How the Hold & Win mechanic works
A Hold & Win round triggers when a minimum number of bonus/coin symbols land on the reels in a single spin — typically 6 or more. All remaining reel positions are blanked out. The player is awarded 3 respins. During respins:
• Any new bonus symbol that lands locks in place (holds)
• A new bonus landing resets the respin counter to 3
• The round ends when 3 respins complete without a new bonus landing
The round pays out the total value of all locked symbols at the end. Lock the full grid (typically 15 positions on a 5×3 pokie) and you win the Grand jackpot — a fixed multiplier (often 1000x to 10000x bet). This is the single largest base-game payout in most modern pokies outside Megaways max-win territory.
The four jackpot tiers
Most Hold & Win titles pair the base mechanic with a tiered jackpot system:
• Mini — smallest, frequent; typically 10-50x bet
• Minor — medium; typically 100-500x bet
• Major — large; typically 1000-5000x bet
• Grand — jackpot; typically 10000x bet or a progressive linked pool
Jackpot tier is determined either by special "jackpot" coin symbols appearing alongside regular coins, or by filling the grid (Grand = full grid).
This structure is what made Lightning Link / Dragon Link the defining Hold & Win franchises — the jackpot tiers give a clear ladder of "wins of different sizes" which plays well psychologically alongside the mechanic's inherent anticipation.
Studios that do Hold & Win well
Aristocrat (Product Madness) — Dragon Link series, Lightning Link series. The original and still the reference.
Pragmatic Play — The "Money" family (Money Train 4, Money Cart 4, Chicken Chase) and Big Bass series extensively use Hold & Win variants. Pragmatic's Hold & Win rounds often feature additional multipliers stacked on top of the locked symbols, which can push wins dramatically above the simple locked-value math.
Wazdan — Hold the Jackpot series (Sizzling Eggs, Larry the Leprechaun). Clean classic-style implementation.
Habanero — Caishen's Wealth, Fortune Dogs. Asian-theme Hold & Win variants with distinctive art and sound design.
NetEnt — Twin Spin XXXtreme, Riches of Midgard: Land and Expand (Land-and-Expand is a Hold & Win variant).
Hold & Win is by volume one of the top-3 mechanical families in online pokies alongside Megaways and classic-free-spins.
Availability at the six AU casinos we review
None of the six casinos in our review set lists Aristocrat, Pragmatic Play, Wazdan or Habanero among its studios. Fortune88, B4Bet, The Star and Le88Win do list BNG, whose Hold and Win series is the closest match; Aussie2Win and Ripperbet do not.
| Casino | Coverage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fortune88 | Some | BNG (Hold and Win) listed; Pragmatic Play, Wazdan and Habanero not |
| B4Bet | Some | BNG (Hold and Win) listed; Pragmatic Play, Wazdan and Habanero not |
| Aussie2Win | Limited | Aristocrat, Pragmatic Play and BNG not listed |
| The Star | Some | BNG (Hold and Win) listed; Pragmatic Play, Wazdan and Habanero not |
| Ripperbet | Limited | Pragmatic Play, Wazdan, Habanero and BNG not listed |
| Le88Win | Some | BNG (Hold and Win) listed; Habanero and Pragmatic Play not |
FAQ
Is Hold & Win the same as Hold & Spin?
Yes — the mechanic is identical; studios use whichever name their first title established. Aristocrat used "Hold & Spin" originally; "Hold & Win" is now more common across studios. "Link & Win" is Pragmatic Play's branded variant.
How often does the Grand jackpot trigger?
Very rarely — typical Grand-tier hit rates are 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 200,000 base-game spins. This is by design; the Grand win is supposed to be a session-defining event, not a routine payout. Lower tiers (Mini, Minor) hit much more frequently.
Can I skip the 3-respin mechanic and just get the payout?
No — the locked-symbol total is not known until the respin sequence ends. The round must play out. Some titles have a "gamble" feature on the final result, but the base mechanic cannot be shortcut.
What RTP do Hold & Win titles run?
Varies by studio and title. Pragmatic Play Hold & Win titles often run 96-96.5% in their standard configurations. Aristocrat Dragon Link online variants run in similar ranges. Check the in-game info panel for the specific deployed RTP.
Related reading
- AU online pokies hub — overview + all categories
- How pokies RTP works
- Bonus wagering explained
- All six AU casino reviews