Keep Em

Keep Em Slot Review

Slot Provider: Hacksaw Gaming

RTP: 96.27% | Variance: Medium | Maximum Win: 10,000x

Our Score: 7.8

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WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.

About Keep Em

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 16th April 2024

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Keep Em is a cartoon-style slot featuring Hacksaw Gaming’s own Canny the Can character. It has a medium volatility and uses Get Em symbols to activate cash coins worth up to 1,000x. Landing special symbols on the special ‘Keep Em’ reels triggers 3 re-spins with sticky coins. And there are three free spins rounds with enhanced odds of cash collects as well as sticky coins to boost wins. The top payout is 10,000x and spins start at 10p.

Keep Em Game Information

  • RTP: 96.27% | 94.25% | 92.27% | 88.29%
  • Variance: Medium
  • Maximum Win: 10,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 6
  • Rows: 5
  • Paylines: 15, 625
  • Minimum Stake: £0.10
  • Theme: Cartoon
  • Features: Cash Collects, Sticky Reels, Re-Spins, Free Spins

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Keep Em

IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers

I played 250 spins on Keep Em on Hacksaw Gaming’s test server prior to release to test the game. This is what happened.

  • Stake Size: 1
  • Start balance: 5,000
  • End balance: 5,032.20
  • Hit Rate: 18% (45 winning spins in 250)
  • Biggest Win: 143x
  • Free Spins Round: 2

Keep Em was a game that took a while to warm up. The first 50 spins didn’t produce much at all, and I waited longer for my first cash collect, which seemed odd as that is what the game is all about. Nevermind, because suddenly this slot hit a new gear, tossing out wins on almost every spin for a short period and triggering the free spins round twice, producing wins of 28.5x and then 143x.

A 24.58x win in Keep Em
A 24.58x win in testing

The second free spins round was a real showcase of what Keep Em has to offer. I started by landing 4 FS symbols, so it was the Keep Your Friends Close version where all cash symbols stick. This hugely boosts your chances of scoring wins as each cash value just waits to be collected. On top of that, I landed a few Get Ems and cash symbols in the re-spin area, triggering extra spins and building some nice cash collects there too. And finally, another 4 FS symbols landed to extend the round by a further 6 spins.

A 143x win from a free spins round in Keep Em
A 143x win from the free spins round in testing

The win rate overall for the session was low at just 18%, not great for a medium variance game, but with that big free spins round, I could live with that. And after a long wait we had the perfect illustration of how a cumulative win sequence can send the game into orbit on some lucky occasions.

What We Liked

  • Chance to accumulate big wins with sticky re-spins
  • High 10,000x max win for a mid-variance game
  • Fun and eccentric Canny The Can character
  • Cash symbols worth up to 1,000x!
  • KYCC free spins round GUARANTEES cash collects on each spin

What We Didn't like

  • Watch for low RTP at some slot sites

Keep Em Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 8
  • RTP and Variance 7
  • Maximum Win 8
  • Symbols and Paytable 8
  • Features and Gameplay 8

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A superb game with awesome cumulative win potential thanks to a clever trick with the sticky re-spins reel area and cash collects. Don't miss out - you must try this slot!"

Overall Score: 7.8

Theme & Design

Our Score 8

Another Eccentric Outing With Canny The Can

Keep Em is part of a series of games featuring a strange character called Canny the Can. He crops up in Stack ‘Em, Book of Time and Drop ‘Em, also by Hacksaw, which all display the same retro-cartoon style. The setting is a woodland in which Canny looks weirdly out of place. He brings along a bird called Bob in this case, and both characters jig along at the side to the sounds of a jazzy piano riff. What can I say? It’s hard to explain, but not untypical of this eccentric studio who also brought us games like RIP City and Beam Boys. You may like it the theme, you may hate it. It’s one of those!!

Keep Em by Hacksaw Gaming
Keep Em – another quirky and eccentric slot from Hacksaw

RTP and Variance

Our Score 7

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

Keep ‘Em has four RTP rates – 96.27%, 94.25%, 92.27% and 88.29%. It is at the discretion of your slot site to pick which rate they offer the game at. Playing at 96.27% or 94.25% is acceptable, but I would avoid anywhere that offers this game at less than those rates. You can check the RTP wherever you play by hitting the hamburger button in the bottom left of the screen, then the Game Info button. Scroll down until you see the Theoretical Return to Player displayed under the paytable symbols.

I also recommend playing Keep ‘Em at MrQ from Lindar Media which consistently runs online slots at their maximum RTP rates in our tests.

Hacksaw Gaming define this as a medium variance slot. That would make it comparable with other releases by this studio like Fruit Duel and Vending Machine. It should have an even win distribution, though experience tells us that Hacksaw’s medium variance games can sometimes bare volatile teeth too. We will find out …

Maximum Win

Our Score 8

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

Despite its stated medium variance, Keep Em still has a very decent max win of 10,000x. That is unusual and gives it the same potential as tougher games like Hand of Anubis and Itero.

