What happens behind the scenes when you press the spin button on the pokies? When you learn how pokies work you can drastically increase your chances of winning at real money pokies.
It turns out that it is quite simple. Each machine has an inbuilt program that randomly generates thousands of possible outcomes every second. This brings up a separate question ‘can pokies be rigged‘?
Once you press the spin button, the game will randomly pick one result and land the symbols on the reels.
Some players believe that if they play long enough they will trick the machine into paying them, but this is one of the most common misconceptions.
But how pokies work actually is that each play sessions is a separate event. It has nothing to do with the previous spin and you cannot predict the next move either.
The machine does not know how long you have been sitting there and it does not take into account the money you have already spent.
Understand How Pokies Work
Nowadays pokies are so different from the mechanical gambling machines from the 19th century.
If you feel nostalgic and you want to have one of the old pokies, you can still find these machines and use them as a decorative item in your home or bar. The exterior cabinet is the most decorative piece and is usually decorated with flashing lights.
Today’s pokies are electronically powered and use a complex system that determines payouts. The video screen interface is user-friendly and this is where you can find the payout schedule. It is also the area where all the action happens and where the game actually lives.
Another thing that can be seen on a pokie machine is the slot where you can insert your coins or notes and a coin tray where you can collect your winnings.
Sometimes, if you are lucky enough to win large sums of money, you will need to collect your winnings from a casino employee.
As you can see the exterior of the game is quite simple, but the inside of the modern pokie machine is where the game’s complexity becomes evident. This is where the action of the game really happens and this is where all the data is stored.
How Pokies Work Using Reels
The first pokie machines had physical reels with fixed symbol positions, this means they would spin and lock in place to determine the outcome of the given spin.
We hate to break this to you, but most of the time as you play the game those reels are usually filled with the lower paying symbols. Today we have virtual reels that are only projected on the screen.
Pokies Payout Percentage in Australia
Games are governed by laws that determine the minimum legal payout percentage and the same thing is considered when it comes to pokies in Australia.
Each game has a theoretical payout percentage of 87% and higher.
This is not as simple as it sounds, since the machine has, let’s say, 90% return rate, to the player over the life of the machine on an infinite number of plays.
This means that the RTP rate is theoretical and can be lower or higher for your specific play session.
Unfortunately, due to how pokies work, there is no way to tell which it will be. So, choosing a game based on the payout percentage is not such a good tactic.
The thing is that machines fluctuate, which means sometimes they pay more, and sometimes they pay less. At times you will win big, but other times you should expect to lose.
Are there Pokies that Pay More Often than Others?
If you believe that a given machine pays more often than others then you should trust your feelings. It is true that some machines have a higher return to player, but usually, their denomination is higher.
For instance, you should expect to win more on a $1 machine, rather than on the 1 cent machine. This encourages players to bet higher amounts.
The good thing here is that the higher return the machine has, the longer you can play the game before you run out of money.
