Last updated: May 2026. Walkthrough written for first-time players landing on Wanted Dead or a Wild without any prior Hacksaw Gaming experience.
If this is your first time loading Wanted Dead or a Wild, the screen looks busier than it actually is. There's a spaghetti-western town in the background, a sheriff star bouncing around, three saloon doors hinting at the bonus rounds, and a paytable full of unfamiliar VS symbols. Don't worry — the actual gameplay loop is one of the cleanest in modern slots, and you can be spinning confidently within five minutes. This walkthrough takes you from "what am I looking at" to "running auto-spin on a A$1 bet" without any guesswork.
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Step 1 — Pick a casino
You need an account at a licensed casino that runs the certified 96.38% RTP variant. We use four:
- Vegasnova — fastest PayID withdrawals.
- Joe Fortune — biggest welcome offer percentage.
- GreatSlots — lowest minimum deposit.
- CasinoRocket — highest stake caps for VIP play.
Any of the four works. If you're brand new, GreatSlots's A$10 minimum deposit gets you spinning with the least commitment.
Step 2 — Open the game
After depositing and claiming the welcome offer, search the casino lobby for "Wanted Dead or a Wild" or filter by Hacksaw Gaming in the providers list. The game tile shows the cowboy silhouette and the sheriff-star logo.
Click it. The game loads in your browser (no download required — it's HTML5 and runs on any modern device).
Before you spin a real cent, click the info icon (i) in the bottom-left corner of the game. Scroll to the RTP field. It should read 96.38%. If it reads 94.55%, 92.33%, or 88.42%, close the game and play it elsewhere — the casino is running a reduced-RTP build that's significantly worse for you long-term.
Step 3 — Set your bet
The bet panel sits below the reels. You'll see a number — that's your current bet per spin.
- Tap the + or – buttons to step the bet up or down.
- Min bet: A$0.10 per spin.
- Max bet: A$100 per spin.
For a first session we recommend starting at A$0.20 – A$1.00. That keeps you in the game long enough to actually see a bonus trigger (the average is about 1 in 195 spins) without burning through your deposit before the math has a chance to work.
Bankroll rule of thumb: at least 200× your bet in funds before you sit down. So a A$1 bet wants a A$200 bankroll. A A$0.20 bet wants A$40. This is a 4/5-volatility pokie — runs of 50+ dry spins are normal. Don't enter a session under-funded.
Step 4 — Press spin
The big circular button bottom-centre is spin. Tap it once for a single spin. Press and hold to open the auto-spin menu.
What you're watching for:
- Standard paying combinations — three or more matching symbols left-to-right on a payline. The card-rank symbols (10, J, Q, K, A) are low-pays. The thematic symbols (sheriff, gunslinger, horse, six-shooter) are high-pays.
- VS symbols — when two land on the same row, the row's reels expand into wild reels with a multiplier. This is DuelReels. It's the source of most of your base-game wins above 20×.
- Scatter symbols — three or more anywhere trigger the bonus picker. Don't worry about counting these; the game tells you when you've hit.
Step 5 — The bonus picker (the interesting bit)
When three or more scatters land, the screen freezes and you're shown three doors (or three saloon entrances, depending on the version):
- Great Train Robbery — medium volatility. Sticky symbols, consistent payouts. The "safe" choice.
- Duel at Dawn — very high volatility. Expanding wild reels. The "max-win" choice.
- Dead Man's Hand — high volatility. Mix of wilds and multipliers. The "balanced" choice.
You pick one. There's no "right" pick — each round has its own math and its own appeal. Most beginners gravitate to Dead Man's Hand because it feels active and rewarding in roughly the way modern slots have trained players to expect. Streamers and max-win chasers pick Duel at Dawn every time. Bankroll-conscious players pick Great Train Robbery when their session balance is already up.
Step 6 — Play the round
Each round has its own animation and rules but they all share a structure: free spins, with one or more added mechanics layered on top.
- Great Train Robbery — you get free spins on a moving train backdrop. Symbols you land stick to the reels for the duration of the round, building up over time.
- Duel at Dawn — you get free spins where wild reels can expand and stack multipliers across the grid. The visual cue is the gunslinger drawing his pistol.
- Dead Man's Hand — you get free spins where wilds and multipliers appear together. Mid-range payouts are common; max-win is theoretically possible but unlikely.
At the end of the round, your total bonus win is added to your balance and you're returned to the base game.
Step 7 — Stop while you're ahead
This is the rule everyone hears and no one follows. Bonus rounds in Wanted Dead or a Wild are emotional — when you've just hit a 200× round, the temptation to keep spinning is enormous because "I'm in the zone."
The math doesn't care. Each spin is independent. After a 200× win, your odds of triggering another bonus on the next spin are the same as before the first one.
Practical advice for first-timers:
- Set a session loss limit in the casino's responsible-gambling tools before you start.
- Set a session win cap — when you double your starting balance, stop.
- Use auto-spin's stop-on-win feature for the same reason.
Optional features to know about
Bonus Buy. If you don't want to wait for the natural trigger, you can pay a one-time multiplier of your stake to enter a bonus round directly. Costs vary by round:
- Great Train Robbery: ~58× stake.
- Dead Man's Hand: ~88× stake.
- Duel at Dawn: ~250× stake.
For most players, Bonus Buy is worse value than the natural trigger over a long session — but if you're a streamer or you have 30 minutes to play and want to skip the grind, it works.
Demo mode. Every reputable AU casino offers Wanted Dead or a Wild in demo mode for free. Try it before depositing real money. The math is identical to real-money play.
Common beginner mistakes
- Betting too high to start. A A$5 bet on a A$50 bankroll will end your session before you see a bonus.
- Auto-spinning without stop conditions. If you lose half your bankroll on auto, you can't say later "I would have stopped earlier."
- Picking the same bonus every time. Each round has different math — try all three at least once.
- Ignoring the RTP. If you didn't check the in-game info panel, you might be playing 88.42% without knowing.
- Chasing losses with bigger bets. Every spin is independent. Bigger bets after losses just lose more money.
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Quick FAQ
How long does a session last? A A$50 bankroll at A$0.40 per spin lasts roughly 100-130 spins on average. With a bonus trigger, it can last much longer.
Do I need to enable Bonus Buy? No — most players never use it. It's a shortcut, not a requirement.
What's the difference between the three bonuses? Different volatility. Train = smooth payouts. Duel = explosive payouts. Dead Man's = mid-ground.
Is the demo the same as real money? Yes — same math, same RTP, same RNG. Only difference is the balance is play money.
Can I lose more than my deposit? No — slot games can't withdraw more than your balance.
Will the game show me how many bonus rounds I've hit historically? Some casinos do (in account history). Otherwise no.
About this walkthrough
Tested across all four featured casinos in April-May 2026. Spins played: 300+. Bonus rounds triggered: 5+ per round type. Demo and real-money behaviour verified identical.
Gambling responsibly. Pokies are entertainment. They're not income, not a way out of debt, not a system to beat. Set limits, stick to them. AU support: gamblinghelponline.org.au · BetStop · 18+ only.
Further Reading
Related reading in this guide: