Casino & Table Games
Casino hold
Casino hold is the percentage of chips or money sold that a casino keeps over a given period or game session.
Key points
- For table games, hold is measured from the casino’s drop versus the chips players bought for that table or period.12
- If players lose all purchased chips, hold is 100%.1
- In electronic games, “hold” can mean the game’s theoretical return rather than a chip-retention ratio.3
Common questions
How long can a casino hold your money?
The term “casino hold” does not refer to time. It measures the percentage of chips sold that the casino keeps, not how long it holds funds.
Where this term is used
Related terms
Casino games
Casino hold percentage
Often used interchangeably with casino hold, but sometimes distinguished as the ratio of chips kept to chips sold.
Casino games
Casino
A gambling venue, not the accounting term for game performance.
Casino games
Casino chips
Tokens used to place bets, which are the denominator in the hold calculation.
Casino games
Casino gambling chips
Another term for casino chips, used in the hold formula.
Casino games
Casino craps
A table game where hold is measured from chips sold at the table.
Casino games
Casino Hold'em odds
The odds in Casino Hold'em refer to the probabilities of winning
Sources
- House Edge of Casino Games Compared wizardofodds.com Provides the definition, formula, and example of casino hold.
- Gambling Glossary wizardofodds.com Confirms the definition and alternative names for casino hold.
- Slots - General Questions wizardofodds.com Explains how hold applies to electronic games as theoretical return.
Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.