As you probably realize by this point there are many different types of pokies and in your average casino or online gambling website you’re bound to encounter more than one type. Although you might think it doesn’t matter, the truth is that each different type of game has its own nuances and knowing about them could help you to understand how to play each type of slots.

Once you understand what makes these games of pokies different, you’ll be able to try them out without having to worry about doing anything ‘wrong’.

Progressive Games of Pokies

Nowadays one of the most popular types of slots has got to be progressive pokies. Over the last couple of years in particular these games have become more and more widespread – and for good reason too.

The first thing that you’ll notice about games of progressive slots that you encounter in any casino or online gambling website is this: They have the biggest jackpots.

Just to give you an idea of the scale that you’re dealing with, it is worth noting that some games of progressive pokies have been known to have jackpots as high as $30 million or more! Undoubtedly you’re wondering how any casino or online gambling website can afford to allow a single game to pay out that much – and that’s a good question.

The answer is simple: The game funds itself!

Basically the hallmark of any game of progressive pokies is that whenever you make a bet (and you need to make the maximum bet to be eligible for the jackpot) a slice of that bet always goes towards a unified jackpot.

A unified jackpot is a jackpot that extends not just towards the machine that you’re playing but through all games from that series of slots.

So for example, if there are 20 games of Golden Pokies in a casino or online gambling website – the unified jackpot will apply to all of these games, and whenever anyone places a bet on any of these games a slice will go towards the jackpot.

Also, when anyone wins on any of these games they’ll win the jackpot too!

In a nutshell, this means that the jackpot of a game of progressive slots is constantly ‘growing’, which is why it can sometimes hit amazing sizes such as $30 million or more!

Flat Top Slots

The other popular type of pokies that you’ll find nowadays is flat top slots. Truth be told, this is probably more like the ‘original’ form of slots in many ways, and so it might be one that you’re fairly familiar with already.

In games of this kind, there is no progressive jackpot or even a unified jackpot. Instead, the jackpots of games of flat top pokies are structured so that they pay out in multiples of the denomination you’re betting.

As you should be able to guess, this means that their payouts are normally a lot less than progressive jackpots – which might seem to make them inferior at first glance, but they really aren’t.

The problem with games of progressive pokies is that although the jackpots are undeniably huge, the odds of winning them are also fairly outlandish. For example, you might very well find that a $30 million or so jackpot will have odds of about 30 million to 1 to win! On the other hand a 2,000:1 jackpot in a flat top slots game might have 2,000 to 1 odds to win for that game.

In short, although the jackpots for flat top pokies are much smaller, you’ll find that they are easier to win – which is why many a casino and online gambling website keep these games around, and also why many players still prefer them.

Apart from that, you’ll find that the gameplay between flat top slots and progressive pokies is really fairly similar.

From time to time you may hear that the overall odds for winning at flat top slots are better because a slice of the pot isn’t going towards the progressive jackpot – and that is really just one way of looking at it.

It is true that if you exclude the portion of the bet going to the jackpot for progressive pokies from the picture entirely, flat top slots are a much better prospect – but this is far from the complete picture.

At the end of the day, the payout percentage is what determines your odds of winning on either of these games of pokies – and that is what you should be looking for when you’re in any casino or online gambling website.

Other Differences

Make no mistake, there are other differences and other types of pokies that you’ll find in a casino or online gambling website. Some may have additional features while others may have huge differences in terms of their gameplay.

When you encounter anything new, you should always try to find out as much about that feature as you can beforehand.

All said and done though, now that you know all about the two most popular types of slots you should be able to play them without having to worry about whether or not there are going to be any consequences. As you can see – they are both really very similar and the only differences between them are when it comes to the jackpot!

What this means is it is not like you’re going to have to learn anything new – just play pokies the way you always do and you should be fine.