Smarter Bet Guide to Craps
Odds: The Best Bet on the Craps Table
The best bet you can make at a craps table is called odds. When you bet odds, house odds are identical to true odds.
Got that?
To put it another way, the casino has zero advantage on an odds bet.
Basil 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 Here’s how it works.
Odds is technically a standalone bet, a separate wager, but it is always linked to an original flat bet on pass or come, don’t pass or don’t come. Odds for a do bet is called taking odds; it’s an extra wager (made after the come-out) that the shooter will successfully roll the point.
Laying odds is the opposite of taking odds. It’s a bet that is hoping for a seven-out. The table below shows the various payoffs.
Taking and Laying Odds
|
Point
|
True Odds
|
Taking Odds (Do)
$30 Bet Returns |
Laying Odds (Don’t)
$30 Bet Returns |
|
4
|
2:1
|
$60
|
$15
|
|
5
|
3:2
|
$45
|
$20
|
|
6
|
6:5
|
$36
|
$25
|
|
8
|
6:5
|
$36
|
$25
|
|
9
|
3:2
|
$45
|
$20
|
|
10
|
2:1
|
$60
|
$15
|
Odds bets are paid at true odds and have no house edge.
Odds don’t earn the casino any money; they’re a premium. So the house has lots of rules restricting the wagers (sort of like fine print on a discount coupon).
The first and most important rule is that odds are allowed in multiples of the original flat bet, and there is always a limit. For example, if the flat bet is $10 and the odds allowed are 3X, you can take odds in any amount up to $30, and you can lay odds up to a $30 payoff.
Let’s say the point is 10. The following table shows the various amounts and possible payoffs for a flat bet and odds when the base bet is $10 and odds are 3x. You’ll notice that laying odds (winning with a seven-out) doesn’t pay as much as taking odds (winning with a point). That’s because it’s easier to win with a lay bet.
|
Base Bet
|
3X Odds Bet (point is 10)
|
Bet Total
|
Win Total
|
Win Probability (against)
|
|
|
DO
|
$10
|
$30 (3 x $10 base bet)
|
$40
|
$70
|
2:1
|
|
DON’T
|
$10
|
$60 (3 x $20 bet payoff)
|
$70
|
$40
|
1:2
|
Keep in mind that the base bet is paid 1:1, and the odds bet is always paid at the true odds of winning. Also, odds must be taken or laid on the same side as the flat bet.
How much in odds can you take or lay at your favorite casino? The limits are posted along with the other table limits on a plastic card attached to the inside wall of the craps table. 3X for points 4/10, 4X for points 5/9, and 5X for points 6/8 is pretty standard these days, though 10X for all the points can be found at some properties. Occasionally you’ll find a house that offers 20X or 100X, and casinos with a monopoly on the market often allow only 1X or 2X for all the points.