18 / 3 / 2008
Casino games are all about the House edge. The higher the House edge on a
bet, the more the casino can expect to make per bet.
If you play casino games with the idea of winning money, it will help a
great deal for you to know the House edges on the various bets. This way
you can compare bets to figure out which ones are the best to play.
Craps Bets
One game that has wildly varying odds and House edges is craps. Alongside blackjack, craps contains some of the best odds in the casino. But it can also
hold some of the worst. It is more important in craps than in any other
game to be able to compare the House edges.
Good Craps Bets
The best craps bets are the pass/don’t pass and come/don’t come bets.
A bet on the pass line has a House edge of only 1.41 percent, meaning the
House can expect to win about $1.41 in the long term for every $100 you
bet. Don’t pass has slightly better odds but most people prefer to bet
with the shooter rather than against.
Taking true odds makes things even better. This is an additional bet you can put behind the
pass line and receive a payoff at the true odds of the event happening.
Double odds reduces the House edge to about .6 percent, or sixty cents for
every $100 wagered, while 20x odds knocks it down to .099 percent, meaning
you can expect to lose less than a penny for every $100 you play.
Bad Craps Bets
As good as those bets are, the bad craps bets are that bad or worse. You
can tell a bad craps bet from the high payout odds that the casino offers.
Hardway bets are bets that a number will come through doubles, such as a
six by way of two threes, before it comes any other way or before a seven
comes. These bets offer tempting odds, 7-to-1 or 9-to-1 depending on the
number. However, the true odds are 8-to-1 or 10-to-1, resulting in a nine
percent or 11 percent House edge, respectively. That’s $9 or $11 for
every $100 wagered.
Proposition, or “one roll” bets are even worse. These are bets that a
certain number will come out on the next roll. If you want to bet that a
two or a 12 will come out on the next roll, you can get 30-to-1.
However, the true odds are 35-to-1, for a blistering 13.89 percent House
edge. Even worse is betting that the next roll will be a seven. It pays
4-to-1 while the true odds are 5-to-1 for a blistering 16.67 percent House
edge.
The moral of the story? Stick to the low but truer payout odds of the pass
line and come line bets. Think again if you are playing the proposition
bets, you might as well be playing with loaded dice. |
