What should I do with my winnings – keep playing or cash out?
You’re on a roll, you’re raking in the cash, it seems like there’s just no stopping you. The question is – what to do with your winnings? Option one – you can cut your losses and withdraw your winnings, ensuring you don’t proceed to end your winning streak and lose the lot but also surrendering the chance for even greater winnings that may have been just around the corner. Option two – reinvest your winnings back into your gaming and continue to play, risking losing the lot but also gaining the chance to win huge! This is a decision that every pokies player will have to make – and not just once! We have a few suggestions that might help you out when next you confront this age old dilemma.
First and foremost, please think carefully about whether you are a problem gambler. There are a number of pages on our Frequently Asked Questions section about problem gambling – check these pages out for signs commonly displayed by problem gamblers, how to recognise if you are a problem gambler, and steps you can take to get help for your addiction. If you even suspect you might be a problem gambler, these suggestions are not for you – you should stop gambling immediately and seek profession help. Lives have been ruined, and it is not just your own that is on the line – families have been torn apart and it’s just not worth it.
Okay, that said, if you are certain that you don’t have a gambling problem, that you can and do go for long and regular periods without gambling and that you don’t feel you crave it when you don’t do it, and you don’t gamble irresponsibly, then you can consider carefully our advice on what to do with your winnings – keep playing or cut and run?
Ultimately it’s up to you, there’s not a single sure-fire way of knowing whether the next hit will see you win big or lose everything. Obviously, or it wouldn’t be called gambling, would it? There’s really no way of even getting an idea of what’s coming up in the next spin – every single spin is totally randomly generated. So it’s not knowing what’s next that will help you to decide. And don’t fool yourself that you’ve ‘got a good feeling’ – many a good feeling has been followed by a loss of all winnings and capital. What you need is a plan that you stick to when you’re on a winning streak no matter what that will let you know whether to keep betting your winnings or to cash out. Now you can figure one out that works for you, but this is our suggestion:
- As soon as your balance has increased sufficiently, withdraw the amount you initially bet and put it away. While it’s possible just to keep playing and not bet below your original capital amount, our experience is that this doesn’t work quite as well as withdrawing it immediately – it’s just a little more tempting when it is already in the machine!
- We also recommend having two places to keep your money – one for money that can be bet and one for money that is off limits. This works well with two pockets, in a real life casino, and a similar system can be achieved by using the features of the various payment options in the site of your choice. For example, many payment options have a withdrawal limit over a set period. We highly recommend setting this up immediately.
- Decide on a win/loss amount that you stick to during a winning streak. For example, imagine you originally bet $25 and that that amount has now increased to $250. Now, there’s no point in cashing out in anticipation of a loss, at least we don’t think so. However, if you know your will power to be lacking, we suggest that in fact you do exactly that. Losing can increase desperation and foolish belief in your ability to “win it back”. Provided you’re in control and will remain so regardless of wins or losses, we recommend the following. Don’t cash out in anticipation of a loss, but decide upon a maximum amount you’re willing to lose and cash out immediately when you reach that amount. So, if you originally bet $25 and have been lucky enough to increase that amount ten fold to $250, continue to bet unless you lose and your total amount falls to $200. This gives you some leeway, as you don’t necessarily want to be scared off by any small loss when bigger wins could be about to follow, but you certainly don’t want to lose all those winnings. And, if your balance continues to grow, then you can alter the amount at which you’ll cash out.
It’s pretty obvious stuff – just basic common sense really – but don’t be fooled. It is not the development of the plan that is the tricky part. It’s the sticking to it. We are all too aware that in the moment of winning or losing, it is all too easy to convince yourself to just make that one more bet, to win a little bit more, or to win back your losses. We are all too aware of that “lucky feeling” you get that tells you that the next spin is going to be the winner. And while sometimes it might be, the odds are stacked against you every time. And so, while the excitement and the success might be fun in the moment, overall you will have a much more enjoyable gaming experience all the time if you develop a plan like this and stick to it. Because the people that play recklessly might have more of those moments of jubilation and excitement, but you can bet they also have a lot more of the desperate moments too – and you don’t want that. Be very aware that a gambling problem can creep up on you, no one is immune, and taking steps to ensure that you gamble responsibly will make your gaming, and your life, much more enjoyable and much less stressful.
