Return to the player (RTP)

Although I am sure you know what return to the player (RTP) is I will repeat the definition so we are on the same page.

Return to the player (RTP) definition

The RTP is the percentage of the players bet that is returned to the player through game wins.

If for every 100 cents bet the player wins back 90 cents on average this means the game has RTP of 90%. It is important to note that the RTP is considered for every bet made not for money brought to the machine.

House edge

The remaining 10 cents (10 %) in the previous example represent the House Edge (HE). Every bet of 100 cents gives casino 10 cents of House Edge on average. If the player bets certain amount many times he will loose many times the house edge- this is how casinos make money:

• 1 bet of 100 cents earns the casino 10 cents of house edge
• 1,000 bets 100 €
• 100 machines each 1,000 bets - 10,000 €
• ...

All that is on average. On average (or in the long run) the casino wins that money.

On electronic gaming machines meters/counters are available which show exact information of all the bets and wins. On such machines you can check the actual RTP and compare it to the specified theoretical RTP. This is very important for casino management since you can analyze the results and detect any inconsistencies.

Hold percentage

Live gaming tables are a different category. In general there is not much information of the player bets made and wins earned. To evaluate the actual performance of the tables, a different statistics "Hold percentage" was invented. The hold percentage is netwin of the table divided by the table drop (or buy-in). So if players would loose all the chips they got for their drop this would be 100% hold. If players dropping 100 € leave the table with 80 € in their pocket this results in 20% hold.

Needles to say the table hold % has no sound theoretical background - the number can be easily skewed. If you drop a LOT at a table and play little or nothing and take away your chips, you will be reducing the table hold %. If you bring a lot of chips to the table (and they don't account for the brought chips) you will be increasing the hold %.

But in real life most players drop only what they intend to play and this statistics has some usability. It may also show whether the players stay at the table long periods (large hold %) or leave the table soon (low hold %).

Hold percentage on gaming machines

Some casino managers try to apply the same hold percentage logic to electronic gaming machines. Especially if they are coming from the live tables background. I would like to stress that there is no good logic in using the hold percentage statistic for EGMs! There are far better statistics available in EGMs so why use this one?

Some authors agree with me that you should not use this statistics at all. Others argue that hold percentage on EGMs is the same as house edge - so percent of every bet that goes to the house. I have seen no good author that would suggest to use the live tables hold % on EGMs.

What are your experiences with this? Do you agree with me? You can let me know in the comments.