Quick Stats
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Provider | Eyecon |
| Game Type | Video Slot / Pokie |
| RTP | 95.25% |
| Volatility | High |
| Reels / Rows | 5 × 3 |
| Paylines | 243 Ways to Win |
| Min Bet | $0.25 |
| Max Bet | $50.00 |
| Max Win | 50x stake |
| Features | Free Games, Punters Pick, Wild, Scatter |
| Theme | Horse Racing |
| Release Date | 10 January 2018 |
| Platform | Desktop & Mobile |
What Is Past the Post?
Past the Post is a horse racing pokie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The reels sit in front of a crowded racecourse grandstand, a vibrant green track stretching out below. The symbols are drawn in a cartoon style with genuine character — every horse has its own expression, from the smug grey in front to the furious second-place finisher steaming from the nostrils. The jockey is gormless, the horrified punter with binoculars is a highlight, and the champagne bottle adds a touch of race day glamour.
There are no paylines to manage. With 243 ways to win, every combination of matching symbols across adjacent reels from left to right pays out — no specific alignment required. That makes the game very easy to follow, especially on mobile where cluttered payline indicators can be a headache.
Past the Post suits players who want high volatility gameplay without the added complexity of many modern pokies. It’s a one-feature game — there’s no respin mechanic, no cascades, no bonus buy. Just spins, a wild, and a free games round that gives you a genuine choice. Players who want frequent small wins or an extensive bonus menu will find it thin. Players who are comfortable with longer waits between bigger swings — and who appreciate a clean, well-themed game — will get solid value here. The 95.25% RTP is legitimate and above the category average for high volatility titles.
Load the paytable before your first spin and spend a moment on the Punters Pick options — knowing which free spins mode suits your budget makes the decision easier when the feature actually lands.
RTP and Volatility
Past the Post returns 95.25% to players over the long run. In practical terms, for every $100 wagered across millions of spins, the game pays back roughly $95.25. That’s a theoretical figure — your individual session will swing significantly above or below it, especially with high volatility in play.
High volatility means wins land less often but with more weight when they do. This game won’t drip-feed you small wins every few spins. You can go through 30, 40, 50 base game spins without a meaningful hit, then land a free games trigger that recoups it in a handful of rounds. That’s the nature of the game — patience and budget management matter more here than they do in a medium or low volatility title.
The 95.25% RTP is comfortably above the 95% mark that Eyecon’s own site confirms for the base game, and it stands up well against most high volatility pokies in its category. It also sits meaningfully higher than the Jackpot version of this same game, which runs at 90.2% due to progressive jackpot contributions. If jackpot chasing isn’t your goal, this is the version that delivers better long-run value.
Build a session bankroll that covers at least 100 spins at your chosen bet before you start.
Betting Range
The bet range runs from $0.25 to $50 per spin. For a high volatility game, that floor is appropriate — at $0.25, you can run 200 spins on a $50 budget, which gives the variance enough room to produce a feature or two without burning through your funds in the first fifteen minutes.
There are no individual paylines to activate, so your chosen bet covers all 243 ways automatically. Payouts scale proportionally with your bet — the top symbol combination pays 40x your total stake for five of a kind, and scatter wins are multiplied by the total bet amount. Autoplay is available for up to 100 spins if you’d prefer to set it and step back.
How to Play Past the Post — Step by Step
- Set your bet using the coin stack control. The range is $0.25 to $50 per spin.
- Open the menu and tap Help to view the paytable. Check symbol values and note how each of the five free spins options works.
- Hit the blue Spin button. Wins pay when three or more matching symbols land on adjacent reels, running left to right.
- The Trophy is the wild symbol. It appears on reels 2, 3, and 4 only and substitutes for all symbols except the Tote Bag scatter.
- Landing three or more Tote Bag scatter symbols anywhere on the reels triggers the Punters Pick free games. Scatter wins pay independently and are multiplied by your total bet.
