Every pokie in Australia is built on a paytable, and that table is the closest thing a player gets to a rulebook. It tells you what each symbol pays, how many paylines are active, what triggers the bonus round, and how much of your stake flows back over time. Yet most beginners skip straight to the spin button and never read a word of it. That is a costly habit. Reading a paytable takes two minutes and tells you more about a machine than an hour of spinning ever will. Read more about this at online casinos that accept skrill.
Under Australian law, pokies in pubs and clubs must display return-to-player information, and the typical range sits between 85% and 92% depending on the venue and jurisdiction. Online pokies usually run higher, often 94% to 97%. That gap of a few percentage points compounds fast over hundreds of spins, so knowing where to look matters.
The Core Numbers: Paylines, Stakes and RTP
The first thing to locate is the payline structure. Older-style machines use fixed lines, while most modern video pokies let you choose how many lines to activate. Deactivating lines lowers your total bet but also shrinks your chance of landing a winning combination. A 25-line pokie played with only 10 lines active means 15 potential wins are dead on every spin.
Next, find the return-to-player figure. This is the long-run percentage of all money wagered that gets paid back to players. A 96% RTP pokie returns $96 for every $100 staked across millions of spins , not per session. Variance sits alongside it. High-variance pokies pay rarely but heavily; low-variance ones pay often but small.
Check the bet range too. Minimum bets on Australian online pokies commonly start at $0.01 per line, with maximums reaching $100 or more per spin. Your bankroll should support at least 200 spins at your chosen stake to ride out normal dry spells.
Reading Symbol Values
Paytables list symbols in descending order of value. Low-paying icons , usually card ranks like 9, 10, J, Q, K and A , pay modest amounts for three or more matches. High-paying themed symbols pay significantly more, often 10 to 50 times your line bet for five of a kind.
Wild symbols substitute for most others and frequently carry their own top payout. Scatters pay anywhere on the reels and typically trigger free spins. Look closely at whether these pay on total bet or line bet, because the difference can be substantial.
Bonus Features and Special Rules
Free spin rounds, multipliers, expanding wilds and pick-a-prize games are all outlined in the paytable. Note how many scatters are needed , usually three, sometimes two on certain pokies , and whether the feature can be retriggered.
Gamble features deserve caution. Many Australian pokies let you risk a win on a colour or suit guess to double it. The paytable will state the odds, and they generally favour the house.
Finally, confirm the maximum win cap. Some pokies limit total payouts to a set figure, and that ceiling applies even if your symbols suggest more. A quick read of the paytable before your first spin turns guesswork into informed play.