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FEATURES
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COLUMNS |
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| Hot Bets
Tips from our SportsBook expert
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Tips: Craps
The odds bet--close to even. The usual house edge on a Pass line bet is 1.4 percent--not too bad by casino standards. But you can cut into that advantage further by placing an "odds bet." All the experts say that betting odds is the best wager in the casino.
You take odds on a number after a point is established by putting an additional wager on the table, behind your Pass line wager. What you're betting is that the shooter's number will roll before a 7 does. Odds bets pay off at the true odds, but since you had to make a Pass wager to get the chance to make this bet, the house still has a slight edge:
 4 and 10 pay 2-1.
5 and 9 pay 3-2.
6 and 8 pay 6-5.
You can buy the number and the odds at any time without dealer assistance. The house doesn't care, because it doesn't have an edge-though, of course, they still take your money when you lose.
You can place or remove an odds bet at any time--if you suddenly get a hunch the shooter is about to 7-out, you can pull your odds bet back. You can bet in multiples of your original bet. (Table limits vary, so if you were playing at a $5 limit table, you could make an odds bet for $10, $15, $20, right up to the table max bet. Please note, however: The house doesn't make change, so be sure to bet an amount that will pay back an even amount, otherwise the dealer will round it off--and there goes your advantage!
To make it easy: Bet in $5 multiples for points 6 and 8; $2 for points 5 and 9; any dollar amount works out even for 4 and 10. Odds bets and some of the others that follow below can get can get a little complicated, so beginners should probably spend time playing a computer craps simulator or just observing at the table until comfortable with this fast-paced game.
Place, Buy and Lay--could be better. Similar to the odds bet but requiring dealer assistance, these three are bets that a number other than the shooter's point will roll before a 7-out. For instance, if the shooter comes out and establishes the 4 point, you could wager that a 6 will come out first.
The Place bet is exactly like odds, except the casino doesn't give true odds. (For example, instead of paying off 2-to-1 for a 10, they pay off 9-to-5, etc.) The Buy bet is similar: It pays true odds--minus a 5 percent commission for the dealer's time. (This commission is called a "vigorish," or "vig" for short.)
The Lay bet is like giving odds on a Don't Pass bet--you're betting against the shooter's roll. You win if he 7s-out before the point is made. A Lay bet also pays true odds--minus the 5 percent vig.
Bad for bettors. Between the Come section and the Don't Pass line of the craps table is an area known as the Field. You can bet the Field (3, 4, 9, 10, 11) without dealer assistance, You just plop your chips in the center of the table, where it says "The Field," but avoiding dealer involvement (which you need for Play, Bet, Lay, Come, Don't Come and many other bets) is the only advantage. The house edge on betting the Field is 5.6 percent, So you're better of betting any of the other bets mentioned above.
A couple of other dubious bets also figure prominently on the craps layout: Big 6 and Big 8 scream from the corner. It's a bet that either a 6 (or 8, depending on which you bet) will appear before the shooter 7s-out. It's only an even-money payout, despite the fact that you could make a Place bid (see above) on either number, and you'd make more money. Big 6/8 is an old-school tradition, but it's such a sucker bet that it's not even allowed in new-jack Atlantic City.
All the other bets listed on the center of the table are even worse (any craps, any 7s.) And betting numbers the "hard way" (4 as two 2s; 10 as two 5s; etc.) is another easy way to lose money--the house edge is around 10 percent.
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