Dave Dealer
Facebook
There is nothing more pleasant for me than the sound of the reels spinning.
Play Best Pokies Online For Real Money
“From my long years of slotting, I would say that LUCK and SKILL are the two most important factors to win. Skill can only come after many years of experience, but even with excellent skill, no one can beat the slot without the luck! Skill can tell you if the game is playing good or bad, but only luck can determine if you win or lose.”
Afi4wins
There are several reasons for the popularity of pokies. First of all, it’s one of the easiest games to play as you don’t need any special skills or knowledge to hit the “Spin” button and wait for the winning combination to appear on the reels. Besides, despite their simplicity, poker can bring a lucky winner quite decent wins, especially if you know which games to choose and where to play them.
I spent seven years working as a casino dealer and manager, so I’m familiar with all kinds of pokie machines. Today, I can easily tell a good game from a bad one from the first sight, whether it’s a land-based one-armed bandit or an online pokie. Thanks to my experience in the industry, I can now choose the best and the most lucrative games for myself and share them with the audience. When choosing a pokie to play for real money, I always think of the goal I’d like to reach at this moment which helps me to define the selection criteria.
When it comes to choosing an online pokie, you have two options to choose from: you can either use my criteria and find a game yourself or rely on my experience and pick a pokie out of my all-time-favourites list.
How I Choose the Best Online Pokies
If you can define what you want from your next betting session, it would be much easier for you to find a perfect game to meet that goal (and much easier for me to recommend you one). Here are the options I think of when choosing a pokie, you can use them or think of your own ones if you want.
Will this game bring me the wins?
The first step towards the big wins in pokies is knowing the RTP of the game you are going to play. RTP, or the return to player, is the amount of money you can potentially get from the game in the long run. This information should be clearly stated on the casino’s website. If you can’t find it — better stay away from it and keep searching for a more reliable one.
The RTP of a good lucrative slot should amount to at least 95%, and the higher, the better. Some games, like the Jackpot Jester 5000 by NextGen Gaming, have RTP as high as 99.92% — the best choice if you want to win as much money as possible.
Can I play this game just to have fun?
Even though I obviously love winning money from online casinos, it’s not always my top priority. Sometimes, I want to test a new game or just to have fun without too much concentration, so betting a lot of money is not an option. In this case, I opt for pokies that allow minimal bets. In Starburst by NetEnt, I can bet NZ$0.01 and have fun as long as I want as it won’t hit my pocket.
No matches were found
NetEnt
The important thing to understand about the so-called penny-pokies is that they have a very low chance of winning. The thought of hitting the jackpot from a NZ$0.01 bet sounds exciting, but unfortunately, it can hardly happen in a real online casino.
Will this pokie let me feel the real thrill?
If you tried playing a game from the previous category, you should have noticed that it might be fun, but it doesn’t let you feel that excitement that you do when you make larger bets. There is hardly anything in this world that makes me so thrilled as the spinning reels of the slot I just bet a couple of thousands on. If you are ready to join a club of high-rollers, check the Jack in the Box by Novomatic where you can bet up to NZ$150,000.
A quick tip for beginners: even if you are not short of money, it’s better to try playing pokies for free before you move on to the larger bets so that you can see how the game works and which betting strategies you can use. On my website, you can find free demo versions of the most popular pokies games and play them with no registration or downloads.
Can I get a big bonus here?
I do love brick-and-mortar casinos, but what they really lack and what made me turn my head towards online casinos is the bonuses. I would never get a significant amount of bonus money to spend on my favorite pokies in a land-based venue, but I’ll get them in any online casino, even the smallest and the least popular one.
Not all the bonuses are worth claiming, though, as some casinos apply ridiculous wagering requirements that are impossible to meet. If you want to get a really nice bonus and play a good pokie with the bonus money, try the Starburst by NetEnt in KingBilly casino where you can get up to NZ$2500 for your first deposit, and a pack of 200 free spins to add to the welcome bonus.
No matches were found
NetEnt
Can I hit the jackpot in this game?
All the gamblers dream of hitting a huge jackpot, and I’m not an exclusion. Even though it’s quite a rare event, it’s not as impossible as you might be thinking. More surprisingly, you don’t even need to know how to play poker or Blackjack to snatch a jackpot — pokies can bring you the luck as well. One of the most well-known jackpot-givers is MegaMoolah — the progressive pokie made by Microgaming that can bring you up to NZ$3 million if you are lucky enough.
No matches were found
Microgaming
Can I play this pokie on the go?
The more popular mobile gambling gets, the more gambling games developers make their products mobile-friendly, so you can now make your bets wherever you are and whenever you want. I love mobile pokies for their convenience and swiftness: I can take a smartphone out of my pocket, open the online casino website in my mobile browser, make a couple of bets, and spend no more than 5 minutes on the whole thing.
