Jack Hammer slot review
NetEnt released Jack Hammer in 2010. This hard-boiled detective takes on the Evil Dr Wuten in a 5×3 grid with 25 paylines. The Jack Hammer slot has an RTP of 96.96% and low volatility.
As for bonus features, there are Wilds, free spins, and even Sticky Wins to maximize your potential wins. Keep reading my Jack Hammer slot review to learn more about this detective story.
Highlights
Jack Hammer review summary
Jack Hammer is another NetEnt slot that’s packed with super visuals. The comic book illustrations are a unique take that give a cool edge to the slot. There’s not much of a background track to it, other than retro city sounds you’d expect in a cartoon, but that goes with the Jack Hammer vibe.
Besides its funky look, Jack Hammer has some sweet bonus features. Wilds and free spins are a standard expectation in online slots, but it’s the Stick Wins feature that’s the real star of the show here.
Jack Hammer not only brings the criminal underworld to life, but its highest-paying symbol can pay out $10,000 for five symbols, meaning there’s the potential for some big wins.
Pros
- 96.96% RTP
- Lucrative Sticky Wins feature
- 25 paylines
Cons
- Free Spins take long to Trigger
- Volatility seems closer to medium
- No progressive jackpot
Jack Hammer comprehensive review
In my Jack Hammer slot review, I’ll take you through the key areas that make up this NetEnt slot. I’ll be covering Jack Hammer’s RTP and volatility, its bonus features, and I’ll provide a breakdown of its symbols and payouts. The last sections of the slot review will cover how it works and the technical features.
RTP and volatility
Jack Hammer’s RTP is 96.96%, with low volatility. It has 25 paylines on a 5×3 grid. Wins pay from left to right.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| RTP | 96.96% |
| Maximum win | $10,000 |
| Number of paylines | 25 |
| Volatility | Low |
Jack Hammer’s RTP is just over the industry average of 96%, making it pretty agreeable. Paired with low volatility, you’d typically be able to expect pretty frequent, but small wins. The 25 paylines will also contribute to a higher hit rate.
Having 25 paylines definitely increases the likelihood of landing wins across more than one line, but I didn’t feel the volatility was that low.
The reason the volatility is defined as low is that once you trigger the Sticky Wins feature, it’s very easy to have stacked wins. However, from my experience, while I triggered the Sticky Wins quite a few times, the volatility felt more like medium than low.
At one point, I had my bet set to $75, and after several spins still hadn’t landed a single win. It meant I drained a fair chunk of my budget.
Bonus features
The Jack Hammer slot has three bonus features: Wilds, Sticky Wins, and Free Spins. The Wild symbol is “Wild!!” written in white, in a typical comic book font. It appears on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5 and can substitute for any symbol except the Free Spin symbol. Wilds help to maximize wins by standing in for any of the paying symbols.
Sticky Wins are triggered when either a winning bet line or three or more of the Free Spins symbols land on the reels. When this happens, the winning symbols remain stuck in their symbol positions, while the other reels respin. The reels keep respinning as long as new wins keep appearing on the grid.
Once all the winning combinations have been exhausted, the total win is added up, and all the reels spin normally.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Bonus features | Wilds, Sticky Wins, free spins |
| Top features | Sticky Wins |
| Jackpot | N/A |
Free Spins are triggered on the Jack Hammer slot when five or more Free Spins symbols land on the reels. The Free Spin symbol is the poison bomb with the phrase Free Spin! in yellow, written in the same comic book font.
The number of free spins awarded depends on how many symbols trigger the Free Spins round. Five symbols award 10 free spins, six symbols award 15, seven symbols award 20, eight symbols award 25, and to get 30 free spins, you need to land a minimum of nine symbols.
It’s also possible to retrigger free spins during the Free Spins round. All wins during a Free Spins round are multiplied by three. This doesn’t apply to additional free spins that were awarded during the Free Spins round.
Three bonus features is great, and I’m glad to see them. The Sticky Wins is a particularly cool one to have, and it proves to be pretty lucrative.
It takes a simple win of just three symbols, to something much more worthwhile with nine symbols or more. For example, when my bet was set to $3 I landed three of the poison symbol. This triggered Sticky Wins, which kept respinning until I had 12 symbols. My win went from $0.60 to $30.
Sticky Wins are great because you’re not spending more of your bankroll to keep spinning. It also helps increase your chances of landing Free Spins, which don’t really land that often.
This was a bit disappointing for me. Over the six hours I played the game, Free Spins wasn’t triggered once. The minimum of five symbols is just too high.
Symbols and paytable
Jack Hammer has nine symbols. These are all comic book illustrations of items and characters that feature in the Jack Hammer versus Dr Wuten universe.
The lowest paying symbols are the beaker with poison, the ringing telephone, and the Daily Grand newspaper. On the smallest bet of $0.25, these all pay out $0.05 for three symbols. For five symbols, the poison awards $0.40 and the newspaper awards $0.75.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Theme | Detective noir |
| Reel layout | 5×3 |
| Highest paying symbol | Jack Hammer |
| Adjustable paylines | N/A |
| Visuals | Unique comic-book style |
| Sound | Retro |
| Mobile quality | Excellent |
The mid-range symbols are Jack Hammer in a car and Dr Wuten’s black blimp. These award payouts of $0.10 and $0.15 for three symbols, respectively.
