Common Terms Used When Playing Online Pokies

Like most areas of gambling, the world of online pokies for real money tends to have a language all its own. There are many terms and phrases that are confusing to new players, and some terms may even stump experienced players. Today, we will give you a working glossary of terms as they pertain to pokies. Knowing these terms will help improve your enjoyment of pokies.

Primary Online Pokies Terms

Let’s start by defining the term pokies. Pokies is short for poker machine, also known as a slot machine in other parts of the world. Many sites will use the term slots as opposed to pokies.

Now, let’s look at some of the most common terms used when playing pokies:

• Expanded Wilds – Wilds that expand to fill up a reel.
• Free Games – Another term for free spins
• Line – Short for payline. Game boards are generally classified by the number of lines. For example, a 25 line pokie or 10 line.
• Multiplier – Any symbol that multiplies a bet. For example, a 3x multiplier will multiply a winning bet by three.

• Payline – The line or segment of a board that can produce a winning combination. Often this is from left to right.
• Pay Table – The chart that explains the winning symbols, combinations, and payouts.
• Reels – Vertical sections of symbols that spin in during a round/spin. Pokies are often defined by the number of reels. For example, a 3-Reel game has three reels.
• Royals – Lowest paying symbols on most pokies. Often consisting of playing cards in ranks from 9 through Ace.
• Scatter – Symbols that can appear anywhere on the screen and are not tied to a payline. Many games use scatters to unlock bonus games or free spins games. Some scatters are paying symbols as well.
• Stacked Wild – Wilds that are stacked on top of each other on a reel.
• Sticky Wilds – Wilds that remain on the board after the spin they initially land on.
• Wild – A symbol that can substitute for any base game symbol. This symbol does not substitute for scatters or other bonus symbols.

Common Types of Pokie Games

When you go to play pokies at Aussie online casinos, you will see many types of pokies. Here are some common terms you need to know.

Both Ways Pay – Pokies whose paylines pay out from both left to right and right to left.

BTC Pokies – These games are pokies you can play using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies at Bitcoin casinos.

Cluster Pays – Pokies that pay when a group of symbols is touching each other. Often there needs to be 5 or more of the same symbol to form a cluster.

Fruit Pokies – Form of pokie where the primary symbols center around fruit-based symbols. Most often, these are 3-Reel pokies.

Video Pokies – A general term used to classify pokie games with animated video features.

Ways to Win – Another form of payline. Ways to Win are usually used for games with paylines exceeding 25. For example, a 64 Ways to Win has 64 paylines.

Other Pokie Terms

Here are some other common pokies terms you should be familiar with.

Jackpot – A prize in a pokie game that exceeds all others. Sometimes this is the payout for catching the best winning combination while other jackpots are awarded at random or via a feature.

Progressive Jackpot – A jackpot that starts at one amount and continues growing until it is won. For example, Mega Moolah’s Mega Jackpot starts at $1 million and grows until won.

RTP – Short for Return to Player. This is the theoretical percentage that pokies pay back to players.

Trigger – When a feature of a pokie game activates. For example, three scatters may trigger a free spins game.

Volatility – This refers to the swings experienced by players. For example, a game with low volatility will feature a lot of small payouts where a high volatility game will feature few small payouts.

Variance – The same as volatility.