Dead or Alive is a 2009 NetEnt slot that is among those titles that made NetEnt the powerhouse it is today.

It’s one of the most popular slots ever made that still has a cult following.

The free spins game is what it’s all about in Dead or Alive, as all the big wins will come from this feature.

Dead or Alive is arguably the most popular wild west slot game. It has excellent graphics and theme, and the game is centered around five fugitives from the law, which you’ll be introduced to during the free spins game.

Dead or Alive RTP

The theoretical payout of Dead or Alive comes in six configurations: 90.07%, 92.06%, 93.06%, 94.03%, 95.03%, and 96.82%.

Playing on a low RTP version can significantly lower your chances of winning, as you get fewer spins on average when not playing on the best-paying version.

To show you what the effect of a higher or lower Return to Player really is, we have done some calculations.

Based on a starting balance of €/£/$/100 and a stake of €/£/$/1 per spin, we can determine per RTP configuration how many spins it will theoretically take (excluding variance) before you run out of funds.

How many spins does it take before your balance goes below €/£/$/1?

RTP	Number of spins
96.82%	3,113 spins
95.03%	1,991 spins
94.03%	1,658 spins
93.06%	1,426 spins
92.06%	1,246 spins
90.07%	996 spins

Now, it is a good thing to realize that these calculations are based on theoretical losses per spin. In practice, due to the slot’s high variance, results will differ significantly as you will have many losing and some winning spins. But taking the variance out of the equation, you can see enormous differences between the RTP settings.

Gameplay and Pay Table

Dead or Alive has only nine paylines, which is a bit out of the ordinary for a 3×5 slot game, but it works well, and it’s very easy to spot an upcoming winning payline.

There are five main symbols with artwork depicting the wild west and five more card symbols.

The paytable is decent, but this isn’t a slot where big wins can be expected during the base game, mostly because of the low number of paylines, which means the variance is a bit higher than usual.

Bonus Features

Three Scatters award 12 free spins.

All wins are doubled during the free spins game, but this won’t matter much.

What makes the difference here is the number of Sticky Wilds that are held for the duration of free spins.

Five different Wild symbols appear during the free spins game, and each new one you land will be held on the reels.

Also, if you get at least one Sticky Wild on each of the five reels, you’ll be awarded +5 free spins.

The variance of the free spins game is very high as you can leave without a significant win, but you can also get a mega win if you get enough Sticky Wilds.

If you manage to land one or more so-called Wild Lines (five wilds on a payline) you’d be able to walk away with a profit that can be worth thousands of times your total bet.

CasinoWizard’s verdict: 4 out of 5 stars

Dead or Alive is a slot game that’s difficult to beat as the variance is high.

The free spins game is what it’s all about, and with a little luck and some Sticky Wilds in the right places, a big win could come your way.

Most players who enjoy this game like higher variance slots that deliver a big payout only once in a while and are prepared to wait for it and play for a long time. If this is you, then do try out Dead or Alive.

However, check out the sequel Dead or Alive 2 with a max win cap of 111,111x your bet size per spin for even more enormous max win potential.

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