Low Limit Pokies – A Great Option for Budget Conscious Players

If you’re new to online gambling or have a smaller bankroll, then you’re probably looking for low-stakes pokies. All online casinos have low-stakes pokies, but you need to know what to look for. Not all games offer “low stakes” are equal, and you need to know what to look for to make your best decision.

Today, we will look at low-stakes pokies and how to find them. We’ll also give you a list of the best low-stakes pokies to play at online casinos in Australia.

How to Determine if Your Game is Truly Low Limit

A proper low-limit pokie is one where you can make a standard bet for low limits. When we say standard bet, we mean a bet that covers all paylines. This bet can be as low as .05 up to around .30.

Some games give you the option to bet variable paylines. If a game has 20 paylines, you can bet from 1 to 20 paylines. A minimum bet is deceptive in this case because you are only betting one line.

You’ll often hear about “penny slots” or “penny pokies,” which imply that you can play a round for a penny. The reality is that each coin is a penny, and a bet that covers all paylines will cost you more, sometimes significantly more. This is the best example of a variable bet game.

If your game is a variable line betting game, multiply the lowest coin amount by the maximum number of paylines. For example, if a game has a minimum bet of .01 and 50 paylines, you must bet .50 to cover all paylines.

A flat betting structure helps to alleviate this problem as one bet covers all payline possibilities. Scatter pays, and cluster pays pokies are also flat rate betting.

If the minimum bet does not cover all paylines in the game, it is not a true low-limit pokie.

Here’s a pro tip – Don’t assume a game will default to the minimum bet. Most games will default to a bet 3 to 5 levels higher than the game’s minimum bet.

Sometimes a casino will auto-select a bet equal to what you generally play. If you were playing .50 per spin on the last couple of games, your next new game may default to a .50 bet. Double-check to see what the game’s minimum bet actually is.

Benefits of Low-Limit Pokies

Low-limit pokies have their fans, and for good reason. There are definitely advantages to playing low-stakes pokies. Let’s look at a few of them.

• More Gameplay – Simple math will tell you that low-stakes pokies will have more play than high-stakes. A game with a .10 minimum bet gets you 10 spins per $1.

For players with small bankrolls, this extra play allows for a more entertaining experience. It gives you more spins to try and get lucky.

• Less Variance – Low-limit pokies generally have lower variance than high-limit games. You’ll find that many low and low-medium volatility games have lower stakes. These games have fewer swings than your higher-stakes games.

This is not always the case. Low-stakes pokies with progressive jackpots can be just as volatile as high-stakes games. However, you’ll still lose less money over the same amount of time due to the lower stakes.

• Greater Mobile Compatibility – Believe it or not, online pokies with lower limits tend to have better mobile compatibility than high-limit games. The reason is that developers know these games will appeal to a larger selection of players.

The result is that the games are generally developed with a mobile-first mentality. Older low-limit pokies have even been redesigned to allow for greater mobile accessibility. While newer high-limit pokies are mobile compatible, as a whole, the low-limit library will work best on mobile.

• Great for Jackpot Hunters (Usually) – If you are playing low-stakes pokies with jackpots, you will usually have the same access to fixed and progressive jackpots as high-stakes players. Most games will allow all players the same access to jackpots.

In the case of fixed jackpots, the only difference is the jackpot size, which is a multiple of your stake. Progressive jackpots are generally available to low-stakes players, although at lower odds.

In some rare cases, a game may only offer select jackpots to middle or high-stakes players. However, most developers are foregoing this option and just offering jackpots to all players.

• Great for Bankroll Management – Low-stakes pokies are ideal for practising responsible gambling or bankroll management. Low-stakes pokies can allow you to set reasonable limits while offering plenty of play.

For example, if you have a stop loss of 30 bets per session, your max spend will be somewhere between $3 to $9 per session. Additionally, when you’re losing small amounts, you are less likely to encounter the issues problem gamblers face.

