Pokie slots

How To Play Online Pokies

When slot machines first landed at casinos, it featured just a few reels and symbols and a straightforward gameplay – spin the reels, find matching symbols and win. While the premise of the game is still the same, thanks to modern technology, playing online slots is a more refined and exciting experience than before. The three reels has been replaced by five reels, while the paylines go up to 1 024. Symbols are no longer just fruits and diamonds – they come in all shapes, sizes and themes for the ultimate gaming experience. And speaking of themes, developers really go all out to provide players with the most thrilling experience, with some of the most popular themes being mystical legends, blockbuster movies, TV series, and ancient history. Most online slots work the same way, although there will be a few differences between each game and definitely varied features and themes. Another greater feature is that most online pokies are available to play for free, so you can get a feel for the game before placing any real money bets.

Playing is easy. Once you have found an online casino you enjoy, go ahead and sign up. You can now navigate to the games lobby where you will find all the slot machines available at your chosen casinos. Video slots will usually have five reels and various paylines, while classic slots will have three reels. Each reel will typically feature 25 or more symbols, many of which will be relevant to the slot’s theme. The aim of the game is simple – spin the reels and land winning combinations when the reels stop. With so many paylines and symbols available, this can provide many opportunities to win big. There will be buttons on display, including Spin, Gamble and Max Bet and more.

A Great Online Slots Strategy

Once you spin the reels, all winning combinations are paid out, although some features within the game boost your opportunities to win big. By making use of these innovative features, you could walk away with some impressive rewards.

Wilds and Scatters – A wild symbol replaces all regular symbols on the reels to create even more winning combinations. Some wilds even have a multiplier attached, which could double or treble your wins. Scatter symbols pays out when you hit two or more symbols on the reels and often triggers special bonus features, but this is game dependent.

Bonus Rounds – These are special rounds that is game-specific and is usually triggered by three or more scatter symbols. Here, players can expect a separate bonus round that is usually fast-paced and boosts your chances of winning big.

Free Spins – Free spins are the most common feature in slot machines, which give you opportunities to make free spins. These spins can be triggered by landing scatter symbols, although, again, this changes with the game.

Pick 'em Bonus – This usually takes place on a separate screen. Players must choose different symbols to reveal different prizes. The game will allow you to keep picking these symbols until you hit ‘Collect’, where you will return to the base game.

Other bonus features that you can find in various games include cascading reels, expanding wilds, sticky wilds, and more.

The Many Online Slot Variants

While there are many different game titles available, they usually fall into one of the following slot categories:

Classic/3 Reel Slots – Classic slots pays homage to the slot machines of the past. Here you will find three reels, minimal paylines and basic slot symbols like BARS, lemons, cherries, diamonds, and 7s.

5 Reel – Most of today’s slots are 5 reel pokies with 3 or 4 rows and many paylines, although the standard is 5 reels and 20 paylines. These games have boosted features, themes and graphics to improve your gaming experience.

1024 Ways – These slots are high variance but does not features any standard paylines. Instead of selecting your number of paylines, you automatically play all 1024 paylines.

243 Ways – Like 1024 ways, except there are 243 paylines.

Progressive Slots – These slots are the most profitable as they are connected to a massive progressive jackpot. These slots have managed to attract high rollers and have created some millionaires over the years, with the most common game being Mega Fortune and Mega Moolah by NetEnt and Microgaming respectively.

Regardless of your preferences, many online players usually start with slot machines and work their way from there. If you are a beginner, pokies will be a good place to start, while experienced, high rollers may want to try their luck on a progressive slot.