When do Pokies Payout?

pokies payouts
When do pokies payout

When do pokies payout? We would all be rich and the pokie companies would not bother making pokies if we all knew when this would be the case, this being said you can watch for signs of when a pokie could be about to drop its load and make you happy.

Everybody wants to win pokies, right. But is there a way to get most out of it and have a sure shot wins. Sadly no, the reason being pokies machines are games of chance like a lottery game where there is  no skill involved to play and have approach to straight away wins. Also there is no method of play that will make them pay more than they’re designed to pay. Let’s find out When do pokies pay out.

How do pokie payouts work?

How do pokie payouts work
How do pokie payouts work

Pokies are programmed with a payout threshold; this is usually a percentage of money paid out against what is put in the machine. An example is that a pokie may be programmed to pay out ninety-five percent of the money put. This means that if $100 is put in $95 would be given out, well if you think of it in a basic manner.

The truth beholds these payouts is that the payment percentage can actually be set as such that the pokie pays out $950 out of a $1000 put in so if you put $50 you won’t necessarily win $45 back, you could win more or less.

See also Are Pokies Programmed To Payout At Particular Times?

Watch the Pokies

So the easiest way to know when do pokies payout is simply to watch the pokie. If you notice that one pokie player is pumping cash hand over fist into a pokie machine then you could find that if you take over the reins you could be in for a payout. This is because the previous player has loaded the pokie with money with little or no return so the pokie is more likely to payout against its percentage payout.

Pokies are more complex than a person could imagine, especially in this day and age of modern computer programming. If your looking to know when do pokies payout then take time to monitor the pokies first to see which ones are taking money and which ones are paying money out.

How to know if a Pokie is Hot or Cold?

How to know if a Pokie is Hot or Cold
How to know if a Pokie is Hot or Cold

If you don’t want to go to your local casino then why not play pokies online at Platinum Play Casino.

How do you know if a pokie machine is hot or cold? And how do you know if you are going to win money or if you are going to lose money?

Before we answer these fundamental questions, we must delve into the mechanics of a pokie machine.

What does the return to player of a pokie mean?

What does the return to player of a pokie mean
What does the return to player of a pokie mean

The return to player percentage is an essential part of how pokies work. The player’s return to player shows you how much of the money put into the machine goes back to the player.

The average online pokies have a return to player of around 95-96%. In other words, out of every dollar that you wager, the casino keeps 4-5% – the rest is returned to the player. Keep in mind, these are averages calculated over long periods.

The higher the return to player percentage, the better it is for the player. This means that a pokie pays out less than goes in. Not exactly rocket science. But how does the pokie determine when it has to pay a winning combination? And how high should this payout exactly be?

The possible combinations of a Pokie machine

The possible combinations of a Pokie machine
The possible combinations of a Pokie machine

The pokie machine decides what to pay out and when based on two variables: the possible combinations and the Random Number Generator (RNG).

Every pokie has thousands, if not millions of possible results. These outcomes represent a certain payout. The payout could be zero (you lose), could be 2x your stake (a small win); or could be 10.000x your stake (a jackpot) and everything in between.

Most of the spins, you cannot win everything, sometimes you will win a small amount (2-5 times your stake), and once in a while, you will win a big prize. It may take you five years to win the highest jackpot payout.

If we divide all the possible payouts by the number of combinations, we have calculated the Return to Player percentage. Isn’t that cool?

In 45.5% of the spins, there will be a payout between 1 to 5 credits etcetera. The jackpot of 100,000 credits will only happen once in every 878,525 spins (on average).

Based on the result, the pokie shows a visual result on the screen. For instance, one spin could win you 5x your stake with five lemons on a pay line. The result of that particular spin is a win of 5x your stake; the visual representation is the five lemons on a pay line. So, the outcome determines what is shown on the screen, not the other way around!

And coming to the really good part. How does the pokie determine which outcome will be won by the player? That is when the Random Number Generator (RNG) comes into place. The RNG is the heart of every pokie.

The Random Number Generator (RNG): the heart of a pokie machine.

