Craps
Laying Odds
Conversely, when you Lay Odds you're supplementing a Don't Pass Bet and win as follows
(assume an initial $5 Don't Pass bet):
|
Laying Double Odds ($10) |
|
Point |
Payout |
Pays
(Win) |
|
4 or
10 |
2-1 |
$15
($5) |
|
5 or
9 |
3-2 |
$16
($6) |
|
6 or
8 |
6-5 |
$18
($8) |
So to follow the
Buy example above, an initial wrong bet of $5 on a Come Out roll of 10 will yield a total
win of $25: your initial $5 back plus its win of $5, your $10 Odds bet back plus its win
of $5.
KCsod.com
Now here's another
little trick. Most casinos only pay in denominations as small as $1. In other words, you
lose any fraction of a dollar that you would otherwise have coming. Because of the Odds
your Laying, 3-2 and 6-5 in particular, you're losing fractions if you bet as given above
because most multiples of 10 are not wholly divisible by 3 or 6. On the 5/9 Point you lose
$0.67, and on the 6/8 Point you lose $0.33. Nothing much, you say? But we're talking about
not giving the house anything more than they already have, right? So let's look at
another scenario. Now let's say you place a wrong bet of $6 instead of $5. In that case
your Double Odds bet can be $12. And as you'll see from the following table, you lose no
fractions on this bet. You keep all the win you have coming because all multiples of 12
are wholly divisible by 3 (as in the 3-2 odds) and by 6 (as in the 6-5 Odds).
KCsod.com
|
Laying Double Odds ($12) |
|
Point |
Payout |
Pays
(Win) |
|
4 or
10 |
2-1 |
$18
($6) |
|
5 or
9 |
3-2 |
$20
($8) |
|
6 or
8 |
6-5 |
$22
($10) |
So basically what
I'm saying is if you're going to Lay Odds, make your initial Don't Pass bet a multiple of
$6, and bet full on your Double Odds for a multiple of $12. The same logic applies, by the
way, with Buying Odds. Make your Pass bet a multiple of $5 so your Double Odds will be in
multiples of $10. This is optimal because your divisions are going to be by 1, 2, and 5.
KCsod.com
Testing the
Strategy
Most players are going to prefer playing right and Buy the Odds because the payouts look
larger, but then you're playing against slightly higher odds. If you're hardcore about
playing to win you'd be well advised to look seriously at playing wrong, taking the
smaller house edge, and grinding it out. The gurus sum it up by saying that playing right
and Buying Odds is the more popular and a bit riskier. Playing wrong and Laying Odds is
considerably less popular with the Craps crowds, shaves the house edge to a minimum and is
for players with a large roll and the patience to grind out the winnings over extended
play.
KCsod.com
So I tested the strategy
on a number of online casinos. What I found was the playing wrong and Laying Odds was
definitely to my tastes, which is no surprise because I have always preferred the Don't
Pass bets. Now when it comes to kicking out for the Double Odds I have to say that I found
it better for my peace of mind, if not strictly for the best edge, to not Lay Double on
every round.
If you look at the Point frequencies you'll
see that there are three ways to roll a 4 or 10, four ways to roll a 5 or 9, and five ways
to roll a 6 or 8 and, finally, six ways to roll an Out 7. In other words, when betting
wrong and always placing Double Odds, those 6's and 8's are gonna turn up fairly
frequently and you're going to lose your bets. In short, it's a game of nerves to play
that way and, speaking for myself, I don't like it. So what I've done is Double Odds on
the 4 and 10 and let the rest ride. What I'm doing, of course, is betting exceptionally
conservatively since the 4/10 Points are the least likely to show and are therefore the
safest wrong bets to Double up on. It makes for a slow game but I was almost always able
to better my holdings if I stuck with it. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I
like it when the chips pile up and I don't like it when they drain away. It's basically a
style of play that suits my temperament.
Final tips:
Land-based casinos:
tipping the pit-crew playing craps
can be
very advantageous with an experienced crew. Especially if for instance; you
bet $10 on hard eights giving $1 of the bet to the crew. Timing then becomes
everything. Time your bet so that you are throwing the chips down and calling out
the bet exactly when the dice are thrown. Often if the dice were to say; come
up easy eight; the crew will with just as perfect timing; see the easy eight
and announce , "Sorry Sir, You got that bet in too late. Please next time make
your bet sooner". You are saved the loss of the bet. If the hard eights come
up; they don't say anything, or they might say, " next time the bet must
be in sooner". But you , (and they), still win the bet.
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