What is a pokie player’s favourite drink?
We asked over thirty pokie players – some in real life casinos, and some who play at home online – a whole lot of different questions, one of which was what their favourite drink while playing the pokies is. Here are some of their responses:
“I usually just drink beer. I don’t really play the pokies online, just when I’m down at the pub with my mates having a few drinks and a laugh. And one time I decided to have a few bourbon and cokes and play some pokies. Well, I got really drunk and woke up the next morning with no money – and a fair whack had been taken out of my account too. I’m not usually one for rules, but that was a really nasty shock and I decided to stick to the beer if I’m playing the pokies and if I feel like something stronger, I leave the pokies room and just hang out with my mates and drink there.” – Glen, 36
“Well my preferred drink is either champagne or vodka and cranberry, and so I normally drink one of those, whether I’m playing the pokies or not. I only play them occasionally anyway, normally one of the girlfriends I’m at the bar with will play together a little bit, just for fun, we usually don’t win much but we never lose that much either and we have a laugh. We’re usually only in the gaming room for twenty minutes or so before we go and rejoin everyone else.” – Amanda, 24
“Every now and again I like to sit down at night in front of my computer with a glass of red wine, or sometimes a Baileys and ice, and play the online pokies for half an hour or so. Sometimes I play poker online which I do like a lot, but I don’t usually have the time. Even just playing the pokies for half an hour is such a fun and easy way to unwind after a long day – and make some money sometimes, which is always nice! “ – Susan, 43
“I play the pokies online pretty regularly, about 4 times a week and I like a gin and tonic. I used to go to the casino or to the local pub and play the pokies there but I’m getting old and it was sometimes a bit of a hassle to venture out into the weather and go down to the pub. My grandson showed me all these online pokies you can play and I love them! I still go down to the pub sometimes, or even to the casino once in a while, but I find I win more when I play online and I get to relax at home and don’t have to buy expensive drinks. So I just mix my own gin and tonic and sit down at the computer. My grandson’s quite impressed with me, he says I’ve caught on very quickly!” – June, 72
Why play online pokies?
If you’ve come this far, you’re probably already on board with online pokies as the best way to game, but just in case you need a little convincing, read on. There are a lot of similarities between real world poker machines and online ones, but there are also a lot of differences, and it’s these reasons that many players indicate that online poker machine gaming is their preferred choice. Here are a few of these reasons and then see if you’re not convinced.
Convenience
This one’s pretty obvious. You don’t have to leave your house. An online casino is literally just a few clicks away. You can play in the comfort of your own living room, in your pyjamas if you want. You can play anytime that suits you, and for as long as you want. You can play in between household chores, or over a few beers in the evening. In fact, you don’t even have to be at home! You can play anywhere you can connect a computer to the internet. You don’t have to line up at cashiers desks, or deal with the pressure and annoyance of other people in your space while you’re trying to gamble sensibly. In this age of work and family and stress and busyness, many people often have to miss out on their preferred means of relaxing. With the convenience of online pokies, you can make sure you don’t have to be one of those people.
Price
Being able to stay at home and avoid travel to get to the casino saves you money. You save on driving into town, parking, and paying for food and drinks at inflated prices. Saving all this money means when you win, you win even bigger!
Privacy
Playing poker machines online means you can play in absolute anonimity. You can play whatever game you like on, in whatever way you want, with noone else knowing. Obviously poker machines in pubs and bars and casinos can’t offer this.
Practise
If you are playing poker machines at an online casino, you have the chance to play the games (and in fact not just the poker games – you can play al of the games) for FREE. This is an incredibly opportunity you just don’t get in real world casinos. Want to try out some strategies, or just fine tune your game before laying out the cash? No problem with online casinos!
Your game is never taken
Ever gone to your local casino or pub for a few quick games on your favourite poker machine only to find someone else has taken it? This has happened to all gamers at least once, and it’s pretty frustrating. Well, avoid this with online games. You have your own account, and you can play whatever game you want, whenever you want with no problems being caused by the other punters!
