Why do people like playing pokies online?

It hardly bears saying that people are different – they have different interests, different lifestyles, different families, different wants and needs. There are a great deal of reasons that some people prefer to play pokies online, while some others like to go to the casino instead. Online Pokies Australia spoke with many people who play pokies online about a great deal of issues, including why they play pokies online in the first place. Here are some of their responses:

I work in an office and I don’t really like my job. I spend all day dealing with colleagues and customers that drive me up the wall, and I’m always really tired when I finish work. On the weekends I usually go out with friends. We will go to the movies, or out for dinner and then drinks. Sometimes I go shopping with a girlfriend during the day, or have some friends I around and watch a movie or play cards. But during the week, I really just can’t be bothered going out and being sociable. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to enjoy myself, or that I just want to plonk in front of the television. Of course sometimes that’s exactly what I want to do, but other nights I feel like a bit of excitement without leaving the house, and that’s when I like to play online pokies. It’s really great fun. I make something simple and tasty for dinner, then settle down in my comfy chair at my computer and go to Online Pokies Australia and choose my site for the night. I generally prefer Ruby Fortune – I’m not really sure why, I just like the layout I think – but I do try the other sites some nights for a change of pace. Then I play some pokies! It is just great fun, and one of my favourite ways to unwind. You’d be surprised, but it can actually get pretty exciting at some moments! I’ve been known to yell at my computer screen in excitement! I told my friend this and she thinks I’m crazy, but I told her to give it a go sometime and see for herself just how exciting it can get. Well, she did give it a go and said that within minutes she was yelling at her screen as well! Maybe all of my friends are crazy just like me! Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoy myself every time, it’s a great way to relax and have some fun after work when you can’t be bothered getting all ready and going out. It’s more interactive than television – plus you can’t win any money watching television!
-    Adriana, 35

I work as a builder six days a week- it’s a pretty tough work sometimes but I like it. Early mornings are a problem for some people, but not for me, I’m usually up around 5am anyway, even on my day off and even before I started working as a builder which has these hours. So I start work about 6.30 most mornings, which has a few definite plusses. One of them is that there’s no traffic when I am on my way to work, and the other is that I finish up pretty early. My wife and I split up a few years back, and the kids stay with me every second week. If the kids are staying with me, then I can go straight to their school from work and pick them up. If they’re with their mum that week, then I generally go home and spend a few hours playing the pokies online. I do enjoy it quite a bit, I used to go to the pubs pretty regularly and play there. But when I quit smoking a few years back I wanted to steer clear of the pubs, at least during the week, just to remove that added temptation. Well, now that the smoking ban is in place, it doesn’t really matter anymore, I could go back to the pubs but as a matter of fact I’ve discovered I like playing online at home a fair bit better. It’s a fair bit more comfortable sitting in your own house, wearing what you like and sitting in a comfortable chair rather than one of those damn uncomfortable stools they have in gaming rooms at pubs. Also, it’s cheaper as you don’t have to spend buckets of money on drinks at 7 bucks a pop or whatever they’re charging these days. Plus, I have found that I actually make a fair bit more money when I’m playing the pokies online at home as compared to when I used to play in the pubs. And I mean a fair bit more money, too, not just a bit. Actually I’ve been working on some strategies that I think are coming along nicely and I’m definitely seeing the benefits. Now I can’t go giving away my tips! But I can tell you that if it’s a bit of extra cash you are on the look out for, you’re definitely better off sticking with the online pokies rather than the real ones in casinos or pubs.
-    Craig, 42

I used to be an accountant for a large inner city firm, but I quit my job when I had my first daughter. My husband and I talked about it and we both decided that it would be better if I stayed at home to care for her, and that we could manage okay on just one salary. My first daughter is now four, and about to go to school next year, but we had another girl and she is about turn two. We have thought about day care over the last few years but both my husband and I feel more comfortable about me looking after them. When they go to school, we’ll see about me maybe starting part time work again, but until then I’m at home looking after them. Now, I don’t regret this in the least- I cherish this time I get to spend with my girls, and I’m very grateful that we’re lucky enough to be able to afford this luxury. Nevertheless, it can get a little exhausting just being with children all day every day – well, until my husband comes home from work anyway. And when they have their naps at the same time in the afternoon, I like to jump online for an hour or so and play some pokies. Now, I’m a little embarrassed about how this sounds – it seems like I’m one of those crazy old gambling ladies! I’m really not, I just jump on a few times a week for an hour or so. It’s just a nice way to inject a little something “adult” into my child-dominated life. I might worry about setting myself a limit or something like that if I wasn’t so run off my feet for most of the rest of the time – I don’t have a chance to develop a gambling problem! At first my husband wasn’t too keen on it, but he trusts me and knows I am a good and devoted mother. Plus when I bring in a little bit of extra cash he doesn’t mind at all!
-    Lisa, 36

