Online Slots

Pokies are the most popular form of online gambling and for good reason. Online pokies are fun and easy to learn and offer fantastic jackpots with potential life-changing money.

Pokies are wildly popular in New Zealand. You can play them in pubs, at the local club or in casinos across the country.

Did you know that you can now play online pokies in New Zealand for prizes up to $1 million or more? It’s true. If you love pokies and are ready to win big online, then check out our list of recommended pokies casinos.

Rank	Bonus	Visit
1	$300 Welcome Bonus	Visit Review
2	$500 Welcome Bonus & 100 Free Spins	Visit Review
3	$600 Welcome Bonus & 200 Free Spins	VisitReview
4	$750 Welcome Bonus	VisitReview

Comparing Software Brands

When deciding the best place top lay pokies online, the type of software used by the online casino is important. If your preferred site has games from any or all of the following three companies, then you should have a positive gambling experience.

Microgaming - Microgaming is the oldest real money online gaming provider and considered the best amongst industry professionals. They offer one of the largest libraries of games and their games are offered in both download and no download format. Many Microgaming titles offer free play options for those wanting to test drive the software.

Playtech - Playtech is considered to be a close 2nd place to Microgaming and offers a large variety of pokies. They are perhaps most well known for their large selection of Marvel themed titles such as Spiderman and Hulk.

NetEnt - Out of the top 3 providers, NetEnt games are exclusively no download products, meaning they are perfect for mobile devices. Their Mega Fortune progressive jackpot title has awarded the largest jackpot in history, paying over NZ $28.6M to a single player. The other main advantage of NetEnt over other platforms is that they offer state of the art graphics on all titles.

Types of Pokies Available

You’ll notice that there are literally hundreds of online pokies available at each casino spread out over several categories. Here’s just a few of the different types of pokies you’ll find online.

3 Reel Online Pokies - 3 Reel online pokies are similar to the old school pokies or slot machines that you see in Las Vegas or in major casinos around the world. Your goal is to try and match certain combinations over 3 reels.

5 Reel Online Pokies - 5 Reel online pokies are the same as 3 Reel except there are 5 spinning reels that must match up to pre-selected patterns.

234 Ways to Win - This is a variant on 5 reel pokies where prizes are awarded based on lining up 3 or more symbols from left to right anywhere over the 5 reels. This gives a total of 234 ways to win. Games like Immortal Romance, The Dark Knight and the Untamed series of pokies offer 234 ways to win.

Video Themed Pokies - Video themed pokies, or video slots, are 5 reel pokies that have fantastic graphics and incorporate special animations, videos, special effects and sound to create a unique gaming experience. Many video pokies have a second screen bonus round that pay out large prizes.

Progressive Pokies - Progressive pokies are among the most popular games due to their steadily increasing jackpots. Some progressive pokies offer multiple jackpot prizes but the most popular are those that offer a continually growing jackpot prize. Games like Mega Moolah and Jackpot Giant regularly award over $1 million in progressive jackpots.

Test Drive With Free Pokies

Many online pokies offer you the opportunity to test drive the games for free. These free slot games are played using play money and award play money prizes. The games play exactly like the regular slot games and award similar play money prizes.

Playing on demo mode is a great way to get a feel for how a slot game plays. It lets you get experience on hitting the proper winning patterns and lets you see just how easy or difficult it is to get to the bonus rounds.

Free pokies are also great for the times you aren’t able to afford a deposit but still would like to have some fun playing a few spins.

How to Play Online Pokies

Online pokies are among the easiest games to play at online casinos. Start by going to the casino and selecting the pokies section. Some casinos may list this as the slots section. Once you’re there, you can either select pokies by category or by title. Many sites have a search feature, so if you know you want to play Emoti Coins, just enter that title in the search box to proceed.

Once you have found your game, click on it to launch the game. Once it loads, you’ll be prompted to select the amount you wish to put into play on that machine and click play.

At this point you can select to play for single or max credits. After selecting the number of credits, hit spin to spin the reels.

Note that after your first spin, you can just continue hitting the spin button to bet the same amount of credits. Some games offer an auto-spin button if you don’t really care about constantly hitting the spin button.

Tips for Playing Online Pokies

While online pokies are based on luck, there are a few things you can do to maximize your chances of winning.

Know the Payout Percentages - Most casinos offer a payout percentage or payout table that lets you know how much their games pay out. Sites that have percentages in high 80s or low 90s are less desirable as many top casinos like Spin Palace and Jackpot City offer payouts of 95% or greater.

Some games such as Video Poker will have a payout table for each individual game. It is possible to find some rare Video Poker games that pay 100% for those that play perfect Video Poker strategy.

Learn the Game’s Volatility - How volatile a game is will determine how frequently you can expect to win during a session. Some games pay out more frequently but in smaller amounts. Others pay out large prizes but much less frequently. You can get an idea of a games volatility by playing in free play mode.

Bet Max Credits - If you want a chance at winning the jackpot prizes, you have to bet max credits. Some games, like Video Poker, have a special premium for their max credit prizes.

Signup for Player Rewards - If you haven’t already done so, signup for any players rewards or VIP program offered by the online casino. This way, you earn points towards rewards every time you play online pokies.

Rank	Bonus	Visit
1	$1600 Welcome Bonus & 100 Free Spins	VisitReview
2	$1,000 Welcome Bonus & 100 Free Spins	Visit Review
3	$1,000 Welcome Bonus	VisitReview
4	$1000 Welcome Bonus & 222 Free Spins	VisitReview

Odds in Pokies

When playing online pokies, you should have a general idea of your odds of winning. As mentioned earlier, you should learn the payout percentages for online pokies at any site you wish to play at.

For example, if you play at Royal Vegas which pays out 97.56% on their online pokies, that means that $97.56 of every $100 put into that game over it’s life will be paid back to players.

Notice that we said over the game’s life. That doesn’t mean that you will put in $100 and get back at least $97.56. You may be more and there’s always the chance you will lose every dime.

The standard house advantage for online pokies ranges anywhere from 2% to 15%, meaning payouts of 85% to 98% depending on the casino. The best casinos are somewhere at or above the 95% payout range.

How Do Pokies Compare to Other Games - Standard casino theory insists that pokies have worse odds than other games in a casino. This is definitely true for live casinos but not necessarily the case for online casinos.

It is true that some games will have better odds. For example, the house only has a 1% edge over players in standard Blackjack games. However, those odds go up with other variants of Blackjack offered.

For other games, the house advantage can average wildly. Here are a few examples:

Big Six ($1 Bet) - 11.11% House Advantage
Caribbean Stud - 5.22%
Casino War - 2.88 to 18.65%
Craps - <1% up to $16.67 depending on bet
Keno - 25 to 29%
Roulette - 2.7% (Single Zero) or 5.26% (Double Zero)

As you can see, the odds can vary drastically for table games. If you play at casinos offering 95% or better odds for online pokies, you might actually do better playing pokies.

Win Big With Online Pokies

Online pokies offer you the chance to play for real cash prizes from the comfort of your home or anywhere on your mobile phone or table. Online pokies casinos offer amazing games and outstanding jackpots worth millions.

When you’re ready to take your shot at life-changing money, sign up today at one of your recommended pokies casinos.