bet. One hundred fifty people win $1.50, 100 people win $2.75, and 50 people win $10. The chance of you winning is there, but you only win a few times your stake if you win.
Low variance: 500 people out of 1,000 get nothing at all, and all lose their $1 bet. The other 500 people win $2. The odds of winning are high, but if you win, you win very little.
Pokie games with a progressive jackpot like the Mega Millions and the Mega Moolah on the internet usually have a high variance. This is because a relatively large percentage of your stake goes towards a jackpot that only very rarely falls.
The variance, therefore, says nothing about the payout percentage (RTP) or house edge. With high, medium, and low variance, the house edge can be big or small.
Summary
All specific game rules for the online pokie machine you wish to play are briefly and explained in the Pay Table.
On online pokies (often referred to as slots), this is usually available via 'help' or by clicking the info or question mark icon in the game.