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A true million-dollar question – how to win pokies? It’s technically possible, but it’s completely random without any consistency. After all, if that weren’t the case, professional gamblers wouldn’t only stick to poker and other table games.
However, it would be wrong to claim there aren’t any strategies or tactics you can use to improve your odds. If this has piqued your interest, stick around, as we’ll tell you all about how to win playing pokies.
How Online Pokies Work
For a better understanding of how to win at online pokies, it is important to understand what are pokies and how they work. In traditional versions of the game, you win money whenever you arrange the same symbols across a payline. The likelihood of getting a winning combination depends on the number of paylines, hit frequency, and the game’s volatility.
In modern versions, the winning multipliers don’t go too high, but players get a significant boost to their payouts and win chances when they enter the bonus round.
Here is a brief overview of how to play the pokies and win.
- Step 1: Choose the pokie you want to play – You will need an online casino account in order to play pokies. Once you sign up, pick the game you wish to try.
- Step 2: Place a bet based on your budget plan – Start with a small budget and select a lower denomination to extend your playtime.
- Step 3: Select the number of paylines – Some games allow you to reduce the number of active paylines and make spins cheaper. This is useful when you chase bonus rounds, as the number of active paylines won’t affect the odds of triggering the bonus.
How to Play the Pokies and Win: ReadWrite’s Tips
If you are new to these games, make sure to go over our tips on how to win at pokies in Australia’s online casinos.
Play Pokies Only from Trusted Developers
To be safe, pick some of the best real money online pokies in Australia that are developed by certified studios. These are provably fair, and developers like NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Red Tiger and others have a proven track record of paying out big jackpots.
Understand the Rules of the Game
To learn how to win big at pokies, it would be wise to read the game’s rules first. There’s usually a question mark or ⓘ, or a similar button that you can click to bring up game rules and learn how symbols interact.
You find out the multipliers for any given combination and how many of the same symbols are required on a payline to score a win. Additionally, you learn how to trigger bonus rounds and what other benefits are active during that round.
Practice in Demo Mode
Another way to figure out how to win on pokies in Australia is to try them in demo mode first. This will give a good sense of the game’s hit frequency and how many spins are required on average to enter the bonus round.
This is especially important for pokies with a bonus buy feature, as it helps you calculate whether buying the bonus round is worth it.
Utilise Casino Bonuses
Out of all how to win at online pokies tips, this one is absolutely crucial. There are so many online casino bonuses out there that it makes no sense not to use them. If you can’t claim any promo on a site you are currently playing on, there are plenty of new casinos in Australia where you can sign up.
Of course, read the terms carefully and try to pick those promos that have reasonable playthrough requirements. This way, it will be easier to convert your bonus winnings into withdrawable cash.
Choose the Best Pokie Machine for Winning
When you play at the best online casinos in Australia, you are more likely to have access to a huge selection of games. Also, you get to pick those games based on certain criteria that have an impact on your winning odds.
How to Win Playing Pokies: Top Strategies
There is no method that teaches you how to win at pokies every time, but there are a few tactics that will prove useful.
Levels Betting
Some pokies allow you to adjust your bet size by selecting coin values and levels. Coin value indicates how much money each coin is worth, whereas level indicates how many coins per payline you are betting. In essence, if the level is higher, you are betting more money.
The idea is to start at the lowest level possible and have a bet size that’s equal to 1% of your overall playing budget. If you don’t win anything for 5 spins in a row, you increase the level by one.
Fixed Percentage Betting
Here’s how to win money on pokies and adjust your bet size accordingly. You start wagering 3% of your budget, and you increase or decrease your bet size based on the remaining budget. If your budget is $50, you will bet $1.50 per spin, and if you win and your budget increases to $55, you should increase your wager by 10% ($1.65).
The method is very efficient for bankroll management, but it’s ideal for big spenders who play at no minimum deposit casinos. However, you need to make sure to play those pokies with highly adjustable bet sizes or denominations so that you can accurately increase your wagers in lower increments.
Modified Martingale Betting System
Martingale is a commonly used system in games like roulette and baccarat and even by sports fans who play on Australia betting sites. The idea behind this strategy is to double your bet size after each loss. That said, it’s typically used in games where you have a nearly 50% chance of winning.
This begs the question – how to win at online pokies using Martingale? You set the limit between 10 and 16 times the original bet. If you start with $1 per spin and lose 5 times in a row, you stop doubling your bet because you’ve reached $16. Also, whenever you win, you reset the bet size to its original value.
Progressive Jackpot Strategy
Lastly, let’s talk about how to win jackpot on pokies. If the game has a random jackpot drop, then it’s essential to get as many spins as possible. Pokies with progressive jackpot tend to work like this: you don’t need to align specific symbols to trigger it. You just need to play until it randomly drops.
To achieve this, you should use the minimum bet size to get the highest number of spins within your budget.
Limits of Betting Strategies
It should be noted that pokies are a pure game of chance, and although betting strategies can come in handy, they don’t guarantee success. In other words, there is no reliable method that tells you how to win money on the pokies.
A prudent thing to do is to always set a budget for gambling, and be disciplined. Do not overspend, and avoid making impulsive decisions. The outcomes of spins are completely random, so prior wins or losses do not affect the outcomes of the future spins.
