Craps Noobie
 

Heading to vegas and want to play some craps for fun. I have played craps once and felt like a total donkey as i had no idea what was going on. What do i need to know to play? What are the best bets? What are the odds differences that always get talked about? Thanks in advance

Re: Craps Noobie
 

Bet the pass line. If a 2,3, or 12 rolls you lose. If 7 or 11 rolls you win 1 for 1 on your bet. Any other number establishes a point. The thrower keeps tossing the dice, until he either hits the point again or hits a 7. When the point is hit the pass line bets win.

To lower the HA, you can make an odds bet once the point is established. If the table has 5X odds, and your bet is $10, you can make an odds bet of $50. Just but the odds bet behind your original bet behind the pass line. The more you bet on the odds bet the lower the HA, since the odds bets are paid at true odds.

Don't worry about any other bets, they are sucker bets. I beleive the least sucker-ish is placing the 6 or 8, maybe someone can confirm or deny it.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

http://wizardofodds.com/craps

for more info

Re: Craps Noobie
 

ok, I don't want this thread to start again, but just be aware of something. Yes, techincally you are lowering the house advantage of ALL of your action when you place an odds bet, but it's only because you are wagering a large sum of money that is an even money wager behind what is a small negative wager in front.

It makes no difference whether you take odds or not. I personally do it cuz I'm an action junkie and I like the idea of getting to make a bet that does not favor the house.
But yes, if you can afford it, go ahead and take odds.

But don't be fooled into thinking that you are now gambling smarter or something by taking odds.

A little example

pass line $100 with no odds. long run, you lose $1.41
house advantage= 1.41%

pass $100 with $500 behind. long run you lose 0 on the odds bet and $1.41 on the pass line= total $1.41

house edge=1.41/600= .24%

So yes, you "lowered" the house edge but as far as how much you lose long run it's still the same. In fact, if anything, it raises your variance and so you run the risk of going broke sooner.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

All bets on a craps table are sucker bets.Some bets are not as bad as others. The thought of certain bets on a craps table being sucker bets is ludicrous, they all are. The game is designed to take your money.
That being said, have fun and limit your losses. Just play by your gut feeling there is no strategy to the game.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

Stickman & Doubledown,

You're wrong and/or inacurate

TONY

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
Stickman & Doubledown,

You're wrong and/or inacurate

TONY

[/ QUOTE ]

Care to elaborate?

Re: Craps Noobie
 

Your "inacurate" is inaCCurate.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
Just play by your gut feeling there is no strategy to the game.



[/ QUOTE ]

This is the portion of your post he disputed. After all, what if you gut tells you to bet $5000 on the hard ten hopping?

Jimbo

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
Stickman & Doubledown,

You're wrong and/or inacurate

TONY

[/ QUOTE ]

Everything DD said in this thread is correct.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
Heading to vegas and want to play some craps for fun. I have played craps once and felt like a total donkey as i had no idea what was going on. What do i need to know to play? What are the best bets? What are the odds differences that always get talked about? Thanks in advance

[/ QUOTE ]

Go to Casino Royale or another place that offers $1 tables. Place $1 (or whatever the minimum is if it isn't a $1 table) on the pass line. If the shooter doesn't roll a 7 or 11 (you win immediately) or a 2, 3, or 12 (you lose immediately), place more money behind your original bet up to whatever bet size you're comfortable with. Then, root for the shooter to roll his number again before he rolls a 7. If he does, you win. If he doesn't, you lose. Rinse, repeat until you're sufficiently drunk or go broke.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Stickman & Doubledown,

You're wrong and/or inacurate

TONY

[/ QUOTE ]

Everything DD said in this thread is correct.

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps you should read his long post just above a bit closer Homer. He did make one serious mistake.

Jimbo

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Stickman & Doubledown,

You're wrong and/or inacurate

TONY

[/ QUOTE ]

Everything DD said in this thread is correct.

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps you should read his long post just above a bit closer Homer. He did make one serious mistake.