Whether you are a fan of mobile gambling or want to try it for the first time, I recommend checking the Lotus Heart pokie by Playtech in Mr.Play casino as it works perfectly smooth on all kinds of iOS and Android devices, regardless of your screen size.
No matches were found
Playson
Is this game made by my favourite provider?
If you happen to be an experienced gambler, you most likely already have your favourite casino games provider whose products you always play first. Specifically for players like you, I created a filter feature on my website, so that you can check a box and see all the games made by the provider and either try them for free or get redirected to one of the online casinos. Whether you are a fan of Microgaming, Playtech, Yggdrasil, or any other pokie developer, you’ll find all the best games conveniently collected on one page.
No matches were found
Microgaming
Gamomat
Yggdrasil
Is it a classic pokie machine?
If you want to feel the vibe of a classic casino-hall from the ‘90s, there is no need to invent a time-machine — you can simply open one of the classic fruit machines and immerse into the unique atmosphere of the retro pokie machine. Classic pokies usually have 3 reels and simple fruits and 7’s as game symbols (that’s where the “fruit machine” name comes from). They lack sophisticated features and huge bonuses, but they are fun and easy to play and can bring you some decent wins.
My favourite classic pokie is Fruit Bonanza by PlayNGo — despite its simple graphics, it has the unutterable retro atmosphere that immediately brings me back to the good old times.
No matches were found
Playtech
NetEnt
Playtech
NetEnt
Barcrest
Can I make a convenient deposit or withdraw my winnings fast?
It doesn’t matter how great the casino games are if you can’t conveniently make a deposit or withdraw your winnings fast. After playing on the websites that couldn’t pay out my money for more than a week or those that didn’t have enough banking options to make a deposit, I always pay maximum attention to this aspect when choosing a website to play pokies for real money.
As for now, my go-to option is the Casoo casino as it has plenty of payment options to choose from, including Skrill, Neteller, Paysafecard, Bitcoin, Etherum, and others. Both deposits and withdrawals in this casino are instant, providing you pass a quick KYC procedure.
Bonus fornew customers,
WR25x,
Min Dep €10
- Launched 2019
- Withdrawal Methods Bitcoin, ecoPayz, ethereum, Litecoin, Maestro (by MasterCard), MasterCard, Neteller, Paysafe, QIWI, Skrill, VISA, Webmoney, Western Union, Yandex Money
- Software NetEnt, Microgaming, Evolution, Pragmatic Play, Betsoft
- Licenсes Curaçao
The Most Popular Pokies for NZ Players
In this part, I collected the best and the most popular pokies to start with if you are lost in the sea of casino games.
✅ Monty’s Millions. This classic fruit pokie by Barcrest was released 15 years ago and is still super-popular among the players.
✅ Book of Ra. The Egypt-themed pokie by GreenTube can take you on a treasure hunt to the mysterious desert and reward you with big wins.
✅ Gonzo’s Quest. The Gonzo’s Quest pokie by NetEnt is one of the company’s most popular products. It’s lowed by the audience for its bright graphics, multiple bonuses, and decent 96% RTP.
✅ Spartacus. Made by WMS, Spartacus is a Rome-themed pokie with a variety of bonus features and 20 paylines.
✅ Double Diamond. This classic pokie by IGT is known for its perfect old-school atmosphere that will let you feel like you are making bets in some Vegas casino back in the ‘90s.
✅ DaVinci Diamonds. Another pokie by IGT, DaVinci Diamonds is a 5-reel 15-payline game with beautiful artistic game symbols and several lucrative bonus features.
✅ Texas Tea.This bright and cartoonish IGT pokie will catch you fancy if you are a fan of simple yet rewarding games.
✅ Wizard of Odds.The Wizard of Oz by WMS is a movie-themed pokie with an unusual bonus game inside and quite decent winning opportunities.
✅ Sun and Moon. It’s a low-bet pokie by Aristocrat with a mysterious atmosphere, nice graphics, and a couple of standard bonus features.
✅ White Orchid. Last but not least is the flower-themed pokie made by IGT that will bring you to the beautiful garden where you can find fun, bonuses, and wins.
What You Need to Know Before Playing Pokies Online
Before you pick one of the pokies and start making your bets, here are a couple of things to know to increase your chances of winnings and ensure the maximum safety of your gambling process.
How to find a reliable online casino
To make sure your bets are going to be safe and your personal information protected, there are two things to check before signing up to an online casino:
- License. Online gambling is not regulated in New Zealand, so you’ll need to search for a casino licensed by some international organisation. The best and the most reputable options are UKGC, MGA, and Curacao eGaming. Licenses issued by these institutions prove that the casino is safe and the games are fair.
