Wanted Dead or a Wild lets you skip the base game and purchase direct entry into any of the three bonus rounds. The costs are fixed multiples of your current bet: 80× for The Great Train Robbery, 200× for Duel at Dawn, and 400× for Dead Man's Hand. Each purchase has its own RTP. The feature is not available in all jurisdictions — UK players, for example, cannot access it.
At €0.20 per spin (the minimum), Train Robbery costs €16, Duel at Dawn costs €40, and Dead Man's Hand costs €80. At €1 per spin: €80, €200, and €400. At the €100 maximum bet: €8,000, €20,000, and €40,000. The percentages don't change — what changes is the absolute amount you're putting on the table for one guaranteed bonus entry.
There's no universally correct answer. Train Robbery at 80× is the cheapest entry and the most consistent performer due to sticky wilds. You'll get something back more often than not. Duel at Dawn at 200× has the highest ceiling — it's the most likely path to a max win — but it's labeled 'very high' volatility for a reason. Entire rounds can end with almost nothing. Dead Man's Hand at 400× has the best RTP (96.43%) and a unique collect-then-showdown mechanic that can stack wilds aggressively. It's the most expensive, but the math slightly favors it over the long run.
For Train Robbery, you need a return of at least 80× your base bet to break even on the purchase. For Duel at Dawn, that threshold is 200×. For Dead Man's Hand, it's 400×. In practice, Train Robbery breaks even more often because sticky wilds accumulate reliably. Duel at Dawn either smashes through the 200× threshold or falls short completely. Dead Man's Hand depends heavily on how many wilds and multipliers you collect in the first phase — a poor collect phase means the showdown has nothing to work with.
If your bankroll can't absorb 3-5 failed purchases, don't buy. A Dead Man's Hand purchase at 400× that returns 50× is a 350× loss. If you buy it three times and get poor collect phases, that's potentially 1,000× or more wiped from your balance. Buy Bonus is a convenience feature, not a strategy advantage — the RTP is nearly identical whether you trigger the bonus organically or purchase it.