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Hold and Win, Hold & Spin, Cash Collect: One Mechanic, Many Studio Names

Last updated 23 October 2026 · by the Aussie Top Casinos editors

Many studios sell the same respin feature under different names. Here is how hold-and-win works, where it came from, the Lightning Link question, and how to read the paytable.

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Open a handful of modern online pokies and you will find the same bonus round wearing different labels: Hold and Win, Hold & Spin, Money Respin, Cash Collect, Link & Win and more. The core idea is consistent. Special symbols carrying cash values or jackpot labels lock in place, you get a small number of respins, and each new special symbol resets the count. Once you know the template, the paytable of any version becomes much easier to read.

How the hold-and-win mechanic works

The basic pattern runs like this:

Trigger. A set number of special symbols (often six or more) land in one base-game spin.
Hold. Those symbols lock in place; every other position clears.
Respins. You receive a small number of respins, most often three. Only special symbols can land.
Reset. Each time a new special symbol lands, the respin counter goes back to the starting number.
Collect. When respins run out, or every position is filled, the values on screen are added up and paid.

Pragmatic Play's Wolf Gold is a clean example. The studio's game page describes a Money Respin triggered by six or more money symbols, with three respins that reset each time a new money symbol lands. Money symbols carry cash values of up to 100x, and filling all 15 positions awards the Mega Jackpot, worth 1,000x. The page lists the game's RTP as 96.01%.

Feature names by studio

The labels below are the names studios or their games use for the respin feature. The mechanics differ in detail, so always open the paytable of the specific game.

Feature name	Where you will see it	Notes
Hold & Spin	Aristocrat's Lightning Link family	Covers describes it as a core feature of Lightning Link High Stakes online
Money Respin	Pragmatic Play, e.g. Wolf Gold	6+ money symbols, 3 resetting respins, full screen pays the Mega Jackpot
Cash Collect	Playtech	A suite of games; Gaming Intelligence reports the mechanic originated in Sahara Riches
Collect & Link	Playtech, e.g. Blue Wizard: Cash Collect & Link	Link or Mega Link coins trigger a hold-and-respin feature
Link&Win	Games Global titles	Branded series name; check each game's rules
Hold and Win	Used generically and by several studios	Often the umbrella term players use for all of the above

Cash Collect is a variant, not a copy

Playtech's Cash Collect games show that the label can mean more than one thing. Gaming Intelligence reported in February 2022 that Leprechaun's Luck: Cash Collect was the third title in the Cash Collect suite, that the mechanic originated in Sahara Riches, and that the game has four in-game jackpots. In April 2025 the same outlet reported Blue Wizard: Cash Collect & Link, where Link or Mega Link coins trigger the hold-and-respin round. In some Cash Collect games values are gathered by a collector symbol during base play as well as in a feature, so read the rules before assuming it plays like Wolf Gold.

The link to land-based pokies

Australian players know the mechanic from pubs and clubs, where linked pokies with hold-and-spin features and shared jackpots sit in banks across the gaming room. Online versions borrow the layout: a grid of held symbols, a respin counter and a row of named jackpots such as Mini, Minor, Major and Grand.

“Linked” means different things in the two settings. On a land-based link, several machines usually contribute to and display the same progressive jackpots. Online, the jackpots are often fixed multiples of the bet that exist only in your game, although some online titles do have a progressive jackpot shared across players. The paytable tells you which.

Lightning Link online: be careful with the name

Aristocrat's Lightning Link is one of the best-known land-based link games, and its name is used loosely online. Two facts help sort out what is real:

The official real-money online launch is recent and limited. Covers reported in July 2026 that Lightning Link “made the jump from land-based gaming to digital” through Aristocrat Interactive, starting with Lightning Link High Stakes in seven US states plus Ontario and Alberta. The online game includes Hold & Spin, multi-denomination play, a Big Reel, a shared progressive jackpot and a Grand Jackpot.
The Lightning Link Casino app is a social game. Its App Store listing, by Product Madness, states that “this game does not offer gambling or an opportunity to win real money or prizes”, and gives new players free virtual coins.

So a page offering “Lightning Link real money” at an offshore casino is either describing a different game with a similar feature, or using the name to attract clicks. Our Lightning Link pokies guide and Aristocrat pokies page cover where Aristocrat titles are legitimately available.

Key point: the feature name tells you the family; the paytable tells you the deal. Check the trigger count, respin count, symbol value range, what a full screen pays and whether the jackpots are fixed or progressive.

How to read a hold-and-win paytable

Every version answers the same five questions. Find them in the game's info screen before you play:

Trigger: how many special symbols start the feature (for example, six or more).
Respins: how many you get and whether they reset (commonly three, resetting).
Symbol values: the range of cash values, as multiples of your total bet (for example, up to 100x).
Jackpots: named tiers, whether each is a fixed multiple or progressive, and what fills them.
Full screen: what happens if every position fills (in Wolf Gold, a 1,000x Mega Jackpot).

Worked example: what a feature pays

Say you play at A$1 a spin and trigger a Money Respin-style feature with six symbols worth 2x, 5x, 1x, 3x, 2x and 10x. Two more symbols land during respins, worth 4x and 1x, then three blank respins follow and the round ends. The total is 2 + 5 + 1 + 3 + 2 + 10 + 4 + 1 = 28x, so A$28. Had the grid filled all 15 positions in a game like Wolf Gold, the Mega Jackpot would pay 1,000x, or A$1,000, on the same A$1 bet. Values are illustrative; the multiples are what the paytable shows.

Common variations on the template

Studios compete by changing one or two parts of the basic loop. These are the variations you will meet most often, and what each one does to the feature.

Collector and multiplier symbols

Some games add a symbol that, when it lands, adds up every value on screen and pays or banks it immediately. Others add a multiplier symbol that doubles or triples the values already held. Both make the outcome more dependent on which special symbols land late in the round.

Grid expansion

A number of titles unlock extra rows during the feature once a certain count of symbols has landed. More positions means more chances to land symbols, but it can also make a full-screen prize harder to reach, because there are more positions to fill.

Upgraded starting respins

A few games award four or more respins instead of three, or offer a bonus buy that starts the feature with extra symbols already locked. The paytable or the buy menu states exactly what you get.

Jackpot symbols vs cash symbols

Many games mix plain cash symbols with jackpot symbols labelled Mini, Minor, Major or Grand. A jackpot symbol usually pays its named prize at the end of the round in place of a cash value. Where the paytable states the jackpot as a multiple, such as 1,000x for Wolf Gold's Mega Jackpot, the value scales with your bet. Where it shows a running total, it is progressive and the same for everyone eligible.

Knowing these variations helps when two games share a feature name but feel very different to play. The name is marketing; the rules screen is the specification.

Choosing between hold-and-win games

Because the template is shared, the differences that matter are in the numbers: RTP, the size of the top jackpot, and how often the feature triggers. Compare RTP in the info screen, because casinos can run different configurations of the same game. Our guides to online pokies and best paying pokies explain RTP and volatility, and Pragmatic Play casinos lists where titles like Wolf Gold are offered.

FAQ

Are Hold and Win and Hold & Spin the same feature?

They are the same basic mechanic: special symbols lock in place and a short run of respins resets each time a new one lands. The details, such as trigger count and jackpots, vary by game.

Can I play Lightning Link for real money online in Australia?

Covers reported that Aristocrat's first real-money online Lightning Link title launched in seven US states plus Ontario and Alberta. The Lightning Link Casino app is a social game that does not offer real-money gambling.

What is Cash Collect?

Cash Collect is Playtech's name for a suite of games built around collecting cash-value symbols. Gaming Intelligence reports that the mechanic originated in Sahara Riches.

Are the jackpots in hold-and-win pokies progressive?

Some are, but many online versions use fixed multiples of your bet. The paytable states which applies.