- Certificates. The eCOGRA testing certificate is another prominent sign of a reliable casino with fair and licensed games. This independent agency provides thorough check-ups to prove that everything is safe and sound, so if you see its logo in the website’s footer — go for it.
Best online pokies providers
Here is the list of the companies that create the best online pokies in the whole gambling industry. You can check their games using the filter on the right of this page.
- Microgaming. The company was created in 1994. Since then, it has grown into the gambling industry leaders with hundreds of pokies and other games in its collection.
- IGT. IGT is probably one of the most productive casino games developers: there are more than 12,000 of games in its record, and it looks like the company is not going to stop.
- PlayTech. PlayTech is known for fun and bright pokies with beautiful and detailed graphics — check the respective box in the filter and you’ll see more than 300 of pokies to choose from.
- NetEnt. NetEnt is a pioneer of the gambling industry that creates pokies with unusual and lucrative game features that you won’t find anywhere else. The company is also famous for its high-quality live-dealer games.
Pokies tips and tricks — real and fake
If you start looking for the pokies tips and tricks online, you’ll see a bunch of recommendations on how to increase your winnings, decrease potential losses, and hit the jackpot. Some of them really work, some are just popular myths circling around the topic-related forums. In this part, I took a closer look at some of them and divided the useful tips from the fake ones.
Let’s start with the pokies tips that DON’T work:
- Switching machines. There is no point in switching a game every time you lose. Losing a battle doesn’t mean losing a war, so it’s better to stick to the machine and try different betting strategies until you find the one that works for you.
- Looking for a “hot” machine. This myth is popular among the land-based casino visitors who think that playing the machine that just brought wins to someone else will bring them wins too. No, it doesn’t work like this, sorry.
And here are the tips that can actually WORK with online pokies:
- Know your limits. Never bet more than you planned and stop as soon as you reach your limit.
- Make larger bets to cover more paylines. It will increase your chances of winning.
- Start with free demos. Thus, you’ll get familiar with the game and its features before you even bet real money.
- Make use of bonuses. Claim whatever you can get from a casino, whether it’s a no-deposit bonus, a welcome bonus, or a pack of free spins.
- Look for the highest RTP. The higher RTP rate a pokie has — the more chances of winning you’ll have while playing it.
Most popular online pokies features and unusual games to try
Modern online pokies are full of interesting and lucrative features that make the gameplay much more diverse and entertaining. Here are the most popular ones of them.
✅ Wild Symbol.This is the most popular game feature which you’ll find in pretty much any video pokie. It works as a joker in cards and can substitute any other symbol on the reels to form a winning combination.
✅ Expanding Symbols. Thanks to the Expanding Symbols, one winning symbol can expand into a whole line and trigger a free spins round.
✅ Spreading Wilds. The Spreading Wilds work like a standard Wild Symbol, with the only difference that there are several of them on the reels.
✅ Locking Win. The Locking Win symbol will stick to its place and stay on the reels for more than just one spin.
✅ Synchronizing Reels. When this feature gets activated, at least two reels get synchronized so they contain the same symbols, which consequently lets you win more often.
✅ Cascading Wins. Games with such a feature are also called “Tetris-Pokies” as it works just like the good old classic game. Once a winning line is created, it disappears and leaves place for more symbols to appear on the reels.
✅ Bonus Game. Some pokies hide various mini-games inside which makes them even more similar to video games.
Sounds fun? Here are some of my favorite pokies with unusual features and cool bonus games.
- Aliens by NetEnt. If you are a fan of the classic Alien movie, this pokie is a must-try. Each successful spin will bring you forward in your cosmic journey while the bonus rounds will help you improve your ammunition and stay alive.
- South Park:Reel Chaos by NetEnt. Here, your goal is to defeat the enemies by spinning the reels. Get a new bonus for every defeated opponent, and open a special bonus round once you beat all of them.
- Hold Your Horses by Novoline. This is a classic pokie game with a pinch of up-to-date features to spice up the betting process. In this pokie, you get 5 reels and 10-symbol paylines. How? There are two horses pictured on some of the symbols — they can double your wins if you get them in a payline.
Online casino blacklist
I spend a lot of time looking for reliable online casinos. During my search, I sometimes come across the shady websites with no licenses, bad reviews from players or pirated games. Playing in such casinos can lead to poor gambling experience in a best-case scenario. In a worse case, you’ll end up with stolen money and personal data. To protect other players, I put such websites into a separate blacklist that I recommend checking every time you are going to make bets in a new online casino.
The Final Word About Online Pokies
Online pokies are the perfect game both for the newbies and for the seasoned gamblers. They are not only fun and easy to play, but they also can let you snatch big wins if you are playing in a fair and reliable casino. Find one in my list and make your first step towards a jackpot — and may the luck always stay on your side!
