The standard feature activates when exactly three scatters land on reels two, three and four. This awards eight initial free spins, forming the core bonus round. Here is where things get interesting: during these bonus free spins, all low paying card symbols (J, Q, K, A) are stripped from the active reels entirely.
Removing those standard cards increases the density of premium icons. The practical effect? Only high paying symbols remain in play, fundamentally shifting the risk profile during the brief bonus window. The round can retrigger if three additional scatters appear inside the active feature, granting another eight spins. Retriggering is uncommon, but it does happen, and when it does, the compounding effect on potential payouts is substantial.
In my testing across several hundred demo spins, the free spins feature triggered roughly once every 80 to 120 spins. Your experience will vary, naturally, but that gives a reasonable baseline expectation.