Connected-hand rule: a connected win uses exactly one card from each column, moving left-to-right to a touching card in the next column (same row or one row up/down). The same 5-card set is counted once.
Reel-1 rule: for Three of a Kind and Four of a Kind, the matching cards must occupy an unbroken, consecutive run of columns starting at column 1 — a trip must use exactly reels 1-2-3, a quad exactly reels 1-2-3-4. A gap (e.g. matching cards in reels 1, 2 and 4, skipping reel 3) does not pay. This also means the fixed Column 2-5 lines, and the fixed Column 1 line on its own, can never pay Three/Four of a Kind, since none of them span multiple reels in sequence from reel 1.
Jokers: 0-4 Jokers can appear in a deal (50% / 33% / 14% / 2.7% / 0.3% respectively). Each Joker present independently rolls to activate as WILD; the chance rises with how many Jokers appear that round (10% / 10% / 20% / 35% for 1/2/3/4 Jokers). A WILD in reel 1 can always complete a Three/Four of a Kind group.