- On the Punters Pick screen, choose your horse, your jockey, and then select one of five free games options.
Try this: Start at $0.25 per spin for your first 40 spins to get a feel for how often the wild and scatter land before deciding whether to increase your stake.
Symbols and Paytable
The symbol set runs from high-value race day icons down to supporting crowd characters. The champagne bottle and the first-place horse with a blue ribbon are the top-paying regular symbols — land five of either and you’ll collect 32x to 40x your stake. The second-place horse pays slightly less for five of a kind, followed by the other horses in descending value. The low-paying symbols are the human characters: the jockey, the bookmaker, the aristocrat, and the horrified punter. These land frequently but pay modestly — 4x to 20x your stake for five across the reels.
The Trophy wild appears only on reels 2, 3, and 4. That restriction means it can’t complete a five-of-a-kind win on its own, but it’s well positioned to fill gaps in winning combinations that start from reel 1.
The Tote Bag is the scatter. It pays regardless of position, and the scatter win is multiplied by your total bet — landing five of them pays 50x your stake, which is also the game’s published maximum win. Three or more scatters trigger the Punters Pick free games.
Bonus Features
Punters Pick — Free Games
Landing three or more Tote Bag scatter symbols anywhere on the reels triggers the Punters Pick screen. You first select a horse and a jockey — this is cosmetic, not mechanical — and then choose one of five free games options. The options trade spin count for multiplier size:
- 20 free games with a 2x multiplier on all wins
- 15 free games with a 3x multiplier
- 10 free games with a 4x multiplier
- 8 free games with a 5x multiplier
- 5 free games with a 10x multiplier
More spins means a lower multiplier; fewer spins means a bigger one. The 5-spin/10x option concentrates the feature into a short, explosive burst where a single strong spin carries a lot of weight. The 20-spin/2x option spreads the action across more rounds, reducing the impact of any single spin but giving you more chances to build a total. All free spins play at the bet size that triggered the feature.
If three or more scatter symbols land during the feature, it retriggering and you return to the Punters Pick screen for another choice. The feature can retrigger up to 15 times — enough upside to turn a modest trigger into a genuinely large payout if the scatters keep cooperating.
There are no other bonus features in the base game. The free games round is the entire bonus engine, which keeps the game simple but means you are largely waiting for this one trigger between significant payouts.
Is Past the Post Worth Playing?
Pros:
- The Punters Pick mechanic is a genuine design win — choosing your own volatility within the free games feature is rare and gives you real agency over how the bonus plays out
- 95.25% RTP is a legitimate figure, confirmed across multiple sources, and sits comfortably above average for a high volatility pokie
- 243 ways to win removes all payline complexity — matching symbols across adjacent reels is easy to follow on any screen size
- Clean, well-executed horse racing theme with distinctive cartoon characters that hold up without getting annoying
- Mobile-optimised from the ground up with sharp graphics and a minimal control layout
Cons:
- The 50x maximum win is very low for a high volatility game — most modern pokies at this variance level offer 1,000x or more
- Only one bonus feature means the base game is largely a waiting room for the free spins trigger
- No published paytable coin values beyond the top two symbols make it harder to assess potential returns before you play
- The absence of background music is a genuine flaw — the reel sound effects feel thin without a soundtrack to anchor the racing theme
Past the Post is a solid, no-frills high volatility pokie that earns its keep through a smart RTP and a free spins mechanic that actually gives you a choice. The 50x max win is a real ceiling — it limits the upside significantly compared to newer releases. Play it for a clean, low-complexity session where the Punters Pick feature is the attraction, not a life-changing jackpot.
Responsible Gambling
Past the Post uses a certified random number generator (RNG). Every spin produces an independent random result — outcomes cannot be predicted or influenced by previous spins or any external factor. High volatility means long losing runs are part of normal gameplay, not a sign the game is broken. Set a firm session budget before you start and stick to it. If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, reach out to a local responsible gambling support service for help.