Floating Dragon
Floating Dragon tops the shortlist on return to player, pairs it with high volatility and a five thousand times maximum win, and keeps to ten lines.
- RTP
- 96.35%
- Volatility
- High
- Max win
- 5,000x
- Lines
- 10
- Asian
- Pragmatic Play
Pokie guide · Australia
Slot machines games in Australia: what to look for
Pokie pages are full of figures, and most of them describe a long-run average rather than your session. Here is what actually matters when you compare slot machines games in Australia, and what the fine print on a bonus does to your bankroll.
- 5pokies compared
- 96.35%best published return
- A$5max bet on a bonus
The shortlist
Picked on figures, not on promises
These five games are ranked on published return to player, from highest to lowest, with volatility, maximum win and line count shown alongside.
Checked on 19 October 2026
Big Bamboo
Big Bamboo sits just below on return to player with high volatility and the widest line count of the five at fifty.
- RTP
- 96.13%
- Volatility
- High
- Lines
- 50
- Bamboo
- Push Gaming
Starburst
Starburst is a ten-line game with a lower maximum win of eight hundred times, so it rewards frequent smaller hits rather than one large one.
- RTP
- 96.08%
- Max win
- 800x
- Lines
- 10
- Space Gems
- NetEnt
Wolf Gold
Wolf Gold lands mid-table on return to player with medium volatility and twenty-five lines, a middle ground between the extremes.
- RTP
- 96.01%
- Volatility
- Medium
- Max win
- 5,000x
- Lines
- 25
- Wildlife
- Jackpot
- Pragmatic Play
Queen of the Nile
Queen of the Nile has the lowest published return of the five, medium volatility and twenty lines, and the same eight hundred times maximum win as Starburst.
- RTP
- 95.98%
- Volatility
- Medium
- Max win
- 800x
- Lines
- 20
- Egyptian
- Aristocrat
The same data, sortable
Sort by whichever figure decides it for you.
| 1Floating Dragon | 96.35% | High | 5,000x | Pragmatic Play |
| 2Big Bamboo | 96.13% | High | — | Push Gaming |
| 3Starburst | 96.08% | — | 800x | NetEnt |
| 4Wolf Gold | 96.01% | Medium | 5,000x | Pragmatic Play |
| 5Queen of the Nile | 95.98% | Medium | 800x | Aristocrat |
Select a column heading to sort.
Reading the numbers on a pokie page
Return to player is the share of all money wagered on a game that is paid back over millions of spins. It is a long-run average across every player, not a promise about your next session, and a game with a higher figure can still take your balance down over an evening. Treat it as a way to compare games, not a way to predict one.
Volatility describes how the payouts are spaced out. A high-volatility game tends to pay less often and in larger amounts, while a medium-volatility game spreads smaller wins more evenly. Neither is better in isolation — the right fit depends on how much you are willing to lose before a win arrives, and how long you want a balance to last.
Paylines, ways to win and what changed
Older line games pay only when matching symbols land on defined lines from the leftmost reel. That structure makes a win easy to see: if the symbols are not on a line, nothing pays. It also means your stake is tied to the number of lines you have active, so a game with more lines costs more per spin at the same coin size.
Modern scatter-pays games usually drop the line structure entirely. Wins can form anywhere on the reels when enough matching symbols appear, and the stake is a single figure per spin. The trade-off is that wins are harder to eyeball, and a game can feel busier without paying any more often than a simple line game.
Bonus terms that change the maths
A bonus is not free money; it is a balance with conditions attached. The partner's published terms list a first deposit bonus of six hundred per cent cash, daily cashback of ten per cent of losses, a minimum deposit of twenty US dollars, and a maximum bet on a bonus of five Australian dollars. Those are the figures to read before you deposit, not after.
The maximum bet rule is the one that quietly voids bonuses. If a spin above the cap is placed while a bonus is active, the terms allow the bonus and any winnings from it to be removed, and that can happen without warning. Read the cashier terms yourself and decide whether the conditions suit how you actually play.
FAQ
Questions this page gets asked
What does RTP actually tell me about a pokie?
It is the long-run average return across all players, expressed as a percentage of everything wagered. It cannot tell you what a single session will do, because a session is a tiny sample of an enormous number of spins.
Are line games better than scatter-pays games?
Neither is better in general; they suit different preferences. Line games make it obvious which symbols paid and why, while scatter-pays games tend to be simpler to stake but harder to read at a glance.
Is a high-volatility pokie worth playing?
Only if you accept long gaps between wins and can afford the balance to sit through them. High volatility means payouts are less frequent but potentially larger, so it suits a bankroll that is not needed for anything else.
Why does the maximum bet on a bonus matter?
Because breaching it can void the bonus and anything won from it, and the limit is often far below the game's own maximum. Check the cap before you spin, since it applies for as long as the bonus balance is active.