Betting in the Game of Craps: The Odds Bet
The “Odds bet” are supplemental bets you make in addition to Pass Line, Don’t Pass, Come Bets, and Don’t Come bets. It’s the only bet in Craps with no house edge and payouts are tied to the odds of a dice roll. Rolls with more limited number of combinations pay out more than likely rolls.
Basically, what you are doing is this: you’re saying “I think I’ll win, and I want a true payout”. Playing a minimum pass line (etc) bet, and then playing odds is the best way to reduce the house edge – in fact, you can get it to practically zero. For some, it’s the best bet in the casino (besides counting cards in Blackjack, of course!)
However, despite the lack of a house edge, many gamblers don’t place odds bets. First of all, there’s no obvious spot on the typical Craps Table layout, so many Craps players will happily pay the Line bets or Center Bets without ever knowing about or placing an Odds bet. The main reason is the hard to understand nature of Odds betting. So let’s get started with the Odds bet for Pass Line bets and then we’ll look at its opposite, Odds bets for Don’t Pass bets (the same go for the Come bets, with a small difference, which we’ll also explain.)
Placing an Odds bet with Pass Line bets are called “Taking odds”. After you place you Pass Line bet, the come-out roll comes next. If you win on a 7 or 11, or lose on a 2, 3 or 12 the round is over and you never get to the Odds bet for that round. If there’s not automatic win, loss, or tie, “The point” is rolled and that’s the number you want to see before a 7 comes up. Now you can make your Odds bet which is a bet separate from your Pass line bet (and it’s placed slightly behind the Pass Line bar.)
Many casinos will allow you to be at least double your Pass line bet. So if you Pass Line bet is $10.00, you’re able to bet $20.00 on the Odds bet. Now you have a regular Pass line bet in addition to an Odds bet where you’re hoping for your point to come up before 7. If 7 is rolled, you lose both bets. If your point number is rolled, you win the Pass Line bet and the Odds bet (at whatever the payout is). Keep in mind that Casinos will round down for unusual payouts. If you win $21.50 on a $15.00 bet, only expect $21.00 back. Try to keep your winnings in multiples of five if possible.
With Don’t Pass bets, Odds betting is called “Laying odds”. It’s the near opposite of Taking odds. Here the returns are less than even money but you win more often. This means if the point has a 1 to 2 payout, you’ll need to bet $10.00 to win $5.00.
Odds work the same way with Come and Don’t Come bets, however, it varies on the carryover to the next round – your odds bet will be considered “off” for the true Come Out Roll. However, some venues will allow you to tell the dealer you want your odds working.
While gamblers argue strategy and other finer points of Craps playing, most will suggest you place Odds bets from time to time. It’s a good way to maximize your winnings. We say listen to those wise gamblers and play some odds once in a while. Good luck!
