Open almost any modern pokie and you will be greeted by a busy screen: flashing symbols, feature meters, multipliers and a paytable with several pages of rules. For a new player it can feel overwhelming, and even regular players often skip the details and simply press spin. Yet understanding the main features is the quickest way to know what a game can actually do and where its value lies. Game guides such as thepokies summarise features for individual titles, but knowing the vocabulary yourself makes any game easier to read. This guide breaks down the most common pokie features in plain terms, so the next time you open an unfamiliar title you will know what you are looking at.
Reels, Rows and the Basic Grid
Every pokie is built on a grid of reels (columns) and rows. The classic layout is three reels by three rows, while most modern video pokies use five reels by three or four rows. Some games use larger or irregular grids, and a few change shape from spin to spin.
The grid matters because it determines how many symbol combinations are possible. More reels and rows generally mean more ways to form a winning line, but also more complex paytables and, often, smaller individual wins.
Paylines and Ways to Win
A payline is a path across the reels along which matching symbols must land to produce a win. Early machines had a single horizontal line. Modern games may have 10, 20, 25 or even 50 fixed or adjustable paylines that zigzag across the grid.
“Ways to win” games take a different approach. Instead of fixed lines, they pay for matching symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel, regardless of which row they appear in. A five-reel, three-row game using this system offers 243 ways to win, and games with variable reel heights can offer many thousands.
| Format | How wins are counted | Typical example |
|---|---|---|
| Single payline | One fixed line across the centre | Classic three-reel pokies |
| Multi-line | Several fixed or selectable lines | 20- or 25-line video pokies |
| Ways to win | Matching symbols on adjacent reels, any row | 243 or 1,024 ways |
| Variable ways | Reel heights change every spin | Games with up to 100,000+ ways |
| Cluster pays | Groups of touching symbols | Grid-based cascading games |
Wild Symbols
A wild symbol substitutes for other symbols to help complete winning combinations. In most games it cannot replace special symbols such as scatters or bonus icons. Wilds come in several variations:
- Expanding wilds grow to cover an entire reel
- Sticky wilds stay in place for several spins, often during free spins
- Walking wilds move one position each spin until they leave the grid
- Multiplier wilds increase the value of any win they help create
- Stacked wilds appear in tall columns on a reel
Wild behaviour has a big effect on a game’s character. Pokies with sticky or multiplier wilds during free spins often concentrate much of their value in those features.
Scatter Symbols and Free Spins
Scatter symbols pay or trigger features regardless of where they land on the grid. Usually, three or more scatters anywhere on the reels activate a free spins round. During free spins, the game frequently adds enhancements such as extra wilds, multipliers or modified reels, which is why the feature is often where the largest wins occur.
Some games also allow free spins to be retriggered by landing further scatters during the round, extending the feature.
Bonus Rounds and Special Mechanics
Beyond free spins, many pokies include a separate bonus game. Common types include pick-and-win screens, where you select items to reveal prizes; wheel bonuses, which spin for a multiplier or award; and hold-and-spin features, where special symbols lock in place while the remaining positions respin.
Because there are now thousands of titles with different feature combinations, it pays to check how a game works before you start. Good game guides typically summarise each title’s paylines, wild types and bonus structure, which is handy when you want to compare a hold-and-spin game with a free spins game without reading pages of in-game rules. The paytable inside the game remains the final authority, so it is worth confirming the details there too.
Multipliers and Cascading Reels
Multipliers increase the payout of a win by a fixed factor, such as 2x or 5x. They may be attached to wilds, applied during free spins, or grow progressively with each consecutive win.
Cascading reels, sometimes called tumbling or avalanche reels, remove winning symbols and drop new ones into their place, potentially creating further wins from a single paid spin. Combined with a multiplier that increases after each cascade, this mechanic can produce chains of wins.
Jackpots
Pokies jackpots fall into two broad categories. Fixed jackpots offer a set prize, usually expressed as a multiple of the stake. Progressive jackpots grow as players wager, with a small portion of each bet added to the prize pool until someone wins it. Progressive games often have slightly lower base-game returns, because part of the RTP is reserved for the jackpot.
Buy Features and Bonus Options
A growing number of online pokies include a “bonus buy” or “feature buy” option, letting players pay a fixed price, often 50 to 100 times their stake, to trigger the free spins round immediately instead of waiting for scatters. It sounds convenient, but it changes the experience considerably. Because the feature is where much of a game’s value is concentrated, buying it compresses a lot of volatility into a single expensive decision.
Some games also offer an “ante” or “double chance” setting, which increases the bet per spin in exchange for a higher probability of triggering the feature naturally. These options are not available everywhere, and their RTP can differ slightly from the base game. If you come across them, check the rules carefully and remember that they increase the cost of play. For players on a fixed budget, the standard mode is usually the more sensible way to experience a game.
Making Sense of It All
Features make pokies more varied and engaging, but they do not change the underlying mathematics. Every feature is already factored into the game’s RTP and volatility. Understanding paylines, wilds, scatters and bonus rounds simply helps you choose games you will enjoy and set expectations that match how the game is built. Play within your limits, and if you need support, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858.