The higher paying symbols are the paper boy, a woman on the phone with Dr Wuten behind her, Dr Wuten, and Jack Hammer. The highest paying symbol of the game is Jack Hammer, which pays out $0.50 for three symbols and $10 for five, on a bet of $0.25. On the maximum bet of $250, the maximum payout from the Jack Hammer symbol is $10,000.
The payouts on Jack Hammer are actually pretty good. To compare, Guns N’ Roses, another slot by NetEnt, has a maximum payout of $7,500 on a bet of $200. When the bet is set to $200 on Jack Hammer, the highest paying symbol awards a payout of $8,000.
$200 is also the maximum bet available on Guns N’ Roses, while Jack Hammer goes all the way to $250. Plus, thanks to the Sticky Wins feature, you’re more likely to land a win of more than three symbols, which means even with lower-paying symbols, can add up to bigger wins.
That being said, you won’t land Sticky Wins on every spin, and there were times my bankroll ran quite low because I had several spins with no wins.
How to play Jack Hammer
Jack Hammer’s bet range goes from $0.25 to a maximum of $250. If you’re playing in cash, you can adjust your bet by clicking the coins button and choosing your bet.
There are 44 betting options, starting at $0.25, $0.50, $0.75, $1.00, before they gradually increase to much bigger bets like $100, $112.50, $125, $150, and ending with $250.
You can also play in coins. To adjust your bet, press the coins button and press the plus or minus button to adjust your coin value and level. There are 10 levels, and the coin value ranges from 0.01 to 1.00.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Min bet | $0.25 |
| Max bet | $250 |
| Autoplay | Available |
| Turbo mode | Available |
| Game history | Available |
Hit the spin button to start playing. On the left of the spin button, there’s the autoplay button. You can have a minimum of 10 autospins and up to a maximum of 1,000 autospins. There are also advanced settings that let you stop the autoplay feature if a single win exceeds a certain amount, or if your balance increases or decreases by a set amount. On the right of the spin button, there’s the quick spin button.
On the bottom left, there’s a button to access the detailed game rules and the settings. The settings contain options for switching between cash and coins, quick spin, and using the spacebar to spin.
Casinos where to play Jack Hammer
NetEnt slots are found at several online casinos. For those of you who are eagle-eyed detectives in the making and want to try out the Jack Hammer slot, these are some of the top online casinos I recommend:
| Casino Logo | Rating | Bonus | Go-to-casino button | Show more | T&C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
85/100
Expert rating
by Dasha G.
86%
Playscore
based on
|
100% up to $1,000 and 2,500 Reward Credits on a $25+ wager
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
2
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
92%
Playscore
based on
|
100% match bonus up to $250
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
3
|
94/100
Expert rating
by Sophie P.
85%
Playscore
based on
|
100% up to $1,000 + $25 Bonus Credits if you win
|
Play now players accepted |
|
NJ Only | 21+ | T&C apply | Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER |
1
|
94/100
Expert rating
by Sophie P.
81%
Playscore
based on
|
50,000 Gold Coins + 1 Sweeps Coin
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
2
|
94/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
91%
Playscore
based on
|
1.5 million WOW Coins + 35 free Sweepstakes Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
3
|
93/100
Expert rating
by Sophie P.
79%
Playscore
based on
|
50,000 Gold Coins + 1 Sweeps Coin
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
4
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Sophie P.
77%
Playscore
based on
|
50,000 Gold Coins + 1 Sweeps Coin
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
5
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
87%
Playscore
based on
|
Up to 120,000 Gold Coins + 10 Sweeps Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
6
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
79%
Playscore
based on
|
25,000 Gold Coins + 2.5 Spree Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
7
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
81%
Playscore
based on
|
10,000 Gold Coins + 2 Sweeps Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
8
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Vule P.
79%
Playscore
based on
|
500 Gold Coins + 3 FREE Sweeps Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
9
|
89/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
89%
Playscore
based on
|
Up to 650,000 Gold Coins + 1,400 Sweeps Coins
|
Play now players accepted |
|
|
10
|
88/100
Expert rating
by Paul P.
96%
Playscore
based on
|
250,000 Gold Coins + $25 Stake Cash
|
Play now players accepted |
|
Expert verdict
Although it’s got some mileage on it, Jack Hammer is still a great choice for a slot game. The Sticky Wins feature is pretty appealing, and it also creates a different visual affect compared to spinning the reels over and over.
I’m a bit wary of the low volatility, as I think it could mislead players into thinking the slot pays out more frequently than it actually does. While Sticky Wins maximizes wins, you need to land a winning combination to get there first, so always manage your bankroll carefully.
Overall, this is a great slot for both new and experienced players. The high betting range gives high-rollers the room to place some bigger bets, while if newer players stick to the smaller bets and get familiar with the slot’s mechanics, they can still appreciate the game.
FAQs
What is the RTP of Jack Hammer?
The Jack Hammer slot has an RTP of 96.96%, which is just above the industry average.
What is the maximum win potential of the Jack Hammer slot?
The highest paying symbol is Jack Hammer. This awards $10,000 for five symbols when playing at the maximum bet of $250.
Does Jack Hammer have a progressive jackpot?
No, there isn’t a progressive jackpot.
How do I trigger free spins?
Free Spins are triggered on Jack Hammer by landing at least five Free Spins symbols on the reels. Five symbols will award 10 free spins, but landing nine or more will award 30 free spins.
What’s the volatility on Jack Hammer?
Jack Hammer has low volatility
