A Basic Guide to Online Pokies

When it comes to online gambling NZ players have it better than most; there is a wide-range of top-quality online casinos to choose from, all with a great selection of casino games. When you play at a casino online you’ll almost always notice that the biggest selection they have is in the pokies category. Just like in land-based gambling, the bread and butter of online and mobile casinos are these brightly-coloured, spinning reels. Let’s examine them a little more closely, so you can understand and get the most from them.

The Basics of Pokies

To win at pokies, the symbols on the reels need to line up in specific patterns called paylines. If they do, you win a multiple of whatever you bet in the first place. Online, and increasingly on land too, there are no moving parts to the games. Instead, the games all run on Random Number Generation software. The random generators create arbitrary sequences of digits, so that games are always completely fair.

Different Types of Paylines

Conventional online pokies games feature set paylines, where a position on each reel must be filled with a specific symbol at the same time. Newer games often use the “Ways to Win” structure instead, where if any one pre-set reel position has a specified symbol in it, players get paid something out. The more positions that are occupied, the bigger the payout. This generates many “Ways to Win” in a game, often into the thousands.

Volatility and Payback Rates

The volatility of a pokies game, sometimes called its variance, is how often it pays you out. The payback rate is how much you get when this happens. The two are proportional; high volatility means high payout rates, and low volatility yields low payout rates. What this means for you is that when you play a pokies game with a high volatility rate you won’t get paid out often but when you do it will be worth your while, and when you play a low-volatility game you’ll be rewarded with small, frequent sums.

Different Types of Online Pokies

For online betting NZ generally offers video and classic pokies. Classic pokies are based on the original game machines, with only a few paylines and simple, vintage-inspired reel symbols and graphics. They tend to be highly volatile and to offer bigger payouts.

Video pokies are the opposite of their classic counterparts in many ways. They are far more intricate, with graphics and game features all enhancing a central theme or storyline. They use far more paylines and generally have more reels than classic pokies, as well as lower volatility and payouts. They also usually offer many more special features.

The different online pokies work best in different situations, so take the time to enjoy them all. You’ll find that classic titles are great when you have enough time to wait for a win or you want to slow the pace down a little, while video pokies work well if you only have moments to spare or you want to be completely immersed in the action.

The last category to mention is progressive jackpot pokies. These can be classic or video in nature, and have a progressive jackpot alongside the regular gameplay. This is added to with the bets of every player until it is randomly triggered or the symbols on the reels line up in a certain way. If you’re lucky enough to land this, your life will be changed!