How to Increase Your Winnings
Whilst fairly high payouts can be won from the basic winning combinations of most games, payouts can be dramatically increased depending on the system of bonus features used in the particular pokies game you choose to play. The two most common bonus features are the 'wild' and 'scatter' cards. The 'wild' card can be used as a substitute symbol for any other symbol in the game except the 'scatter' symbol. Thus if you are one symbol away from a potentially winning combination, the 'wild' card can be employed as a substitute for the missing symbol, allowing you to achieve your winning strike.
In most pokies games, the 'wild' symbol must appear on an activated payline in order to be used. The 'scatter' symbol, on the other hand, can appear anywhere. The symbol usually acts as a multiplier for your winnings; where the scatter symbol appears as part of a winning combination, that combination's value is multiplied. In some games the scatter symbol also triggers bonus rounds within which further winnings can be multiplied. Many of the more complex games also feature complete bonus games, often offering players the chance to 'double or nothing' their winnings.
There is no doubt that Australian pokies machines are the most commonly played casino games around. These games fascinate due to their juxtaposition of simplicity and complexity in the form of stunning graphics and intricate bonus rounds that can sometimes contain two or three games in one.