Jimbo

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you talking about this thread still? If so, I don't see the mistake. All the odds bet does is increase variance. You're still expected to lose the same amount of money.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

This was all discussed ad nasuem in this thread: Taking Odds in Craps

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
This was all discussed ad nasuem in this thread: Taking Odds in Craps

[/ QUOTE ]

I read some of the thread. Betting $10 on pass or $10 on pass plus $x in odds results in the same expected loss, in terms of dollars, to the house. That was DD's point in this thread. I still don't get what everyone thinks he said wrong.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This was all discussed ad nasuem in this thread: Taking Odds in Craps

[/ QUOTE ]

I read some of the thread. Betting $10 on pass or $10 on pass plus $x in odds results in the same expected loss, in terms of dollars, to the house. That was DD's point in this thread. I still don't get what everyone thinks he said wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]

My guess is that everone is assuming the same base bet. The proper assumption is that the crap shooter wishes $110 of pass line action on each roll. His choice is to either bet $10 on the pass line and take $100 odds (Assuming ten times odds are allowed) or to bet $110 on the pass line. He will certainly lose less in terms of dollars to the house in one manner compared to the other.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

As a pracitcal note, if you make an odds bet, make sure it is a multiple of $5 if the point is 6 or 8, and an even number if it is 5 or 9. The odds bet pays 6:5 for 6 or 8, and it pays 3:2 for 5 or 9. At most tables, they don't have anything smaller than $1 chips, and they will short you the change if you make a bet that can't be paid out in even dollars. The odds bet on 4 or 10 pays 2:1, so change shouldn't be an issue. You want to find a game with the lowest minimum pass line bet and highest allowed odds that you can.

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
As a pracitcal note, if you make an odds bet, make sure it is a multiple of $5 if the point is 6 or 8, and an even number if it is 5 or 9. The odds bet pays 6:5 for 6 or 8, and it pays 3:2 for 5 or 9. At most tables, they don't have anything smaller than $1 chips, and they will short you the change if you make a bet that can't be paid out in even dollars. The odds bet on 4 or 10 pays 2:1, so change shouldn't be an issue. You want to find a game with the lowest minimum pass line bet and highest allowed odds that you can.

[/ QUOTE ]

And if you place the 6 or 8 (or both), bet in multiples of 6 because they pay 7:6.

Mason's book is a good no nonsense primer. He recommends taking the odds (ie don't put $10 on the pass line, make it five and then take the odds).

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
As a pracitcal note, if you make an odds bet, make sure it is a multiple of $5 if the point is 6 or 8, and an even number if it is 5 or 9. The odds bet pays 6:5 for 6 or 8, and it pays 3:2 for 5 or 9. At most tables, they don't have anything smaller than $1 chips, and they will short you the change if you make a bet that can't be paid out in even dollars. The odds bet on 4 or 10 pays 2:1, so change shouldn't be an issue. You want to find a game with the lowest minimum pass line bet and highest allowed odds that you can.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed--Fitzgerald's in Tunica has a sweet $3 minimum bet with a 20x odds. My wife plays quite often and I'll sit back and watch.

Friday night, we watched (just came back from the buffet using our comp from our earlier play) as one person rolled for 56 minutes without busting out (we witnessed the last 15 minutes); he turned his orignal $50 into $4600 and many of the others cashed with similar results. As you can imagine, it was a very excited table--makes for a great game. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Craps Noobie
 

[ QUOTE ]
As you can imagine, it was a very excited table--makes for a great game.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is why craps > bj

Re: Craps Noobie
 

By the time you have an option to take odds, the wager is no longer at a small disadvantage -- it has lost the huge advantage it had on the come out roll, and is now at a serious disadvantage. Forget about the 1.4% when considering odds -- what you have is an even money 4,5,6,8,9, or 10. At this stage of the game, you have to factor in the emotional investment you have in seeing your 4 or 10 come before a 7. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]