Working Craps Bets and Taking Wagers Down

Most casino games trap a bet once it’s made. The reels spin or the cards snap and your money is trapped until a decision is rendered. Win, lose, or push, you’re stuck until the contestBasil Nestor is the author of the new Playboy Complete Guide to Casino Gambling. This wonderful book teaches players how to avoid sucker bets and win more when playing gambling games.  He is also the author of The Smarter Bet Guide series for video poker, slots, craps, and many other books about gambling.  Basil's website is www.smarterbet.com  is over. Craps is different. Multiple rolls can occur before the dice deliver a decision. A bet in this situation is said to be working. This is an important distinction because many craps bets can be turned on, turned off, or taken down (removed entirely) as a player wishes.

Odds is an excellent example of this. Let’s say a shooter is giving you a bad feeling. You can temporarily turn off your odds on the come or don’t-come, or even have the bet removed from the layout. It’s perfectly okay. Just tell the dealer to “take the odds down.” Pass and don’t-pass are even easier: just reach over and remove the odds bet.

Unfortunately, basic pass or come wagers cannot be turned off or taken down. Remember, they have their best chance of winning (2:1) on the first roll, but they’re at a big disadvantage after that. The casino takes the upfront risk, so it wants a shot at the reward. Those bets are trapped on the layout until a point or seven-out.

The reverse is true for don’t-pass and don't-come wagers. You take the early risk, so you have the advantage after a point is rolled (between 2:1 and 6:5). Thus you can remove or reduce a don’t bet at any time. Indeed, this would be a huge favor for the casino. But you can’t put the bet back up once it’s been taken down.

Another example of a working craps bet occurs when a “do” player is betting the pass line. If he has working come bets, he usually wants come odds off during a come-out because a 7 is good for the pass but bad for the working come. Retrieving the odds wagers and replacing them on the next roll would be time consuming, so the casino shortens the process by considering come odds automatically off during a come-out unless a player requests otherwise. If you don’t care about what happens on the pass line, tell the dealer you want odds always on.

In contrast, don’t-come craps odds are not automatically off when the shooter is coming out because don’t-come bettors are rooting with the pass line (only on that roll) and hoping for a 7.

Did you follow that? If it seems convoluted, don’t worry. The procedures are standard unless you request a change. Here are the basic rules: Come odds are automatically off when a shooter is coming out, unless you request otherwise. Don’t-come odds are always on, unless you request otherwise.