I am a professional gambler and have been doing this work for the last twenty years. It has its pros and cons, but mostly I enjoy it. I generally spend three to four months out of every year in Las Vegas, United States and frequently travel around Europe and Asia as well. My game of choice is poker and I tend to stick pretty closely to playing that. I am quite successful and well  regarded in the professional gaming circuit, and I have done pretty well for myself over the years. It’s not all excitement and glamour though. In fact, it’s basically no glamour whatsoever, and although there is a fair bit of excitement, there are also a lot of long boring nights, and it’s not an ideal lifestyle for a happy home life. I have been lucky enough to find a partner who understands the details of the job, and doesn’t mind the challenges that they present, but many if not most of the people who have been on the circuit long term have pretty messed up personal lives behind them, there are a lot of lonely professional gamblers out there, so think twice before you decide it’s the job for you. And that’s not even mentioning the losing streaks you’re guaranteed to experience and which can go on for months making you question everything. It’s pretty rough. And it’s crucial to stay on form when you have some time off. This is why, when I’m enjoying my down time back in Australia, I still play a fair amount of poker online, just so my skills don’t start slipping. While you might not forget how to play, there is a certain edge you get when you’re well and truly on form, and playing high stakes poker at a professional level – the edge is all you’ve got. Everyone at the table is highly skilled and if you’re lacking even a little bit in your game, there’s no point in even playing, you don’t have a chance. So playing poker online for me is like study or work – although I enjoy it, it does get a little tiring, and sometimes I like to take a break by playing some online pokies instead. Obviously my real breaks are spent with family and friends, but if I’m having a practice day then I don’t want to stray too far from the computer or the temptation to leave can become too great. Instead I just jump across to the pokies and play a few spins. It’s fun and easy and simple, and there’s very little mental strain involved, plus you can win some cash without even trying that hard. It’s the perfect relaxation!
-    Antonio, 57

I am a university student and work part time in a cafe/restaurant. I don’t have a lot of free time because I have to study a lot and also work quite a lot to pay my rent on a part time salary. But I make sure I have Saturday nights free as “my time” and even if I have uni work to do, I leave it until Sunday unless it is really urgent, and I always make sure I am not rostered on to work Saturday nights. I usually go out with my girlfriends to a club or a bar after going to dinner. One of our favourite parts of the night is out designated half an hour in the pokies room of the pub or bar we go to. This is usually early on in the evening, after dinner and a few drinks but before we go dancing. We all really like the excitement it brings the evening. We never put too much money in so no one is ever upset at losing, but every now and again we win and then it’s like a huge party. We have a rule that whoever wins has to spend at least half the pot, or fifty dollars (whichever is less) on drinks for everyone. Usually we get a bottle of champagne, and it’s so much fun. We all put in about the same amount of money, and we all seem to win pretty much the same, so it all comes out evenly in the end. It’s a really fun part of our night, and it’s kind of like a ritual for us, we’ve been doing it for ages now. This was way easier when we all lived at home, but now most of us are living out of home and have to pay rent and buy food and stuff, and money is way tighter than it used to be. It’s not that we spend that much money on the pokies, we can all afford that, it’s dinner and the drinks and the cover charges for clubs and all this adds up to a really expensive night. So anyway, my girlfriends and I decided to only go out once a month, and on the other Saturday nights, so have our party at one of our flats. Everyone pitches in for dinner costs – sometimes we get take away but mostly one of us will cook, we put on music and have a party at home. The only problem was that our pokies session was missing, and we weren’t prepared to sacrifice it! Well, we solved that problem when we discovered online pokies. It’s actually way better, we don’t have to be surrounded by old fat men in the pokies room, and we’ve discovered that we’re actually making more money than we used to. It’s brilliant. So now we save up our winnings and they go into financing our once a month full on party!
-    Lisa, 21