The two numbers, game by game
Hold is the Nevada Gaming Control Board's 12-month win percent from its Monthly Revenue Report for August 2026 (the 12 months from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026, all nonrestricted locations). The edge is this site's computed figure for the bet named, or the published figure where marked quoted; the last column divides the Strip's hold by that edge. "Not listed" means fewer than three casinos in the area reported the game, so the report counts it under Other.
| Game | Strip hold | Downtown | Reno | Nevada | House edge of the bet | Strip hold ÷ edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack | 11.91% | 13.97% | 18.97% | 12.57% | 0.51% (standard rules, each initial bet) | 23.3 |
| Craps | 16.90% | 13.28% | 14.92% | 16.58% | 1.41% (pass line) | 12.0 |
| Roulette | 17.92% | 18.31% | 21.97% | 18.44% | 5.26% (double-zero wheel) | 3.4 |
| Baccarat | 15.80% | 10.64% | not listed | 15.63% | 1.06% (banker) | 14.9 |
| Mini-baccarat | 12.51% | 10.92% | 15.95% | 12.33% | 1.06% (banker) | 11.8 |
| Ultimate Texas Hold'em | 22.48% | 18.56% | 23.44% | 22.06% | about 2.2% of the ante (quoted) | not given |
| Three card poker | 31.11% | 28.86% | 23.55% | 29.94% | 3.37% of the ante (Ante/Play) | not given |
| Let It Ride | 28.80% | 24.27% | not listed | 26.19% | 3.51% of one starting bet (a hand starts with three) | not given |
| Pai gow poker | 21.43% | 15.90% | 20.34% | 20.86% | about 2.7% (quoted, house way) | not given |
| Keno | 30.47% | 25.37% | 27.48% | 28.19% | 27.29% (one 8-spot pay table) | 1.1 |
Roulette's hold covers every wheel; the ratio uses a double-zero wheel's edge, and on a single-zero wheel (2.70%) it would be 6.6. The report does not say which wheels the Strip dealt. For Ultimate Texas Hold'em, three card poker and Let It Ride the edge is per ante or per starting bet while a hand puts several bets on the felt, so the ratio has no simple reading and is not given. For pai gow poker the edge is a quoted figure that depends on the casino's house way and on how often players bank, so no ratio is given either.
Why hold is so much bigger than the edge
The report's introduction says the games' win percent "provides a ratio which has been adjusted for effects of credit play", and it does not print the formula. What it divides by is the money exchanged for chips at the table, in cash or on credit, not the money bet: Nevada's control standards for table games call that figure the statistical drop, "Drop (per Regulation 1.095) (+) pit credit issues (-) pit credit payments in cash in the pit", and casinos file exactly those figures, game by game, on the Control Board's monthly statistical form. A house edge divides by each bet. A player who buys in for $100 and bets $10 a hand does not risk $100 once: the same chips go round again and again, and the edge is charged on every round.
So hold is roughly the edge times the number of times the money is bet before it leaves the table. On the Strip's blackjack tables that is 11.91% against 0.51%: about 23 rounds if every bet were played correctly under standard rules. Most real tables are dearer than that, because of rules (a 6:5 payout adds 1.35 points, dealer hits soft 17 adds 0.22), side bets and mistakes, so the true number of rounds is probably lower than the ratio. The report cannot say by how much.
Keno, the control
For keno the denominator is different: Nevada counts the write, every dollar wagered on a ticket (Gaming Commission Regulation 1.090), so keno's hold should sit near a keno edge if the reading above is right. It does: 28.19% statewide (30 locations) and 30.47% on the Strip (4 locations), against 27.29% for an 8-spot ticket on the pay table this site prices. Nevada's keno pay tables vary, so the match is close rather than exact, but it is the difference between a ratio of about one and a ratio of 23.
Slots are measured the other way
For slot machines the report's ratio "represents the reported win amount divided by the total dollar amount played by patrons", which is how a house edge is measured. Over the same 12 months an average of 35,133 machines on the Strip kept 7.75% of every dollar played, and the 125,706 machines at the state's nonrestricted locations kept 7.14% (bars and shops with 15 or fewer machines are not in the report). Of the single denominations, penny machines kept the most statewide (8.86%) and quarter machines on the Strip (11.44%). The slots page has the table by denomination and area.
What the report cannot tell you
- Which rules the tables dealt: how many blackjack tables paid 6:5, how many roulette wheels had a single zero, how many craps tables offered more odds.
- How much of the win came from side bets, which usually cost more than the main games.
- Any single casino's figure: the report groups casinos by area and by revenue range, never by name, and this page does the same.
The data
The 12-month table for five areas, every table game and slot denomination the report lists, is nevada-hold.csv under CC BY 4.0, with the report it comes from. It is refreshed when the Control Board publishes a new month, about four weeks after the month ends.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is hold percentage?
- In Nevada's monthly revenue report, the casinos' win at a table game as a share of the money exchanged for chips at the table, in cash or on credit. For slot machines it is the win as a share of the money played. Over the 12 months to 31 August 2026 the Strip's blackjack tables held 11.91% and its slots 7.75%.
- Is hold the same as house edge?
- No, not for table games. The house edge is the loss on each bet; hold divides the casinos' win by the money exchanged for chips at the table, and that money is bet many times before it leaves. For slots the two are measured the same way, so Nevada's slot figure is comparable with a house edge.
- Why does blackjack hold 12% when the house edge is 0.5%?
- Because the same chips are bet again and again. 11.91% on the Strip against 0.51% for correct play under standard rules implies each dollar was bet about 23 times, and probably fewer once 6:5 tables, side bets and mistakes are counted.
- Which table game made the Strip the most money?
- Baccarat: $1,525.8 million over the 12 months to 31 August 2026, at a hold of 15.80%, ahead of blackjack's $943.9 million. That is money won, not the cost of the game to a player.
Hold figures are the Nevada Gaming Control Board's, from the
Monthly Revenue Report for August 2026, read by ngcb_hold.py, which
checks that every page's rows add up to its printed totals before anything is written. House edges come
from this site's engines through edges.json, except Ultimate Texas
Hold'em's and pai gow poker's, which are quoted from Wizard of Odds. The denominator of the games' ratio
is defined in the Control Board's Minimum Internal Control Standards for table
games (#168) and Regulation 1 (1.095 drop, 1.090 write). Last computed
October 2026.