What Are the Best Pokies to Play in Australia?
There are hundreds, in some cases thousands, of pokies on Australian Bitcoin casino sites, so newcomers might have a hard time picking out good releases. Below are our suggestions or top picks in this category that you should try.
Mega Moolah
Mega Moolah is a classic 5×3 safari-themed pokie by Microgaming with an RTP between 93% and 94%. Its progressive jackpot feature has been claimed multiple times over the past decade, making it such a big hit.
The jackpot feature is randomly triggered, and the wheel will drop, taking you to another screen. Once you spin the wheel, you can win between 10 and 2 million AUD.
Wild Wild Riches Megaway
Wild Wild Riches is a megaways version of the popular pokie with the same name that was released by Pragmatic Play. It has high volatility, an RTP of 96%, and 4 jackpots. Additionally, the game has a bonus buy feature that costs 10x your bet amount.
Once you trigger the bonus round, you stand to win between 6 and 20 free spins. Also, during those free spins, the money collect symbol and Wild symbols drop more frequently, which helps you get winning combinations.
Gonzo’s Quest
Gonzo’s Quest is one of NetEnt’s flagship products, and it doesn’t rely on traditional reels and paylines. Instead, Gonzo’s Quest uses a cluster pay and tumble mechanic. Adjacent symbols form a winning combination, and the remaining symbols on the board are rearranged.
If rearranged in the right way, the winning combo can be retriggered, and the whole process starts again. In short, you get to chain multiple winning combinations in a single spin, and each subsequent win gets a multiplier boost. The RTP for this pokie is 96.50%.
Treasures of Cleopatra
Treasures of Cleopatra by Betsoft, is another cluster pay pokie and it has an RTP of 96.62%. Once again, if you get the same symbol clusters on a 6×5 grid you win and the symbols can rearrange in a way that leads to subsequent wins.
The game has high volatility, and getting multiple wins in a row also triggers a stacking multiplier. It’s even possible to get this multiplier up to 500x. Getting 4 scatter symbols grants you free spins, and you can even retrigger this bonus during the free spins round.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is another title by NetEnt, and you are welcome to try some of our tips on how to win in pokies on this game as well. It’s a classic with a 5×3 grid and has an RTP of 96.8%.
Furthermore, Jack and the Beanstalk has the so-called “Walking Wild” feature. Whenever the wild symbol appears, a re-spin is triggered, and the symbol will move to the reel on the left. So, you once again have a chance to get multiple winning combinations with a single spin.
Top Online Pokie Developers
If you want to learn how to win pokies jackpot and be sure you get access to those winning, then opt to play games from certified studios. Here’s a quick roundup of the well-established pokie developers:
- NetEnt – A studio that has been around since 1996 and released hundreds of pokies, widely popular in Australia. They have titles across different genres like megaways, cluster pays, sticky wilds, etc.
- Micrograming – Now called Apricot, the studio was originally founded in 1994. They are known for slots themed after pop culture IPs, and progressive jackpot game Mega Moolah.
- Pragmatic Play – Famous pokie developer from Gibraltar that started operating in 2015. It’s certified in more than 40 jurisdictions and has received multiple awards for achievements in game development.
- Betsoft – Studio from Malta founded in 2006 known for developing pokies, crash games, table games, and even tools for iGaming businesses.
- Playtech – A big company with presence in over 20 countries that’s been in game development since 1999. They even create live games, and have rights to many popular IPs.
Biggest Pokie Wins of All Times
Nobody knows how to always win at the pokies, but there are those who know that one big win is more than enough. Here are some of the biggest winners of all time:
- Megabucks slot in 2003 – $39.7 Million (Won by a software engineer who requested to remain anonymous)
- Mega Fortune online slot by NetEnt – $24 million (Won by a player from Finland)
- Mega Moolah online slot by Microgaming – $17.25 Million (Won Jon Heywood, British soldier)
How Does Responsible Gambling Affect Your Winning Chances?
It’s one thing to know how to win big on the pokies, but it’s way more useful to know how not to lose. In other words, you need to gamble responsibly.
- Setting Spending Limits – Always gamble with money you are comfortable losing. Don’t go into this thinking you’ll win; just stick to your budget and call it quits if you spend it.
- Avoid Cashing Losses – Losing can feel frustrating and attempts to recover your funds can lead to even more losses. Don’t give in to these emotions and act impulsive, play at lower denominations to avoid burning through your budget in a few spins.
- Take Breaks – Use responsible gambling tools to limit your play sessions. If you take breaks and have time to refresh, you are less likely to spend your money recklessly.
If you have a hard time controlling your gambling habits, then you should seek professional help from one of the following organizations:
Call 1-800-GAMBLER for immediate assistance.
Summing It Up
Hopefully, you found our suggestions on how to win on the pokies in Australia helpful, along with tips on finding trustworthy games. At the end of the day, always remember that this is a game of chance and that strategies will never guarantee profit.
Still, our how to win on online pokies strategies will come in handy for bankroll management and mitigating your losses. Play responsibly, have fun, and may the reels spin in your favor.
