Pokies – exciting digital slot games

Pokies are very popular (online) casino games that come in a lot of different varieties. Online pokies are based on classic reel pokies like old fruit machines. Although pokies are based on the same idea as fruit machines there are many differences between the games. Most fruit machines have only a few paylines and not a lot of special features. Modern-day pokies are a bit more complex and can offer multiple bonus features, free spins feature, jackpot features, more paylines and unique sounds and themes. Walt Fraley developed the first video slot in 1975 and since then a lot of innovations came to the market. Because of this pokies are now very popular in almost all online (and offline) casinos. On this page I will explain more about pokies, types of pokies, the difference with fruit machines and the best online casinos that offer thousands of pokies.

Pokies at ICE Conference

Why are pokies a big thing?

Almost all video slot games have a unique design, unique bonus features, a certain amount of paylines and unique sounds. This make playing video slot very fun. You never know what’s going to happen and when you trigger a bonus feature. And that’s not the only reasons why we like pokies. Some pokies offer a fun theme based on for example a movie, game or cartoon. This theme will be transferred into great designs and unique game sounds. This makes playing pokies sometimes even a bit nostalgic for its players. And since the technology behind pokies improves every day new games stay exciting and fun. More and more pokies come in mobile versions, high (HD) resolution, 3D and Virtual Reality. Because of this we think pokies will keep a strong place within todays (online) gambling market.

Some of my favorite pokies

Most game providers including NetEnt, Microgaming, Big Time Gaming and Play’ Go launch new pokies every month. Some of them are bad, some of them are entertaining and some of them are really great. Pokies from the last category will become very popular in the online gambling community and will take the top spots at online casinos. Curious which pokies we currently see as the most popular online pokies? Then have a look at the table below! In this table we display the top 15 most popular video slot games.

For beginning players Starburst might be the number one choice. This slot is entertaining, pays often and is easy to understand. For more experienced players Jammin’ Jars will be the top slot at this very moment. Other relative new pokies that are very popular are Rise of Olympus, Extra Chili, Buffalo Rising MEGAWAYS and Genie Jackpots MEGAWAYS. Games that are already around for a while but remain very popular are for example Dead or Alive, Book of Dead, Bonanza, Thunderstruck II and Pimped. Visit one of the top rated online casinos to try out any of these games!

Variations

At the moment there are thousands of pokies online to play. And almost all of them are different. We recommend all players to learn how all pokies work before starting playing with real money. Otherwise you might sometimes think you win something, while you don’t win at all. Before starting playing we think it is important to know how the following things works;

1. Reels; Most online pokies offer three or five reels. Some game can offer more reels.
2. Rows; The amount of rows will depend on how many lines you can make a win. Most pokies offer three rows but this can vary.
3. Paylines; Depending on the amount of reels and rows you will have a certain amount of paylines. Most games offer between 9 and 1024 paylines to win on. A lot of popular pokies offer 243 ways to win. It is also important to know that some games offer paylines that also pay from right to left. You will find more information about the paylines in the game explanation that each game offers.
4. Features; A lot of pokies offer special features which increases your chance of landing big wins. These features can be for example Expanding Wilds, Multipliers, Re-Spins, Stacked Wilds, Sticky Wilds or a Gamble your Winnings feature.
5. Bonuses; Almost all pokies offer unique features. During most games you can hit a Free Spins Bonus or Bonus Game by landing Scatter Symbols and Bonus Symbols. Most of these feature give away big prizes.

At a lot of online casinos you can also filter games based on for example the amount of reels, the amount of paylines and the type of features. In this way you will always find games you enjoy!

Betting

When starting playing you can decide how much you want to bet per spin. During most games you can bet from a low as $0,10 – $0,25. Depending on your budget you can decide to play with a highest stake per spin. You can raise your stake by betting more coins per line and by raising the coin value. After doing this you can easily bet $1, $2, $5 or even $100 per spin. And the more you bet, the higher the prizes will be. Depending on your preferences you can play with small bets or with high bets. Playing with high bets means more risk, but the returns will be higher. Playing with small bets decrease the risks of losing money, especially when you play on a low volatile slot. While playing pokies you can sometimes win up to for example 2.000 or 15.000 your bet. This proves playing pokies online can be very lucrative.

