Free Pokies & Slots

Playing free pokies online is the single easiest way to get in on the action with this particular genre of online slots. For those who don't know, pokies are the name for video slots in Australia and New Zealand, and the free pokies Australia players love are named after video poker machines. This is where the name pokies came from, and with the way that the meanings of words can shift over time, now the term really has nothing to do with poker. It's interesting how that happened, but the end result is that players all over the world can enjoy these games on the Internet with no cost.

Format and Layout for Free Pokies

The term "pokies" is used in today's language to basically mean any online slot, but strictly speaking, there's a very specific format and layout for games that quality for this label. Most free pokies online will have a five-reel format with three to five rows. The most common layout is three rows, but some will have four, and a select few will have five. Three-reel games weren't originally considered pokies because they weren't played on video machines, but in an online casino, all of the games are played on a video screen, so the definition has changed a bit to reflect that.

The Feature Set

Free pokie games also tend to have certain types of bonus features. In fact, this is something that's set them apart from other slots in the past. Free spins bonus rounds, pick-a-box style games, avalanche features, static reels and big multipliers have all made their way into these games, and they represent lots of opportunities to win massive amounts of money off of the results of a single spin. This is one of the biggest reasons why they're so popular in Australia. Take those features away, and you lose a lot of your audience.

How to Play Pokies Online Free

Free pokies games are among the easiest games in the world to get started with. First you have to select your game, and we'll get into game selection in the below, and then you have to choose your bet size. Your bet size is determined by a few different things:

  1. The number of paylines used in the game
  2. The size of the coin being used for each payline
  3. How many coins are being wagered on each payline

Note that some games won't allow you to use multiple coins on each payline, but the basic idea is that you multiply these three numbers together to get your total bet size. The bet size in pokies free play games don't matter all that much in the long run since it's all play money, but you should still know how it works.

A Bet-Sizing Example

Suppose you were playing a game with 25 paylines, a coin value of $0.50 and two coins on each payline. To find your total bet size, you'd multiply 25 * $0.50 * 2 to get a total of $25 per spin. It's a very straight-forward calculation, but you have to pay attention when you first choose your bet size so that you aren't mistakenly playing for a lot more or a lot less than you intended.

From that point, all you have to do is press the button to spin the reels, and you're good to go.

Choosing Which Free Slots Pokies to Play

If you look at the online casino industry, pokies are the genre of games that have the most titles available. Because there are literally thousands of these games to choose from, you're going to want some help narrowing things down.

You have to come into this with some ideas on what you want to play. Without knowing the theme, features or format you prefer, you're going to have a hard time choosing a game.

If you have no idea where to start, then just pick a game that has a theme that appeals to you and go from there. If you like it, then find other games that have a similar theme, similar bonus features and so on. If you don't like it, try to pinpoint exactly what it is you don't like about it so that when you play free pokies the next time, you'll have an easier time picking up something you'll enjoy playing.

Theme Options

The theme of online pokies free money players choose to play will often be one of the most important factors in their choice. The reason for this being the case is that this single factor determines what will be filling their senses with sight and sound for the entire length of their experience. Since the chances of running up real money winnings are typically (but not always, see below) out the window, the experience itself is the most important thing.

Bonus Features

If free spins, specialty rounds, expanding wilds, avalanche features or anything else in particular keeps you interested, then you'll want to choose games with those particular features. Free pokies players often get caught up on the idea of trying something new over and over again, but the bottom line is that you're there to have fun. It's not fun to have to keep wading through new titles just to get to a game, maybe one in five that you try, that has the features you want to enjoy.

The problem with switching around too much is that you won't actually get to enjoy those features in the first place since you won't play long enough to activate them all that often. It's better to find a game you like or a small rotation of games you like and stick to them for the long run if you want to maximize your enjoyment of the experience.

Software Provider

Some free pokies download software clients are available for players who want to actually install something on their computer, but that's not always the case. Many software providers only have free pokies no download platforms that allow you to play in your web browser. Along these lines, the software provider you choose to play with will have a huge influence on how much you're able to enjoy your experience based on what you prefer with the download vs. no download issue and other points.

For example, each developer has their own unique style that they bring to the table with the free online pokies that they put out for their players. If you don't like the style of one developer, you should seriously consider switching over to another instead of just trying other games that they have available. Our advice is to try three or four games from a provider to make sure it's not just the game itself that you don't like. If you find that the style and approach of their free pokie games don't appeal to you, then there's no reason to keep trying to play them.

Getting Paid for Playing Free Pokies Games

Generally speaking, people play free pokies because they want to kill some time and have fun with an experience of getting in on the action with interesting games. Making a real money profit is generally the furthest thing from their minds. However, it's possible to do so if you take advantage of certain types of no deposit bonus promotions from casino operators.

How These Deals Work

The basic idea behind getting paid by playing free pokies online is that casinos will give individuals free chips to enjoy their casino games and try out their software. As an added incentive, you can often run up real money winnings with these deals as long as you adhere to certain terms and conditions. The end result is that you have a chance to win real money prizes by playing pokies online free like you were going to be doing anyway.

An Example of Making It Work

Suppose you take on a $25 free chip or no deposit bonus, and you use that to play free slots pokies at the online casino of your choice. The first thing you'll want to do is clear the wagering requirements. Let's suppose these requirements are 30x for the sake of example. You'll need to put in a total of $25 * 30, which comes to $750 in bets. You can achieve this total in any way you want, but keep in mind that it's in total bets wagered, not wins or losses.

Once that's complete, if you were able to keep from busting out, then you can usually cash out your winnings. Sometimes you can even cash out the bonus itself. It just depends on the terms and conditions, but the point is that you can get paid for playing online pokies free if you know how to make the deals work for you.

Overview

The free pokies Australia loves are played all over the world at different online casinos and various websites. They are the most popular casino game running today, by the volume of players, and this is not all that surprising because of how many different options there are that will appeal to different types of individuals. This is an incredible situation for players because they can customize their experience to what they prefer by choosing games with various themes, concepts and bonus features.


3