Playing poker with Death is like being trapped in the worst pub game imaginable. He deals the cards in complete silence, stares straight through you, and somehow makes you feel judged for every bad decision you’ve ever made, not just at the table. You’re not even sure what you’re playing for, but it definitely feels like bragging rights were never an option, and rage-quitting would be a terrible idea.

Playing poker with real Death is a solid way to ruin your evening. Playing with a mechanical bluesman from Mississippi who calls himself Death in Hacksaw’s Deal with Death slot, on the other hand, is a much better life choice.

Welcome to the River Styx

The Deal with Death slot features 14 paylines spread across five reels. The slot features medium to high volatility and offers an RTP of 96.25%.

If you’re betting at the $15-a-spin maximum, you’ll have a shot at up to $300,000 thanks to the 20,000x max multiplier. However, the slot does offer a much more tame $0.10 minimum bet that ensures you don’t have to fully commit.

Play Now

The slot’s most compelling feature is Poker Mode. Unlocked when a Joker symbol lands in Classic Mode, it is activated after any base game wins are paid.

All paying symbols transform into poker cards, and the grid switches to Poker Mode. Each horizontal row now forms a five-card Poker Hand, with every row evaluated independently using the Power Hand paytable. Winning hands range from two pair up to a royal flush, paying between 5x and 2,000x your bet.

In Classic Mode, the Joker symbol acts as a wild and substitutes for all regular paying symbols. Only one Joker can appear at a time. Once Poker Mode is entered, that Joker converts into one of several types, each with a distinct function:

• The Regular Joker becomes a standard poker card, selecting the most advantageous value for its row.
• The Hand Multiplier Joker applies a row-specific multiplier from x2 to x10 for one spin. If multiple Hand Multiplier Jokers affect the same row, their values are added together.
• The Global Multiplier Joker applies a multiplier of x2 to x10 to all winning Poker Hands for one spin. If a hand is also affected by another multiplier, the values are added.
• The Triple Trouble Joker first transforms into the optimal poker card for its row before wins are calculated. After all Poker Hand wins are paid, all cards on the grid are collected and shuffled, and the three strongest possible Poker Hands are then dealt and paid one after another in ascending order. Any Joker cards that were not part of a winning hand are converted into random poker cards.

After their effects are applied, both Hand Multiplier Jokers and Global Multiplier Jokers revert to the best possible regular poker card for their row.

A round of the slot’s free spins feature is triggered with three FS scatter symbols. Landing three triggers around of ten Deal With It free spins. During a round of this free spins bonus, base game mechanics are retained with an increased chance of Joker symbols appearing. If a Joker lands on the triggering spin, the bonus begins only after any Poker Mode wins are paid.

Play Now

Landing four scatter symbols triggers the Dealbreaker bonus, which also awards 10 free spins. This round builds on the Deal With It mechanics, but every Poker Hand win permanently increases the payout value of that specific hand by its base amount after each win.

Play Now

Landing five scatters activates the Fool’s Gold Hidden Epic Bonus, awarding 10 free spins. This round extends the Dealbreaker rules and guarantees that at least one Joker symbol lands on every spin.

The slot’s Buy Bonus feature allows you to directly purchase a round of either the Deal With It free spins for 100x your stake or the Dealbreaker free spins for 200x your stake. The Fool’s Fold Hidden Epic Bonus can only be triggered the old-fashioned way.

Will the Deal with Death slot have the dead turning in their graves?

The Deal with Death slot is another classic from Hacksaw. It’s not always an obvious one, though. The backgrounds threw me at first. They looked lazy. But once I noticed how much detail and thought had gone into the robot playing Death, it became clear why the designers wanted your attention there instead. The music and sound effects are also unnecessarily good, helping to build a world that’s genuinely fun to spend time in.

While the graphics do most of the heavy lifting, the bonus features are just as engaging. The mid-spin card games are a smart, well-integrated idea and a great example of how to carry a theme into bonus mechanics in a way that feels fresh rather than bolted on.

All in all, I give the Deal with Death slot a ten out of ten.

If you’re looking for a few other Hacksaw slots I’ve enjoyed, Immortal Desire and Rise of Ymir are well worth a look.