10 Features of Pokie Machines and Their Functioning

Pokie machines are some of the most popular online and physical casino games. Each pokie machine has distinct features that affect gameplay.

While some standard features are common among most pokies, some special components make playing the game much more fun. These elements not only add value, but they make these pokies so enticing that it is hard to walk away.

Common Features of Pokies

1. Bonus Rounds and Free Spins

Irrespective of what pokies you play, you will probably find bonus rounds or free spins available. Some pokie machines offer both. These are ways to get an extra payout or play additional rounds at no cost.

Free Spins

This attribute activates by landing specific symbol combinations. It helps you spin the reels for free, without extra bets, potentially leading to prizes and additional features like multipliers or wild symbols. These are limited in number and end when you use them.

Bonus Round

Bonus rounds provide various components beyond free spins. They activate when a combination of particular symbols appears, providing an extra chance to win prizes or bonuses.

Note: Not every pokie machine offers similar bonuses and free spins. It might differ from casino to casino.

2. Auto Play

This element, also known as self-playing, involves the machine playing instead of you. The machine will continually spin and stop the reels based on the number of bonus spins you win.

For example, the machine will start spinning the reels if you win six auto-play bonus spins. Each time it stops, you will win whatever prizes or credits are displayed on the reels. You may get nothing or a win.

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3. Scatters and Wilds

Other standard details of pokie machines are scatters and wilds.

Scatter Symbols

Scatter symbols are special symbols that can appear anywhere on the reels. They trigger bonus rounds, free spins, or other complimentary prizes.

Wild Symbols:

These symbols can replace many other symbols (except for scatter and bonus symbols) to create winning combinations.

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4. Paylines

The pay line is an important feature that represents the ways to win. Many popular pokies have between three and seven rows of reels that you can bet on each time you spin the wheel.

By offering this option, you can incorporate many ways to win. If you have opted for just the single pay line, you would require that line to have the correct matching symbols for you to win.

This is a popular option, although quite expensive. For example, if you are playing a $1 machine and want to play all three pay lines, you would have to pay $3 each time you spin the wheels. Here, the risk is greater, and so is the reward.

The three most common and popular types of paylines that poker machines use are 243, 1024, or over 100,000 ways to win. It depends on the number of lines you plan to play.

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5. Reels

Reels are the spinning barrels in pokie machines that display symbols. When you spin the reels, these symbols move and finally come to a stop, landing various combinations that ascertain your winnings.

Each reel has several symbols, and the number of reels can vary from game to game. Usually, it ranges from three to five.

Understanding the game’s payables and mechanics will help you make better decisions.

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6. Multiplier Symbols

Multiplier symbols are special symbols in pokie machines that increase the payout of winning combinations they are a part of. Here’s how they work:

1. Multiplier Effect: When a winning combination involves a multiplier symbol, the payout gets multiplied by a specific figure. For example, if you land a winning combination with a 3x multiplier symbol, your winnings are tripled.
2. Multiple Multipliers: In some games, you may get various multiplier symbols, each with a specific multiplier value. The multiplier values may be multiplied for larger payouts.
3. Wild Multipliers: Some pokie machines use wild multiplier symbols, which not only replace other symbols to form winning combinations but also multiply the winnings of those combinations, increasing the payout.
4. Fixed or Variable Multipliers: Multiplier symbols have fixed multiplier values, like 2x or 3x, or they can have variable values that change as per specific conditions or bonus components in the game.
5. Enhanced Winnings: Multiplier symbols add spice to the gameplay by offering the chance of enhanced winnings.

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7. Gamble Feature

The gamble attribute in pokie machines enables you to take a risk with your winnings for a chance to increase them. Players typically guess the colour or suit of a hidden card. If they guess correctly, their winnings are doubled or quadrupled, but if they guess incorrectly, they lose their winnings from that round.

Note: It adds an element of excitement and potential reward to the gameplay, but it’s essential to use it cautiously, as it involves a level of chance and can result in losses.

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8. Bonus Games

Bonus games are special features in pokie machines that activate through specific symbol combinations or scatter symbols. When activated, they allow you to win or engage in interactive gameplay.

These bonus rounds include free spins, pick-and-win attributes, or other elements that increase the gaming experience.

Interesting Read: A Guide To Choosing The Right Pokies Game

9. Skill Stop

This element allows you to manually stop the reels from spinning, giving you a sense of control over the results. However, the results are still determined by RNG (Random Number Generator), and the timing does not affect them.

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10. Cascading Reels

This cascading reel helps remove the winning combinations from the reels, allowing new symbols to fall into place. This leads to multiple consecutive wins from a single spin.

Takeaways

These ten features are common in modern pokie machines, each affecting the games in different ways. Players can explore these features to find games that match their playing style. Most online casinos have a wide assortment of pokies that cater to almost every player from all walks of life.

It is just your choice, preference, and comfort level. You should align with the pokies you opt to play. So, use these pokies to find out what fits you most. Once you know your preference and the attributes, I am sure you will not shy away from playing them repeatedly, as I did, which made me craft this piece of information about the features and what works well. 

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