Craps Strategy Video Information:

The odds bet in craps has a house edge of zero. How does the casino earn money on this bet? The surprising answer is that they don’t. In the long run, they break even on the odds bet, and so will the player.

So that the casino can still earn some money, it limits the size of your odds bet to a multiple of your Pass bet. The pass bet has a 1.4% house edge.

A generous casino allows an odds bet up to 10 times your Pass bet, or 10X. A stingy casino sets the limit at 1X, equal to your Pass bet. Most casinos have a limit of 3X-4X-5X; the multiple depends on the point thrown:

Point — Max Odds — payout ratio

4 3X 6:3 (=2:1)
5 4X 6:4 (=3:2)
6 5X 6:5

8 5X 6:5
9 4X 6:4 (=3:2)
10 3X 6:3 (=2:1)

So if you always place the maximum odds bet, you’ll win 6X your Pass bet plus 1X on the Pass bet itself, OR you will lose your odds bet of 3X, 4X, or 5X your Pass bet and your original Pass bet.

The house edge for the odds bet is zero, and for the $10 Pass bet, it’s 1.4%, or a total of 14 cents.

If you’re playing for comps, the casino gives you no comp credit for odds bets. And why should they? The casino earns no money on them. On average, they earn 14 cents on the $10 Pass bet and nothing on the odds bet.

The odds bets that I’ve described so far have a less than a 50-50 chance of winning, but pay more than 1 to 1 when you win. Would you rather have a BETTER chance of winning than 50-50, and still have a zero house edge? If so, you can lay the odds on the Don’t Pass bet. That’s the subject of Part 3:

Source: YouTube