Jackpots

In today’s market there are a lot of different types of pokies. Some offer small prizes (but a lot), some are very volatile (and offer not a lot but high prizes) and some offer huge Jackpots. Depending on your preferences you can start playing on or more of these types;

1. Regular Pokies; Most regular pokies offer special bonus features including free spins and unique bonus features. These type of pokies offer most of the times between 9 and 1024 paylines and for example random or stacked wilds.
2. Jackpot Pokies; While playing one a Jackpot Slot you will compete with others for one standard Jackpot prize. Besides the Jackpot you can win coins by making combinations or for example triggering a feature.
3. Progressive Jackpot Pokies; While playing a Progressive Jackpot Slot you will compete with others for one top prize. This Jackpot grows with every spin a player makes. Because of this Progressive Jackpot Pokies can offer huge prizes (millions!).

When you want to start playing pokies it is smart to learn how most pokies work. Below I will explain which variations of pokies there are available.

Game providers

Today’s international gambling market gets dominated by a few large game providers. But more and more new game providers pop up. And some of the most popular pokies casino you will now find game by maybe 15 to 25 game providers. I think the following are the most popular in today’s market;

• Amaya
• Aristocrat
• Bally Wulff
• Betsoft Gaming
• EGT
• IGT
• Merkur
• Microgaming
• NetEnt
• Novomatic
• Play ‘n Go
• Playtech
• WMS (Williams / Scientific Gaming)

Besides these brands there are a few new upcoming game providers which do really well. I think the following game providers will grow quickly within the next years;

• Big Time Gaming
• Push Gaming
• Pragmatic Play
• Quickspin
• Red Tiger Gaming
• Thunderkick
• Yggdrasil

But not only these companies do well. At Videoslots, one of the best pokies casino around, you will also find games provided by;

• 1×2 Gaming, 2 by 2 Gaming and 2By2.
• Ainsworth, Amatic
• Bally, Barcrest, Bet Digital, Blueprint Gaming, Booming Games
• Casino Technology, Cayetano Games, Chance Interactive, Core Gaming
• ELK, Endorphina
• Fantasma, Felt, Foxium, Fuga Gaming
• Games Warehouse, GamesLab, Gamomat, Genesis, Genii, GVG Pokies (Grand Vision Gaming)
• Inspired Gaming, Iron Dog Studio, iSoftBet
• Just for the Win
• Konami
• Leander Games, Lightning Box
• Magic Dreams, Magnet Gaming, Multislot
• Nektan, NextGen, Nolimit
• Old Skool Studios, OpenBet
• Playson, Push Gaming
• Rabcat, Realistic, Realtime Gaming, Relax Gaming, Rival
• Shuffle Master, Side City, Sigma Gaming, Skillzzgaming, Stakelogic
• Sunfox Games
• Wagermill

From time to time casinos will add new providers to their casino which will add a lot of new games to the casino. This keeps the game portfolio interesting for new and current players.

Winning while playing pokies

While playing pokies you can win money by making combinations and triggering features. What prize you win is most of the times based on the RNG principal. RNG means Random Number Generation. This principal makes sure the outcome of each spin is totally random. And since each spin is totally random you can be very lucky, or very unlucky. Because of RNG it is possible to lose many spins in a row, or to win a lot in a short time. While playing video slot you cannot have an effect on the outcome of a spin. But you can have a look at the RTP rate of a game. The RTP rate, return to player rate, indicates how much money the game will certain on average. When a game for example offers a 95,6% RTP it will return on average $95,60 per $100 bet by players. Pokies with a higher RTP rate will return more money on average and are better for the players. On the Videopokies.com website you will find information about the RTP of every game in the casino.

Although you cannot change the outcome of a spin we do have one good tip. When you are in a unlucky streak stop playing! Especially when one game doesn’t pay simply switch to the next game! Sometimes this strategy works very well. For example, when you hit a bonus very quickly you are very likely to make a profit on a game. When you are not lucky at all when recommend to stop playing. Maybe you will be luckier the next day!

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