Craps

[dantheman_05]

Being new to craps, I am trying to find the best startegy. Im looking for the best "odds". Am I wasting my time? Are the odds always against me?

[other1]

The odds are always against you in every casino game. Thats how casinos stay in business. There was a craps thread a week or two ago.. try a search. Basically the pass line, with maximum odds you can place, is the bet that gives the house the smallest edge.

[Abagadro]

If some of the vocabulary in here is unfamiliar, ask and I can explain, but I will answer this like you at least know the types of bets available:

Short answer is pass line bet with max odds followed by come bets with max odds (which acts just like another pass line bet as if the roll was a come-out). Odds bets are paid at true odds and taking the max lessens the house advantage to make up for the even money "under" bet on the pass and come. The more you put on the odds, the lower the house advantage (but also the higher your variance as you can put a lot of money out there). If you can find a game that has 10x or 20x odds, these are the best games. Most of the big places in vegas have gone to a 5x/4x/3x (5x on 6/8, 4x on 5/9, 3x on 4/10) which is why I have stopped playing craps at these places.

Stay away from the field and the center bets (like hardways, yos and horn bets) as these are horrible even though very popular. It is tempting when you see people hiting those 8-1 hardways, but they are really bad bets. Place bets on 6/8 aren't too bad, but place bets on 5/9/4/10 aren't that good.

If you do max odds on pass and come bets only the house advantage will be (from The New Gamblers Bible):

single odds: .85
double odds: .61
triple odds: .47
five times: .32
ten times: .18

A .18 house advantage is a pretty good game to play even though you will still be at a negative advantage.

[eobmtns]

Mr. Sklansky and others will disagree with me -- they call it a negative expectation game, which it is -- but I have played predominantly craps for 15 years and I don't regret a minute of it. I have had lots of fun. I have been very lucky this year, 3 times in the last month I have run $500 up to $10000 within the space of about an hour. You can gain a positive expectation by studying poker or blackjack, but IMHO the tens of $ per hour you will eke out is like watching grass grow. Craps is also a more social game, where players yell and cheer for one another. Play only the pass line and come with full odds, in Vegas with 3x-4x-5x odds the house edge is but 0.342%. In AC with 5X the house edge is 0.326%. Press your bets when you perceive the dice are hot, and reduce to a minimum when you perceive the dice are cold. For more, you could read "How to Win" by Mike Goodman.

[dantheman_05]

si i shoudl bet the passline and then place behind the line bets to the max. should i also bet "come" after the come out roll?

[slavic]

Press your bets when you perceive the dice are hot, and reduce to a minimum when you perceive the dice are cold.

This is the type of belief that gets people in alot of trouble. The game is a negative expectation game, pure and simple, the dice have no memory.

[eobmtns]

The 0.3xx PC you are giving up playing full odds is, of course, the same regardless of the amount of your bet or whether or not you press your bet after a win. But money management does matter. Hot streaks in craps do occur, and any craps dealer will tell you that the #1 mistake of players is not pressing bets during a hot streak. This is why, at the end of a hot roll, some people wind up winning $100 and others win $10000.

[eobmtns]

You may make as many come bets as you like. Most players limit themselves to one or two come bets with full odds in addition (or instead of) a pass line bet with full odds. The more come bets, the more money you have at risk if a 7 rolls and all your bets are lost.

[lefty rosen]

Your right the dice have no memory, but somebody that can manipulate the dice can make the game slightly +EV, especially if the pit bosses are lazy. I have seen guys not hit the wall and use dice setting and the dumb pitbosses not even blink. I will never bet with or against a moron who slams the dice off the wall like pitcher throwing a fastball.....

[Homer]

[ QUOTE ]
The 0.3xx PC you are giving up playing full odds is, of course, the same regardless of the amount of your bet or whether or not you press your bet after a win. But money management does matter. Hot streaks in craps do occur, and any craps dealer will tell you that the #1 mistake of players is not pressing bets during a hot streak. This is why, at the end of a hot roll, some people wind up winning $100 and others win $10000.

[/ QUOTE ]

Slavic = right

You = wrong

QED