Track your bets
When you’re playing a real world poker machine, you can easily lose track of how much money you’re spending. As soon as you know it, you reach for your wallet again and woah – back to the ATM. This is pretty dangerous and can lead to a gambling problem. One of the most important ways to gamble responsibly is to be aware of how much money you are spending – and how much you’ve got to spend. Online poker machines and casinos make this much easier. You can look at all your financial information with one click – allowing you to stay on top of your spending and control your better. Wiser financial decisions when gambling translates to higher winnings, and less trouble.
And so, when you look at all the information, online slots are the far better choice. Sure, sometimes you still want to pop down to the pub and have a few beers and a chat with your mates and play a few games like that – there’s no need to replace this experience with online slots. But sometimes you don’t want to deal with the various hassles and just want to play the pokies for a while. For situations like that, online pokies are the clear winner. Just give them a try for yourself and see what you think – we’re pretty confident you’ll see them like we do – the way of the future for lucrative, fun and safe gambling.
More tips for playing online pokies
- Always make sure you know all the information about the game you’re playing. Most important to be aware of is the payout information. Be sure you know the best payout percentage of the game you choose to play as well as other games you could be playing instead. Knowledge is power!
- Make sure you have a well thought out budget, and that you stick to it. There are too many stories of people who have gambled their way to ruin – you don’t want to be one of them and the best way to avoid it is a good money management system and the will power to abide by the rules you set for yourself.
- If your bankroll doesn’t allow you to play the maximum number of coins on the machine you’re playing on, it’s a good idea to choose a different game – one that has less paylines so that you can bet the maximum amount and have a chance at winning the jackpot.
- Look for online casinos that offer bonuses, comps, giveaways or other freebies and prizes. But be careful – don’t play more just to increase your comps or your chances of getting these prizes.
- Keep an eye out for high progressive jackpot poker games. Jump online and do a bit of research before heading straight to the pokies to give yourself a better idea of which casinos are offering the best deals. Progressive jackpots are one area in which it pays to look at the last time they paid out, as the amount you could win will be larger.
- Always, always, ALWAYS set a loss limit. When you’ve reached it, give up. Immediately.
Myths of poker machines
There are a lot of “old wives tales” about poker machines out there. These are myths that have been built up and spread around over time. It pays to take advice and tips about poker machines with a grain of salt as there’s a heap of misinformation around out there. Often these myths lead people to believe that real poker machines are better or safer than online machines, which is just not true. If anything, the opposite is true. Here are a few examples just to give you the idea:
MYTH: Real Machines have Off/On or Hot/Cold Cycles.
Many people think that if a real poker machine has been played for a long time without paying out, then it’s “due” to enter a hot cycle – a period of time during which it will payout a lot. We’ve dispelled this myth a number of times, but it persists (and so so do we!) – THIS IS NOT TRUE. There is not such thing as a machine due to payout, or a hot or cold cycle. Each and every spin is generated randomly and has no bearing on the spins to come. In fact, it’s even more complicated than this – check out our “How do slot machines work” to find out why, if you’re playing a machine and then get up and leave and the next player sits down and hits the jackpot immediately, you would not have won that jackpot if you had kept playing.
MYTH: Real poker machines operate mechanically.
Some people are wary of playing online poker machines. They think that online games are less trustworthy because they’re not mechanical like real poker machines and therefore can be “fixed” or “rigged” more easily. The reality is that although real poker machines look mechanical, with the spinning reels and sometimes with the lever or at least wth a button that you can push, they’re not mechancially operated. Real poker machines are controlled by thesame computer software that generates numbers randomly that online poker machines are controlled by. The real poker machines just keep this mechanical appearance for aesthetics, and to give the sense of the old school machines, like the liberty bell machine, which were operated mechanically. Online poker machines are just as safe – in fact likely more so – and cannot be fixed or rigged by anyone, including the house.
MYTH: Pulling the lever is better than pressing play.
The same kind of thinking as above generated this myth. That is, that mechanical slots are better than computerised ones, and that playing with the lever means you’re playing with a mechanical machine and have a greater chance of winning, or at least avoiding fixed machines. This is not true. Pressing the play or spin button, or pulling the lever has no effect whatsoever on the outcome of the spin. All poker machines these days are computerised, and if the lever is just for show. There is no difference between real machines with levers, real machines with buttons, or online machines (except that the odds tend to be better on online machines).
