Why Pokies Are Called Pokies and Not Slots

For anyone who has ever been to Australia, or visited a casino site online, then the word ‘Pokies’ sounds quite familiar by now.

Just in case you haven’t, then you might just be one of a kind as this word gets thrown around every now and then. This article will further break down what pokie is and also highlight what it is not. In addition, it will explain why it is being called so.

What Pokie is Not.

As vast as the dictionary might seem considering the fact that it has a unique meaning for every word you throw its way, running to it for help won’t help a bit where pokie is concerned. Whenever an Australian uses the word pokie, he doesn’t mean it from the standpoint of a slang in terms of ‘jail.’ Several others might use the word when referring to cigarette, others use it to refer to poking nipples through a shirt, while some others make use of it when referring to a certain part of the female’s body.

However, pokie is a word that should be used without shame or the fear of getting backlashed, except when being said around non gambling people.

What Then Is A Pokie?

In countries like Australia and New Zealand, pokie is used to refer to a slot machine. It is assumed to emerge from the first three letters in the word poker machine which is ‘Pok.’ From ‘Pok’, it has evolved over time into ‘Pokie.’

Just like several other gaming machines across the world, majority of pokies in Australia make use of video screens unlike present ones that make use of the spinning wheels. Australia clubs and pubs also make use of pokie action.

Origin OF The Name ‘Pokie’

It is no longer news that Australians prefer shortening words, so it shouldn’t be strange that the word ‘poker machine’ can be shortened into ‘pokie.’ The question however is why exactly are these machines called ‘poker machines’ even though they share more similarities with slot machines than they do with the actual video poker games?

Well, this appears to be one of those words that have just been that way from inception. This makes it quite difficult to explain its origin. Even in advertisements dating as far back as forever, the term ‘poker machine’ had always been in use. There is one theory however, and that stipulates that one of the very first games in the Australian casinos was a poker machine. These machines are tagged as video pokers in some other places across the world.

Slot machines began to gain some level of popularity next to these machines; with time, it became very convenient to tag all gaming machines present in the room as ‘pokies.’

Ever since then, the term ‘pokies’ stuck even where online gambling was concerned.

What Difference Exists Between Pokie and Slot

Where these two terms are concerned, there is really not much difference. However, visiting a place like Atlantic City or Vegas and asking around for a good pokie might earn you a raised eyebrow. On the contrary, asking about slots in a place like Oz might be easy to get away with. This is so especially if you get to ask someone who has a perfect understanding of your accent rather than interpreting it to mean something else.

It isn’t quite easy to win the debate about pokie being more fun to say when compared to slot. With the rising number of Australians travelling through corners of the earth yearly, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they eventually get to catch up with each other.

Some Other Slangs For Slot From Across The World

While somethings such as a stack of cards might stay the same wherever you find yourself in across the world, discovering different names for electronic gambling machines is something humans in different parts of the world love to do.

In addition to the names ‘slots’ and ‘pokies’, travelers who are vast might also get to find out these gaming devices are also referred to as ‘fruit machines’ in England. Furthermore, they might also be known as ‘puggys’ in Scotland. It doesn’t end there, for those who are die-hard fans of old-fashioned slangs, they might also address them as ‘one-armed bandits’.