> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hoodshot.games/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The HoodShot House Edge, Exactly

> A flat 5% edge applied to payouts only, identical on every game, plus a 1% protocol fee on top of each stake. All of it on-chain and snapshotted per bet.

Two numbers cover everything HoodShot charges, and both are readable from the contract:

## The 5% edge

The edge reduces **payouts**, never probabilities. You win exactly as often as fair odds say; a win pays 95% of the fair multiplier.

```
paid multiplier = fair multiplier x 0.95
expected value  = 0.95 per unit staked, on every game and every pick
```

| Game      | Pick        | Fair     | Paid            |
| --------- | ----------- | -------- | --------------- |
| Coin Flip | either side | 2.0x     | 1.9x            |
| Dice      | 1 face      | 6.0x     | 5.7x            |
| Dice      | 2 faces     | 3.0x     | 2.85x           |
| Dice      | 3 faces     | 2.0x     | 1.9x            |
| Plinko    | per bin     | binomial | fair bin x 0.95 |

There is no game or pick with better or worse expected value than another. Players choose variance, not odds.

## The 1% fee

A protocol fee of 1% of the stake is charged **on top** at placement: staking 1 ETH sends 1.01 ETH. Half the fee pays whoever settles the bet ([including you](/concepts/settlers)), the other half is the protocol's. Because it is charged on top, the multipliers above apply to your full stake.

## Why you can trust the numbers

Both values are contract state (`edge` in each game's config, `feeBps()`), both are snapshotted into every bet at placement, and any change by governance only affects future bets. The app always displays the live paid multiplier before you confirm.