As far as I can tell on this game, there is no penalty for playing fewer than 5 hands as long as you play all 4 levels.
Does anyone know for sure?
I was playing 2 hands, (4 levels) 10 coins, and the free ride came up. The paytable seems to be the same. But reading the game info, I wasn't absolutely sure if I missed something as it tends to emphasize when you play 100 coin (max) all bonuses are activated.
thanks