In the game of craps as there are many bets and the gamers who make the the Pass Line Bet have a chance to lower the house edge by making “taking the odds” or making the “free odds” bet. This is called free odds because the wager has a 0% house edge. It still costs money to make the wager. In fact, it is usually a 3x to 5x increase of the original bet. This lowers the overall house edge, depending on the size bet you make.
Because this is such a good betting proposition for you, the casino limits the amount you can bet on this option. The increase varies from one casino to another, but it tends to be anywhere from 3x to 100x You will see a table with a sign that says 3x-4x-5x is indicating those are the max bets when making the free odds bet.
The fact that Free Odds bet does not feature any house advantage makes craps experts recommend players to make it every time when available, as it is considered a relatively easy way for them to generate big winnings. The Free Odds bet is probably the most powerful one in the game of craps. This type of wager, however, could not be used freely. Players are required to have placed a Pass/Don’t Pass bet or a Come/Don’t Come bet in order to take advantage of the Free Odds bet.
The working of Free Odds Bet
As already mentioned above, the Free Odds bet is required to be used in conjunction with another bet. If any of the “craps numbers” (2, 3 or 12) is rolled by the shooter, then a point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) must be established. The same also applies in case that a 7 or an 11 comes out. Once the point is established, players are provided with the chance to access the Pass/Don’t Pass or Come/Don’t Come bets.
Players must remember that they are allowed to place a wager on the Free Odds bet in multiples of their initial bet amount used in the flat bet. Most casinos feature multiples of 1x, 2x or 3x, but there are some casinos that allow players to place wagers that are 10, 50 and even 100 times bigger in comparison to the original odds bets. Normally, the larger the wager on the Odds bet, the lower the house advantage is.
The odds bet wins when the point number comes out before a 7 is rolled by the shooter. Players, however, should bear in mind that the number 7 is the most frequently rolled number, followed by 6 and 8. Then, there are 9 and 5, and 4 and 10 that are the least frequent of the point numbers.
The odds on Pass Line Bet
Players are allowed to “take odds” when they have made a Pass Line bet. The Odds bet can be used whenever there is a point and represents the player’s belief that the shooter will make his point. The payout depends on the player’s point for the pass line bet.
The payout ratio of 6 and 8 is 6:5, while 5 and 9 pay out 3:2. The least frequent point numbers – 4 and 10 – pay out 2:1 odds. These ratios, however, are applied when it comes to the Free Odds bet alone. The original Pass/Don’t Pass and Come/Don’t Come line bet are still to be paid 1:1 in case that the Odds bet wins.
When taking the odds on a Pass Line bet, the player needs to put their check right behind the Pass Line bet. In addition, the Free Odds bet can be increased, decreased or removed at any time when there is a point for the pass line.
Odds on Don’t Pass Bets
When choosing the Don’t Pass bet, the player bets against the numbers 7 and 11, and is considered being at a disadvantage, as there is a total of eight combinations of these numbers that could cause the don’t pass bet to lose. At the same time, there are only three combinations of 2 or 3 that could help them win. This, however, changes once the shooter has established a point.
When a point is established, the advantage passes to the player who has chosen the Don’t Pass bet, so they must “lay” odds in case they want to bet more money on the probability that the shooter would not make their point.
Odds on Come Bets
You can take advantage of the Free Odds bet in cases when you have originally used a Come bet. So, in cases of Come bets, players take odds in a way that is very much alike taking odds on Pass Line bets. However, there is one major difference, which is such bets are not self-service ones, which means that communication between the dealer and the player will be required.
So, players would have to tell the dealer exactly what they would like to do in order for them to make such a bet. In addition, they are provided with the opportunity to reduce, increase or totally remove their odds bet at any time by telling the dealer what they would like to do.
In addition, players should be aware of the fact that odds taken on Come bets are automatically off when it comes to the come-out roll.
Odds on Don’t Come Bets
Laying Odds on Don’t Come bets looks almost exactly like laying the odds on Don’t Pass bets, but they are not self-service bets, too. In case they would like to Lay odds on their Don’t Come bet, players will need the assistance of the dealer.
You are also allowed to make changes to their bet, by increasing, decreasing or removing it. In order to do such a thing, they would have to communicate with the dealer once again and tell them what to do.
The five basic rules in Craps to follow when playing a Free Odds Bet
Now that you have understood about the free odds bet, the Free Odds exponential betting is basically a Pass/Come strategy designed to be played on 20X – 100X odds games with a Free Odds progressive betting schedule attached. There are certain rules to follow when playing a Free Odds Exponential Betting Strategy in the game of Craps as explained by dice control and betting strategies for casino Craps.
- You should make a Pass Line or Come bet on every roll of the dice. This bet gives up one of the lowest house edges. If you do not make this bet you are not getting paid on the 7 or 11. These natural wins – even on a loss – reduce the house edge to 1.4%.
- Never take odds until the second number has been established. By doing this you are taking advantage of the 2/3 disadvantage the player has on the first roll of the dice. A second roll seven would result in a draw or push in this case. By placing any other bets before this you are heading for ruin much faster and giving up a much higher house edge.
- Also when the second number has been established take five times odds on both of the numbers you have established and every number rolled after that.
- After each repeater press your bet by no more than 20% to 25% of the previous bet. For example – $25 odds would be pressed to $30. This way you are taking moneys off the table and putting it in your rack.
- Always work with four or more established numbers. It takes at least two established numbers to overcome the six ways to make a seven. Remember, there are six ways to make a seven for a loss. You might establish the four and nine as Come bet points on your second and third tosses. There are four ways to make a nine and three ways to make a four, for a total of 7 ways to win. So you have seven ways to win versus six ways to lose. Though sounds good, but typically you will need three to four repeaters to have a winning game. In a worst case scenario, you may have all six box numbers established as points without a repeater. You have huge exposure at this point. However, you’ll have 24 ways to win versus six ways to lose, for a four to one win ratio. Just remember that one seven wipes out the other six numbers.