THE PICTURES AND REELS

Modern day pokie machines all use a random number generator (RNG) to decide if the press is a winning or losing spin.

The RNG processes over 1000 combinations a second and the instant you push that button you have stopped the RNG on a combination.

Pokie machine manufactures realise that just saying you won or lost would be boring so the idea to make it more exciting to have symbols and reels has ben a very successful decision.

 

SHOWING YOU THAT YOU WERE CLOSE TO FREE GAMES

This is a trick that the pokies use to make it seem like your close to free games so you want to play longer because the feature is ‘coming’.

Some machines after getting 2 of the free game symbols will slow the last remaining reels to extend that feeling of excitement that you feel from the free games.

Anyone that has played the pokies know the frustration of getting 2 of the symbols multiple times without getting free games.

The makers hope that this frustration is changed into the feeling that you are close.

Apparently legal obligations prevent machine manufactures from imputing these near miss features into their machines.

This is hard to track but anyone playing machines would know that this is quite a frequent occurrence.

A pokie near-miss will trigger the same areas of your brain that would be triggered if really did win. There are also the same areas involved in drug addiction. 

 

HAVING THE SYMBOL YOU NEED FOR A BIG WIN ‘JUST’ GO PAST SO YOU CAN SEE IT

Similar to the previous, if your looking for your last symbol on free games quite often the symbol you need will flash just past the screen.

Some machines even have the will intentionally have the feature symbols larger so you can see it even above or below the screen.

The symbols might also have a shadow behind to make it easier to see that you ‘just’ missed it.

 

DIFFERENT SIZED REELS

The last couple reels have a reduced amount of the symbols required for larger payouts.

Most machines need 5 of a kind to get a large winning result so giving you the perception that you were close to a big win with 3 or 4 of a kind.

In the early reels those large paying symbols might have be everywhere but on the 4 or 5 reel there might only be 1.

This means that it is extremely hard to get the 5 symbols needed but gives you the idea that you were close.

 

MAKING LOTS OF NOISE FOR A SMALL WIN

Everyone has heard this; your machine makes huge noises with flashing lights telling you ‘you’re a winner’ and then only to find out that you bet $1 and only won 75c, not winning but in fact losing.

The reason for this is not just for your machine but to give the appearance that people are winning nearby.

If you hear someone else’s machine behind you constantly making noise you think they are winning a lot.

By doing this the pokies hope that other players that hear this will be more likely to continue because they feel like winning is a possibility because others are ‘winning’.

 

WINNING SMALL AMOUNTS

The feeling of winning is why any player decides to push that button (except wanting to get $).

Modern machines give more frequent ‘winning’ spins but those are normally for very small amounts and in a lot of cases a losing spin.

The chance of winning even small amounts are low.

The feeling you get from ‘winning’ a small number is still a positive one, but also it normally means that you had 3 of a kind so the feeling of a near miss is attached.

 

SHOWING CREDITS INSTEAD OF JUST $ AMOUNTS

Laws in Australia have made machines show the amount of $ each bet is but the manufactures will use credits as a subtle way to get more money out of you.

All of the buttons on the machines are in the form of credits rather than $ values.

Credits are normally showed in large numbers while the $ amount is smaller numbers underneath.

The reason for this is to make your bets not feel like it is costing as much as it is, and having a separation to make it more likely to bet more.

This is the same reason casinos use chips instead of just taking cash bets.

When you bet with chips or credits you add a little mental separation and viewing as just credits and is not real cash.

This makes it easier to make larger bets because the $ amount is not staring you in the face.

 

PROGRESSIVE JACKPOTS

Who wouldn’t want to win $5,000 or $10,000 for only pressing a couple buttons.

Progressive jackpots are designed to make you part with more of your hard-earned money.

By showing you the large amounts you could win from playing, you are more likely to stay longer and spend more.

From the recent success of the lightning link jackpots pokies manufacturer Aristocrat share prices have been increasing dramatically. – FinancialReview

 

HAVING MULITPLE FEATURES

It has become popular for newer pokies to have multiple bonus feature games, as shown by the popular lightning link games.

These give the perception that you have more chances to win but reality is that the percentage of returns does not change.

In these specific games the only way for you to get a big win is through the features.

The 5 of a kind payoff for these machines are far lower than those offered by other machines.

Just playing these machines for a couple minutes you will see this to be the case, with very few winning spins.

 

LICENCED MACHINES HAVE A LOWER PAYBACK %

Although there are regulations in place for machines to have a minimum payback %. It is widely reported that machines that have a licencing agreement in place (e.g. Austin Powers, Monopoly) will have a lower % of payback.

This is due to the makers of the machines having to pay the owners of that licence a fee to use their likeness and or images etc.