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 8

Onto the paytable and Keep Em runs on a standard reel set of 6 reels and 5 rows. This is a win ways game which means you only need to land 3 or more identical symbols on consecutive reels regardless of their row position, to trigger a win. That gives you 15,625 win ways on every spin (5x5x5x5x5x5).

Keep Em Paytable
Paytable with 2x for max premium symbol

There are 8 pay symbols in total. The 4 low paying ones are the cards, Jack to Ace. These are valued at from 0.1x for 3 on a line up to 0.5x for 6 on a line. The premiums are the illustrated snake, hand, skull and bird. These are valued at from 0.2x for 3 snakes up to 2x for 6 birds.

There are NO wilds in this game.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 8

To liven up your spins there are Cash Collects, Stick Reels and Free Spins to enjoy in Keep Em. Here is how it works:

Collect The Cash Symbols

During the game cash symbols will land on the reels displaying any of the following values: 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 250x, 500x or 1,000x.

Get Em symbols activate a collect of ALL visible cash symbols when they drop. If one Get Em symbols drops, it collects the cash values once. If more than one Get Em symbol drops, EACH one collects the cash values once.

You’ll see the total cash collect win amount displayed beneath the reels in the Total Win bar.

Keep Em Reels and Re-Spins

The 3rd and 4th reels are the Keep Em Reels. You need to land either a Get Em, FS or cash symbol on one of these reels to activate them. That gets you 3 re-spins.

Now, whatever symbol activate this feature locks for all those re-spins. And, any further Get Em, FS or cash symbols that land in the Keep Em Reels will also lock for the remaining re-spins.

Furthermore, if you have cash and Get Em symbols locked into those reels, then they will keep activating on each re-spin, with the cash value collected each time.

And finally, landing a Heart symbol will re-set the counter to 3.

THREE Free Spins Rounds

There are no less than 3 free spins rounds to enjoy in Keep Em. You’ll need to keep an eye out for the neon green FS symbols which activate each one. Here is how it works: 

Keep ‘Em Comin’

First up is the Keep Em Comin round. This is triggered by landing 3 FS symbols in one go. You get 10 spins with better odds of landing Get ‘Em, FS symbols or Cash Prizes, so more chance of collecting cash and earning re-spins.

As with all Hacksaw slots, landing more FS symbols during the round extends it further. 3 FS symbols gets you 4 more spins and 4 FS symbols gets you 6 more spins.

Keep Your Friends Close

You’ll need to land 4 FS symbols to trigger this one. Now, Cash symbols stick until they are collected by landing a Get Em symbol.

But also, if you have a row or reel full of cash symbols, they automatically collect, regardless of whether a Get Em symbol lands. And … if at the same time a Get Em symbol lands, then that will collect the value of all those cash symbols too.

As before, landing 3 more FS symbols gets you 4 more spins and landing 4 more FS symbols gets you 6 more spins.

Keep Your Canny Closer

Landing 5 FS symbols will activate the third free spins round. The format here is the same as Keep Your Friends Close EXCEPT … now you are guaranteed to get at least THREE cash symbols and ONE Get Em symbol on every spin.

That significantly boosts your chances of scoring cash collect wins!

And of course … in this round landing 3 more FS symbols gets you 4 more spins and landing 4 more FS symbols gets you 6 more spins.

The Final Verdict

Keep Em is another eccentric slot from Hacksaw that has been beautifully designed to enable great moments when all the stars align. It’s all about cumulative wins, enabled by the sticky re-spins reel area. Multiple factors can go your way. Firstly, entering either Friends Close or Canny Closer rounds give you a massive head start with cash symbols that stick until collected. And then the re-spin with sticky cash and Get Em symbols that just keep collecting until you run out of spins ups the potential still further. It’s a neat trick. Very simple and a treat to watch as our test session showed. In short, another top quality slot from one of our favourite studios.

Useful Tips When Playing Keep Em

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Eyes On The Keep Em Reels

Look to land those special symbols on reels 3 and 4. That is when the good stuff starts happening. 3 re-spins where the specials lock in place can be huge, particularly in the free spins round.

2. Land FS Symbols!

The three free spins rounds are superb in this game, particularly the Friends Close and Canny Closer ones where your cash symbols stick until they are collected, and at least THREE are guaranteed per spin!

3. Make Sure You Play At A Favourable RTP

This game can run at 92.27% RTP or even less. Don’t get caught out. Make sure you check the RTP on the game info screen before you start spinning with your own money to be sure you are getting value for money.

4. Play At Our Recommended Slot Sites

The sites on this page have been chosen for you because they scored high in our reviews and they are all licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. That means they offer fair, safe and secure slots play.

Who Made Keep Em?

  • Name: Hacksaw Gaming
  • Established: 2018
  • UK License: 54059
  • Total Games: 50 +
  • Known For: Dark, high variance output and bonus rounds driven by combining multipliers
  • Popular Slots: Hand of Anubis, Itero, Gladiator Legends, Break Bones
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