Last updated: May 2026. Walkthrough written for first-time players landing on Book of 99 without any prior Relax Gaming or book-slot experience.
If this is your first time loading Book of 99, the screen looks familiar in a good way — it's a classic 5-reel book slot with marble pillars, a moody temple soundtrack, and Orpheus the lyre-poet front and centre. For broader context on the game and our editor's verdict, see the full Book of 99 review. The gameplay loop is one of the simplest in modern slots, and you can be spinning confidently within five minutes. The reason people care about this game isn't the visuals or the mechanics — it's the 99% RTP printed in the info panel, the highest you'll ever see on a mainstream pokie. This walkthrough takes you from "what am I looking at" to "running auto-spin on a A$1 bet" without any guesswork.
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18+ · BetStop · gamblinghelponline.org.au
Step 1 — Pick a casino
You need an account at a licensed casino that runs the certified 99% RTP variant. We use four vetted AU casinos:
- Vegasnova — fastest PayID withdrawals.
- Joe Fortune — biggest welcome offer percentage.
- GreatSlots — lowest minimum deposit.
- CasinoRocket — highest stake caps for VIP play.
Any of the four works. If you're brand new, GreatSlots's A$10 minimum deposit gets you spinning with the least commitment.
Step 2 — Open the game
After depositing and claiming the welcome offer, search the casino lobby for "Book of 99" or filter by Relax Gaming in the providers list. The game tile shows Orpheus holding his lyre with a golden book floating beside him.
Click it. The game loads in your browser (no download required — it's HTML5 and runs on any modern device).
Before you spin a real cent, click the info icon (i) in the bottom-left corner of the game. Scroll to the RTP field. It should read 99%. If it reads 96%, 94%, or 92%, close the game and play it elsewhere — the casino is running a reduced-RTP build that defeats the entire point of choosing this game.
Step 3 — Set your bet
The bet panel sits below the reels. You'll see a number — that's your current bet per spin.
- Tap the + or – buttons to step the bet up or down.
- Min bet: A$0.10 per spin.
- Max bet: A$100 per spin.
For a first session we recommend starting at A$0.20 – A$1.00. That keeps you in the game long enough to actually see a bonus trigger (the average is roughly 1 in 200-250 spins) without burning through your deposit before the math has a chance to work.
Bankroll rule of thumb: at least 300× your bet in funds before you sit down. So a A$1 bet wants a A$300 bankroll. A A$0.20 bet wants A$60. This is a high-volatility pokie — runs of 80+ dry spins are normal even with 99% RTP. Don't enter a session under-funded.
Step 4 — Press spin
The big circular button bottom-centre is spin. Tap it once for a single spin. Press and hold to open the auto-spin menu.
What you're watching for:
- Standard paying combinations — three or more matching symbols left-to-right on a payline. Card-rank symbols (10, J, Q, K, A) are low-pays. Orpheus, the lyre, the winged helm, and the snake are the high-pays.
- The golden book — this symbol acts as both scatter (triggers the bonus) and wild (substitutes for other symbols on a payline). Land three or more anywhere on the reels to enter free spins.
Hit frequency is deliberately low in the base game — Relax pulled the small wins out and put them into the bonus round. You'll spin many times between paying combos. That's normal for this game. Don't increase your bet to "make something happen."
Step 5 — The free spins round (the engine of the game)
When three or more golden books land anywhere on the reels, the bonus animation fires. The book opens, the pages flip, and one symbol is selected at random as your special expanding symbol for the round. Then you're awarded 10 free spins.
During the round:
- Spins play out normally — you don't pay for them.
- Whenever your chosen expanding symbol lands, it expands to cover the entire reel.
- Expanded symbols pay on every payline they touch, not just adjacent ones — a single expansion can pay 10 lines.
- If three or more books land during free spins, you get +10 spins as a retrigger.
This is where the round's outcome is decided:
- Orpheus expanding on all five reels = max-win territory (12,075× possible).
- Orpheus expanding on 3-4 reels = several thousand× stake.
- Mid-pay symbol expanding = a few hundred× — solid result.
- Card-rank symbol expanding = the disappointing round.
You don't pick the expanding symbol. The game does, randomly, when the round triggers. The best you can do is hope. Our free-spins deep-dive walks through what each expander selection typically pays.
Step 6 — Watch what happens after free spins
At the end of the round, your total bonus win is added to your balance and you're returned to the base game. The expanding-symbol selection resets — next time you trigger, a different symbol may be chosen.
Step 7 — Stop while you're ahead
This is the rule everyone hears and no one follows. Free spins in Book of 99 are emotional — when you've just hit a 300× round, the temptation to keep spinning is enormous because "the math is on my side."
The math doesn't care. Each spin is independent. After a 300× win, your odds of triggering another bonus on the next spin are the same as before the first one. 99% RTP doesn't change spin-to-spin outcomes; it only emerges over millions of spins.
Practical advice for first-timers:
- Set a session loss limit in the casino's responsible-gambling tools before you start.
- Set a session win cap — when you double your starting balance, stop.
- Use auto-spin's stop-on-win feature for the same reason.
Optional features to know about
Bonus Buy. If you don't want to wait for the natural trigger, you can pay roughly 100× your stake to enter the free spins round directly. This is offered at most AU-facing casinos but disabled in some jurisdictions. For most players, Bonus Buy is worse value than the natural trigger over a long session — but if you're a streamer or you have 30 minutes to play and want to skip the grind, it works.
Demo mode. Every reputable AU casino offers Book of 99 in demo mode for free. Try it before depositing real money. The math is identical to real-money play.
Common beginner mistakes
- Assuming 99% RTP means you'll win. It means the long-term average return is 99 cents per dollar. Your night's session can still be a loss.
- Betting too high to start. A A$5 bet on a A$50 bankroll will end your session before you see a bonus.
- Auto-spinning without stop conditions. If you lose half your bankroll on auto, you can't say later "I would have stopped earlier."
- Ignoring the RTP check. If you didn't open the in-game info panel, you might be playing 96% or 94% without knowing.
- Chasing losses with bigger bets. Every spin is independent. Bigger bets after losses just lose more money.
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18+ · Always verify RTP in the info panel · BetStop · T&Cs apply
Quick FAQ
How long does a session last? A A$50 bankroll at A$0.40 per spin lasts roughly 130-180 spins on average. With a bonus trigger, it can last much longer.
Do I need to enable Bonus Buy? No — most players never use it. It's a shortcut, not a requirement.
Why is hit frequency so low? Relax Gaming pulled the small-win frequency out to fund the bigger free-spin payouts. The trade-off is a slower base game and a more rewarding (but rarer) bonus round.
Is the demo the same as real money? Yes — same math, same RTP, same RNG. Only difference is the balance is play money.
Can I lose more than my deposit? No — slot games can't withdraw more than your balance.
Does Book of 99 pay better than Book of Ra? On the math, yes — 99% vs Book of Ra Deluxe's 95.1%. That's a roughly 4-percentage-point difference per dollar spun.
About this walkthrough
Tested across all four featured casinos in April-May 2026. Spins played: 300+. Bonus rounds triggered: 4+ per casino. Demo and real-money behaviour verified identical.
Gambling responsibly. Pokies are entertainment. They're not income, not a way out of debt, not a system to beat — not even at 99% RTP. Set limits, stick to them. AU support: gamblinghelponline.org.au · BetStop · 18+ only.
Further Reading
Related reading in this guide: