What we like / What could be better
What we like
- Medium volatility keeps the base game moving instead of sitting on long dry spells
- Four RTP builds (92%, 94%, 95%, 96%) give an informed player a real lever to check before depositing
- A$0.20 entry point makes it cheap to sample the Hold and Win round
- 5000x ceiling is solid for a compact 3x5 grid
What could be better
- Exact respin count and reset trigger for the Hold and Win round aren't in the specification we reviewed; confirm them in-game
- 11 paylines on a 3x5 grid means fewer base-game connections than most 5x3 rivals
- Bonus buy price floats with stake and RTP build rather than being fixed
What 3x5 Royal Piggy: Hold The Spin Is
This review focuses on 3x5 Royal Piggy: Hold The Spin, a Gamzix pokie built on a compact 3x5 grid with 11 paylines and a Hold and Win respin round. Gamzix swapped cherries for pigs and coins on a gilded backdrop, but the mechanical bones follow the same 3x5 format the studio uses across several titles.
The spec table above lists the raw numbers: grid, paylines, bet range, volatility, RTP ceiling. What follows is what those numbers mean once you're actually spinning.
The reel set is 3x5: three rows, five reels, 11 fixed paylines. That's a narrower layout than the 5x3 grids most Australian players default to, and it changes how often the Hold and Win trigger lands.
Medium volatility means the base game pays often enough to keep the slot moving, but the real payout sits in the respin round. Everything else on this page works out from that one design choice.
RTP: Which Version You're Actually Playing
Gamzix doesn't lock 3x5 Royal Piggy: Hold The Spin to a single RTP. The studio's specification lists four configurations: 92%, 94%, 95% and 96%. The operator hosting the pokie chooses which build goes live, and nothing on the reels tells you which one you got.
That spread matters more than it looks. Over a long session at a A$50 stake, the gap between a 92% build and a 96% build compounds into a meaningfully different theoretical loss rate.
| RTP setting | Theoretical return per A$100 wagered |
|---|---|
| 92% | A$92 |
| 94% | A$94 |
| 95% | A$95 |
| 96% | A$96 |
Ask support which build is live, or check the in-game info screen, before treating any RTP figure you read online, including the number on this page, as the one running on your account.
How the Hold and Win Respins Work
The respin round is the reason to open this pokie. Coin symbols that land during the base game lock in place and trigger a set number of respins. Land a new coin during a respin and the counter resets. Run out of respins without a new coin and the round ends, paying out whatever coin values are sitting on the grid.
That's the standard Gamzix Hold and Win structure. The specification we reviewed for this title doesn't break out the exact starting respin count or the precise reset rule, so we're not printing a number we haven't confirmed on the reels. Open the in-game rules screen before playing for real money and check it yourself; it takes under a minute in demo mode.
What we can say from the numbers that are confirmed: on an 11-payline, 3x5 grid, there are only 15 positions total. Filling enough of them with coin symbols to reach a big multiplier takes longer than on a 5x3 grid with more real estate, which is part of why the ceiling sits at 5000x rather than higher. Fewer positions, tighter math.
The round stops being worth chasing once you're several respins in without a new coin and the locked coin values on the grid are low relative to your stake. There's no way to influence that outcome. It's decided by the RNG on each respin, not by anything you do.
Max Win and Volatility: What 5000x Actually Means
5000x is the payout ceiling, not a target you're likely to hit often. At medium volatility, most sessions land small and mid-size coin collections. The 5000x figure describes the best possible outcome of the Hold and Win round, not its average.
What that ceiling is worth in cash depends entirely on your stake:
| Stake per spin | Max win at 5000x |
|---|---|
| A$0.20 | A$1,000 |
| A$1.00 | A$5,000 |
| A$10.00 | A$50,000 |
| A$50.00 | A$250,000 |
Medium volatility trades a lower ceiling for more frequent base-game hits than Gamzix's higher-variance titles. If you're specifically chasing the 5000x number, a higher-volatility pokie with a bigger multiplier ceiling gets you there faster, at the cost of longer dry spells between hits.
Bet Range and Paylines
Stakes on 3x5 Royal Piggy: Hold The Spin run from A$0.20 to A$50.00 per spin, covering both casual play and higher-stake sessions on the same title without switching pokies.
