How to play Plinko: bet, rows, risk, drop

Before you start: try it free

The quickest way to learn Plinko is to drop a few hundred balls with nothing at stake. BGaming’s demo runs on play money from the provider’s own site, and our simulator uses the same payout tables and adds a chart of where every ball landed. Ten minutes with either will teach you more than any guide, this one included.

Step 1: set your bet

Use the minus and plus buttons, or Min and Max, to set the stake for each drop ¹. The limits are set by the casino and the currency, so they differ from lobby to lobby; BGaming’s own demo runs from 1 to 100 play-money credits ². Whatever the range, pick the amount you’re comfortable losing on a single drop, because on most settings most drops return less than the stake.

Step 2: pick the number of rows

BGaming calls rows “lines”, and you can choose from 8 to 16 ¹. Each row is a line of pegs the ball has to pass. More rows means more pockets at the bottom and a longer path for the ball:

• 8 rows: 9 pockets, the ball reaches an edge about once in 128 drops.
• 12 rows: 13 pockets, about once in 2,048.
• 16 rows: 17 pockets, about once in 32,768, and the biggest edge multipliers.

Step 3: choose a risk level

BGaming offers Low, Normal and High ¹. The board doesn’t change; the numbers on the pockets do. Here’s the 8-row board at each level, edge to centre ²:

Low keeps most results close to your stake. High makes the centre pockets pay 0.2× to 0.3× and puts the value in the edges. All three return about 99% over time; the RTP and risk levels page has the exact figures.

Step 4: drop the ball

Press Play. The ball falls from the top of the pyramid, bounces off the pegs and lands in a pocket. You can start another drop with the same settings before the first one finishes, so several balls can be on the board at once ¹.

For hands-off play, switch the Bet Mode to Auto, choose how many drops (10 to 1,000, or until you stop) ² and press Play; the button turns into Stop with a countdown ¹. Auto mode can be switched off where a casino’s licence requires it ¹. Set a number of drops you’ve decided on in advance, not “until I’m ahead”.

Step 5: read your result

Your stake is multiplied by the number on the pocket. On a $1 drop:

• landing on 13× returns $13 (a $12 win);
• landing on 1× returns your $1;
• landing on 0.4× returns 40 cents (a 60-cent loss).

The result is added to your balance straight away ¹, and the game keeps a table of recent results. That table is history only: every drop has the same odds, whatever came before.

Words you’ll see in the game

• Lines / rows: the rows of pegs, 8 to 16.
• Pocket / slot / cell: the spaces at the bottom where the ball lands.
• Multiplier: the number on each pocket, applied to your bet.
• Risk level: Low, Normal or High; changes the multipliers, not the odds.
• Auto / autoplay: a set number of drops run automatically.
• RTP: return to player, the share of stakes a game pays back over a very long run, shown in the game’s info screen.
• Provably fair: a way to check after a drop that the result was fixed before you played. More in Is Plinko rigged?

Playing for real money in Australia

Casino Plinko for real money is offered by online casinos, and online casinos are not licensed in Australia. The casinos that accept Australians are offshore. What to check before depositing anywhere, and which Plinko versions they carry, is on our real-money page. If you do play, set a deposit limit first; free, confidential help is available on 1800 858 858.