Pokie Features Explained: Symbols, Reels, Jackpots and More

Pokie Features Explained: Symbols Reels Jackpots and More
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If you’re new to playing pokies online, it can be a little overwhelming getting to grips with all the various online pokies features available – and how to maximise those features to help boost your chances of a win.

When it comes to online gambling, slots are usually pretty easy to play. But there are a whole load of different terms used that are important to understand when you play online pokies.

At AusCasinos, our experienced team has played all types of pokies. And we’re here to explain everything you need to know – from wild symbols to scatters, free spins, random jackpots and more.

Let’s get started.

What Are Online Pokies Features?

Pokies you can find online, also known as slots, are jam-packed with features that help contribute to their popularity at Australian online casinos.

In addition to a whole range of pokie themes, from classic fruits featured in classic games to more elaborate and licensed content, players can access bonus rounds with the chance to boost their winnings.

These bonuses are usually triggered by specific features such as symbols or combinations. They unlock free spins, multipliers, or interactive mini-games.

If you’re paying progressive jackpot pokies, you’ve got the potential to win some serious cash that can be life-changing!

When you play at Australian online pokies sites that offer a decent range of online pokies, you’ll notice a heap of different features designed to entice Australian players.

Some of the most popular features include wild symbols, which act almost like a Joker in a game of cards, that you can substitute for other symbols to create a winning combination. Scatter symbols are another popular feature that often unlocks bonus rounds.

Another feature to look out for is multipliers, which can boost your winnings because they add a factor to your payout.

Note that even on free online pokies, you’ll find these symbols included as well. This is as most free pokies games are exact replicas of the real things, so when you play free pokies online it’s like a test drive before you hop onto the real thing.

Based on our experience, here’s a list of some top features to look out for when playing pokies online.

Pokie Games Symbols

Symbols are the images that show up when you spin the reels on pokie machines.

You might find classic fruit symbols in traditional pokies games or high-tech animations, depending on the game you’re playing.

Wild Symbols

A wild symbol is one of the best pokie games symbols to look out for, and you’ll find it at most casinos. When these appear on the reels, they can fill the location of any other symbol.

For example, if you need to complete a pay-line, wilds act as whatever you need to get you that payout, except for other bonus symbols (free spins, scatters etc).

If you’re particularly lucky (or seek out the best pokies), wild symbols may come with a multiplier attached, making pay lines even more valuable.

Expanding Wilds

An expanding wild is a wild symbol that first appears as a distinctive bonus symbol occupying a single symbol position before it expands to cover a larger number of symbols.

Depending on the pokie machine, expanding wilds may stretch to cover all reels in the game or expand to cover a much smaller selection of symbol positions.

These symbols can come with a standard multiplier that covers each size change or may change with the expansion of the symbols.

Sticky Wilds

Sticky wilds are wild symbols that stick on the reels for multiple spins.

These are great because they give you numerous winning combinations across several spins of the reels.

The number of spins that these wilds stick for will vary depending on the game you’re playing.

Some games offer a single re-spin, some offer a set number of spins, some remain in place until a win is hit, and some expand, eventually filling the whole reel.

Sticky wilds can also offer a win-on-repeat option that lets you claim free spins with each spin that the wild remains, which can generate some big wins at top casinos!

Random Wilds

The random wild is the most common wild symbol found in online pokies, with the wilds randomly appearing on the reels during play.

These symbols can act as just about anything (except other bonus symbols) to help you make your pay lines.

These wilds may also come with a multiplier that can increase with the number of wilds on the reels.

Shifting/Walking Wilds

Shifting wilds, also known as walking wilds, act like a typical random wild symbol on the first spin before shifting in the following spins.

The wild will appear on the reels during the first spin before shifting to the next reel for the next spin, continuing until each reel has experienced the wild.

These wilds can appear on reel one and move their way to the right or on reel five before shifting left.

Shifting Wilds lets you make several winning combinations whichever way they walk during your 5-spin stays.

