How does pokies work?
In the old days, pokies machines were strictly mechanical. When you pulled the handle, the gears whirled, the reels spun and then it would stop. Every symbol on the reel had an equal chance of appearing in the payline.
Nowadays the symbols on the payline are results of a computer program called a Random Number Generator (RNG). This means that the game can be programmed as to how often each symbol should appear on each reel. The RNG is constantly cycling through possible outcomes generating numbers corresponding to the symbols on each reel even when no one is playing the machine, or even when you are resting between spins.
The result of your spin is determined at the time you press that spin button prior to the reels actually stopping. This also means that if you hit the spin button a fraction of a second later, you will get a completely different result.
Pokies Payout Percentage
Pokies machines are programmed to return a certain percent of money bet in them over an infinite number of spins. This means that over the long term the pokies machine will pay out the programmed percentage. If you keep track of the monthly payout percentages for pokies machines you will see that any given casino’s payouts tend to stay around an average figure.
Playing at casinos that give back higher payout percentages will save or make you a lot of money and the payout percentage are higher in most online casinos than in on-land casino. Online casinos can return more to players because they don’t have the overhead costs such as staff cost or building maintenance.
Pokies Machine Hit Frequency
There are two type of hit frequency in pokies machines: high hit frequency and low hit frequency.
High hit frequency pokies machines generally give back lots of small pays which allows you to keep playing for a long time. These machines may pay off on 35-50% of your spins. Look for more symbols on a machine as this gives a greater chance to hit the winning combination. Also, the more combinations that a machine pays off on, the more frequently you’ll hit. On top of that, the more lines you play, the more of a chance you have to hit at least something.
Low hit frequency pokies machine generally pay off less often, something like 10-25% of your spin. However, these machines are able to pay off larger amounts more often. The more money that goes into the biggest jackpots or bonus rounds, the less money that is available for small pays, and the fewer hits. Also, the larger the smallest payout on the pay table, the less often you’ll hit and the bigger your occasional payouts will be. In addition, the fewer symbols and winning combinations, the lower hit frequency you’ll have.