AP Glossary
WhatIsHouseEdge?
The casino's built-in mathematical advantage on a game, expressed as a percentage. On a slot with 92% RTP, the house edge is 8%. Advantage play temporarily reverses this edge on specific machines in specific conditions.
Why It Matters
Why this matters for advantage play
House edge is what you're fighting on every house-favored machine and what you've inverted when a machine is a play. Quantifying it lets you decide which non-AP plays are tolerable as cover and which are pure giveaways.
Cross-Reference
Related terms
RTP (Return to Player)
The theoretical percentage of wagered money returned to players over time. A 95% RTP means $95 returned per $100 wagered on average. RTP above 100% means the math is in your favor.
Hold
The percentage of coin-in that the casino keeps. A machine with 8% hold returns 92% to players (92% RTP). Hold is the inverse of RTP.
EV (Expected Value)
The mathematical average outcome of a bet calculated over infinite repetitions. Positive expected value means the play is profitable long-term; negative expected value means the house has the edge. AP players only take plays where the math is in their favor.
Negative EV (-EV)
A situation where the expected mathematical outcome is a net loss. Most slot machines are -EV most of the time. Advantage players avoid -EV plays entirely — the discipline to walk away from -EV is what separates AP from gambling.
Frequently Asked
Common questions about house edge
Penny slots commonly run 8–15%. Dollar reel slots run 4–8%. Video poker can be under 1% on full-pay machines, which is why it's often grouped with table games for advantage purposes.
On standard slots, no. On accumulator and progressive games, the effective house edge changes with the counter — that change is exactly what creates AP opportunities.
On a memoryless slot, yes. On a persistent-state slot, no — the per-spin EV depends on the current counter value.
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