Pokies Guide for Novice New Zealand Players

We have put together the ultimate guide to getting started with pokies in a few simple steps. Our pokies guide offers a short history, a guide to the new terms you’re most like to come across, and the different types of pokies available to choose from. We also assist players in New Zealand will finding the best online pokies sites, and set your mind at ease by discussing safety and security.

At PokiesOnlineNZ.co.nz we are passionate about educating players in New Zealand on the best online casinos, and hopefully our pokies guide will have you winning big in no time!

Short History of Pokies

The Sittman and Pitt Company of Brooklyn, New York developed a precursor to the modern pokie machine in 1981 and Charles Fey developed the Liberty Bell between 1887 and 1895. The Liberty Bell was an instant hit and the machine quickly spread like wildfire.

The development of pokies continued throughout the 1900s and in 1963 Bally developed the first fully electromechanical pokie called Money Honey. Then, in 1976 the Fortune Coin Company developed the first true video pokie machine, and in 1994 the first online pokies were released on the world. Now on to our pokies guide!

Pokies Guide: Terminology

No pokies guide would be complete without a mention of some of the terminology that you are most likely to come across.

Bonus: an extra way to win on top of regular spins. The most common bonus feature is free spins.

Gamble: a bonus feature which sees NZ players attempt to increase their winnings by participating in a game which generally involves predicting card suits or colours.

Jackpot: the highest possible win in an online pokies game.

Scatters: a symbol that unlocks the bonus features and pays out anywhere on the reels.

Wilds: a symbol which substitutes for any symbol necessary to complete a winning combination.

Different Types of Pokies

The best online casinos will have hundreds of options for different kinds of pokies developed by major companies such as Microgaming, Aristocrat and IGT, which can complicate the decision making process. The aim of a pokies guide or casino guide is to simplify the process for new players, and hopefully discussing the different types of pokies will do just that.

3 Reels: the simplest of them all! 3 reels and a single payline offer an uncomplicated, retro experience.

Multiple Paylines: modern pokies come in all shapes and sizes with huge variety in paylines. As part of our casino guide we advise players to keep in mind that each payline activated will cost you extra credit.

Progressives: pokies of this kind offer a massive progressive jackpot which increases every time the reels are spun but not won. In order to win the jackpot, most pokies require the player to have all paylines activated and sometimes multiple pokies are connected to the same jackpot.

Free / Real Money: free pokies are offered to players as practise rounds or to entice players to try out new pokies, while real money pokies cost the player from the first spin.

Casino Guide: Finding the Best Pokies

The best pokies guide will advise players to always do their research before creating an account, but here are PokiesOnlineNZ.co.nz we have done all the hard work for you! We ensure that all the online casinos we recommend use the latest Secure Socket Layer encryption to protect your personal and financial information, and by only using the sites we recommend players in New Zealand will have access to widest range of online pokies with iron-clad security software.