Category Archives: Casino Craps

What are the free odds craps bets and how to use them?

The free odds bet is actually the greatest bet in the entire casino and in the game of craps. The reason this is such a wonderful bet is the fact that they pay out true odds, which means the actual odds of winning are the same as the payout odds. This also means the house has no edge, advantage or profit margin. Basically the house has a 0% edge!

The odds bet is usually made as a complement to the pass line or don’t pass line bets. They also apply to the come and don’t come bets as well. When you place any of these line bets, you wait until the shooter rolls the dice. If you don’t crap out or seven out (depending on what you are betting on), then a point number will be established. It is only after the point is made that the odds bets become available.

Players may only place odds bets in multiples of their original line bet wagers. For instance, players can bet in 1x, 2x or 3x their bet increments. Large casinos like those in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Monte Carlo and etc., will allow 10x, 50x and even 100x odds bets. This can also be found at some online VIP casinos as well depending on if the casino will allow players to customize their craps tables like it has been known at the CasinoMax. Take a look at our Las Vegas multiple odds percentage chart to see how much your odds improve as you increase your odds bets.

The general rule of thumb is the higher the multiplier of odds bets you place, the lower the house edge gets. Remember, the odds bet itself is pays true odds, but you are using this in addition to your line bet, which already includes a small house edge. Placing an odds bet will just reduce the mathematical house edge to fall in your favor as you put more money on odds. Also, the pass and come odds are the same thing as well as the don’t pass and don’t come odds. True odds is true odds! Remember, the don’t pass line has just slightly better odds than the regular pass line bet.

I put a lot of links in this post because there is a lot of information about this bet since it is more of an advanced strategy. I would suggest reading a lot about the rules in order to get a good grasp of this part of the game. Once you understand this aspect of free odds, you will get a huge appreciation for the game as I have and just how rare it is to get such great odds and luck.

No house edge for “big red” and any seven bets

Big red and any sevens is basically the same bet. When a player wagers on this bet, they are betting that the shooter will roll a seven on the very next roll, making this a single roll wager. If you win on the come out roll with a 7, players usually will win $4 for ever $1 bet or 4:1 payout odds. This leaves a huge house edge of 16.67% which makes this bet the worst one in the house and one of the worst ones in any game at the casino!

Wagers with really high house edges like this are usually common with the proposition betting options. The proposition bets are available in that area at the center of the table between the two identical major layouts where the line bets and points are. Basically the propositions are usually indicated with pictures of dice on the table layout and where you are allowed to bet on snake eyes, boxcars, etc.

So the title of this article says “no house edge” right? Well, as a matter of fact, some casinos have different rules that allow for changes in the payout odds. In fact, CasinoMax allows for 5:1 payouts or winning $5 for every $1 bet. Interestingly enough, the odds of rolling a seven have these same odds as well. When the actual odds of rolling something are the same as the payout odds, that means the difference between them is zero. This difference is also the house edge, which would be 0% as well.

This is known as being paid true odds and there is almost no bet in any casino game that will pay out true odds because the casino never profits from it since everyone has fair equal odds of winning. In the long run, everyone breaks even but players have a much better advantage in the short run than they would have with a house edge! Normally the big red 7 bet pays out 4:1 odds but that is why you should always be diligent of the rules because you could catch a hidden gem that not many people would know about. If the casinos alter the rule for this bet, they probably have for a few other bets as well. So if you see something like “any seven pays 5 for 1”, then this is an awesome deal!

Winning Craps Tips for Beginners and New Players

If you are a first time player, the first thing you will notice with the game of craps is how complicated it looks, just by the display of the table layout and all the fancy terms and jargon that you will see players use. Once you actually know even the basics, the game will become even easier to understand entirely and the bets will become much simpler to work with.

Tip 1 – The first word of advice is to learn how to play craps effectively. By learning the game, I mean understanding what each bet does and also learn what craps words mean as well. Click the links to read everything about the basics of the game and what everything is. Not only will you know how to place bets, but you will also learn which bets are good and what ones are bad. This is the biggest mistake of new players. It is also wide to ignore superstitions and false advice from other players who may not know what they are doing either.

Tip 2 – I would recommend staying away from proposition bets. Once you learn about the bets, you will know that the proposition wagers are those bets in the center of the table with names such as: snake eyes, boxcars, any craps, big red and etc. All of these have very large house edge, which means the casino will be taking a lot more money from you. Some casinos have different rules though, so these bets can actually become the best ones in the house. Though, you should stay away from these bets until your knowledge of the game is solid and you know which rules are good or not, which are explained on the pages here.

Tip 3Learn how to use good etiquette in craps. Not only will this make your experience at a real craps table more enjoyable, it will also avoid unintended casino security problems, such as unintentionally walking away from the table with the dice in your hands for example and having the casino get worried that you might be switching the dice with fixed ones!

Tip 4 – A good idea is to watch what everyone is doing on the craps table if you are unfamiliar. There is nothing wrong with walking up and just watching the game all night long. It is not a requirement that players must wager money on every roll of the dice either, so it is definitely good advice not to rush into the game or play too quickly.

