Why the Pokies Buy Feature is Seldom a Good Idea

A popular feature that is now available on many online pokies is a buy feature. The buy feature allows you to immediately start the free spins, bonus game, or both for a fee. This fee is often hefty. Many people will purchase this feature in hopes of hitting it big in the featured game. However, this is seldom the case.

Today, we will give our reasons why using the buy feature is a bad idea. We aren’t picking on any games specifically, but talking about the feature in general.

The Fees For the Buy Feature Can Be Insanely High

The amount that you pay for the buy feature varies depending on the real money pokie game. Sometimes the feature will cost you around 50x your bet. Other times, this fee can be as high as 600x your bet. If you bet $1 per spin, that can cost from $50 to $600.

Some games offer a variable fee, particularly games that have multiple options for the bonus game. The fees are based on the likelihood that you will turn a substantial profit. In general, the cheaper the feature, the lower the expected return on your investment.

You Will Seldom Get More Than The Minimum Free Spins

Many buy features operate at random for free spins. If you can get 10, 15, or 25 free spins for 3, 4, or 5 scatters, the buy feature will often hit on 3 scatters only. Maybe once in five or once in every 10 times you buy the feature, you might get a higher spin count.

Note, this is for games that are random. Some will allow you to buy the higher spin amounts. Of course, you will pay more for those extra spins.

You’re Starting at a Severe Disadvantage

Keep in mind, that whenever you use the buy feature that you’re starting in the hole. If you pay 50x your bet to play the feature, you have to win 51x to turn a profit. The more money you pay for the feature, the larger the hole you’re creating for yourself.

Don’t fall into a trap of buying the most expensive feature on games with multiple buy options. Some people think that buying the higher-priced option will give them larger wins, and a better chance of turning a profit.

You might receive more in wins than you would for the lower-cost option. However, you will also spend significantly more on the feature, putting you in a larger hole to climb out of. There’s nothing worse than paying $100 or more for a feature and only getting about 25% of that in return.

The Natural Free Spins Feature May Come Often Enough to Tolerate Waiting

How long of a session do you like to play? If you’re someone that plays longer sessions, then it may be in your interest to wait for the free spins feature. Often, a game will trigger the free spins or bonus feature often enough to nullify needing to buy the feature. Other times, you might win enough in the base game to keep you afloat until the free spins game triggers.

The buy feature is offered primarily for hit and run artists that like to play for a few rounds and then move on. They can gamble a bit more to buy the feature and hope to get that big win. Often, they end up draining their bankroll 100 times faster than is necessary.

Is The Buy Feature Profitable? Sometimes, But Not Generally

We won’t tell you that no game has a buy feature that is profitable. That would be a lie. We have run across games where the feature turns a profit 3 out of 5 times. However, the ratio of winners to losers has been about 1 to 10.

This is one reason we test the feature on games that offer them. Many times they will be a losing proposition. However, we do rarely come across a game where the buy feature is profitable, or at least close to breaking even. When we find them, we will report them to give you a fair and balanced opinion. Realize that these games will be the exception rather than the rule.