Stacked Wilds

A stacked wild is the name given when two or more symbol positions are stacked, one on top of the other.

Typically, these wilds work by covering the entire reel. They let you create winning combinations across each of the lines rather than via a single symbol position.

They work like a typical random wild. The difference is simply in the number of symbols covered in a vertical connection.

Multiplier Wilds

A multiplier wild is a wild that comes packed with an additional multiplier, so you can maximise your winnings by creating different combinations.

They’re often used with other forms of wilds and can be multiplied by each other if multiple wilds appear on the reels.

The size of the multipliers and how they work depends on the specific pokies game, so check out the details before diving in.

Scatters Symbols

The scatter symbol is a common bonus symbol in many typical 5-reel pokies. It’ll give you a payout regardless of where it appears on the reels.

These symbols are unique because they’re not required to be a part of a pay line and will simply payout if they appear on any of the playing reels.

Because scatter symbols are a bonus feature, you usually can’t substitute them with wilds. For example, if you need three scatter symbols for the bonus, you won’t usually get the bonus if you only hit two scatters.

Several different types of scatter bonuses can be claimed when playing pokies online, including bonus scatters, scatter without bonuses, and expanding scatters.

Each online casino game usually has its own rules for scatters, but in our experience, once you play the game a few times, it’s pretty easy to understand and recognise how they work.

Online Pokies Reels

Reels are more than just placeholders for symbols. Depending on your pokie of choice, they can be instrumental in creating combinations and cashing in big wins.

Once upon a time, reels remained stationary, but today you can manipulate reels in many of the top online pokies games to maximise your chances of winning.

Cascading Reels

With cascading reels, the reels remain fixed as symbols drop from the top of the screen. They form winning pay lines as they land before disappearing and making way for additional symbols to make their way to the pile.

Think of this like the Candy Crush Saga, but for video slots, every time a winning combination is made, the connecting symbols are spent and make way for fresh symbols. The combinations can be never-ending, with countless pay lines created from a single spin.

Reel Respins

Reel re-spins give you a second chance at a potential win when playing online pokies, thanks to a replay-at-a-price option.

Unlike some innovative reel games, the standard game is played exactly as you may expect, matching symbols and creating combinations of pay lines from left to right.

However, at the end of each spin, you’re given the option to spin single reels, keeping the others locked into place.

You can choose as many re-spins as you like from the symbols on the screen, but it does come with a catch!

Each re-spin comes at a price determined by the slot machines and the symbols on show at the time of play. Based on our experience, there’s usually a decent chance of a large payout, but expect to pay a premium for giving it a shot to win real money.

Rotating Reels

The rotating reel feature is more commonly associated with bonus rounds than typical play.

The bonus will play out exactly like any traditional slot as you try to create pay-line combinations from left to right.

However, when the rotating reels are triggered, you’ll see a total of four 90-degree rotations with a payout for the pay-line combinations at each angle.

This gives you the benefits of a 4x multiplier thanks to the rotating reels shaking up the situation and finding more winnings for players.

Tumbling Reels

Tumbling reels come out of the BetSoft and IGT development labs.

Sugar Pop is perhaps the best-known example of tumbling reels and, like the cascading reel design, is undoubtedly influenced by the popularity of the mobile game “Candy Crush Saga”.

The design allows for both vertical and horizontal pay lines, much like the mobile game functions.

Wild Reels

A wild reel is the name given when an entire reel is given the wild treatment.

The wild symbols will stack one on top of the other to cover the entire reel rather than a single portion of one or multiple reels.

This lets you make combinations of pay lines across all lines, not just with a single symbol.

Free Spins and Bonuses

Free spins and bonus games are some of the most sought-after features when playing slot machines online.

When you trigger these, you can access some big rewards with a bit of luck!

