Must read tips for if you are a beginner at playing pokies
Helpful Video Pokies Tips for Beginners
If you’re looking for the simplest casino games, then video pokies are for you. There is no real strategy involved when playing video pokies, and you only need to put money in the machine and click the ‘SPIN’ button to start playing.
The game is also not social, with a few exceptions where you play with a team or more players. Although video pokies are simple, you can still use plenty of tactics to make the most of your overall casino experience if you decide to play video pokies.
Below, we have provided valuable tips that will help you improve your chances of winning money in video pokies and help you have more fun by helping you understand what to do. Video pokies can be fun to play.
Developers today are busy developing high-quality interactive features, including excellent sound effects, 3D graphics, unique themes – and much more. So if you want to get the most out of your game, read on.
Pokies are Completely Random
One of the most important tips we can give you is that pokies are entirely random, and previous results have no influence on the next ones. This is simply the way they are made.
So if you get advice from someone who says that a particular video pokie has not paid out in a long time and therefore probably pays out more money, ignore the advice.
It would help if you always played on video pokies that offer the best entertainment and come with betting limits within your budget.
Always Take a Good Look at the Payout Table
Every video pokie has an assigned paytable that tells you what you need to do to win. The table will show all the symbols and how many symbols you need, and on which paylines it is possible to win money.
Symbols have different values, from the most common to the rarest, and the more symbols you get on a payline, the more money you win. Some video pokies pay out more money than others for these symbols, so it’s good to know in advance how much money you can win.
That way, there are no surprises if you think you’ve won and it turns out that you haven’t.
Keep in mind that the paytables are not the actual reflection of the payout percentage of the video pokie.
Study the Bonus Features
One of the most entertaining things is when you trigger a bonus feature on video pokies. These allow players to win more money, although sometimes it is possible to win nothing at all.
Bonus features are often started with free spins or offer you an instant free money prize. Each video pokie is different when activating the bonus, so make sure you have a good look at the paytable to know what you need to do to trigger the bonus rounds.
Some bonuses are more straightforward to activate than others, and the easier it is, the less money they payout. Some video pokies even have two or three of these types of bonus rounds.
Another thing to remember is that the bonus round payout is based on how much money you wagered when the bonus feature was activated.
With this in mind, the next tip is to focus on how much money you wager per turn.
Play with Maximum Coins and Lines
Pokies are fun to play for many players because, unlike many other casino games, the amount you bet doesn’t affect the odds, whereas, with video pokies, it’s hugely important.
Most, if not all, of them have a better payout percentage if you bet more money (play with a maximum number of paylines). This can trigger all possible bonus features and jackpots associated with the video pokies for a specific bonus game.
For this reason, it is better to play on a video pokie with a maximum bet of 5 Dollars instead of betting 1 Dollar for 5 turns and not having all the paylines active. While playing purely for fun, 1 turn is not as fun as 5 turns. You do better in the long run by playing with a maximum bet.
If you don’t balance supporting these bets, make sure you look for video pokies that come with lower limits. A good example is the classic pokies where you play with, say, 1 Dollar with all active paylines, whereas modern video pokies with 10, 20, or sometimes more paylines require higher limits.
Learn what Lines and Winning Ways Are
We recommend reading more about what lines and winning ways are on video pokies. A line is a route across the reels that identifies where symbols should land for a correct combination based on the paytable.
The more lines you play with, and on some video pokies there can be many, the more likely you are to win.
The winning ways are slightly different as you usually cannot control how many ways you can win money. You only have the option to increase the bet. Video pokies with the ‘ways’ feature usually offer you 243 winning ways from both lefts to right and right to left on the reels of the video pokie.
Lines usually require you to form a combination from left to right to win money, unless it has specific rules that you can win from both sides.
To find out more about the lines and winning ways, you can always click on the information button of the video pokie or check the paytable to see if there is a description there.
Try Out a Pokie for Free Here
If you plan on playing a specific pokie, you can almost always find a free version here on our site.
If you try out the online pokie for free first, then you can find out if you like the game, what bonus features it has, or how they work and get a good idea of what you would like to achieve when playing for real money.
This is an excellent way to know which video pokies you like to play even before visiting a casino.
Progressive Jackpots are Sometimes Suitable for Players
Depending on the jackpot amount, it is sometimes good to play on video pokies connected to a progressive jackpot. Although the payout percentages are less for the smaller prizes, it is possible to win up to millions of dollars if you win this jackpot.
If you like to take risks and make your dreams come true, then we recommend you try a pokie with a progressive jackpot.
The payout percentages improve as the jackpot rises, so be sure to play when it reaches its peak. You can, for example, look at the previous winnings of other players to determine when it is a good idea to start playing.
Some jackpots at online casinos have historically paid out amounts above $18 million.
Progressive Jackpots are Sometimes Inadequate for Players
As we mentioned above, progressive jackpot video pokies may not suit you. This is often the case if another player has recently won the jackpot.
It would help if you noticed that the jackpot amounts are not too low. This is because the jackpot only rises when players start playing again.
The casino places a portion of each wager into the jackpot, which is why they can increase so quickly.
Keep an Eye Out for Free Spins Promotions
Regularly casinos come up with excellent promotions for video pokies and give you access to great prizes and bonuses while playing. It’s always worth keeping your eyes open because these free spins promotions allow you to spend less money and have a better chance of winning.
Plus, you can easily extend playing sessions on a limited budget. Often online casinos give away these promotions and offer generous free spins bonuses specifically for video pokies.
Make sure you always check the promotions page of the website you are going to play at to know what promotions are running at that time.
Join the Casinos Player Club
Player clubs are a great way to receive rewards and bonuses for your loyalty to the casino (basically, how much money you’ve wagered on video pokies).
