Casinos.co.uk: Casino News Archive
Wednesday 7th April 2004
Playing Craps Online – The Online Free Odds Bet
By The GameMaster (www.gamemasteronline.com)
The essence of craps is to “press” one's bets in order to take advantage of a perceived streak, but as you do that, the casino's edge weighs more and more heavily on your bankroll. For example, if you bet $5 on the Pass line, the casino's 1.4% edge on that bet gives you an expectation of losing 7 cents. In actuality, you'll win or lose $5, but the mathematical expectation is to lose 1.4% of $5. If you press your bet to $10, the expectation is to lose 14 cents, a $20 bet costs 28 cents, etc.
My point here is that the casino has an edge on every bet you make at craps. Some are small, like a Pass line bet, where it's 1.4%, and some are quite large, like a field bet that may have an edge of 5.26% or more.
Pressing is the 'thrill' of craps, because you don't know when the next streak is going to begin. It's great to start with five bucks, and find yourself making twenty-dollar bets and winning! But a $20 bet has an expectation of -28 cents and at a rate of 60 decisions an hour, your expectation is to pay the house 60 X 28 cents = $16+ an hour! That's a lot of money and there's no reason to pay that much if your favorite Internet casino offers multiple free odds.
A lot of craps players don't understand the odds bet. It's really simple, but you need to understand the bet thoroughly if you want a shot at winning. The odds bet is, first of all, completely optional. While you must make a 'line' bet (Pass or Don't Pass) in order to place an odds bet, you don't have to 'take the odds' if you don't want to. Believe me, you want to.
The other important aspect of the odds bet is that the house doesn't have an edge on the bet. Yes, you read it correctly: the casino has no edge on an odds bet; it’s paid at 'true' odds. For years, a player could only place 'single' odds, that is, an odds bet that was no higher than the line bet. Thus, if you bet $5 on the line, your odds bet was restricted to a maximum of $5. When multiple odds came out - primarily as a marketing tool - it changed the way a smart player should bet, but if you observe a table in action today, you'll see that most players are still putting multiple bets on the line, especially if the shooter has made a couple of passes.
If that's how you play, STOP! Always, always bet the minimum on the line. If you want to up your bet, do it on the odds only. Let's say you're at a $5 table and a new shooter is about to begin, so you put $5 on the Pass line. The shooter throws a 7. Winner! Your impulse is to let the $10 'ride'. Don't. Pull the $5 profit back and leave $5 on the line. The next roll is 11, another front-line winner, and now you're cursing me, because you just won $5 and it could have been $10. But remember, the shooter could have also thrown a 2, 3 or 12 and you would have lost $10. Anyway, the shooter has two passes and now he rolls a 4. If you think the player is going to make the 4, place $5 or $10 behind the line and go with it. If the point is made, you have to start with just a line bet, so keep it at $5. If another point is thrown, add to the odds bet by putting down $10 or $15. Remember that a $15 line bet has an expectation of -21 cents, but a $5 line bet with $10 odds has an expectation of -7 cents. In each case, it seems like you're risking $15, but the real risk is either 21 cents or 7 cents. As the roll progresses, keep five bucks on the line, stop moaning when the shooter throws 7 or 11 and press the odds.
I hope you enjoyed this article. If you want to find more articles like it you can subscribe to Gambling Online Magazine and have them delivered right to your door. Go to gamblingonlinemagazine and become a subscriber today.
Source:OnlineCasinoNews
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