Pokies come with their own language. Some of it is maths (RTP, volatility, ways), some is Aristocrat branding (Reel Power, Hold & Spin, Hyperlink) and some is pure Aussie pub talk ("the feature", "a punt", "the pokie room"). This pokie glossary decodes all of it in plain English.
Skim it from A to Z, or jump to the letter you need. If a term sends you down a rabbit hole, our history of Aristocrat fills in the backstory.
How to use this pokie glossary
Terms are grouped by letter. Where a term has its own guide, we've linked it, such as Reel Power explained and Hold & Spin explained. Rules vary from game to game, so the help screen on the machine always has the final say.
A
A punt
Aussie slang for a bet or a go at something. "Having a punt on the pokies" just means playing them. The person betting is a punter.
Ante bet
An optional extra bet some games offer, such as the extra bet on 5 Dragons, which changes what's in play (for example more symbols or extra prizes). The help screen explains exactly what it adds.
Aristocrat
Aristocrat Leisure, the Sydney-founded maker behind Queen of the Nile, Lightning Link, Buffalo and many more. Its social apps are run by its Product Madness studio.
B
Bank
A group of machines side by side, often running the same game family and sharing a linked jackpot shown on a display above them.
Bet per line / bet per reel
The multiplier you choose on top of the lines or reels you play. Your total bet is usually lines (or reels) × bet per line (or reel), shown in credits.
Big Reel
A free games feature from the original Lightning Link, where the middle three reels join into one giant reel.
Button deck
The row of buttons (or a touchscreen panel) in front of the screen: bet options, Spin, Help, Collect and so on.
C
Cabinet
The physical machine: the box, screens, lighting and buttons. Aristocrat has made many cabinet families, from Helix to MarsX and Baron. See our pub floor field guide.
Collect
The button that ends your session and pays out your credits, usually as a printed ticket or via the cashier, depending on the venue.
Credit
The unit a pokie counts in. Each credit is worth the denomination you picked, so 100 credits on a 1c game is $1.
Credit meter
The display showing your current balance in credits (some games can also show it in dollars).
D
Denomination
The value of one credit: 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c and up. Changing denomination changes what every credit, and every win, is worth.
Dragon Link
Aristocrat's Asian-themed Hold & Spin series from 2017, with themes such as Autumn Moon, Golden Century, Happy & Prosperous and Panda Magic.
F
Feature
The bonus round. In Aussie pub talk "getting the feature" means triggering free games or a Hold & Spin. It's what most players are waiting for.
Free games
Bonus spins awarded by a feature, played at no cost at the bet that triggered them, often with multipliers or extra wilds.
Full screen
Filling every position with bonus symbols during Hold & Spin. On Lightning Link and Dragon Link, a full screen of 15 wins the Grand.
G
Grand
The top jackpot tier on most link games. Usually a progressive linked across a bank of machines, won by filling the screen during Hold & Spin.
H
Help screen
The pages behind the Help or Info button explaining pays, features and jackpots. The most reliable source of rules for the machine you're on.
Hit frequency
How often a game produces any win at all. A high hit frequency doesn't mean the game returns more; many of those wins are smaller than your bet.
Hold & Spin
The respin feature made famous by Lightning Link: six or more bonus symbols lock in place, you get three respins, and each new symbol resets the count to three.
Hyperlink
An Aristocrat linked jackpot system where a secondary bonus decides which of several progressive prizes you win. Cash Express was one of the early Hyperlink families.
J
Jackpot
A prize shown on a meter, separate from the normal pay table. It can be a fixed amount, a standalone progressive or a linked progressive.
L
Lightning Link
Aristocrat's 2015 series designed by Scott Olive, launched with Happy Lantern, High Stakes, Magic Pearl and Sahara Gold. It popularised Hold & Spin.
Lines (paylines)
Fixed paths across the reels. On a line game, matching symbols must sit on a line you've paid for, starting from the left.
Link
Short for a linked game or linked jackpot. "The link" in a pub usually means the bank of Lightning Link or Dragon Link machines.
Linked progressive
A jackpot that grows with play across several connected machines and is won on just one of them.
M
Major
Usually the second-highest jackpot tier on link games, often a progressive on the individual machine.
Mini
The smallest jackpot tier on link games, often tied to your bet.
Minor
The second-smallest jackpot tier, above the Mini.
MKVI (Mark VI)
Aristocrat's Mark VI game platform from the 2000s. Many classics that Aussies remember ran on MKVI machines before being re-released on newer cabinets.
Multiplier
A factor that increases a win, such as the tripled wins in Queen of the Nile's free games.
N
Near-miss
A losing spin that looks close to a win, such as two scatters and a third just off the screen. It feels meaningful but says nothing about the next spin.
P
Pay table
The list of what each symbol combination pays, found in the help screens.
Pokie room
The gaming room of a pub or club, usually tucked away from the bistro and the bar.
Pokies (the pokies)
The Aussie name for poker machines. "Going to the pokies" means heading to the pokie room for a play.
Progressive
A jackpot that grows as people play, until somebody wins it and it resets to a starting amount.
R
Random number generator (RNG)
The software that picks every result at random the moment you press Spin. See how pokies work.
Reel Power
Aristocrat's ways-to-win system: you bet per reel, and on a 5×3 screen there are 243 ways to win.
Respin
A single extra spin inside a feature, as in Hold & Spin, where only the unlocked positions spin.
Retrigger
Winning more free games while already in the free games, usually by landing scatters again.
Return to player (RTP)
The share of all money bet a machine is designed to pay back over its lifetime. In Australian venues it is set by the venue within state limits.
S
Scatter
A symbol that pays or triggers the feature wherever it lands, not just on a line. Scatter wins are usually multiplied by your total bet.
Stacked symbols
Symbols that appear in tall stacks on a reel, so they can fill a whole reel at once. Big screen-fills on ways games often come from stacks.
Standalone
A game or jackpot that isn't linked to any other machine. Its prizes depend only on that machine.
Substitute
What a wild does: it stands in for other symbols to complete a win. Scatters are usually excluded.
T
Ticket
In many venues, pressing Collect prints a ticket with your credit value that you can cash at the counter or put into another machine.
Topper
The sign or screen mounted on top of a cabinet, often showing the game's art or a jackpot display.
V
Volatility
How bumpy a game's results are. Low volatility means frequent small wins; high volatility means rarer, bigger ones.
W
Ways
Wins counted on adjacent reels from the left, in any row, rather than on fixed lines. Also called ways to win.
Wild
A symbol that substitutes for others to make a win. Some are stacked, expanding or carry multipliers.
X
Xtra Reel Power
The 4-row version of Reel Power, giving 1,024 ways. Buffalo is the best-known example.
Pokies are meant to be a bit of fun. If they stop being fun, see our play-safely page.