Samurai Sensei on Live22: playing the 9-line samurai slot on a small budget

Samurai Sensei is the darker, painted cousin of the cartoon samurai games on Live22. The reels float over a night-time temple with red lacquered railings and bamboo, and the machine is framed in gold with the OSAKA jackpot badge top right. What sets it apart is the line count: nine.

Nine lines on a 5 x 3 grid

The orange tabs down each side are numbered 1 to 9 in a mixed order (4, 8, 2, 6, 1, 7, 3, 9, 5 from top to bottom), which shows where each line enters and leaves the grid. With so few lines, wins come less often than on a 25-line machine, but the stake per spin can be tiny.

The symbols:

• Young samurai with a topknot, on a green disc
• Geisha in red, on a purple disc
• Red samurai helmet with gold horns, the kabuto
• A, K, Q, J, 10 in pink, gold, blue and red brush lettering

The red helmet on a line

At a total bet of 9, line 9 ran K, K, red helmet, 10, 10 and paid 5. The helmet sat in the middle of a line of mixed cards, which suggests it is standing in as a wild. In the next capture the helmet started a line on reel 1 and line 6 paid 5, with the spin totalling 15.

The jackpot message

Before a spin the message box reads "2 JACKPOT SYMBOLS TRIGGER JACKPOT GAME". Above the reels, four meters (GRAND, MAJOR, MINOR, MINI) show what the pool currently holds. Which symbol counts as the jackpot symbol is not labelled in these captures, so open the i page once before you play.

Sizing the bet

Nine credits a spin is a very low stake, which makes Samurai Sensei a good practice machine. The hero shot was taken at 180 a spin, twenty times higher, and at that level a nine-line game can go quiet for a long stretch. Start at 9 or 18, watch how often the helmet lands, then decide.

For the cartoon version of the theme with 25 lines and a full-reel wild, see Samurai Heroes. The Live22 overview covers the lobby, and you can ask for a Live22 game ID if you need one.