AP Glossary
WhatIsFloorWalk?
Scouting the casino floor for machines in +EV states without playing. Experienced AP players develop efficient walk routes through a casino, checking meters and counters on known advantage play machines.
Why It Matters
Why this matters for advantage play
Most of an advantage player's time is spent walking, not spinning. A practiced floor walk is what converts time into found value. The walk is where you decide which one of hundreds of machines to play — get this right and the playing part takes care of itself.
Casino Floor StrategyCross-Reference
Related terms
Counter
A visible or hidden tracker on a slot machine that accumulates toward triggering a feature. Counters may display as collected items, filled meters, or numerical values. When a counter is elevated, the machine may be in a +EV state.
Meter
The display on a slot machine showing the current value of a progressive jackpot or accumulated bonus counter. Reading meters accurately and quickly is a foundational skill for advantage players.
Vulture / Vulturing
The practice of finding and playing machines left in +EV states by previous players who didn't realize the value they'd built up. The term comes from the player 'swooping in' to collect value that others left behind.
Advantage Play (AP)
The practice of using math, observation, and legal strategies to identify and play slot machines with a positive expected value. AP players only play when the numbers are in their favor.
Frequently Asked
Common questions about floor walk
On a small property, 15–30 minutes; on a Vegas Strip megaresort, 60–90 minutes for a full pass. Most APs do partial walks more frequently rather than full sweeps.
Mental notes are fine for small floors. For larger properties, a quiet phone note or pre-printed checklist of target games speeds up subsequent passes and keeps you from missing machines.
Walking the floor and looking at machines is normal patron behavior. Some properties dislike obvious counter-watchers and may ask you to play or leave, but the activity itself is not prohibited.
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