How Much Do Pokies Pay Out?

December 20, 2023 by
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Modern pokies, even online pokies games all have a feature assigned by the manufacturers or auditors that test the games. This test is able to deliver what is known in the industry as a theoretical payback percentage (or RTP). This is the one characteristic that they all share, whether they are found online or enjoyed at land-based casinos.

The longer you play the pokies game, the closer your chance of winning will be to this theoretical number, and understanding what these chances are means you need to be aware of what the terms hit frequency and payout percentage actually mean.

Classic Pokies Machines Offer Classic Odds

The tech that governs pokies games has changed a lot since the first machine made its debut, but the concept governing the game has not – the same principles apply when you’re playing old fashioned pokies, or Bitcoin pokies. You insert a coin, be it virtual or not, and a series of reels is rotated, each with a set of symbols imprinted. The amount of images that line up on each payline determines how much you win.

Modern pokies games are starkly contrasted with the older offerings and even those that offer only three reels and one payline are much more complicated in terms of statistics than the older mechanical games were.

For example, an antique pokies machine with 20 stops on each of its reels would offer you a total of 8 000 different combinations. This number can be calculated by multiplying the amount of symbols on each of the reels: 20 x 20 x 20 = 8 000. The total of these 8 000 possible combos is known as a cycle.

Theoretically, if you pulled the lever on this supposed machine, you would see a combination of each of the reels once. In order to figure the odds of hitting a particular combination of three of the reels’ symbols, you would need to multiply your chance of landing one of the symbols by itself, 1/20 x 1/20 x 1/20. This would then show you your odds of getting any combination on a traditional pokies machine 1/8 000, or 7 999 to 1.

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How Random Number Generators Affect Your Winnings

The best pokies games in the modern age are more complex, and it is not as easy to predict the odds by making use of simple mathematical equations. This is because a lot of the numbers are theoretical ones, and are based on an unlimited number of time, spins, and bets.

Modern pokies make use of random number generators, or RNGs. These generate a random values from billions of possible numerical combos determining where the virtual reel comes to a stop.

Modern pokies games and the RNGs that run them are able to produce these amounts at a rate of between 300 and 500 per second: when you spin the reels on a game available online today, it will grab a random series of values from the constant stream produced. The first will determine the position of the first reel, the second the second reel, and so on.

What is a Payback Percentage?

A pokies machine’s payback percentage is the proportion of money the game is programmed to return to bettors over the course of that machine’s use. Unfortunately, the infinite amount of time which the mathematics requires in order to be totally accurate and the actual lifespan of a pokies machine are nowhere near the same and this makes accurate prediction more challenging. The payback percentage has been programmed into the machines as they are manufactured, but some can be adjusted in accordance with the manner in which the casino wishes to set the game up.

Most pokies games run with a payback percentage which lies between 75% and 99%, but this is not a literal determination of the players’ actual winnings.  The randomness governing the outcome of the flip of a coin is a good way to think about how much a pokies game pays out.

A coin flip will give you either a heads or tails result, which translates to a 50% chance of your winning. Without a built-in advantage, pokies machines would be much like this flipped coin: you would bet 1 on heads being the result, and pay out 1 if you lost, earning 1 with a win. Theoretically, speaking over any amount of time, this even-money bet would see you and the house even.

If you set the coin flip up as a pokies machine, instead of paying you out 1 for correctly guessing the result of the coin flip, the casino would offer you 0.95. The house’s take would still be 1 if you lost, so the game has become one operating on a payback percentage of 95%. The house’s advantage can be thought of as the money it takes to run the various games and services it provides, and as long as you are aware that it exists, you can tailor the manner in which you play in a way to best take it in your stride. It’s very important for players to know the RTP when playing online pokies for real money in New Zealand.

Hit Frequency and Pokies Odds

Frequency is the theoretical percentage of spins that it would take for you to be paid out, and is based on how many times a certain symbol appears along with how often winning combos do. Machines that offer higher hit frequencies will pay out smaller wins more regularly and those with lower hit frequencies will pay out less commonly, but with higher wins when they do.

Most pokies games have hit frequencies which fall between 9% and 25%.

Key Pokies Payout Terms Summarised:

  • RTP (Theoretical payback percentage): The percent of the deposit amount played expected to be paid back out by the pokies game to the player over the game cycle.
  • Random Number Generator: Hardware or software programs in the pokies using non-deterministic inputs to generate random values from billions of possible numerical combinations of symbols that then appear in the pokies reel.
  • Payback Percentage:  The average percentage that online pokies are programmed to pay back in winnings  to the player over the course of that machine’s use.
  • Pokies Hit Frequency: How often the pokies game pays something to the player. Any payout from the online pokie is considered a “Hit.”

Now that you know how pokies pay out and what all these terms mean, you can start playing at the best recommended online pokies sites in New Zealand:

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Josh Williams

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With over 15 years of experience in the online casino world, Josh has been writing iGaming guides and tips for well over a decade. He’s always happy to share his incredible expertise and insights into the online gambling and mobile gaming industry, and prides himself on keeping readers informed and up to date with the latest developments. From finding the hottest bonuses and promotions to reviewing casino sites and games, Josh knows what makes the industry tick and keeps players coming back for more.

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