What time do pokies have a higher payout rate?
There are a lot of theories out there about how to win at playing poker machines. Some people recommend playing particular games, or in a particular style. Others suggest playing on machines that are “due for a payout” and still others think it will help if they play at a certain time of day or night. While there are legitimate tips out there for increasing your chances of winning at poker machine gaming, for the most part, these strategies are nonsense.
The people that claim that poker machines payout better during the day are probably basing this approach on the fact that if a particular machine has been played all night the previous night without paying out, then it’s “due for a payout”. However, there’s no such thing as a machine that’s due to payout. Every single time a player plays a machine, the odds of him winning are the exact same odds that the last person to play was playing with, and the exact same odds that the next person will be playing with, even if there’s a payout in between. The symbols are generated randomly for each and every spin – the machine does not recollect or factor in previous spins or wins when generating the next spin. There is no such thing as a machine that is due to payout, and machines do not payout better during the day than during the night.
As for those who claim that machines payout better during the night, well there’s a little bit of truth in this, though they’re misinterpreting it. Poker machines don’t payout better during the night time, but they do payout more often. That is, the amount of the payout is not affected by the time of day or night – day time payouts are just as high as night time payouts. However, there are more jackpots hit at night than there are during the day. Why is this? It’s very simple: more people are playing poker machines during the night than during the day. It’s obvious that the more people that are playing, the chances of one of those people hitting the jackpot are greater. Imagine one person playing compared to one thousand people playing. You’d be pretty surprised if not one of those thousand people took some money home, whereas if the single player didn’t take anything home, it wouldn’t be surprising at all. So, yes, it’s true that more poker machines payout during the night time than during the day. But this doesn’t change your odds at all. Your odds remain the same every time you hit ‘play’ – no matter the time of day or night, just the same as it doesn’t matter whether the machine has payed out recently or whether it hasn’t paid out for a long time. Every single spin, the results are randomly generated. So keep this in mind when people give you “old wives tales” for poker machines, and check out of Tips for Winning at Pokies for genuine ways to increase your chances.
Advanced strategies for playing pokies
While there are no surefire ways to win at slots, and it’s true that the game is based on luck, there are some advanced strategies that some serious pokie players employ. Here are a couple of these strategies outlined below. Keep in mind that there is no consensus among pokie players; for everyone who says one strategy is good, another person will say it doesn’t work. Try out the strategies and determine what works for you.
Averages
This strategy is particularly advanced, perhaps the most advanced of all methods for playing pokies. It requires the use of a mathematical equation to determine on which spins the machine is most likely to yield winning slots. While some people prefer to use actual mathematical calculations using formulas in this strategy, it’s not completely necessary and if you practice a little then it can be done in your head relatively quickly. Follow these steps and practice:
- You must choose a pokie machine or game that uses “equal ratio” play. The averages strategy will only work on these machines. Equal ratio means that the machine will give the same payout percentage for every level of play. For example, if you bet five dollars, the jackpot payout will be exactly five times that it would be had you bet one dollar.
- This strategy allows you to calculate the average of the number of spins between wins. In order to do this, you must bet with the minimum amount in order to establish, on average, how many spins you make before you win. Make sure you have a pen and paper handy, and play for a while, recording the number of spins you make before you get a win. Repeat this about ten times. For example, if, the first time, you spin 11 times and then win on the twelfth, write down 12. Then repeat and if you spin, say, 7 times and on the eighth time you win, write down 8.
- Once you have around ten wins recorded in this style, find the average of all the numbers. You then have the average number of spins between wins. Let’s say it’s 15. Then, in order to maximise your chances of winning for this particular game, you would bet the minimum amount for 14 spins and then on the 15th spin you would bet the maximum.
NOTE: Many players swear by this system for winning big on pokies. All evidence of how poker machines work suggests that this method will not work, as the results of the spins are generated randomly. We’ve outlined the strategy here because of the people who swear it works. Try it out and see how it works for you.
One Play Strategy
As with the averages strategy, you will need to choose Equal Ratio games in order to make this one play strategy work. It also helps to choose games that offer big jackpots, and to only make the maximum bet.
