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Live BlackJack |
REAL DEALERS |
Live Roulette |
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| House Edge for Each Bet Type |
Check out the graph of the bet odds below. Keep in mind that not all casinos use the exact “odds paid” that are listed here. Many do, or pay similar odds, so it is a good way of gauging what the house edge is and what your actual odds of winning are. The payoff odds listed here are the most commonly used odds in casinos across North America. The actual odds are the same.
Bet |
House Edge |
Pass/come |
1.41% |
Don’t pass/don’t come |
1.36% |
Taking/laying odds |
0% |
Place 4 or 10 |
6.67% |
Place 5 or 9 |
4% |
Place 6 or 8 |
1.52% |
Big 6 or 8 |
9.09% |
Buy all numbers (all bets have a 5% commission payable) |
4.76% |
Buy 4 or 10 (Payable on wins only, 5% commission) |
1.67% |
Lay 4 or 10 |
2.44% |
Lay 5 or 9 |
3.23% |
Lay 6 or 8 |
4% |
Craps 2/Craps 12 |
13.89% |
Craps 3/11 |
11.11% |
Any craps |
11.11% |
Any 7 |
16.67% |
Field (12 pays 2-1) |
5.56% |
Field (12 pays 3-1) |
2.78% |
Hard 4 or 10 |
11.11% |
Hard 6 or 8 |
9.09% |
Horn |
12.50% |
Horn, 2 or 12 high |
12.78% |
Horn, 3 or 11 high |
12.22% |
World |
13.33% |
There is no house edge on the odds bet alone, so this bet is frequently called “free odds.” Because of this, you must take the negative expectation line bet before you can either lay or take odds. The following table shows pass and don’t pass bets and what the good player can expect to lose as a percentage of his total bankroll.
Odds Allowed |
Pass |
Don’t Pass |
| 1X |
.85% |
.68% |
2X |
.57% |
.43% |
Full double odds |
.61% |
.45% |
3X |
.47% |
.34% |
3-4-5X |
.37% |
.27% |
5X |
.33% |
.23% |
10X |
0.18% |
.12% |
20X |
.10% |
.06% |
100X |
.02% |
.01% |
The best odds are obviously 100X and some casinos from Las Vegas to Atlantic City have offered these odds. This is not common at all casinos, but it is important to look out for casinos that do offer this.
When it comes to the average player the odds are that he will always lose money. That’s because of all the bets the expected value is negative. The reason for this is because the actual odds are higher than the paid odds. The casinos set the paid odds lower because they want to have an edge to make money, too. There is an exception to this, however, and it is the “odds” bet that may be made after the established point on a don’t pass/don’t come or pass/come bet. The long-term expected value of the bet’s odds portion is an expected value of 0.
It is not allowed to make the “free odds” bet independently so the entire bet, with the odds, is still a negative bet. There is no long-term strategy players can use in craps to win because die rolls are just the luck of the dice and have no way of being controlled.
When the size of the odds bet in relation to the line bet is maximized then this will reduce the house edge while increasing the variance. It will not eliminate the house edge under any circumstances.
In relation to the flat bet most casinos have a limit they place on how large the odds can be. This includes single, double, and five times odds. You will find that some casinos offer 3-4-5 odds. This refers to the line bet maximum bet a player may place in odds on 4 and 10, 5 and 9 and 6 and 8 points. In some rare situations, like promotional periods, there may be 100x odd bets, and this takes the house edge down to practically nothing. The variance increases dramatically like this, however, because the player will begin betting larger sums of money.
It is important for players to understand their bets should be made in a way to result in a payout in dollars and not fractions of dollars. Many of the multiple roll bets have ratios that are fractions of dollars so the player should always bet in multiples that will result in a complete dollar payout. In general, casinos will round payouts down to the nearest dollar so they can increase their house advantage. This includes taking odds, place bets, buying number 6, 8, 5, 9, and the laying of numbers. |
