This blog looks at what the classic ‘hold and spin’ feature in slots is, how it started out, and the software developers deploying it today while also taking a snapshot of games using hold and spin, including fresh titles. Some great modern slots game sites use to hold and spin - one such site is Money Reels, why not hold and spin on there today?
WHAT IS HOLD AND SPIN FEATURE IN SLOTS?
The hold and spin feature in online slots is a standard ‘respin round’ where the money or cash symbol or symbols that land on the reels lock in position. When your respins run out, all the cash symbols on the reel are added together to your payment.
HOW DID THE HOLD AND SPIN FEATURE IN SLOTS START?
The first slot to start hold and spin was Lightening Link by Aristocrat Gaming, and it’s since gained a lot of popularity with software developers including Pragmatic Play, IGT and iSoftBet. The feature gives players a certain number of free spins for a head start to collect money symbols, and if you fill the whole grid with special symbols, it's called ‘blackout’ and gets you the maximum payout possible for that game. This extra ‘game within a game’ is alluring to players, which is probably why it caught on and others adopted it and why players still love to use it today in modern casino slots.
Today’s players love their bonus features at online slots, so much so they hunt down the best bonuses and can be very discerning. This has seen game developers releasing bonus round features continuously to keep people entertained. Examples of online slots including hold and spin are Hot and Burned by Pragmatic Play where you collect top symbols (5 is enough), activate hold and spin and then all the symbols exit other than the money symbol(s), which are locked in place during the spins. These money symbols are added up after and credited to your balance.
WHICH SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS USE HOLD AND SPIN?
Many online slots developers use hold and spin in their new games or follow-on games as something different and fun for gamers. Plus, as a feature, hold and spin boosts win payouts. Money Reels has a lot of these in their casino for example. Gaming developers like Aristocrat Slots, by Aristocrat Gaming, Buffalo and Dragon and IGT Slots have some hold and spin features in games like Wheel of Fortune.
Ainsworth Gaming has used the hold and spin feature, including Quickspin. AGS uses hold and spin in slots like Royal Phoenix where the wild locks in position and reels keeps on spinning. In their slot Sacred Dragon, players collect yin and yang symbols that transform into top paying dragons. Other titles include Imperial 88 and Peacock Beauty.
BEST HOLD AND SPIN FEATURES SLOTS
Pragmatic Play released Ultra Hold and Spin in 2020, which has a great vintage feel with a special hold and respin feature. The game takes inspiration from the old slot machines found in Vegas. You can bet 5 pence up to £250 a spin with a 500x your stake win potential in the bonus round – giving you potentially massive payouts. To trigger this bonus, you need to land 3 money symbols.
The total value of money from the money symbols is added to your total win. You get 4 respins, and the middle symbols hold. The symbols on reels 1 and 3 go and are replaced on the respin. Every money symbol resets the respin with the value of the additional money symbol added onto total bonus winnings. Landing a diamond gives you between 100x and 500x your total original bet as a win, which is the maximum jackpot in the game.
Wolf Treasure (2017) by IGT is another developer to adopt hold and spin in its buffalos and wolves slot. The hold and spin here helps get the player a top win potential of 1000x the original player stake. RTP is 96% and is low volatility, which offers players frequent win chances.
Diamond Wins released in 2020 by Playson, has a hold and spin feature where players can win up to 1,201x their bet. Thunder Shields released in 2020 by iSoftBet has a Scandi theme hold and spin feature with the chance to win up to 4,034x the stake, with medium volatility. Dragon Pearls (Boongo Gaming 2020) offers a new take on the dragon theme with special features including hold and spin with up to 5000x win potential on the original bet.
Mighty Stallion (iSoftBet 2021) has a cowboy-style hold and spin and other features you can win high on. Some other titles that use hold and spin include Buffalo Power, Diamond Wins Hold and Spin, Floating Dragon Hold and Spin, Sphinx Fortune (Booming Games) released in 2018 with its crazy structure on the reels sees players winning in 576 ways with multipliers of 2,500x the bet. Their hold and spins pull a big crowd on big payouts, making it high variance.
HOLD AND SPIN FEATURE IN SLOTS - THE VERDICT
There are many top slots out there that use hold and spin as something a bit different and to up win payouts, attractive to people loving those big wins. While the concept of hold and spin is old-school, new releases do use it. Titles to watch for that adopt hold and spin include Ultra Hold and Spin, Wolf Treasure, Diamond Wins and Mighty Stallion. Why not try a hold and spin slot at Money Reels today?