Tip 5 – Take advantage of the free odds bet. You can use this bet once you learn about the come bet or the pass line bet. They pay out true odds, which means the casino has no house edge! If you don’t know what it means to be paid true odds, this would be something to study up on with our guides. When you get the knowledge and advance from a beginner to a more experience player, you will truly appreciate what true odds are and how craps is a one of a kind game that you will not find anywhere else. Not just in terms of fun and excitement but in mathematical odds and great chances of winning.

Using the Martingale Craps Betting System

If you didn’t already know, the Martingale strategy is one of the most popular and well known betting systems in existence. These systems are usually great for risk and bankroll management and guide players into betting by a series of patterns. Not only can this system be used in craps, but it can be used in just about any other casino game. First of all, this is a negative progression strategy, which means that you actually increase the size of your bets whenever you lose. This is also one of the riskiest, yet profitable betting system to use and I will explain it below.

The first important requirement for using the Martingale is to wager on bets that have nearly even odds and even payouts. An example of this would be the pass line or don’t pass bet, which pays out 1:1 (even) odds and also has a very low house edge. The lower the house edge, the better this system will work. Depending on the rules of the craps table, some bets have no house edge at all. For example, the any craps bet and the any seven (big red) pays out true odds (no house edge!) when playing at the CasinoMax‘s crap table. Generally though, the free odds bet in addition to one of the pass bets are perfect for using the Martingale system.

Now the first thing you do is wager 1 chip, which can be $1, $5, $100 or whatever you plan on betting. If you win, then the proceeding bets will always be 1 chip. Basically you never increase the size of your bets when you win. If you lose the bet, then you double the number of chips on the next bet and you keep on doubling up each time you lose consecutively. If you go on a losing streak, your bets would go from 1 chip to 2, then 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and so on. If you are using $100 chips, your bet would be $6400 after 6 losses in a row! If you finally win on that bet, then you return to your original 1 chip bet.

The benefit and advantage of the Martingale system when playing craps is you will always end up with a profit of 1 chip whenever you win, even after a long string of losses. The disadvantage is having to worry about table limits. For instance, if you were betting $100 chips and the table limit was $5000, you would be unable to wager $6400 in order to keep on pace with the strategy. Ideally, you would want to start with a very large bankroll and also begin with the minimum bet or minimum table limit, that way you have lots of room to move. If you started off with $1 chips, you would have to lose 12 times in a row before hitting the table limit, as long as you have a large enough bankroll to play with.

Losing 12 times in a row is somewhat rare, but it does happen. The larger your bankroll is and the larger the table limit is, the better chances you have of winning. This is a great strategy to use if you are a high roller and play on tables with high stakes craps. Still, the Martingale system is notorious for being risky so it is a good idea to know what you are doing in this game first.

Why US Players Find it Hard to Gamble and Play Craps Online

This is an important topic for players located in the United States. You probably have tried gambling at online casinos over the past few years only to realize that there is a certain anti-gaming law. If you are a US citizen or player, there are a few important things you should know about this law and what it means to you as a gambler.

First of all, it is not illegal for US players to gamble. Any law like that would be blasphemy against the US constitution because no one can tell you what you can or cannot do with your own money in your own home. The law is actually directed at the US banking system instead and it works in a kind of loophole around the constitution. In one way, this law bans or impedes gambling indirectly.

Basically, the law restricts the banks from transferring money from players to casinos. It is also the banks who get punished by this law in the end and that is why many e-teller players like Neteller and big name companies like this decided to follow through and ban this kind of transaction. There are still smaller banking places that you can use over the internet who cannot be touched by this law and this is how US players can finally get back into the action of gambling.

Still, many casinos will not allow US players because it is inconvenient for them to work with smaller banks and constantly change their payment methods for deposits and withdrawals. Though, CasinoMax and Cherry Jackpot casinos are some of the best gambling places around that allow US players nowadays and I would recommend checking them out if you are a US based visitor and even for people outside of the USA. Another great benefit about these two casinos is they allow deposits by credit card. You would need to check out which other payment methods are available on these sites because there are many of them available and the list changes regularly. I know these two casinos, owned by the same company, have been known to have very convenient and quick services for US players as well.

So the bottom line is the anti-gaming laws, at least in the US, do not ban online gambling. They just make it harder for people to play online and many US players give up trying to play at online casinos due to frustrations and slow response time. The good news is that the US Congress is talking about rolling back these laws soon, so we will be keeping an eye on it in the future.

Big Six and Big Eight craps bets explained

Yesterday I talked about a bet that I started using at the table called the big six or big eight bet. This is actually one of the more common bets but the odds are not that spectacular. It is also a bet that is different than many people would assume and has some rules to it that I will explain next. I actually won with it and it wasn’t that bad of a bet.

