gameplay

Hold-and-Spin

A bonus feature where landing 6+ special cash-value symbols triggers a respin round that continues until the counter runs out.

Also known as: Money symbol respinsLightning Link mechanicCash symbol respins

Hold-and-spin is a slot bonus feature pioneered by Aristocrat’s Lightning Link and copied by nearly every online provider. Trigger conditions:

Land 6+ special “cash” or “money” symbols on a base spin.
Respins begin — usually 3 spins available.
Each cash symbol locks in place; blank positions can be filled.
Every new cash symbol landing resets the respin counter to 3.
Round ends when 3 consecutive spins produce no new cash symbols, or when the grid fills.

Cash symbols carry displayed prize values (typically 1x-1000x bet). Bonus round outcome = sum of all locked cash values.

Bonus round outcomes are bimodal:

Short round (2-4 cash symbols): 5x-30x total bet.
Full grid (15+ cash symbols): 500x-2000x total bet.

The base game between bonus rounds is usually low-return. The whole slot is designed around bonus-round hit rate — Pragmatic Play’s Big Bass series triggers approximately once every 200 spins.

Popular hold-and-spin titles: Big Bass Bonanza, Money Cart, Piggy Riches Megaways, Starlight Princess, Floating Dragon, 9 Pots of Gold.