In exchange for giving you personal details and letting the casino track your play, the casino will provide you with COMPS (points) which you can later redeem for free credits, cash, discounts on food and drinks, and much more.
Make sure you have signed up with a players club before you start playing, and make sure you put your player card in the video pokie when you start playing for real money.
Player clubs also give you access to extra promotions and tournaments, so needless to say, and you should grab this opportunity with both hands when you play video pokies at the casino.
Check Welcome and Deposit Bonuses
When you first start playing video pokies, or any other casino game for that matter, you should ask yourself if there are any attractive welcome bonuses for new players. And if the deposit bonuses for existing players can help you extend playing sessions for more enjoyment.
Almost every online casino has a welcome bonus available for new players, whether it’s extra money based on the amount you deposit at the online casino or some free spins on one of the online video pokies.
It doesn’t hurt to ask yourself or do some research on online promotions or bonus codes so that you can receive extra money to play with.
Taking advantage of free bonuses is sometimes even possible to win money without risking your own money.
Play at Casinos with Better Payout Rates
Some casinos have made it a requirement of their gambling laws to state the payout percentages on the video pokies clearly. If you’re playing at a casino where this is the case, you should continually educate yourself on which video pokies payout the best.
Some of this information can be found online, and quick research will show you all you need to know before you start playing.
If you’re playing pokies that aren’t listed, call one of the staff members beforehand and ask what the odds are. Casinos like to offer transparency regarding how many chances players get. After all, it’s common knowledge that the casino always has an edge, and we’ll go into more detail about that in the next section.
The payout percentages are significantly lower at online casinos than video pokies found in land-based casinos. At land-based casinos, average payout percentages are between 85% and 92%, while online payout percentages are between 92% and 99%.
Playing at online casinos offers you better odds.
Accept the Fact that You Can’t Beat Pokies
It’s not so much a tip as the truth (unfortunately). No matter what you do, you will never be able to win at video pokies. Although a player can play a progressive jackpot video pokie and win the jackpot and never play it again and quit as a winner, the casino still ends up winning because other players keep playing.
In the long run, the casino always wins. Besides, if you have won money at the casino yourself, you may revisit the casino. It is not guaranteed that you will win again on your next visit.
Besides, video pokies are not exactly the ideal games when you consider the chances of winning. For that, table games like roulette & blackjack are best.
Make Sure You Have Fun
We’ve given you some great tips here on how to increase your chances of winning money and how to play video pokies in the best way possible, but one of the most important things to remember is to have fun while you play. Playing online pokies should be fun, whether you win or lose money.
It shouldn’t be about winning money, and if you ever feel that it is, then we suggest you stop in time. It is not a good path to take.
Remember, spending money on some pokies and getting some fun back is worth it, and if luck is on your side, even better.
Don’t Convince Yourself that Luck is On Your Side
Sometimes, players come and tell you what their favorite video pokie is. 9 times out of 10, this pokie is not their favorite because they like the theme or are attracted to the bonus features and winning potential. It is because they claim that they always win when they play this type of video pokie.
While this is not a bad thing in itself, it is not valid, and it is simply not possible that you will be luckier on one particular online pokie than another.
As we have said before about the randomness of pokies and how you can never beat them, this is also the case, and it can be dangerous not to consider such a game as such because you think it is always ready to pay out your money as if it were an ATM.
This is because you are much more likely to wager more money on these video pokies to achieve these winnings. We have seen it happen plenty of times, so be careful and don’t fool yourself into thinking that a video pokie will bring you extra luck.
You are better off choosing a favorite game because it uses your favorite film or television series as its theme. These things, of course, include the theme, graphics, overall gameplay, features, and sound effects.
Play Slowly
Video pokies are made to be played quickly and, as a result, to rake in as much money as possible if you look at it from the casino’s perspective. For this reason, you should take your time when playing video pokies and not constantly click the ‘BET/SPIN’ button before the previous turn has even finished.
Take your time and analyze how you won or how you just missed out on something.
This way, you can get much more out of your game, and it won’t take too much out of your budget. It makes playing a video pokie much more fun because you can be more intimate with the game in question and better understand how it works.
Take a look at the paytable at your leisure to find out what you’re in for.
Don’t Stop the Reels Prematurely
As the next tip, in addition to the previous one, we recommend that you stop the reels prematurely as soon as you’ve clicked the ‘BET’ button. This means that once you’ve clicked the ‘BET’ button and then clicked it again, you’ll get the results immediately.
Usually, the reels spin first, and it takes a few seconds for the result to come out. This gives you the results within a few milliseconds.
For quick wins or losses, video pokies are the way to go. But it’s not a good thing to always want to play too fast. After all, on all pokies, the casino is ahead of every turn, and the more turns you play, the more chances the casino has of winning money.
Make sure you are satisfied with a confident win (set win and loss limits) so that you leave the casino with a win in your pocket regularly.
Modern Pokies Payout Less than Classic Pokies
Modern video pokies with attractive bonus features, great scenes from famous movies, excellent graphics, and much more cost money to produce. Therefore they pay out less in casinos. The casino makes more profit on modern video pokies in the long run compared to classic pokies. The traditional pokies often have reels that still have moving parts.
These often come with a better payout percentage because they are cheaper to make an offer. They don’t offer as much entertainment as video pokies, but if you like the real classics, you can always alternate for better odds.
Good examples of classics with high payout percentages are Mega Joker and Jackpot 6000.
Conclusion
Use these pokies tips in online casinos to have a better chance of winning money when you play. Even just picking out a few tips can significantly impact your odds and results.
To start playing right away, choose from the recommended online casinos on our website.
You’ll find thousands of video pokies to try out for free before you need to create an account.
Plus, there are always generous casino bonuses waiting for you to take advantage of.