An almost alternating link is a link with no alternating projection but with a projection that becomes alternating after one crossing change. Such a projection is called an almost alternating projection. Every alternating knot has an almost alternating projection. A prime knot which is almost alternating is either a torus knot or a hyperbolic knot. Therefore, no satellite knot is an almost alternating knot.
All nonalternating 9-crossing prime knots are almost alternating. Of the 393 nonalternating knots and links with 11 or fewer crossings,
all but five are known to be almost alternating (and 3 of these have 11 crossings).
The fate of the remaining five is not known. The 
-torus knots are alternating.
The 
-
and 
-torus knots are almost alternating (Adams 1994, p. 142;
Abe 2009, p. 363).
