Progressive Pokie Jackpots

Progressive pokies offer payout amounts that can be much larger than normal. In many instances the payout amounts are big enough to ensure the winner never has to work another day in their life. Although just about every player who walks into a casino dreams of winning that legendary payout, that life-altering progressive jackpot that will let them retire for the rest of their lives. Many players spend hours just imagining the excitement of seeing those winning symbols line up and fantasising about they will spend their new-found riches. But then reality sets in, and most people realise they it’s more likely that they’ll be struck by lightning than they do of winning that large of a pokie payout. Are players just better off avoiding Progressive slot machines all together?

Despite the chances of seeing a life changing jackpot being incredibly low, it isn’t necessary to avoid all progressive pokie jackpots. As long as players keep their expectations realistic, they are definitely worth playing. Additionally, some progressive jackpots have better chances of paying out than others.

The basic premise behind progressive machines is that of an array of several pokies linked together by a computer network. A massive progressive jackpot is created by gathering a percentage of all the money played into each pokie. This ensures that the payout continues to increase the longer that the machines are played, and empties when a player lines up the winning symbols for the jackpot. Because the machines have the capability to payout twice, once for the regular jackpot and again for the progressive jackpot, the actual payout rate of these machines are less than other machines in the casino. Up until this point, we have referred to progressive machines as though they are all the same. In fact, there are actually three distinctive types of progressive machines.

The Progressive Standalone

The progressive standalone machine is not connected with any other pokies. Whereas normal machines have a set amount for the jackpot, this pokie uses a portion of the coins played and then adds that to the award for the best winning combination. These machines usually have a meter on the front display to inform players what the jackpot is up to. The progressive jackpots for these types of machines are much less than the ones from pokies that are connected with one another.

Proprietary Progressives

These are an array of pokies networked with one another inside of a single casino. Although the payouts might not be the in the millions, they can still be a very substantial win in many casinos. These pokies usually hit more frequently than the next category of machines, the wide area progressive.

Wide Area Progressive.

When a player is looking to win a truly life-changing payout, these are the machines they should be playing. These pokies are connected together across several unaffiliated casinos. Wide area progressive pokies are always run by an independent organisation instead of a singular gaming institution. Although the casinos don’t control these jackpots, they still share in a portion of the payout. Although the jackpots might be huge, the chances of getting a payout from these machines are slim. Since the cost of networking the machines and administrating these games is much higher than regular pokies, the rate that these machines payout is much lower than on other machines.

Although playing progressive machines with huge payouts is perfectly fine, just don’t make it the main focus pokie play. The best strategy is to set aside a certain portion of your gaming funds and then use that for a shot at the huge jackpot. Having a progressive pokie payout is based entirely off of luck and should be viewed in the same fashion as purchasing a lottery ticket. They can be great fun to play so long as they are not the main focus of a casino trip. When playing progressives it’s usually best to stick to the proprietary or standalone varieties, since these machines usually have much better chances at paying out than the wide area progressive machines do. Above all, remember to enjoy yourself and have fun. Good Luck!