Every pokie you load comes with its own paytable, and that document holds the answers to how the game actually pays. Yet plenty of Australian players spin straight past it. Learning to skim a paytable in under a minute is one of the highest-value skills you can build, because it tells you the volatility, the top prize and the features before you commit a single dollar. Read more about this at https://theshardbet.com/app/.
The good news is that paytables share a common structure across almost every provider, from Pragmatic Play to Novomatic and NetEnt. Once you know the layout, you can read any title in the WildPokies library the same way. Here is how to do it properly.
Start With the Symbols and Their Values
The grid of icons is the first thing you see, and it is usually ranked from lowest to highest paying. Low-value symbols are the card royals, meaning 10, J, Q, K and A. High-value symbols are the themed images that match the game’s title, and these are where the real money sits. In many titles, the gap between the two groups is huge. A five-of-a-kind on a low symbol might return 2x to 5x your stake, while the premium symbol can pay 20x, 50x or more.
Pay close attention to how the table expresses wins. Some list them as multipliers of your total bet, others as multipliers of the line bet. On a 25-line game, a 10x line bet win is actually only 0.4x your total stake. That distinction matters enormously, and confusing the two is the most common mistake new players make.
Also check the wild and scatter entries separately. Wilds typically substitute for everything except scatters, while scatters trigger free spins and often pay from any position rather than on a fixed line.
Decode the RTP, Volatility and Features
Look for the theoretical return to player percentage, usually buried in the info screen behind the paytable. The industry benchmark sits around 96%, and anything above that figure is generous by modern standards. WildPokies stocks thousands of titles across Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Hacksaw and Novomatic, so comparing RTPs between games is genuinely worthwhile if you want longer sessions from the same bankroll.
Volatility is the other half of the picture. A high-volatility pokie delivers rare but large payouts, while low volatility produces frequent, smaller ones. You will not always see this labelled, but you can infer it from the paytable: if the top symbol pays 500x and free spins are hard to trigger, you are looking at high variance.
Finally, scan the feature list for free spins, expanding wilds, multipliers and hold-and-win mechanics. These drive most of the return in modern games, and the paytable explains exactly how each one triggers.
| Paytable Element | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Symbol values | Bet multiplier or line multiplier? |
| RTP | Aim for 96% or higher |
| Volatility | Inferred from top prize and feature frequency |
| Wilds and scatters | Substitution rules and trigger conditions |
| Max win | Usually capped at 5,000x to 50,000x stake |
Practical Tips for Faster Reading
Open the paytable before you spin, not after. Most platforms let you adjust the bet size while the screen is open, so you can compare what a 1 AUD spin looks like against a 5 AUD spin on the same symbol.
- Check the RTP and max win first, as they frame everything else.
- Identify the highest-paying symbol and its five-of-a-kind value.
- Confirm whether wins are quoted per line or per total bet.
- Read the free spins rules, including retrigger limits.
- Test the game in demo mode if available, with no deposit required.
A few minutes of reading pays for itself many times over. Players who understand a paytable pick games that match their bankroll and expectations rather than guessing, and they spot the difference between a genuine 96.5% RTP title and one sitting at 92%. With AUD balances, PayID deposits and instant browser play, that knowledge is the only edge you truly control.