Despite the abundance of casino games available today, slot machines hold the leading position.
These are games with 3 to 5 (or more) reels where the number of active lines varies from 1 to 100,000+ offering appropriate ways to win. The outcome of each spin depends on the symbols. Landing in different cells, they can create combinations that delight participants with prizes.
However, the essence of video slots goes beyond the regular rotations of reels. Modern providers add unique tools designed to make the gameplay more convenient and bring players closer to the jackpots. Below, you can check out the best features of pokies that will take your experience to the next level.
What are Pokies and What are Their Features
Pokies (slot machines) are one of the most popular genres of casino games. They offer a simple but exciting gameplay. These games come in a variety of themes, designs, and mechanics, which guarantees entertainment for every type of player.
Modern pokies online offer exciting features such as free spins, multipliers, and bonus rounds that enhance the overall gaming experience. Many online platforms also offer progressive jackpot poker, where players have a chance to win huge prizes.
The convenience of playing on mobile devices makes online poker even more accessible to a wider audience. Advanced graphics and exciting sound effects add to the appeal, creating an immersive casino experience.
Autoplay Mode
Sometimes, you may prefer to relax and watch the reels spin instead of being actively involved when playing online slots. This is where the Autoplay feature comes in, one of the most effective feature.
Let’s see how Autoplay works. It is available in most online pokies and to activate, hit the corresponding button and do it again when you want to pause or stop. Depending on your preference, You can customize the feature by setting it to run for a specific number of spins, ranging from 10 to 100+.
Wild Symbols
Wilds are a staple in most pokies and offer significant benefits to players. They act as substitutes for other characters, increasing your chances of landing a winning combination. In addition to this, wild symbols often work with other game modifiers.
They may expand to cover entire reels, become sticky and remain in place, and even trigger a variety of exciting features. Often, wilds create their own combinations with excellent payouts.
Free Spins
You may have come across free spins as a casino bonus. The good news is they are also available as a built-in slots feature. Usually, you have to catch a special symbol to unlock the bonus. In fishing pokies, for example, you have to catch a fish of a certain color or type to get a certain number of free spins (usually between 5 and 20).
Although the method of activation may vary, the feature works in the same way. Reels are rotated several times without deducting the bet value from your balance. Yet, you still win prizes for every combination on the screen. Typically, this bonus can be re-triggered, or it may include wilds and other modifiers.
Hold and Spin
This feature offers a distinctive bonus round. Its mechanics lock symbols in place while re-spinning the remain reels. It’s usually activated when a certain number of special symbols, like scatter or bonus characters, land on the reels. So if you didn’t create a combination within a rotation, you can still get one during re-spin.
Bonus Rounds
Many casino slots offer bonus features, where free spins take the central stage. However, the best pokie games with bonus features often include exciting modifiers to enhance the free plays:
Progressive multipliers;
Sticky or walking wilds;
Symbol transformations;
Synced reels.
Games without free spin-based bonuses often feature unique, sometimes interactive rounds, offering a more thrilling experience. Here are some of the most common options:
Pick & Win rounds;
Re-spins on different sets of reels;
Bonus wheel spins for cash and other prizes;
Virtual board games with cash prizes, multipliers;
Bonus play on additional sets of reels.
Multipliers
Players hope to win as much money as possible when starting a slot machine. If you are one of these enthusiasts, then pay attention to multipliers. Typically, they are available in pokies from Pragmatic Play, Quickspin, and NetEnt. That’s the feature that increases the amount of winnings.
Multipliers often appear on the screen as individual symbols. But sometimes, these functions are performed by other symbols involved, such as wilds, for example. The point is that multipliers increase the payout amount by x2, x5, x10, or even more. Some of them even reach x100. Keep in mind that multipliers can also be part of free spins or bonus round.
Progressive Jackpots
Such jackpots set themselves apart from regular paytable prizes by starting with a base sum, such as $1,000 or $10,000. As players place bets, a small portion of each stake is added to the jackpot, causing it to grow over time.
Thus, the prize pool can reach $500,000 or even exceed $10,000,000. The biggest jackpot was won in Mega Moolah, but other pokies pay significant amounts regularly. To reach the main prize, you have to unlock a bonus round or land a combination of specific symbols.
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