Before you start playing online slots, you first need to find slot games that suit your style of play, have favourable return-to-player percentages and free spin features. Obviously, you can’t trial the jackpot slots for free but it’s always a good idea to ‘free-play’ most other slots before you play for real money. This will get you tuned-in to to all the features the slot machine has to offer e.g. paylines, scatters and wilds. If you not sure what these are, have a quick read over our glossary before you start playing.
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Types of Slots available Online
3 reel slots
These 3-reel pokies are the oldest games in gambling, since the very first pokie machine featured three reels. You may also know them as the one-armed bandits and fruit machines, and in my humble opinion these particular pokies are a must-have at any online casino. They are without doubt the simplest and easiest form of slot games to understand. This consists of three columns and 3 rows of symbols with the middle row being the pay line.
5 reel slots
Instead of having just one pay line these pokies have many, giving us players a greater chance of of winning with each spin. In this version there are way more features but this can get complicated if you don’t know what you are doing. I always suggest taking some time to get to know the rules and payout structures.
3D slots
There are 3D animated characters that interact with the player during the game. One of the newer versions of these types of pokies adds more of a narrative to the experience. For the more traditional player this may often come across as confusing.
Feature slots
This is the majority of of online slots available. Special features such as extra spins and bonus rounds makes the experience exciting by adding more chances to win. In my opinion anything that adds to my chance of striking it big is a great draw card!
Progressive jackpot
On certain pokies there will be a Progressive Jackpot – which means that every time the game is played a predetermined amount of the bet placed is added to the Progressive Jackpot amount. Every player that plays at a particular casinos slots, will want to play for that steadily increasing jackpot. The more you play and stay at the slot the higher the jackpot increases. Expect huge payouts in progressive slots. Once the Progressive is won, the value is reset at the games base Progressive value and so it goes.
The Basics of Online Slots
First you will deposit money into your bankroll which will be displayed in the corresponding number of credits. You then press bet until you have reached the number of credits which you wish to play. Alternatively, you can bet max credits by hitting the play max credits button. Then hit the spin reels button and watch as the reels start to move.Once the reels come to a stop you will see weather you have won or lost depending on the combination displayed in the payline.
Advanced Strategy for Playing Online Slots
The one play strategy is an advanced method of playing. The strategy involves finding a machine and playing the max amount of credits on that machine. If you lose you move on to another machine. If the machine pays out at three times your bet, play at the machine one more time only. This is a simple strategy for those who want to win, and don’t enjoy sitting at the same machine for hours trying their luck. If you really want things to get complicated i suggest looking at the Standard deviation strategy, which uses complicated mathematical equations to determine the best chance of winning at a slot machine
Expert TipThe more complicated the rules – the lower your odds! Like most thing in life – the more complicated and intricate the game is the lower your odds are of winning big. Look out for easy, basic game play and with that generally comes better odds for hitting higher pay out
Strategy and Tips for Playing Slots Online
- Ensure you have proper bankroll management. Make sure you have set aside an amount which you are ok with losing.
- Each slot may have different rules. Even though you know how to play, you may be caught off guard by different rules than you were expecting.
- Choose slots with the highest number of paylines to increase your chances of winning.
- Claim bonuses and promotional offers to add to your bank roll and increase your playing time.
Lets take a look at some working example of two Slot games…
BREAK DA BANK
Let’s talk about the most classic 3-reel pokie around. Microgaming released this classic in November 2003 and it is still one of the most recognised pokies around and is as simple as they come. There are no complicated rules or special features to wrap your head around so all you need to do is relax and enjoy a basic yet highly entertaining game.
Break da Bank graphics comprises of various bar symbols, the much-loved dollar signs, and the highly rewarding game logo. This game logo represents the highest payouts, but also signifies a wild symbol. Wilds substitute for all other symbols. Any winning spins that includes this well-known game logo are doubled. You can choose to activate 1 and 5 pay lines when you play the game. Keep in mind that you get the most rewarding results with all 5 pay lines enabled, plus, the biggest pay out is achieved for 3 Break da Bank symbols on the fifth payline.
3 Wilds on the main payline are worth 1000, with the sum expanding on each payline until number 5, totalling to an aggregate of 2400. 1 Wild pays 2 x the winning combination and 2 Wilds pay 4 x the winning combination.
So, what should you be aware of when playing this 3-reel pokie? There are no free spins, no progressives and no bonus rounds. So if that is a factor for you then its best to bear this in mind.
MEGA JOKER
This is a real crowd pleaser that was introduced by NetEnt. It is another typical old-school 3-reel pokie that looks like a typical fruit machine that you would find in your land based casinos. Its graphic symbols are filled with watermelons, grapes, lemons, cherries and so on. But the symbol you need to look out for is the Joker – that symbol notifies you of a big win. What is a bonus with this game is that you can play with just one coin or up to a maximum of 10. The coin values are limited to 10 and 20 cents.
Mega Joker is versatile and includes the following modes of gameplay:
1. Basic: use a maximum of 1 to 10 coins for a single spin. The symbols you will play with are bells, cherries, watermelons, lemons, jokers and the treasure chests.
2. Supermeter mode: this kicks up the excitement a notch as it qualifies you to win a mystery prize of 100 to 2 000 coins. In this mode you also see additional symbols: sevens, grapes and oranges.
3. Progressive jackpot
The Mega Joker pokie game is only available online, though only for PC. So, if you like to play on your tablet and iPad please keep that in mind. The Mega Joker slot is always a local jackpot – so this may mean smaller amounts however considering how popular this game is in New Zealand this Jackpot is still quite sizeable.
Glossary of Terms
Bonus Slots – Type of slot machine that has an additional bonus feature . Usually takes the form of bonus free spins.
Coin Size – Size of a bet on a single spin.
Max Bet – The coin size of a slot does not mean you can’t bet more than that. The max bet is the most you can wager on a particular machine.
Payline – These are the winning lines on the slot machine. Match your pay-line to the pay schedule to see how much you have won.
Payout – When you make a winning combination the amount you win is called the payout.
Pay Schedule – This is the chart that shows how much you have won for the combination in the pay line. Shows how much can be won for any given combination
Random Number Generator – This is the computer software which generates the random symbols in the slot.
Reels – These are the wheels that spin around and form the various combinations of symbols
Symbols – The pictures on the reels which form the combinations used to determine whether you win or not.
High Volatility – One way to identify high volatility slots is to look at the size of the jackpot. The higher the volatility the higher the jackpot will be
‘Hot’ Machine – At any moment a hot machine is likely to give a payout. For example where the slot is nearing the boiling point.
Jackpot– The maximum amount that can be won at the slot.
Progressive Jackpot – Jackpot which increases incrementally the longer you play. The casino takes a portion of your wager and adds it to the pool
