After the invention of the slot machine in the US in the late 19th Century, this form of gambling quickly became popular in Australia under the name “pokies”. As a result, they’ve been a standard of Australian pub entertainment for decades. Pokies games of every description are now available online, in three-reel, five-reel and multiple payout-line options.
Registration doesn’t take long, and there are hundreds of online casinos to choose from, offering pokies favourites like Lucky Sevens or Treasures of Egypt. Mobile casinos make the pokies even more portable, letting fans play anywhere, anytime, on a tablet or smart phone. Some casinos offer downloadable apps, others provide game play through the device’s Internet browser. There are versions of the same game coded for specific devices, so players can pick the sites and the games that play best on their preferred device and give them the most authentic casino experience. They even have the choice between playing for real money, and playing free pokies indefinitely.
Free Pokies at Online Casinos
Free play online casinos don’t accept or pay out real money on betting; play is for credits only. Which isn’t to say they offer no rewards at all; apart from the fun of playing, registered members at these sites can keep the credits they win playing free pokies on every visit. If they amass enough credits, they are entered into the casino’s regular lucky draws and sweepstakes, with money and other prizes up for grabs.
Free pokies offer the best of both worlds to players who don’t like risk: unlimited free play for the fun of chasing those big credit jackpots, along with the chance to win real rewards when their luck is running.
Free Pokies at Real-Money Casinos
Most players are prepared to play for real money, however, if there’s a chance to win more. Although they understand that the odds against them are high on every spin, the size of the wins available (especially on pokies machines with progressive jackpots) weighed up against the small stakes needed to play (even if the player is covering maximum lines on every spin) makes the risk worthwhile. The small stakes also make it possible to spend longer playing the same machine, even on a modest budget.
Pokies actually pay out quite well in the long term (more than 95 percent of all stakes wagered, usually), but they pay out this percentage in big bursts, through jackpots. The key to pokies success is to be able to play the same machine long enough to hit a big payout, which recoups all former losses and leaves the player with a tidy profit. All real-money casinos hand out regular promotional packages to players; these take the form of bonus free bets on particular games, with the player betting for free but being allowed to keep any winnings (subject, of course to terms and conditions, which need to be read carefully).
So a dedicated pokies player, registered at a number of online casinos, will be faced with a range of free pokies offers on a regular basis. By choosing the most attractive free pokies on offer on any given day, experienced players can get even more spins in search of those big jackpots, while risking less of their own stake.
