Pokies remain the most popular form of gambling in Australia, with around 200,000 machines operating across the country and Australians losing approximately $12 billion on them each year. Whether you play at a physical venue or on an online platform, understanding what each symbol means can help you read a paytable with confidence and see how winning combinations form. For more details, visit LuckyStart.

The Core Symbols on Every Paytable

Most pokies are built on a set of high and low-value symbols. The low-value icons are usually the playing card ranks , 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. These appear frequently but pay modest amounts, often between 5 and 15 times your line bet for five of a kind.

High-value symbols are typically themed to match the game’s design. On a classic fruit machine, that means cherries, lemons, plums, watermelons and bells. Themed titles might use characters, artefacts or animals instead. These pay considerably more, sometimes 100 to 1,000 times your stake for a full line.

Every symbol has a defined pay value listed in the game’s information screen. Reading this table before you spin tells you which icons are worth chasing and how the paylines are structured.

Special Symbols and How They Work

Wild symbols substitute for most other icons to complete a winning combination. Some wilds only appear on certain reels, while expanding or sticky wilds can cover an entire reel or remain in place across multiple spins during a bonus round.

Scatter symbols are the key to triggering free spins and bonus features. Unlike regular icons, scatters usually pay regardless of payline position , landing three or more anywhere on the reels activates the feature. This is where the biggest potential returns often sit.

Many modern pokies also include multipliers, which increase your payout by a set factor, and stacked symbols, which fill an entire reel to boost your chances of a match. Knowing which of these appear in a game helps you judge its volatility and expected return to player, commonly expressed as an RTP percentage between 94% and 97%.

Reading Symbols Before You Play

• Check the paytable to see each symbol’s value at different match lengths.
• Identify the wild and scatter icons and where they can appear.
• Note the RTP and volatility rating, as these shape your session.
• Look for stacked or multiplier symbols that lift payout potential.

Taking a minute to study the symbols and features before you commit your money is one of the simplest ways to play smarter and understand exactly what each spin could deliver.