The Best Way to Win is to Pursue Fun

Welcome to the world of online pokies.  These pokies don’t have arms to pull like the old fashioned pokies you may have played in a casino or pub.  To play pokies online you press “spin” and the reels spin.  One element of pokies strategy is in understanding how and when the reels stop spinning.

Random Truly Means Random

Let us introduce the Random Number Generator (RNG).  This is a computer program that completely dictates the roll of virtual dice, the next card in a virtual deck, the next spin of the roulette wheel or the reels in a pokies game.  As its name implies, it is completely random.  When you play pokies, every spin of the reels is completely random.  This leads to rule number one of pokies strategy:

  • There is no such thing as a pokies game that is “due” to win a big jackpot!  The converse of this rule is that there is no such thing as a pokies game that is cold.  Some players have a very hard time accepting this simple fact of science and continue to ask for pokies tips. 

Pokies Strategy Regarding Payouts

The simple fact that all pokies spins are random leads to another even more important element of pokies strategy:

  • Some pokies games return more money to players than others.  If you play online pokies for real money, and you want to win, it is a good idea to find pokies that have a 97% or higher payout.  This information should be available from the online casino.  Simply ask.

Payout versus Variance

A high payout rate is also not a surefire guarantee of winning or coming close to winning.  Here we have to introduce pokies variance, a concept that is unfortunately not well-understood by Aussies who love to play pokies online.  Variance refers to the frequency of winning spins, the frequency of winning spins where you win more than you bet, and the size of the wins.  The third rule of pokies strategy is:

  • Play pokies that have a variance that suits your personality. 

There are some Aussies who play to win big jackpots.  This is all well and good if you know that the likelihood of winning the big jackpot is small.  The winning variance in a pokies with a big progressive jackpot might be high, meaning there are fewer wins but the wins are for more money.  Gamers who play these pokies for fun realize that they are likely to end the session without winning a million or more dollars but the entertainment value of the pokies makes it worthwhile.

Other pokies players are more than willing to eschew the chance to hit it big in return for the greater chance to hit it “moderate”.  These players ought to play pokies where there are more frequent, small wins, a circumstance more suited to them.

Sometimes the Best Plan is to Just Play

Some players just love to play and don’t really care about winning or losing.  Sometimes, such players will place a bet on a pokies spin just for the fun of doing so but often such players will simply play free pokies.  If you primarily play pokies just for fun, you might choose to play free pokies.  For some odd reason, there are free pokies games that don’t let you win free spins.  So, if you already have decided to play free pokies, choose a casino that will let you play free pokies with free spins. 

Not All Bonuses are Created Equal

This discussion actually leads directly to the fourth rule of pokies strategy:

  • Play pokies games with the best free spins bonuses.  The best free spins bonuses could be the most frequent free spins bonuses, it could be the most lucrative free spins bonuses, or it could mean the most entertaining free spins bonuses.  You will have to decide in which way to go.  You can find out a lot about a pokies’ free spins bonus by either reading game reviews or by playing the online pokies for real money but for low wagers just too get a feel for the game. 

Responsible Gaming

Playing for low wagers leads to the next rule of pokies strategy: 

  • Bet only what you can easily afford to lose.  Let’s say that you have chosen to play a pokies with 30 paylines.  If you bet a mere 25 cents per payline, your total bet for each spin would be $7.50!  Some gamers can easily afford this betting level and some can’t.  If you bet one cent per payline, your wins will be smaller but that doesn’t mean the entertainment value of playing will be less.

Place More Value on Entertainment

The entertainment value of a pokies game leads us to the next rule of pokies strategy:

  • Decide what entertains you and play that type of game.  Some players love animation, some love colors, some love a specific genre like romance or pirates, some love to really get into the story, some love the music.  Sure Win is a horse racing pokies with the Lone Ranger’s Theme music in the bonus rounds!  Big Kahuna is a pokies with a storyline that makes the player a hero!  Some players love a game with all symbols representing the theme of the pokies.  Summer Holiday is one such pokies with twelve symbols all depicting a happy family holiday at the sea!

The Bottom Line in Pokies Strategy

Our discussion has led us inexorably to the last rule of pokies strategy:

  • Ultimately, you should play pokies for fun!   It’s fine to play for big jackpots, it’s fine to bet the maximum, but it’s also fine to play games without big jackpots and to bet the minimum.  There is no guaranteed winning strategy so the best rule of thumb is to maximize your fun according to your personality.