What is a Pokies Tournament

For most fans of pokie games the traditional way to play is by going solo.  You look for a machine that you fancy, sit down, and start playing.  The only way to win is to get lucky and beat the odds that the pokie machine is set at, usually a 97% payout rate.  However, for those looking for a more competitive way to enjoy pokie games – pokie tournaments offer a great value and lots of fun.  Simply stated, a pokie tournament is when a group of players all play the same machine for a set period of time.  After the time limit is up, the totals are calculated and the winner is the player with the highest dollar amount.

How Pokies Tournaments Work

Unlike in solo pokies play, when you enter a tournament you only need to pony up a small entry fee.  The fees collected from all the participants make up the prize pool.  The casino credits that you actually play with are given to you for free by the house.  So while you aren’t playing for the actual amount you may see on the pokie machine, the more you win the greater the chances are that you’ll come out ahead of the pack in the tournament.  The average amount of time for an online pokies tournament is between a half and full hour.  First place receives 60% of the prize pot while 2nd place gets 30% and 3rd place receives 10%. In addition to the cash prize pool, some online casinos give away gifts as well to top finishers such as flat screen TV sets, iPads, and personal computers.  We have even seen vacation and automobile giveaways!

Pokies Tournament Strategies

Because you’ll need to come out with the highest balance at the end of the tournament the best strategy to employ when playing a pokies tournament is to play max coins / max lines on each and every spin.  Though you may blow though your bankroll earlier than other players you’ll be able to use the power of your large bets to propel you to the top of the standings if you hit some good spins. Another good strategy is to look for pokies tournaments with guaranteed prize pools regardless of the number of entrants.  That way if the number of players is on the small size, the casino will actually be paying out more in prize money than they collect.  This is a clear positive expectation bet that will have you winning more money in the long run.