Since the beginning of civilised humanity, there have been games of chance, with the pokies being one of the most popular games in Australian history. Find out how the pokies work and where you can play slots online for real money.
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Most scholars agree that primitive versions of dice started off as animal or human bones that were marked. These bones were then thrown and people would wager various goods or services on the outcome of how the bones would land.
Later games evolved out of a system of betting on outcomes that include roulette, poker, dominoes, blackjack, checkers and keno. Entire lotteries have emerged out of these games that help to finance cities, states and countries.
One of the most popular forms of gambling in the entire world is one that was invented in the 19th Century by a man from the United States, and it was named a slot machine. The way it worked was fairly simple, and it started getting really popular at travelling fairs and circuses.
The poker machine consisted of three reels. These were discs that were lined up next to each other and each of them contained a series of symbols along the edge of them. In order for a person to play this machine, they simply had to pull a lever and then the discs would start spinning at different speeds. The discs would then slow down in different orders until they all eventually stopped.
In the middle of the viewing screen would be a row of three symbols that would form a sequence. In order for a player to have won their play back then, they had to have gotten three symbols in a row all on the same horizontal line in the middle of the viewing window. One of the most popular symbols for the first slot machines was a liberty bell, and that was in fact the name of one of the first models of slot machine.
The slot machine has evolved and changed throughout the years, but the basic premise remains the same: try to get the appropriate symbols to match up at the middle point of the viewing screen in order to win big bucks.
Today, the world of slot machines has evolved into a digital version; online pokies which can be played for real money or pretend cash. They have become enormously popular all over the world, and especially here in the land down under. There are some differences between pokies and actual physical slot machines, but for the most part, they are very similar.
One of the major differences between a pokie and a physical slot machine is the way probabilities work. For an actual slot machine, the probability of winning is dependent on the physical spinning of the discs and when they stop to form a sequence of symbols.
On a pokie, the probability does look like it is the same because the screen does show symbols spinning, but this is really only an emulation of a physical slot machine. The probability for a pokie is actually different because it is based on a computer program, not on the physical spinning of actual discs.
In Australia, slot machines are incredibly popular, and one of the biggest questions that people have about the game is: How do pokies work? Well, besides the aspect of probability making the game a little different from a slot machine, there are a few other factors. Nowadays, there are typically more than three reels on a pokie or on an actual slot machine, and what this means for a pokie is that there are more options for how to win as well as bonus options and payout structures.
Read more: Top pokies bonus codes
In order to understand how pokies work, let’s take a look at the game entitled Lucky Barstard. Unlike most of the online pokies that you see nowadays that have five reels, Lucky Barstard is a three reel game, so it is a little easier to explain.
First of all, every pokie has a theme and sort of mascot, and the theme and mascot of this game is sort of like a game show host from the 1980s. He is very tanned and his hair is pretty greasy. His suit is bejewelled and he’s even got a pinky ring.
As was mentioned earlier, this is a three-reeled pokie with one pay-line, so as far as structure goes, this pokie is pretty old school. The background for Lucky Barstard is purple and blue and all over the graphics are capitalised letters that read: BAR. This is because the bar is one of the winning symbols for the game.
At the top of the screen is an inviting and quirky little group of messages that vary. One of its many charming little phrases is “’ave a spin!” and that’s exactly what you should do in order to play the game. Once you do that, the three reels will begin spinning, and what you ultimately want is to land three symbols in a row. Depending on the symbols you land in a matching sequence, the amount of your payout will vary.
This pokie is put out by Microgaming, and as was mentioned earlier, it only has one pay-line. Its bet denominations range from ten cents to ten dollars, and it has a maximum bet per spin also of ten dollars. In this game, unlike other pokies, there are no wild symbols or scatter symbols, making this pokie truly one of the simplest games to play. Normally, the way a wild symbol would work on a pokie is that if it happens on a winning symbol sequence, then the amount that you would win as a player would increase, usually by double, but sometimes more and sometimes less.
There are also bonus features in pokies, and when you land a bonus, typically what will happen is that you will get free spins. If you get a win within any one of those free spins, then your winning amount will increase, sometimes up to triple, and couple that with the fact that if you not only win during a free spin, but that win includes a wild symbol, then we’re talking about some pretty big payouts.