Spin once, betting the maximum. If your play wins a payout of between one and three times the amount you bet, make one more play.
If your play wins four or more times the amount you bet, then you make three more plays.
If neither of these things happen, stop playing immediately.
NOTE: Many people do not believe in One Play poker machine strategies. They tend to say that it is impossible to win by just using one type of bet. Try out the method for yourself and make up your own mind.
Does the amount you bet impact the chances of winning?
The short answer to this question is no – the amount of money that you bet does not impact your chances of winning, either small or big. But it’s a little more complicated than this.
For starters, the amount of rows you bet on does impact your chances of winning. This is pretty obvious when you think about it. If you only have one row activated, then it is only the symbols that appear on that row that count when tallying your winnings (if any). In order to win any amount, you need a certain combination to appear on all three (or five, or another number depending on the machines you’re playing on) reels in a row.
If you’re playing with more rows activated, then your chances increase as you need the same amount of symbols, but there are more places for them to appear. It costs more money to play with more rows, so in this sense, you could argue that the amount you play with in fact does increase your chances of winning.
There’s another factor involved in assessing whether the amount you bet impacts your chances of winning, and that’s jackpots. The amount you bet does not alter your chances of winning the jackpot. However, and this is a big however, if you do win the jackpot, the amount you bet greatly impacts on the amount you win. If you are betting the maximum and then you hit the jackpot, you will win the maximum jackpot – that is the amount advertised as the jackpot by the machine. This amount depends on the machine you are playing, but could be more than a million dollars. If you are not betting the maximum amount and you hit the jackpot, the amount you win will be greatly reduced. It could decrease from a million dollars to ten thousand dollars, even if you are betting only a dollar or two less than the maximum bet amount allowed. You’ll obviously still be pretty happy if you’re taking home ten or twenty thousand dollars. But knowing you could have been taking home a million dollars or more, and that you were only a dollar or two away – that’s going to take some of your excitement away, and that dollar or two is going to seem pretty insignificant.
Do keep in mind that although that dollar or two seems insignificant after you could have won a million dollars, that doesn’t make it insignificant, and if you’re betting the maximum all the time, your bankroll is going to diminish pretty rapidly – thereby limiting how many plays you can make and lowering your overall chances of getting the jackpot to begin with. It’s all a matter of balance!
What are the odds when playing Keno?
Keno is similar to state lottery: you pick several numbers on a ticket, and hope to match the numbers drawn from the ping-pong ball machine. It’s also similar to the state lottery in that the odds are very bad. Keno in the casino has the highest edge of any game in the casino – 25% or more.
If you’re playing online the odds are much better. For example, the Pick 13 at Captain Cooks Casino offers a return of 96.54%. The pace of online keno is much faster, so you could still wind up losing more money by playing online even though the odds are better, because you’re placing so many more bets.
Many gambling authors will tell you to never play Keno because the edge is so high. In The New Gambler’s Bible, Arthur Reber says, “I wouldn’t play it with Monopoly money, and I hope you never will.” While Rebers has a point, if you’re only playing a few times for the thrill of a chance at a big win, losing a few bucks isn’t going to kill you. All educated people go into the casino with the understanding that they’re going to lose some money, so what’s the crime if you limit your Keno play to what you can afford to lose and you fully understand that the odds are bad? So long as you are aware of the odds, you play with them in mind, and you don’t bet more than you can afford, you’re in the clear.
What is the history of Keno?
Keno started in China, and the game was brought to the United States by Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century. Originally played with 80 Chinese characters, these were replaced by 80 Arabic numerals when the game became popular in the United States.
For a time in Nevada casinos, each number was accompanied by the name of a racehorse, and the game was known as racehorse keno. The horses’ names disappeared in 1951, as operators didn’t want their game mistaken as horse betting when a tax was placed on off-track betting on horses. However, vestiges of racehorse keno can still be seen: many casinos call each keno game a “race”, and if you bet on more than one game at one time, you buy a “multirace ticket”.
Although the game still remains more popular in the United States than in Australia, many casinos have keno lounges, where numbered balls are forced out through an air blower to determine the winners. Keno is a fun and exciting way to gamble, but keep in mind that the odds aren’t good!
