A-Z Pokies Terminology
Whether you are new to online pokies or a seasoned player at sites like Rooster.bet, Playfina, Bitstarz, or Golden Crown, understanding the terminology helps you make better decisions and get more enjoyment from your gaming experience. Below is our complete glossary of pokies terms used across the industry.
A
Autoplay — A feature that allows you to set a predetermined number of spins to play automatically without pressing the spin button each time. Most pokies let you configure autoplay with stop conditions such as reaching a win threshold or triggering a bonus.
B
Bankroll — The total amount of money you have set aside specifically for gambling. Effective bankroll management involves setting session limits and never betting more than a small percentage of your total bankroll on any single spin.
Bet Level — The number of coins wagered per payline. Increasing your bet level raises your total stake per spin proportionally. Also referred to as coin value in some games.
Bonus Round — A special feature triggered during gameplay that offers additional winning opportunities beyond the base game. Bonus rounds may include free spins, pick-and-click games, wheel of fortune, or expanding multipliers.
Buy Feature — An option available on some pokies that allows you to purchase direct entry into the bonus round for a set price (typically 50-100x your bet) rather than waiting for it to trigger naturally.
C
Cascading Reels — A mechanic where winning symbols are removed from the reels and replaced by new symbols falling from above, potentially creating consecutive wins from a single spin. Also called tumbling reels, avalanche, or collapsing reels.
Cluster Pays — A win mechanic that awards payouts when groups of matching symbols appear adjacent to each other (typically 5 or more) rather than requiring them to land on specific paylines.
Coin Value — The monetary value assigned to each coin in a pokie game. Adjusting the coin value changes your total bet per spin.
D
Dead Spin — A spin that produces no winning combination and returns nothing to the player. Also called a losing spin or empty spin.
E
Expanding Wild — A wild symbol that expands to cover an entire reel (or row) when it lands, increasing your chances of forming winning combinations across multiple paylines simultaneously.
F
Free Spins — Bonus spins awarded without requiring an additional wager. Free spins are typically triggered by landing scatter symbols and often come with multipliers or other enhanced features.
Fruit Machine — A traditional term for pokies or slot machines, originating from the fruit symbols (cherries, lemons, oranges) used on early mechanical machines.
G
Gamble Feature — An optional side game that allows you to risk your winnings on a double-or-nothing bet, typically by guessing the colour or suit of a playing card.
H
Hit Frequency — The percentage of spins that result in any winning combination. A pokie with 30% hit frequency pays out something on roughly 3 out of every 10 spins, though most of these wins may be smaller than the bet amount.
Hold and Spin — A bonus feature where certain symbols lock in place on the reels while remaining positions re-spin for a set number of times, typically awarding prizes when specific positions are filled.
J
Jackpot — The largest possible payout in a pokie game. Can be fixed (a set amount) or progressive (increasing over time as players wager). See also Progressive Jackpot.
M
Max Bet — The maximum total wager allowed per spin on a pokie. Important to note when playing with bonus funds, as many casinos impose maximum bet rules (typically $5-$8) when using bonus money.
Megaways — A game mechanic licensed from Big Time Gaming that uses random reel modifiers to create up to 117,649 ways to win on each spin. The number of symbols on each reel changes every spin, creating a variable number of paylines.
Multiplier — A feature that multiplies your winnings by a specified factor. Multipliers can be attached to wilds, free spins, or bonus rounds. A 3x multiplier triples any win it applies to.
P
Payline — A line across the reels on which matching symbols must land to form a winning combination. Classic pokies may have 1-5 paylines, while modern video pokies can have 10, 20, 50, or even 243+ ways to win.
Paytable — A reference chart within each pokie that shows the value of each symbol, winning combinations, bonus feature rules, and other game-specific information.
Progressive Jackpot — A jackpot that grows incrementally as a small percentage of each player's wager is added to the prize pool. Progressive jackpots can be local (single game), network (multiple games), or pooled (across multiple casinos). These can reach millions of dollars.
R
Random Number Generator (RNG) — The algorithm that determines the outcome of each spin in an online pokie. RNGs ensure results are completely random and independent of previous spins. Licensed casinos have their RNGs certified by independent testing labs.
Reels — The vertical columns in a pokie that spin and display symbols. Most modern video pokies have 5 or 6 reels, while classic pokies typically have 3.
Respins — Additional spins triggered by specific symbol combinations or features without costing additional wagers. Different from free spins in that they are usually single spins rather than a series.
Return to Player (RTP) — The theoretical percentage of all wagered money that a pokie will pay back to players over its lifetime. Expressed as a percentage (e.g., 96.5%), higher RTP means better long-term value. See our RTP guide for more detail.
S
Scatter Symbol — A special symbol that typically triggers bonus features (like free spins) when a required number lands anywhere on the reels, regardless of payline position. Usually 3 or more scatters are needed to activate the feature.
Sticky Wild — A wild symbol that remains in its position on the reels for subsequent spins, commonly seen during free spin rounds where wilds accumulate to create increasingly large wins.
T
Tumbling Reels — See Cascading Reels. After a win, winning symbols disappear and new symbols tumble into their positions from above.
V
Variance — See Volatility. Often used interchangeably in pokies contexts.
Volatility — A measure of risk in a pokie game. Low volatility pokies pay smaller amounts more frequently. High volatility pokies pay larger amounts less frequently. Medium volatility sits between the two. Your choice should match your bankroll size and risk tolerance. See our volatility guide for more information.
W
Wagering Requirement — The number of times you must bet through a bonus amount before withdrawing associated winnings. A 35x wagering requirement on a $100 bonus means placing $3,500 in total bets before withdrawal.
Ways to Win — An alternative to traditional paylines where matching symbols pay regardless of their exact position on each reel, as long as they appear on consecutive reels from left to right. 243 ways to win is the most common configuration for 5-reel pokies.
Wild Symbol — A special symbol that substitutes for other regular symbols to help form winning combinations. Wilds typically cannot substitute for scatter or bonus symbols. Variants include expanding wilds, sticky wilds, multiplier wilds, and walking wilds.
X
xNudge Wild — A mechanic found in some modern pokies where a wild symbol nudges to cover the full reel, with the multiplier increasing by 1x for each nudge position.
Understanding These Terms in Practice
Knowing these terms helps you evaluate pokies games and choose those that match your playing style. When browsing the game libraries at casinos like SpinsUp, FortunePlay, StoneVegas, Asino, and Spinline, you can use paytable information to assess RTP, volatility, and special features before committing real money. We recommend trying free demo versions of unfamiliar game mechanics like Megaways or cluster pays before wagering real funds.