The pokies truths unraveled
Pokie machines, a forever favorite since Liberty Bell’s appearance on the gambling market. Slots are not only a simple game but also so much fun. The longing for that one big jackpot with only a push of a button is making pokies player wonder, is it possible to beat the game? What tricks and tricksters lie beyond the everlasting jackpot amount?
Let us first take a trip down memory lane….
After Liberty Bell made her grand entrance into the gambling world, no other machine in the gambling or gaming industry has benefited from its updates so much as the pokies machine. The gambling device has continued to grow ever since and with the release of the internet online pokies made pokies go from gentry to royalty.
No wonder the lever became the so-called “ugly stepsister” when “Cinderella” had stepped in as video slots and online casinos with bonuses and big jackpots. Put it this way, when the video slots released the pokies machines went from accounting 30% of the casinos’ profits up to 70%. Pretty sweet huh?
The beauty of pokies is that it doesn’t take much learning to know how to play slots. Pokies are fast, fierce, rich and very straightforward. This means that the good, the bad, the ugly, the familiar and the new can play like a high roller from day one.
The slot games never judge, they encourage and they adapt to your personality. Your needs are the priority and with the fantastic amount of hundreds of pokies game themes provided by the software providers, it’s hard not to settle those needs.
The fact that you on any level as a gambler can sit down, pick a theme that’s appealing to you and with only one press of the spin button your moments away from becoming that one big millionaire.
This is why we don’t want silly myths that are floating about bringing any confusing or frustration to your pokies gameplay. Let us now take a look at some infamous pokies myths.
MYTH 1
“A player recently won a jackpot which means if you play on that game, you will win”
This is one of the most common myths about pokies and it’s completely incorrect. The slot machines are run by a computer chip that sits inside the game run by the RNG (Random Number Generator).
The RNG is pretty self-explanatory as it is completely random if or when a win is released. The RNG goes through lucky numbers even when the pokies machine is not being played on. The chip reacts to the number of stops the wheel does with winning and losing symbols that you can witness whilst playing on your slot game.
As soon as you hit the spin button on the pokies game the RNG picks a combination within a microsecond which means you cannot control the win. Whilst you are thinking if you should have another go on the reels, your pokies game has probably gone through thousands of winning and losing combinations.
MYTH 2
“You can calculate your winning odds by counting the symbols on your pokies wheel”
Again, you cannot do this as the game is generated by the RNG as explained in MYTH 1. There will be hundreds of virtual stops on each and one of your wheels even though you can only visually see some symbols on your screen.
Example
There are 20 symbols on your screen on a 3-reel pokies game. The calculation comes down to 20 x 20 x 20 = 8000 winning combinations with a chance of hitting the jackpot is 1 in 8000. As the computer works faster than you, the chip will have done around 256 stops on each wheel and as it’s 3-reel pokies game the calculation comes down to 256 x 256 x 256 = 16,777,216 winning combinations.
MYTH 3
“Land-based casinos can change the pokies game winning chances at any point”
No, they can’t change it at any point. The chip determines the payback percentage on each individual pokies game. The chips have already been preset into the land-based slot machines before entering the casinos.
If a casino wants to change the payback percentage, they will need to change the chip. In order to do so, paperwork has to be filled in and sent to the Casino Control Commission for each machine where the casino would like to have to chip changed in. This is a very expensive process and most casinos will avoid doing so as jurisdictions get involved which also makes it extremely time-consuming.
MYTH 4
“A pokies game that hasn’t had a jackpot in a while is due to release one”
Here’s a massive misconception, just because a game hasn’t released a jackpot to one of its players in a long time, it does not mean that it will happen anytime soon either. If it’s a progressive jackpot, then yes, the pot will grow bigger until someone wins, but it won’t release it sooner because a win hasn’t happened.
Saying that it’s important to not continue to play on a game because of this myth as it can become disappointing and you end up spending more money than you should.
