You can play pokies from as little as A$0.01 per spin to A$500. Bonus buy pokies at Aussie online casinos can cost as much as A$500k per purchase. How much you bet per round depends on your financial situation, gambling preferences, and expectations.
This guide provides betting suggestions for pokies for all player types, have a read before you hit the online casino floor.
How Much Money Do You Need to Play Online Pokies?
Each online pokie is designed with a unique set-up to support bets relative to the number of paylines, whether fixed or adjustable, and wager per line. You can bet A$0.01 per spin by activating a single line and betting the lowest. Or play the same slot machine with 25 active paylines and the same wager for A$0.25 per round. This is the best strategy when playing pokies to maximise the RTP of the games.
How much you should bet depends on how much money you have available to play online pokies, and vice versa. I generally advise players to bet 1 – 5% of their total balance per spin. 1% is perfect for games with high volatility (risky pokies), while 5% is the best pokies bet for games that pay out regularly.
Assuming you want to bet A$0.10 or A$0.25 per spin to cover all lines at the minimum wager, you need A$10 and A$25 total balance, respectively. Joining the following casinos ensures you also pocket a 100% match bonus and free spins, enabling a solid pokies session from A$10 minimum casino deposit.
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Tip – the ideal bankroll strategy to play popular high variance pokies like Elvis Frog in Vegas, Gates of Olympus, and Big Bass Bonanza is A$100. This ensures 100x A$1 bets, offering potential payouts of A$5,000 and over when hitting the jackpot.
Grow your bankroll with these bonuses
Online casinos compete for players, and bonuses is how they stand out. The gold standard at Australian online pokies sites is a package covering match bonuses and free spins on your first three or five deposits.
Depositing enough to cover the qualifying bonus amount is a smart move since the casino doubles your bankroll with house money. 50 or even 100 free spins might be added to the mix as well.
Taking advantage of casino bonuses is a clever move for all player types – low rollers can boost their gametime and play pokies for longer, while high rollers can bet twice their normal stake per round for a shot at higher payouts.
Follow these tips to spend less on pokies
Winning at pokies ultimately depends on luck. There is no way around it. However, following these tips and strategies ensures you don’t overspend, and you are maximising the game odds:
- Never bet over 5% of your total balance per round.
- Activate all paylines, even if it means lowering your stake per round.
- Do not increase or decrease your bets based on your performance. Set a betting and bankroll strategy and stick to it.
- Assess games using the demo version.
- Know the volatility of the game you are playing beforehand.
- Avoid games with lower than 95% RTP.
- Claim all bonuses with fair T&Cs.
Popular Online Pokies & Their Betting Limits
Since thousands of pokies are available to play at casinos we recommend, I have selected 10 to display their betting range and maximum win multiplier. This should help you put things into perspective and know what to expect in advance.
| Pokies | Minimum Bet | Maximum Bet | Jackpot |
| Elvis Frog in Vegas | A$0.25 | A$25 | 2,500x |
| Queen of The Nile | A$0.01 | A$50 | 2,500x |
| Lucky 88 | A$0.06 | A$6.25 | 2,500x |
| Sun of Egypt 3 | A$0.25 | A$20 | 10,000x |
| Gold Digger | A$0.20 | A$20 | 8,230x |
| Lock it Link Nightlife | A$0.40 | A$45 | 500x |
| Big Red | A$1 | A$100 | 1,250x |
| 88 Fortunes | A$0.08 | A$88 | 1,000x |
| More Chilli | A$0.01 | A$2 | 10,000x |
| Cash Bandits | A$0.01 | A$6.25 | 50,000x |
You can click to read my reviews for more information on their RTP and volatility, these are other metrics that can help you assess how much you should be betting per round and potential returns.
Small vs Large Bets at Online Pokies
It is important to set a daily bankroll limit and then optimise your betting amount per spin accordingly. Each spin takes approximately 2 seconds, so wagering 10% or 20% of your total balance in one go is not a viable strategy. It would add immense pressure which could eventually lead to compulsive decisions.
What I advise is setting a monthly budget, then deciding how many times you would like to play during that period and putting aside equal amounts for each session. Then, go for 1 – 5% of your session’s balance per spin, depending on the slot game type.
It is also important to decide on an exit strategy. For example, I usually stop playing when I hit a 50 – 100x win. Not knowing when to stop is a recipe for disaster in pokies.
Does the betting amount influence the outcome of pokies?
Pokies payouts are determined by your bet size, spending more per spin could lead to larger wins but also adds significant risk.
This rule applies universally, just keep in mind that progressive jackpot slots might require higher stakes to qualify for the jackpot.
Other instances where larger stakes improve the outcomes of gaming include the following:
- Buying the bonus round in pokies instead of manually spinning the reels usually boosts the RTP of the game.
- Activating ante bets or features boosting the chances of entering a bonus round slightly increases the RTP.
- Wagering on all paylines per spin is paramount, not doing so significantly hinders your winning chances.
Except for the latter, the two other betting strategies add an extremely small advantage, so do not stress about it.
Key Takeaways
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to gambling. Some want to play pokies to blow some steam off, while others gamble for the cash. No matter how you approach gaming, you should play within your means and never bet more than you originally planned. The tips shared in this guide are perfect for that purpose.
Players struggling to stick to their set bankroll and spend more than they can afford to lose on pokies should read this responsible gambling guide.
- About the Author
- Affiliate Disclosure
Michael has reviewed and verified all information on this page. Having worked in the iGaming industry for over 8 years, he is the most capable person to help you navigate online casinos, pokies, and the Australian gambling landscape.
