Every pokie in Australia , whether you’re spinning on a machine at a pub in New South Wales or loading a title through an online casino , relies on a paytable to tell you exactly what pays, when, and how much. Yet most players never truly read one. They glance at the symbols, hit spin, and hope for the best. Understanding the paytable is the single most useful skill you can develop, because it reveals the game’s volatility, its theoretical return to player (RTP), and which combinations are genuinely worth chasing. Read more about this at Gamdom minimum withdrawal.
This guide breaks down every component of a modern paytable so you can assess a game in under a minute before committing a single dollar.
Symbol Values and Winning Combinations
The core of any paytable is the symbol hierarchy. Low-value symbols , typically the 9, 10, J, Q, K and A , pay modest amounts, often 5 to 15 credits for five of a kind. High-value symbols, usually themed icons unique to the game, can pay 50 to 500 credits or more for the same five-symbol combination. Wild symbols generally sit at the top, sometimes paying 1,000 credits or more across all five reels.
Paytables always display pays as multipliers of your line bet, not your total stake. If a symbol pays 200 and you’re betting $0.50 per line across 20 lines, that win is $100 , not $200. Confusing line bet with total bet is the most common error new players make, and it leads to wildly inaccurate expectations about what a session will return.
You’ll also notice that most combinations pay from left to right only, starting from reel one. Some newer titles introduce “both ways” mechanics, which effectively doubles your chances of landing a win. Check this detail carefully, because it materially changes the maths.
RTP, Volatility and Paylines Explained
Return to player is expressed as a percentage and represents the theoretical proportion of all wagered money returned to players over millions of spins. In Australia, land-based pokies typically sit between 85% and 90%, while many online titles range from 94% to 97%. A game with 96% RTP returns $96 for every $100 wagered across its lifetime , though individual sessions can vary enormously.
Volatility, sometimes called variance, describes how wins are distributed. Low-volatility pokies deliver frequent but smaller payouts. High-volatility games pay rarely but can produce substantial wins. Neither is objectively better; it depends on your bankroll and patience. A useful rule: if your budget is $50, a low-volatility game at 96% RTP will generally stretch further than a high-volatility title with the same RTP.
Paylines are the fixed or adjustable pathways across the reels where matching symbols must land. A 20-payline game requires you to bet on all 20 lines in most cases, so your minimum bet is the line bet multiplied by 20. Games using “243 ways” or “cluster pays” mechanics remove fixed lines entirely, which simplifies the structure but often increases the minimum stake.
Quick Reference: What Each Paytable Element Tells You
| Element | What It Reveals |
|---|---|
| Symbol values | Which icons are worth chasing |
| RTP percentage | Long-term theoretical return |
| Volatility rating | Win frequency versus win size |
| Payline count | Minimum cost per spin |
| Wild and scatter rules | Bonus trigger conditions |
Wilds, Scatters and Bonus Triggers
Wild symbols substitute for most other symbols to complete winning lines, and many games award a multiplier when a wild forms part of a win , commonly 2x or 3x, occasionally 5x or higher. Scatters are different: they usually pay regardless of position on the reels and typically trigger free spins. Landing three scatters might award 10 free spins, while five could award 25 or more with an added multiplier.
Free spin features are where the real value often hides. Some games apply a persistent multiplier throughout the feature, while others use expanding wilds or symbol upgrades. Read the bonus description on the paytable screen , it tells you whether the feature is genuinely lucrative or largely cosmetic.
Finally, note the maximum win cap. Many modern pokies advertise wins of 5,000x, 10,000x or even 50,000x your stake, but this cap is almost always stated somewhere in the paytable or game rules. Knowing it prevents unrealistic expectations and helps you judge whether a title suits your playing style.
Reading a paytable takes practice, but once you can scan RTP, volatility, symbol values and bonus mechanics in under a minute, you’ll choose better games and play with far more confidence.