MYTH 5
“Raising your stakes when you are losing will make you win more”
Scary one to think might work because when all else is failing on your pokies game, amp it up right? No, no and no. When you have been unlucky and lost some money on your reels, you should never think “all or nothing”, it can be a very dangerous game to play for your economy as it won’t make a difference for the game if you raise your bet.
WIN PERCENTAGES
The pokies machines are also known as fruit machines or slot machines and are all by law from the gambling regulators, have to display the RTP % (return to player percentage) very clearly on the pokies screens.
By displaying the odds of winning a prize makes your gameplay a little more exciting as in the back of your mind you know that you might through the draw of luck, win big today or any other day.
Legally, by displaying the odds, the player can stay in control and know that they are investing their money into a slot game that will eventually give something back. The regulators work hard every day to avoid the players from falling into any financial difficulty.
The pokies machines will offer you different prize amounts, bonuses and RTP percentages. The most important thing to remember about RTP is that the percentage is an average achieved over a certain amount of a number of game rounds played and not each time a player spins the reels.
The RTP percentage is measured over around about 10,000 up to 100,000 games. Here’s an example, if the pokies machine has a low RTP percentage of 85%, you are not expected to win 0.85 coins for every 1 coin you stake during your pokies game. But if play a 100 bets with 1 coin on the pokies game and the game comes with an RTP percentage of 90%, over time, you are expected to win 90 coins.
We understand that everyone wants to win over time, so make sure that you always have the odds in your favor by playing on high RTP percentage games such as the maximum 99% and no lower than 94%.
POKIE STRUCTURES
After having a look at the Myths and having the Truths unraveled by realistically knowing your odds, is there a structure to follow to make sure you are always putting your bank and cash prizes in favor?
We are happy to finally tell you yes, yes and yes.
Here’s a structure we recommend that you follow to always be on the safe side that allows you to continue your pokies fun without any worries:
#KNOW YOUR POKIES
Knowing what slot game you’ve chosen to play is very important as some games might come with extra bonus rounds, higher or lower RTPs or progressive jackpots.
First of all, you need to know what you would like to play today, being sure about yourself and your wants and needs are better than just dabbling on pokies games so you don’t end up losing more than planned.
Playing on pokies games that have extra bonuses are a brilliant way of making sure the odds in your favor because if you win extra spins, for example, you have free rounds to enjoy without having to spend any more of your own money.
Although you are playing on bonus pokies games, always make sure you know the T&Cs (terms and conditions) so you don’t become disappointed by any unexpected rules. A certain amount of slot games have rules attached to some of the prizes and wins such as, you need to spend the free spins on certain games on certain dates and times.
This is why we knowing your pokies is so very important so you don’t lose what you just gained.
#PLAY ON HIGH RTP GAMES
Never set the bar low when it comes to choosing your RTP percentages because after all, you need to see your pokies gameplay as an investment and you want to get back what you’ve put in don’t you?
As mentioned, always play for the highest RTP which is 99% and never below 94% to make sure you win something back over time.
#PLAY WITHIN YOUR BUDGET
Having good bank management is a brilliant way to assure your structure runs smoothly. Setting amount limits gives you the chance to enjoy your pokies game without having to worry about the money that you are losing.
How does a player have good bank management?
To begin with, set aside a certain amount each week or month that you are allowed to spend without it affecting the rest of your economy. This way your responsibilities won’t be put in a risky situation where you can’t afford to pay bills etc.
Also put the money on a separate account because if you do have a day where you are feeling a bit too brave, this way you can’t dip into any more money.
If you are playing on land-based pokies, bring that separate card with you where you only have pokies savings on or take out a certain amount of cash and leave the rest of your wallet at home.
#NEVER BORROW MONEY
Never ever borrow any cash from friends or any loan sharks to play slots as it will only put you further into debt and put your friendships at risk. If you feel the need to borrow money to play, you have a gambling addiction and need to seek help.
#SET TIME LIMITS
Setting time limits when you are allowed to play allows you to enjoy it more and look forward to it. It also, most importantly, allows you to not lose track of time so you don’t jeopardize the time you need to spend at work, with your friends, family or loved ones.