Every pokie on the market carries a paytable, yet plenty of Australian players spin straight past it. That small information screen holds the payout values for every symbol, the scatter rules, and often the maximum win cap. Learning to decode it takes about two minutes and can shape everything from your bet size to which machine you choose at WildPokies. Discover further information on wildpokies login.
Whether you are playing classic three-reelers or modern five-reel video pokies from studios like Pragmatic Play, NetEnt and Hacksaw, the paytable is your roadmap to how the game actually pays. Ignore it and you are gambling blind.
Symbols, Values and the Wild Multiplier
Start with the symbol hierarchy. High-paying symbols , often themed characters or premium icons , typically return between 5x and 50x your line bet for five of a kind, while low-paying card symbols like 10, J, Q, K and A usually sit between 1x and 5x. The paytable lists these values in order, so the top entries matter most.
Next, check the wild. In many titles the wild substitutes for all standard symbols and may carry its own payout , sometimes the highest on the screen. Some games apply a multiplier when a wild completes a winning line, which can double or triple that specific win.
Scatters are separate. They usually pay anywhere on the reels rather than on a fixed payline, and three or more typically trigger free spins. The paytable will state exactly how many spins you receive and whether a multiplier applies during the feature.
Paylines deserve a close look too. A 20-payline pokie and a 243-ways pokie calculate wins differently, and the paytable reflects that. On fixed-line games you cannot reduce the number of active lines, so the total bet is locked to the line count.
RTP, Volatility and Reading the Numbers
Return to player, or RTP, tells you the theoretical percentage of all wagered money returned to players over millions of spins. Most online pokies sit between 94% and 97%, though some WildPokies titles push slightly higher. A 96% RTP means an average of $96 returned per $100 staked , not a guarantee on any single session.
Volatility works alongside RTP. Low-volatility pokies pay smaller amounts more often, while high-volatility games like many Hacksaw releases can go long stretches without a win before landing a large payout. The paytable hints at this through maximum win figures and feature frequency.
Also scan for the maximum win cap. Some games limit payouts to 5,000x your stake, others stretch to 50,000x. Knowing the ceiling stops you chasing a jackpot the game simply cannot deliver.
Practical Tips Before You Spin
- Open the paytable before your first spin, not after a losing streak.
- Compare symbol values across two or three similar games to spot better-paying options.
- Check whether free spins carry a multiplier and whether they can retrigger.
- Confirm the minimum and maximum bet so your bankroll in AUD stretches further.
WildPokies makes this easy by displaying RTP and paytable details directly in each game lobby, with balances tracked in AUD and funding through PayID or bank transfer. A couple of minutes spent reading the numbers beats guessing every time.