Craps, Part 2
Casinos
Apr 26, 2000, 13:09
By M. Wilson Staff
|
|
Craps for Beginners, Part 2
Let's recap. You've bought into the craps game by putting down a pass line bet, or a bet on don't pass. If the shooter rolls a point, you know you can bet on the odds of that point, or make an odds bet on the second roll's number, or on subsequent rolls; in odds bets, you are comparing the probability of your point number's being rolled to the probability of a 7 being rolled. You should always check the true odds. Also check what odds the house actually pays on different bets; because there is going to be a big discrepancy between these, the odds the house pays are printed on the table for most proposition bets (the riskiest bets). More recap: A natural on the first roll wins everybody's pass line bets; craps loses them. And vice versa -- a natural on the comeout roll means you lose a don't pass bet, while craps wins it. The shooter rolls again, and keeps rolling until he repeats his point or rolls 7. You can make a field bet, rooting for one of a group of numbers; a place bet, if you have a feeling a particular point number will come up before the shooter sevens out; or you can lay odds, meaning you are betting that 7 will be rolled before a specific point number. You can keep making these bets on each roll.
NOW YOU WANT TO MAKE FANCIER BETS, HUH?
Before you do, listen. Or rather, LOOK. Take a good look at the table you're playing on, or thinking of playing on. How are the odds expressed? In the very center, the outside box says, "Any Craps," and then underneath those words are the odds the house pays you if you win that bet. It'll say "7 to 1," or "8 for 1." These are the same odds, but in the second way, they're telling you how many dollars you'll get back total when you bet a dollar. 7 to 1 is the straight ratio of winning; and you add in your original bet to the ratio to see what you're getting back. Some casinos may print on their tables that they pay off a "2 or 12" center bet at "30 for 1." This is actually 29 to 1, and most casinos pay off this bet at 30 to 1, so this means that casino has bumped up its already hefty edge, hoping inexperienced players will not notice, or not care. We think you should go to a casino across the street to play, instead.
ANY CRAPS
Here, you're wagering that the very next roll is going to be 2, 3, or 12. You bet Any Craps by handing your chip(s) to the stickman, who is generally positioned at the proposition bet area, or have the dealer pass it to him. But first take a hard look at an odds table. There is only 1 way to make a 12 with the dice, and only 1 way to make a 2. There are 2 ways to make a 3. 32 losing rolls to 4 winners means your odds are 8 to 1. Casinos pay 7 to 1 for this bet. House has a stiff edge of 11.1 percent. Say, you could worsen this bet by making it a 3-Way Craps, in which you'd bet a chip on each of the three craps numbers, which some people like to do.
2 OR 12; 3 OR 11
You may want to bet the next roll will be a 2, and have the stickman place this for you. Remember that there's only 1 way to roll a 2, meaning there are 35 losing rolls you might see, against 1 winning roll; that is, the true odds against it are 35 to 1. Do you see, on the table, that the house only pays you 30 to 1 if you win? (Check this -- it might be 30 for 1, which is less!) Rather rough, isn't it? And the same goes for 12, which there's only one way to roll. Suppose you bet the shooter will next roll a 3, or an 11. 2 ways to roll a 3, same for 11; so there are 34 losers out of all the 36 possible rolls of the dice, and 2 winners. True odds, 34 to 2, or 17 to 1. Too bad the house pays only 15 to 1 and sometimes 14 to 1. Their edge, in the last case, would be a shade over sixteen-and-two-thirds percent.
BIG 6, BIG 8
Before you place money on either of these bets, located at the rounded corners of the table, find out what odds the casino pays on them; usually in Las Vegas and all of Nevada, it's 1 to 1, even money. If so, you'd be better off making a Place bet on 6 or 8 instead. Tell you why: Big 6 is a bet that a 6 will come up before 7 is rolled (above, you were betting just on the next roll), so you compare the chances of 7 appearing to the chances of 6. There are six ways to roll 7; five ways to roll 6. When correct odds are 6 to 5, it's better to go for the payoff closer to this, (7 to 6), than to be paid only 1 to 1. An 8 has the same probability of coming up as 6. Note: In Atlantic City, or places they'll pay 7 to 6 on this bet, you must bet a multiple of $6.
ANY SEVEN
This, the most probable number on the dice to be rolled, makes a terrible bet, even though it can come up in 6 combinations. Because the casino protects itself by only paying 4 to 1 when true odds are 5 to 1. It's too big a slice, in my opinion: The house's edge has been boosted to just over sixteen-and-two-thirds percent.
BUY BETS
A kind of bet made after the come-out roll. In this one, you pay the house a commission of 5% of your bet in order to be given the true odds of a number: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. You're betting this number is going to come before 7. On all these numbers except 4 and 10, the 5% commission you pay is greater than the edge the house already had, so it's not worth it.
LAY BETS
A wrong bettor -- one who bet against the point being rolled -- may bet that 7 will be rolled before a specific point number and if he wins, be paid true odds minus 5% of his bet, the commission to the house. It's the opposite of a buy bet, and similarly, a rather poor bet.
HARDWAYS BETS
I'll make a bet that you were just waiting to find out about this one. You get to say things like, "I'll take four the hard way!" Which sounds really cool. It is, of course, betting that a particular number, either 4, 6, 8, or 10, will come up before 7 and furthermore it will come up as a pair of doubles. If it comes up any other way, it's called easy, and loses. Hence the expression, "hard eight," and so forth. In the center of the table you'll see the odds each hardways number pays; now compare each to the true odds. To calculate the odds, you have to add in the odds of rolling 7 to your other losing rolls, since if the shooter sevens out you lose, and if you roll your number the easy way, you lose. So add 6 -- that's how many ways to get a 7 -- to the number of ways your number can come up easy. If your number is 4, there's 2 ways to roll an easy 4 (3 & 1, 1 & 3), plus 6, against the 1 way to roll hard 4, making true odds 8 to 1. The house usually pays only 7 to 1. And the other hardways bets are kind of lousy too, if you'll check. But they are exciting to think about, which is why people keep playing them.
HOP BETS
You can bet that a particular combination of the dice will come up on the next roll, such as 3 & 3, or 5 & 4. What the winning payoff would be depends on whether it's a pair and has only one way to be rolled, in which you look at the odds they pay on 12 and 2, each of which has only one way to be rolled. If your combination is not a pair, there are naturally two ways to roll it, and you'd get the same house odds as on 3 or 11. Hop bets and horn bets are given to the dealer, or stickman.
HORN BETS
See in the Proposition area how 2, 3, 11, and 12 are all contiguous, together? A horn bet is a bet on all these numbers simultaneously. To make it you have to place an amount that is divisible by 4 so it can be evenly divided among them. But in other words, if one hits and you win, you are still losing the other 3 bet units. And bear in mind all 4 are outside numbers with the poorest chances.
PLAY CRAPS?
Even players too new to have learned any strategy to maximize their wins enjoy craps immensely. It's a big party. It's fun to be able to throw chips to the stickman or dealers, shouting the correct lingo, like "Hop 5,4!" and stuff like that. By all means play a variety of bets for fun with money you can afford to lose, so you learn how those bets are done. But it's even more fun to win, so watch this location for strategy tips coming up.
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
|
