Tropes in The House
- Anti-Hero: Zig-Zagged. Scott and Kate have a secret casino, which is illegal but it's only for their daughter’s sake.
- Asshole Victim: Carl and The Johansens. They get revenge on Scott even though his finger only got accidentally chopped off.
- Ascended Meme: In-Universe. Scott calls himself “The Butcher” after jokes are tossed around about being a scary crime boss.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Bob steals Scott and Kate’s money and is a greedy person but hides it with a nice “town hall” facade.
- Bittersweet Ending: Their house burns down, Scott and Kate loose their casino but their daughter does go to college and they slowly but surely rebuild, but they likely should earn more money than what they gave to her.
- Corrupt Bureaucrat: Bob, the town council executive takes all the casino money for himself and for his own selfish needs, and the town cop, Officer Chandler doesn’t do anything about this until the very end.
- Deadpan Snarker: The dealer in Las Vegas taunts Scott and Kate saying their daughter will “go to the School of Hard Knocks” when they lose their money in a game.
- Disproportionate Retribution:
- Subverted as he never harms anyone, but Scott becomes “The Butcher” and threatens to maim anyone who cheats or counts cards. This does work however in stopping card counters.
- Carl and his gang burn the casino down all because Scott chopped off his middle finger, even though it was an accident, which makes Carl the true bad guy.
- Dirty Cop: Until the end, Officer Chandler lets Bob steal from Scott and Kate's underground casino.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Scott gets the idea to turn their house into a casino while on their trip.What if we were The House?
- Fingore: Carl's middle finger gets accidentally chopped when he is interrogated by Scott and Kate for counting cards.
- Good Parents: Scott and Kate go out of their way to make their daughter succeed in college even if they have to break the law.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Bob is arrested for his theft of the casino’s money.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Scott is named “The Butcher” after accidentally chopping off Carl, a card counter’s middle finger in a confrontation. This makes him feared and thus leads to no more cheaters.
- Police Are Useless: For a while, Officer Chandler lets Bob steal the money and indulge in his own selfish needs as a town executive.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!
- Even when ordered to shut down the casino, Scott and Kate still keep at it knowing their daughter will go to college.
- Also, Officer Chandler finally stands up for himself and allows the family to keep the money.