Basically, you wager some chips on a spot on the table that has a Big 6 and 8 spot at the corner of the pass line. You are betting that the dice will land on a six or eight before a seven. Note that you are either betting on 6 or 8, but not both of them. You can also cancel your bet at any time if you start feeling too nervous about it. Remember not to confuse this bet with a Place 6 or Place 8 bet, in where you must roll a 6 or 8 on the very next roll or lose the bet.

So here are the odds and probabilities: If you win the bet, you are paid even money or 1:1 odds. The odds of the dice actually landing on these numbers is 5 in 36 on any given roll (whereas rolling a 7 has odds of 6 in 36). The actual odds are also 6:5 and the house edge is actually a whopping 9.09%. A house edge this high is actually terrible since the casino is majorly profiting on this bet. The fact that I actually won well with this bet the other day was only due to pure luck during the short term, otherwise I would be taking some huge losses in the long term as the casino takes a huge chunk of money over time.

Overall, I probably wouldn’t recommend this bet if you are a mathematical person looking for the best and most profitable odds in the game. Still, there are bets in craps that have an even worse and larger house edge than even this bet! I will try talk about each of these bets as time goes on. It is nice to know that the big 6 and big 8 bets have such bad odds because this is actually a popular wager to make and it is common among players for some strange reason. I am willing to bet that this one is popular because it is displayed in huge red letters on the table and many people just don’t know the game well enough to understand what this bet really is.

Getting more experience at the casino playing this game

Last night I took a drive out to the local casino again to play some craps and get a better hold of the game and the rules. I also played some slots and roulette as well. This time my goal was to try getting better remembering which bets are which and some etiquette. That dictionary of terms would have been very helpful, especially in trying to talk to the dealers. It is helpful to brush up on the game when it is not so busy and you can ask the dealers questions without rushing around.

Like last time, I practiced with the pass line and don’t pass bets and included a few big six bets and big eight bets as well since these were displayed to catch the eye on the table layout. We all know that there is a 1 in 5 chance that the dice will land on 7. The 6 and 8 are the next most frequent dice roll and probabilities are the same for both of these numbers as well. I found that these two bets were different than what many people would assume as well.

All in all, I did come out about $50 and that was because I was playing conservatively with $5 minimum chip bets. As for etiquette observation, I did notice some people placing drinks on the table! Surprisingly, the dealers didn’t say anything, or else they didn’t see it since it was a small glass and the guy had a pile of chips around it. Other than that, it was pretty quiet and not much action. Still, it’s better than losing all of my money and going home with nothing.

The pass and don’t pass line bets explained

The pass line and don’t pass line bets are the two most common and popular bets in craps. They are also some of the most important as well since there are other supplemental bets that go along with these two that will give you the best odds out of any casino game in the house! In fact, using these pass and don’t pass bets can actually help you reduce the house edge to nothing, nil, zero and maximize your odds as good as it gets.

First I will explain the pass line bet. This is a bet that wagers that the dice will land on a natural 7 or 11 and win. The player losses if the dice lands on one of the craps numbers: 2, 3 or 12. Notice that the odds of getting a 7 are greater than the combined probability of getting 2, 3 and 12. The round ends if the dice lands on any of these numbers and a new one starts. If you win on the come out throw, the house pays even odds or 1:1 on your dollar.

Now if the shooter throws anything else but these numbers, such as 4, 5, 6, 8, 9

Went to the casino to play craps and hung out

I usually head out to the casino on a regular basis and will write about it on the blog. I will try keeping the topics on craps on this blog and will write about the other games I play on my other blogs in order to keep things organized. I usually play all sorts of different games and stay for about 6 to 8 hours whenever I get the time off to go.

As for craps, I tried a little bit of all of the bets and tried getting used to the terms I was writing about the other day. To be honest, I haven’t been playing this game in quite awhile and I used to be extremely good at the game. Now I am actually getting the time to head out to the casino and play this game again so hopefully I can get my edge back!

I do recall my favorite bet that I used to win a lot at. I usually played the don’t pass line bet, which means I win when the shooter rolls a 2, or 3 and lose when the shooter rolls a 7 or 11. If a 12 is rolled, the bet usually results in a “push” or tie bet where my money is returned to me and a new round starts.

Since I was playing at a land based casino, there were many other people playing there as well and they all gather around the table. You will quickly find that craps is a social game much like roulette. Only this time the players are usually cheering for the shooter. Typically the pass line bet is for “right” bettors where you cheer for the dealer to pass. When you bet on the don’t pass line like myself, you would be known as a “wrong” bettor because you don’t want the shooter to pass on the come out roll. Many times I would be the one cheering when everyone loses, but of course I used good etiquette and did not do this. Although, I was not the only one wagering on the for the dice thrower to not pass.

There is some logic for what I’m doing though. The don’t pass line actually has a slightly lower house edge than the pass line. This means my mathematical odds increase, I lose less money and less frequently over the long run and I tend to win more often in the long run than I would on the pass line. I actually came out about $50 ahead when playing craps with $5 chips. Other than that, I also played roulette and slots throughout the night as well.

I did not try out the free odds bets, but I know this is related to the don’t pass line and it is the best bet in the house. I will try to write about this later on because it is extremely important for all players to know.