Free Spins

You can find free spins in most online pokies and trigger them in a few different ways:

  1. Landing a minimum of three bonus symbols in any configuration across the reels
  2. By a random free spin trigger
  3. Collecting a specified number of required symbols.

Depending on your game, you’ll get a set number of free spins offered, which might be 10, 20, 50 or even 100 or more.

Some real money slots give you variable free spins, where the number of free spins changes each time you trigger the feature.

Other games give you the option to choose several free spins and associated multipliers, while some trigger an additional screen where you can find additional bonuses.

Free spins often come with a multiplier, maximising the winnings from the free spins for boosted wins.

These will differ in size from game to game, although a 3x multiplier is one of the most commonly seen bonuses.

Separate Bonus Game Rounds

Separate bonus game rounds come in many different forms but usually take you away from the reels in favour of a bonus mini-game where you can win prizes.

They can work in different ways depending on the game. For example, a trail bonus (played like a board game), a combat round or a skill game.

These can add extra excitement to break up the reels and are a popular feature with many Australian pokie players.

Randomly Appearing Features

Randomly appearing features are features that randomly appear when you play pokies online.

Some games will gift rewards at random intervals during the game. Like a small sum of cash, or a chance to re-spin. Others will allow you to select a prize from a choice of mystery symbols.

Jackpots

Jackpot pokies are one of the most popular types of pokies, because they can give you access to a large pot of cash!

Based on our experience, we think there are three main categories that every player should know about.

Progressive Jackpots

A progressive jackpot works kind of like a lottery, with a small percentage of each wager used to fund the prize pool across multiple casinos.

These progressive jackpots get bigger as more people play, letting one lucky player potentially win a multimillion-dollar fortune!

Fixed Coin Jackpots

A fixed coin jackpot is a jackpot with a fixed value attached. This can range from small to life-changing values, depending on the game.

Daily Jackpots

Daily jackpot pokies are the most recent invention in the jackpot world. They showcase time-sensitive jackpots designed to dish out a determined amount of cash.

Introduced originally by Red Tiger Gaming, the time-sensitive jackpots often feature promotions such as “must be won before a specific date”.

These can be great because you know exactly how much is up for grabs and when the amount will be dished out.

Gamble Features

A gamble feature is a special bonus game found when you play real money pokies. At most online casino sites, it’s offered after a winning spin. It’s optional – giving you the chance to gamble your winnings.

Usually, you’ll be offered a 50/50 choice on a random outcome, like the flip of a coin, a dice roll or predicting if a virtual card drawn will be a red or a black card. If you choose right you’ll win (usually doubling your win), but if you don’t, any winnings you made on the spin will be removed from your balance.

Although they can be exciting, in our experience, they’re not always worth the risk if you’ve won big. But for small wins, they can be a great option, depending on your risk appetite.

Types of Gamble Features

While most online pokies allow you to double your money, some also provide bigger opportunities, like quadrupling your winnings by guessing the suit of a card.

Some online pokies also let you limit how much you can win or lose to help you better control your online gambling. For example, depending on the online casino, you might be able to bet half your winnings or choose a specific value to make sure you still keep some of your winnings.

Some online casinos will set limits on how often you can use the gamble feature or set the maximum number of coins you can win.

At some Australian online casinos, you might be able to use the gamble feature multiple times, while others may only let you risk your winnings once.

Conclusion

With so many online pokies games to choose from, in our experience, it’s wise to play the best online pokies Australia has to offer so that you receive the best features to boost your chances of winning.

Maximising features to your advantage can make a big difference in not only how much you can win, but also how long you can keep playing to enjoy the thrill of playing online pokies at some of the best online casinos worldwide.

Understanding how they work and what to watch out for can help enhance your gaming experience the next time you visit an online casino. Letting you find the best pokies to play for real money.

Good luck!

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Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson
Pokies Expert
167 Articles
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Ryan is our resident pokies expert. Not only does he provide readers with the latest insights, innovations and technology news related to pokies, but he also knows all there is to know about pokies game developers.

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