If you have ever had the opportunity to be in Australia or stumble across an Australian online casino, you would have probably come across the term "pokie" being thrown around.
The term naturally became a trend in Australian casinos and even found its way to the world of online gambling, where all video online slots are also called pokies. Looking at the best online pokies Australia review, you will find thousands of online slots or, better still, online pokies that you can enjoy.
Naturally, if you are like most non-Australians, you would have been confused about what this word means. The thing is, natives of Australia and New Zealand call the slots machine "pokies". Instead of referring to the slot machine as it is, Aussies prefer calling it pokie. The word's origin is unclear, and most people have scratched their heads about why this is so. Not many have managed to figure it out. This can be primarily due to the different names the game is referred to in different locations like
-
Puggy
-
The fruit machine
-
Fruities
-
The one arm bandit
So, why do Australians call slot games pokies? And are they the same? Let's have a look.
Meaning of the Term Pokie
When a non-Australian, especially players new to the world of slots, hears the word "pokie", the first thing that will come to mind is certainly not a slot machine. A Pokie, in this context, does not refer to a cigarette, prison, or nipples protruding through a shirt. As we have earlier mentioned, it is the term that Aussies use to refer to slot machines and poker machines, which has become a trend in Australia's gambling industry for many decades now.
Possible Origin of the Term "Pokie"
So, why do natives of Australia call slot machines pokies instead of their usual name? Well, no one knows for sure. But, it happens to be one of those things that seem always to have been the norm within Australia's gambling industry.
Notwithstanding, many people had speculated that it came to be when the first casino gaming machines were introduced to Australian casinos back in the 1900s. Amongst these games were poker machines, known as video poker by the rest of the world. As the casino industry in Australia developed and evolved, more and more video slot machines were also introduced to the casino floors. Perhaps, due to the close similarities in how these machines look or the proximity in when they were introduced, it became natural for Aussies to categorize them into the same machine. So, instead of separating poker machines from slot machines, Aussies started calling these two machines pokies, which is a short-term for poker machines.
Abbreviation of Poker Machines into Pokie
We have answered the question as to why the slot machine has a unique name in Australia. However, we haven't touched on why the term video poker became pokie.
It is no secret that Aussies love abbreviations. They love abbreviations so much that you would hear their shortened words more often than the original words. "Cuppa" means "Cup of Tea", "Barbie" means "Barbeque", "Avo" means "Avocado", "Servo" means "Service Station", and "Devo" is short for "Devastated". Australia was even shortened to "Straya", and Australians became "Aussies". There are thousands more of such words that Aussies use to make pronunciation easier. They naturally brought the culture of abbreviating words to the world of gambling. Instead of saying "video poker machine", Aussies came up with the short, catchy, and entertaining slang "pokie" or plural "pokies". In truth, pokie sounds a lot more fun than saying the mouthful "video poker machine".
Another Theory
Like we have earlier mentioned, the origin of the term pokies is shrouded in mystery, and you will find different theories being passed around in many circles. We will look at another theory that many people use to explain the origins of the term. Back in the 1900s, you could only play slot machines with coins. You will have to put coins into a slot in the machine before you can spin the reels. If you manage to land a winning combination, coins will fall out of the machine for you to collect. This other theory speculates that the term pokies came from players poking their hands at the slot machines to try and get them to pay out coins at random. As cheesy as this might sound, it does also seem plausible.
Pokies vs Slots - Is there a difference?
Even with all these, one would wonder that since slots and pokies have entirely different names, they would at least be different in some areas. So, is there anything special that differentiates Australian pokies from the slots that the rest of the world plays?
The answer is no. Other than the geographical element, there is no difference between the two terms. Be it in terms of themes, mechanisms, bonus features, or wagering limit, you get identical gameplay whether you are playing pokies in Australian land-based casinos or online, or you are playing slot machines from outside Australia. However, although people might easily understand you if you refer to this game as slots when you are in Australia or New Zealand, it may not fly if you call it pokies in Vegas or anywhere outside Australia. Not many non-Aussie know of Pokies.
Other Slots Terms from Around the Globe
Since Australia and New Zealand have a particular term they use to refer to slot machines, it only stands to reason that other counties may also have notable names for the slot game. So, in case you are wondering whether only Australians use a unique word for slots, the answer is no. Although many countries retained the original word and just called these game slots, some came up with unique terms.
The most popular one is the one-armed bandits, which presumably came from the shores of America and is an old-fashioned term still being used when referring to classic traditional slot machines. Another one is the "fruit machines", which came up from England, quickly becoming a trend in the gambling industry. But, like the Aussies, the Scotts also came up with a much more unique term - "puggy."
