1.TAKING THE ODDS
The most important craps bet form the standpoint of the smart gambler is the free odds wager. When you make a pass bet, if the shooter rolls a point number on the come-out, your are allowed to make a second bet, equal in size to the first, called a free odds bet. This is a wager saying that the shooter will make his point. The unique thing about this bet is that it is paid off by the house at true odds. If you make a free odds bet on point 6 or 8 and win, the casino will pay your bet at 6 to 5. These are the correct odds of winning the bet - six ways of rolling a 7 versus five ways of rolling a 6. If the odds bet is on point 5 or 9, it will be paid off at 3 to 2.
On the 4 or 10, the payoff is 2 to 1. If you remember what we learned about the way of making the various numbers, you realize that in every case these payoffs reflect the true odds of winning the bet. Because the casino is paying off at true odds, it is not making any profit on the bet. That is why it is called a free bet; the house is not charging any secret tax of the kind we discussed before. Of course, in order to make a free odds bet, you must first make a line bet. That's where the casino makes its profit. Nevertheless, when you take the odds, you reduce the house advantage as it applies to the total amount wagered. If you make a ten-dollar bet on the pass line, the house will enjoy a 1.414 percent edge on those ten dollars. If instead you make a five-dollar line bet, if the shooter rolls a point on the come-out, and if you then make a five-dollar free odds bet, you will still get ten dollars worth of action, but the edge that the house enjoys on the ten dollars is reduce to only .8 percent. In the long run, you money will last almost twice as long, giving you that much more opportunity to catch a lucky run and perhaps build your bankroll into a real bundle.
The amazing thing is that many players will make a pass-line bet without taking the odds. I can only assume that either they don't understand why the wager is to their advantage or they don't really know how to go about making the bet. At this point, you should understand why the bet is such a smart move, so let me tell you how to make the wager. After making your pass-line bet, if the shooter rolls a point number (4,5,6,8,9, or 10) on his first roll, you should place your odds bet on the layout outside the pass line but directly behind your first bet. There is no space on the layout designating the free-odds bet. Come to think of it, this may be why many bettors don't take the odds. Because it's not written down anywhere, they may not even know it exists. Because you odds bet goes directly behind your line bet, taking the odds is also called backing the bet.
The casino will also allow you to make a free odds bet when you have made a come bet and the shooter rolls a point number on the next roll. It is definitely in your interest to bet the come odds since it will reduce the house advantage against you in exactly the same way it does when you back your pass-line bet. When the dealer moves your odds bet to the proper point-number box, place your odds wager in the come box and tell the dealer what bet it relates to. For example, you might say, "Odds on the 9." The dealer will place the odds bet on top of the come bet but offset so that the two can be distinguished. This is called heeling the bet. If the come bet wins, the dealer will pay the come bet a t even money and the odds bet at true odds. If the shooter rolls a 7 before repeating the come-point, both bets will lose. The odds on come bets are off on the come-out roll.
This means that for determining the outcome of the come odds bet, the come-out roll does not count. If the come bet should win or lose on the come-out, the odds bet will simply be returned to you. Casino offer free odds only as a way of encouraging players to make more line bets. Since the house makes no profit on the odds bet, it imposes restriction on how much a player can wager on the odds. In most casinos, your odds bet cannot be larger than you line bet. This limit is called single odds. You are allowed to bet less, but it is in your interest to make the largest odds bet permitted by the size of your line bet. This is known as taking full odds.
However, except in those few casinos that have twenty-five-cent minimums at their crap tables, the casino will not pay off in less than one-dollar sums. If you had five dollars on the line and the shooter rolled a 4, 6, 8, or 10, this would present no problem. You could take the odds for five dollars on the 4 or 10 or twelve dollars on the 6 or 8. However, if the point were 5 or 9, a five-dollar on the 6 or 8. However, if the point were 5 or 9, a five-dollar bet would be unacceptable. Since points 5 and 9 pay 3 to 2, the payoff on a five-dollar wager would be an unwieldy seven dollars and fifty cents.
Rather than deal with small change, the house will let you bet six dollars on the line to collect nine dollars if you win. Although this can vary some from casino to casino, most clubs will let you bet one unit more than your line bet if it is necessary to allow a round payoff when taking odds on 5 or 9. What constitutes a unit depends on what you are betting. For a five-dollar with green chips, or multiples of one hundred dollars with black chips, that would be your unit. A fifteen-dollar et on the pass line would permit you to make a twenty -dollar odds bet if the point were 5 or 9. The same issue can arise when taking odds on points 6 or 8. Since these numbers pay off at 6 to 5, such a bet must be make in multiples of five to permit a round-payoff. Most casinos will permit you to round off up or down to the nearest multiple of five. An eight-dollar wager would permit a ten-dollar odds bet on 6 or 8. However, a seven-dollar wager would permit you to make a five-dollar odds bet on 6 or 8. However, the casino will only pay the bet at true odds up to the highest multiple of five; anything over that is paid off at even money. Therefore, a winning seven-dollar odds bet on point 6 would collect an eight-dollar payoff: six dollars for the first five-dollar of the wager and tow dollars (even money) for the remaining two dollars of the wager. This gives the house a large edge on the two-dollar portion of the bet. For that reason, the player should only make odds bets in sums that permit a full payoff at true odds. For points 5 and 9, that means making odds bets in even sums; for points 6 and 8, it means making odds bets in multiples of five units. Since the policy may vary from casino to casino, if you are unsure of the maximum odds wager that your line bet entitles you to, just as the dealer. see more > > >
