The odds bet is one of those bets in a casino that you should definitely make. The Free Odds bet carries no house edge, which is why Craps has The Best Casino Bet – Free Odds. The casino makes no profit on this bet. This is the only table game bet you can make where the odds aren’t against you. How can the casino make this bet available when they don’t make any money on it? Of course, the Free Odds bet isn’t totally free. You have to make a flat bet (Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, or Don’t Come) before you can make the Free Odds bet.
How It Works
You make a Pass Line bet, and the shooter rolls a number to establish a point (4,5,6,8,9 or 10). Now you can make a Free Odds bet by putting your chip(s) below (due South) of your Pass Line bet. It’s kind of like doubling down in blackjack. If the shooter rolls the point again, you not only win your Pass Line bet, but you also win the Odds bet.
According to the Math Master, Michael Shackelford, at Wizard of Odds, “because the Odds has zero house edge, the player can only bet more on it than his Pass bet. Most casinos allow what is known as “3- 4-5X Odds.” This means the player may bet up to three times his Pass bet on the odds after a point of a 4 or 10, four times after a 5 or 9, and five times after a 6 or 8. How did they come up with this? If the player always takes the maximum odds and wins on the pass line, the Odds bet will always pay six times the pass line wager, making the math easier for the dealers.
Placing the Odds – The Best Casino Bet
Some casinos pay even more, like 5X, 10X, 20X, or 100X odds on all points. So if you see a casino advertising something like “10X Odds,” you can bet up to ten times your Pass bet on the Odds.
You can place the odds bet on the point OR the come bet. According to John Grochowski, “when the dealer sees that bet backing your pass bet, he knows it’s an odds bet and words are unnecessary. It’s a little different with come bets. There, you do have to give the dealer verbal information. Let’s say you have a come bet, and the shooter rolls a 6. The dealer will move your come bet to the “6 box.”
You make a free odds bet by placing chips in the come box and telling the dealer, “Odds on my come” or “Odds on my 6.” The dealer then will move those chips to the 6 box, positioning them both to indicate your position at the table and which chips are the come bet, and which are the odds.
Finally, if comps are important to you, then be warned. Most casinos do not count bets on the Odds towards the average amount you bet. Why? Because they don’t stand to make any profit from it.
Just starting?
Try this related post – A Beginner’s Guide to Playing Craps.
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