11 fixed paylines run across the 3x5 grid. That's fewer lines than most 5x3, 20 to 25-line pokies, meaning fewer ways for symbols to connect on the base game. It's a deliberate trade-off: fewer paylines, tighter grid, more of the payout weight sitting in the Hold and Win feature rather than in line wins.
Bonus Buy: Price and What You Skip
The bonus buy button is live in most offshore lobbies carrying this title. It skips straight to the Hold and Win trigger, so you're paying to start a respin round rather than waiting for coin symbols to land naturally.
The price isn't fixed in the specification we reviewed. It's set on the buy screen as a multiplier of your stake and can vary by operator and by which RTP build is running. Check the exact number on the buy screen before confirming; a bonus buy priced against a 92% build carries a different expected value than the same button on a 96% build, even though the screen looks identical.
Buying the bonus doesn't change your odds of landing a specific outcome inside the respin round. It only changes when you pay for the chance.
Demo Mode vs Real Money
Demo mode, sometimes labelled free play in lobby menus, lets you play 3x5 Royal Piggy: Hold The Spin with credit, no deposit required, through the studio's own preview or through offshore lobby demos. It's the fastest way to see how the Hold and Win respins actually behave, since visuals and pacing match the real-money version.
What demo mode won't show you is which RTP setting a specific casino runs, since that's an operator-side configuration rather than something visible in the client. Use demo to learn the respin rhythm and grid layout. Use the casino's support desk to confirm the live RTP before switching to real stakes.
How to Play 3x5 Royal Piggy Without Overspending
This isn't a strategy that changes the RNG. Nothing you do inside a spin affects its outcome. What you control is stake size and when you stop.
- Set a per-spin stake based on your total bankroll, not on the 5000x headline. A A$50 stake through a long losing run drains a small bankroll fast.
- Run the demo first to see how often the Hold and Win trigger actually fires at medium volatility before committing real money.
- Keep enough spins in reserve to survive dry stretches. Medium volatility still has longer gaps between hits than low-volatility pokies.
- Decide your bonus buy budget before you look at the price on the buy screen, not after.
- Confirm the live RTP build with the operator if the number matters to your decision; it isn't visible in the client itself.
None of this predicts a win. It's bankroll management around a game whose respin outcomes are decided by the RNG alone.
What Works and What Doesn't
The medium volatility and A$0.20 entry point make this an easy pokie to sample without much commitment. The 3x5 grid gives it a distinct visual identity next to the wall of 5x3 titles most lobbies default to, and the four available RTP settings mean an informed player has a real lever to pull before depositing.
The trade-offs sit in the same places. 11 paylines on a compact grid means fewer base-game connections than most rivals. The exact respin count for the Hold and Win round isn't in the specification we reviewed, so you have to check the in-game rules yourself rather than take a number from a review at face value, including this one. And the bonus buy price floats with the RTP build, which makes it harder to judge value at a glance.
Where to Play 3x5 Royal Piggy: Hold The Spin
3x5 Royal Piggy: Hold The Spin isn't available through an Australian-licensed casino: the Interactive Gambling Act doesn't permit AU-licensed online casinos at all, so every lobby carrying Gamzix titles for Australian players is an offshore operator. None of the operators we track for this review have had their licence status checked against a regulator register yet.
The lobbies below are ones our catalogue data ties to Gamzix or to this specific title. Where we've only confirmed the studio, not the exact game, that's noted rather than assumed.
Withdrawal speed depends on the payment method, not on which pokie you played. We've timed real withdrawals on other reviews; those numbers live on the casino pages, not here, since they don't change with the game.
18+. This page carries affiliate links, and SpinCompass may earn a commission if you follow one to an operator; that doesn't change the analysis above. If gambling stops being fun, Gambling Help Online (1800 858 858) offers free, confidential support. Our methodology page explains how we test and score pokies.
Gamzix's 3x5 Series: How This Pokie Compares
Gamzix runs a recognisable 3x5 format across several titles: same grid, same respin logic, different theme dressed on top. Royal Piggy's coins-and-pigs skin sits inside that pattern rather than outside it, which is worth knowing if you've played another 3x5 Gamzix title and expect the pacing to feel familiar.
The studio's wider catalogue mixes these compact Hold and Win releases with higher-volatility, bigger-grid titles that push the max win ceiling well past 5000x in exchange for longer dry spells. If 5000x feels low next to what you've seen elsewhere from Gamzix, that's the volatility trade-off talking, not a weaker game.