Final Takeaways

How RNG works in Pokies

If the RNG is random, how in some days we can’t seem to lose, and other days we can’t seem to win anything?

Because the RNG is random and cannot define future outcomes on past results, sometimes you will have many winning spins (this is what we call being lucky, or a “hot” pokie). Other times, you might have a larger amount of losing spins (the pokie is “cold”).

So, by all means, enjoy your wins. Know that every spin is new and random. Do not go chasing losses and never think a pokie machine is due for a big jackpot. It just doesn’t work that way.

If you want to increase your odds of winning, play pokies with the highest possible RTP.

In our experience, Netent/Betsoft/RTG/Microgaming Online pokies often have RTP’s of around 96.5 -97% or higher.

Your chances of winning on these pokies are quite higher than at a brick-and-mortar casino, where RTP’s are often lower than 92%.

Tips to maximize pokies payout

Maximizing pokies payouts comes down to choice of games and making the wagers necessary to get the most they have to offer.

1. Know the coin value of the pokies

Coin value of pokies

First you need to understand the coin value of the real money pokies. Coin values means the real money which you will stake at the game either a high denomination or of a low denomination. Casinos usually offer higher payback percentages on games with higher coin denominations. The payback percentages on coin denominations may vary from pokies to pokies and casino to casino, depending on the competitive situation and marketing goals of the casinos. 

On video pokies one land or online casino can pay far above the national average on both penny non-progressives and on five-cent games. But the normal pattern holds in that the higher denomination pokies  pay a greater percentage back to players than the lower denomination games.

Playing higher-denomination pokies usually will put you at higher-paying machines. Also remember never bet money you can’t afford to lose is the ultimate expert advise to play real money pokies.

2. Bet the maximum

Pokies Paytable

On many pokies machines, including nearly all games with three mechanical reels, you get a higher payback percentage if you bet the maximum number of coins the game allows. Note that you maximize return when you bet the max, but you also have more money at risk and can have larger losses. Therefore don’t overbet your bankroll. The situation is different on five-reel video pokies. Paybacks are proportional to coins wagered per payline on these games, with no jackpot jump for betting the max.

It is simplified from the pay tables you actually see in casinos, which use more character symbols and also often use generic symbols such as A-K-Q-J-10. Many video pokies  also include more than one bonus event. Despite the simplification, there are many more possible winning combinations than on the three-reel pokies.  Even two in a row of the top-paying symbol brings some payoff.

3. Read the help menu to understand the pokies game

The button panel includes a separate button that includes covering all the paylines plus jackpot eligibility.

It is advised that you read the help menu in pokies games when playing it for real money. Suppose you play on a three reel pokies where each coin you wager unlocks a set of symbols, if you wager only one coin and line up three 7s, you don’t hit the jackpot, you get nothing. It’s just a losing spin. On such a machine, you maximize payouts by betting the max to such an extent that you should never play if you’re not prepared to make the maximum wager.

On many video pokies machines with progressive jackpots, especially those with two, three, four or more levels of progressive, you must make a separate wager to be eligible for the jackpots.

Sometimes the button panel includes a separate button that includes covering all the paylines plus jackpot eligibility. Often it’s large and round and oval, to stand out from the small, square buttons for the usual choices of how many paylines to play and how many coins to wager per line.

4. Research progressive real money pokies

Betting when the jackpot is high doesn’t increase your chances of hitting the jackpot

The progressive jackpots are the prime attraction of real money pokies games. You maximize your return by making the jackpot bet. If you do not want to make the jackpot bet, you’re better off to choose a different game. Some players like to attempt to maximize their returns by scouting machines with progressive jackpots. To do their scouting, they’ll visit casinos and note the starting points for progressive jackpots, and try to find out when they hit. Such charting requires frequent visits, and often requires asking pokies attendants that how much jackpot was hit.

Note that betting when the jackpot is high doesn’t increase your chances of hitting the jackpot, it just makes the average payout higher when you do win. Just as in any other method of maximizing payouts. Finally it is advised to stay within your bankroll, do not bet money you can’t afford to lose, and play that real money pokies that fit your budget.

About the author

Guy Marlow