Low-stakes pokies will help you stay in the game longer and are a great addition to any bankroll management or responsible gambling strategy.

Top 5 Low Limit Pokies

There is an insane number of low-limit pokies on the market right now. Too many to list. Of course, some are heads and shoulders above the rest. Here’s our list of the top 5 low-limit pokies, all of which you can play at online casinos in Australia.

• Starburst – Starburst is easily one of the most recognized games on our list. Released in 2012, this 5-reel, 10-payline game has a minimum bet of just .10. The game features a Win Both Ways mechanic with wilds and Expanding Wild Respins. Expanding Wild Respins can be triggered up to three times in a row, leading to a potentially massive win. This game has an above-average RTP of 96.09% with low volatility, making it the perfect low-stakes pokie.
• Big Red – Big Red is a 5-reel, 5-Payline pokie from Aristocrat with a Kangaroo theme. This game has a variable bet option, with a minimum bet of .05 when you play .01 over five lines. This game has fun animal characters, a Kangaroo Wild, and a free spins game that awards 5 to 225 free spins. Big Red has a high 97.09% RTP with high volatility and a max win of $62,500.
• ThunderStruck II – This is a sequel to the Games Global / Microgaming popular Norse mythology pokie. This 243 Ways to Win game has a minimum bet of just .30 and low volatility. The prominent feature of this game is the Great Hall of Spins, where you can get 10 to 25 free spins with features that include wild magic symbols, multipliers, and rolling reels with multiplier wins. This game has an above-average RTP of 96.65% and a max win of 8,100x your bet.
• Mega Moolah – The king of all progressive jackpot pokies is also a low-limit pokie. We could go over the game features, but the only thing people really care about are the four progressive jackpots, specifically the Mega Jackpot, which seeds at $1 million and has an average win of $6 million. The jackpot has hit five times this year with a minimum win of $3 million. All bets, including low-stake bets, have a chance to win the jackpot. The game has low volatility and an RTP of just 94%. However, many are willing to give up a couple of points of RTP for a shot at millions.
• Cleopatra – This 5-reel, 20-payline game from IGT has a variable betting structure, meaning that the minimum bet for this game is .20 when betting .01 per line. The Queen of the Nile serves as the scatter, and the top feature is the free spins game that awards 15 free spins with all free spin wins tripled. Free spins are re-triggerable with a max of 180 free spins per round. This game has an average RTP of 95.7% with medium volatility.

Are Low-Limit Pokies Good for Online Casino Bonuses?

All online casinos offer bonuses to new and existing players, and all low-stakes pokies are eligible to help players clear those bonuses. However, you need to remember that these games are not necessarily ideal for clearing those bonuses.

While low-stakes pokies will generally contribute 100% towards any wagering requirement, they will require much more play than your standard game. If you need to clear a 500 playthrough, it will take 5,000 spins at .10 per bet, or 2,500 spins at .25 per bet.

However, many low-stakes pokies have low volatility, which means you will have more smaller wins than high-volatility games. This could lead to you potentially winning enough to give you a shot at clearing bonuses.

If you plan to play online casino bonuses and you’re mainly playing low-stake pokies, we suggest that you claim small bonuses. This will give you a smaller playthrough to clear and a better chance of clearing a bonus.

Adversely, you could forego the bonus and play on your standard deposit. This way, you don’t have to worry about a playthrough, and you get to keep your winnings.

Low-Stakes Pokies: A Great Choice for Beginners or Small Bankrolls

You can now see the benefits of playing low-stakes pokies at online casinos in Australia. When you play low-stakes pokies, you can control your betting, lower your overall volatility, and give yourself more play with your bankroll.

Please check the betting limits of games that interest you to find the minimum bet and see if they offer low-stakes options. Remember – many games will not default to a minimum bet, so you will have to check.

Low-stakes pokies are excellent options if you’re new to online casinos or have a small bankroll. Looking for a place to play? Check out our recommended list of online casinos, all of which have numerous low-stakes pokies options.