Craps is a very entertaining gambling game. If you're out for entertainment, and craps provides that for you then great.
Craps, however, has a fixed house edge on every bet on the table.
Some bets are better than others, but they are all bad bets.
The lowest edge is on the pass line or don't pass line. The house edge is about 1.4% on your pass line or don't pass bet. People think that taking full odds lowers the house edge. This is somewhat of a misnomer. Playing odds is an even money bet on the odds bet. Neither the house nor the player has the advantage on this bet. The player is still giving up 1.4% of whatever the original pass line or don't pass bet was.
In other words, if you bet $100 on the pass line with no odds, your expected loss is 1.4% of $100 or $1.40 cents. If you play $500 odds behind your $100 bet, there is no vig on the $500, but the player is still giving up $1.40 on the original $100 pass line bet.
The reason people think that playing odds lowers the house edge is because you now have $600 in action but are only expected to lose the same $1.40 as you would have with the $100 bet so it appears that percentagewise the house edge is lower... in a sense it is, but in another sense it is not.
Other bets on the table (expect Come and Don't Come which are equal to the pass line and don't pass) have worse odds. The next best bets are placing the 6 and 8 ... and they get progressively worse. The hard ways, field bets, any 7, ... those are HORRIBLE bets with house edges of 5% or more.
Craps can not be beaten by any normal betting strategies or riding hot rolls. If you would know a hot roll before it happened then sure you could make money, but there is no way to know a hot roll until after the fact.
If someone rolls 10 7's in a row... what is the probability of another 7 coming up? Some would say it is less likely because you already rolled 10 in a row, so you're "due" for another number. Some would say that a 7 is more likely because obviously the dice are hitting 7 right now... the real answer is 1 in 6. (I am assuming honest dice). No matter what happened the previous 5, 10 or 500 rolls, a 7 has a 1 in 6 chance of hitting on any given roll.
That is why craps can not be beaten because it is subject to the law of independant trials. In other words, each and every roll of the dice is an independant event that is not affected by any previous events.
The odds never change. They are always against you.
There are a few advantage techniques at craps where you can make money or "expected value" however.
Tip hustling
This is probably the most profitable of all craps strategies, but it is normally only valid for women, and at least semi-attractive ones at that. Men can sometimes get a tip or two but it is much easier for women.
The strategy is to find a table where there is some super high roller betting thousands of dollars. Get on the table and bet the minimum and when you get the dice, hope for a lucky roll. If you can get a lucky roll and the rich guy wins $20,000 or something like that, the rich guy might throw you $500 or something.
This is the best possible way to make money at craps but most of us do not qualify because we are men.
Comp Hustling
Craps does have a low house edge. If you want free drinks for a night, you can bet $5 or so on the pass line. As long as you get a couple drinks per hour for free, you'll get more value from the free drinks than you will lose in expected value on your pass line bets.
Some casinos will rate you based on your odds too for rooms, and dinners and stuff. If you bet $100 with $500 odds, you're giving up $1.40 per roll sequence, but the casino might see you as a much bigger customer than you really are if they rate your odds. They'll see you as a $600 bettor, not a $100 bettor. This might get you some comped suites, free dinners at nice restaurants, things like that. The value you get from the comps could outweigh the amount you're losing. It also helps to sit out every other roll or something like that so you are only playing half as many sequences per hour than the casino thinks you are (so you're giving up less). Playing for comps will involve some big swings in your bankroll though.
Dice control
This one is long-disputed. Some people think that hours of practice can lead to being able to have some control of the dice and how they fall. Most people try to control only one die. If you can get one of the two dice to come up with a certain number more often than not, you can have a large advantage.
For people that try to do this, standing at a position near the center of the table usually works best because it minimizes the throwing distance.
I've heard rumors about some people being able to do this, but if there are, there are probably fewer than 5 people in the world that can... I sure wish like crazy I could!
David
Craps, however, has a fixed house edge on every bet on the table.
Some bets are better than others, but they are all bad bets.
The lowest edge is on the pass line or don't pass line. The house edge is about 1.4% on your pass line or don't pass bet. People think that taking full odds lowers the house edge. This is somewhat of a misnomer. Playing odds is an even money bet on the odds bet. Neither the house nor the player has the advantage on this bet. The player is still giving up 1.4% of whatever the original pass line or don't pass bet was.
In other words, if you bet $100 on the pass line with no odds, your expected loss is 1.4% of $100 or $1.40 cents. If you play $500 odds behind your $100 bet, there is no vig on the $500, but the player is still giving up $1.40 on the original $100 pass line bet.
The reason people think that playing odds lowers the house edge is because you now have $600 in action but are only expected to lose the same $1.40 as you would have with the $100 bet so it appears that percentagewise the house edge is lower... in a sense it is, but in another sense it is not.
Other bets on the table (expect Come and Don't Come which are equal to the pass line and don't pass) have worse odds. The next best bets are placing the 6 and 8 ... and they get progressively worse. The hard ways, field bets, any 7, ... those are HORRIBLE bets with house edges of 5% or more.
Craps can not be beaten by any normal betting strategies or riding hot rolls. If you would know a hot roll before it happened then sure you could make money, but there is no way to know a hot roll until after the fact.
If someone rolls 10 7's in a row... what is the probability of another 7 coming up? Some would say it is less likely because you already rolled 10 in a row, so you're "due" for another number. Some would say that a 7 is more likely because obviously the dice are hitting 7 right now... the real answer is 1 in 6. (I am assuming honest dice). No matter what happened the previous 5, 10 or 500 rolls, a 7 has a 1 in 6 chance of hitting on any given roll.
That is why craps can not be beaten because it is subject to the law of independant trials. In other words, each and every roll of the dice is an independant event that is not affected by any previous events.
The odds never change. They are always against you.
There are a few advantage techniques at craps where you can make money or "expected value" however.
Tip hustling
This is probably the most profitable of all craps strategies, but it is normally only valid for women, and at least semi-attractive ones at that. Men can sometimes get a tip or two but it is much easier for women.
The strategy is to find a table where there is some super high roller betting thousands of dollars. Get on the table and bet the minimum and when you get the dice, hope for a lucky roll. If you can get a lucky roll and the rich guy wins $20,000 or something like that, the rich guy might throw you $500 or something.
This is the best possible way to make money at craps but most of us do not qualify because we are men.
Comp Hustling
Craps does have a low house edge. If you want free drinks for a night, you can bet $5 or so on the pass line. As long as you get a couple drinks per hour for free, you'll get more value from the free drinks than you will lose in expected value on your pass line bets.
Some casinos will rate you based on your odds too for rooms, and dinners and stuff. If you bet $100 with $500 odds, you're giving up $1.40 per roll sequence, but the casino might see you as a much bigger customer than you really are if they rate your odds. They'll see you as a $600 bettor, not a $100 bettor. This might get you some comped suites, free dinners at nice restaurants, things like that. The value you get from the comps could outweigh the amount you're losing. It also helps to sit out every other roll or something like that so you are only playing half as many sequences per hour than the casino thinks you are (so you're giving up less). Playing for comps will involve some big swings in your bankroll though.
Dice control
This one is long-disputed. Some people think that hours of practice can lead to being able to have some control of the dice and how they fall. Most people try to control only one die. If you can get one of the two dice to come up with a certain number more often than not, you can have a large advantage.
For people that try to do this, standing at a position near the center of the table usually works best because it minimizes the throwing distance.
I've heard rumors about some people being able to do this, but if there are, there are probably fewer than 5 people in the world that can... I sure wish like crazy I could!
David
