Are free odds at the craps table free? 4b6g16

10 May 2025

By Jerry Stickman

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When calculating the house edge of craps bets, it is common to include the odds portion of a craps , don’t , come and don’t come bets. The base portion of those bets are subject to a house edge of 1.4 percent, meaning that over time the base portion will lose $1.40 for every $100 bet.

The odds portion, however, is paid at true odds – assuming the amount bet is a proper multiple. For example, the true odds against a 6 or 8 appearing before a 7 is six to five. Therefore, the odds bet must be a multiple of five to win six dollars – a five-dollar odds bet wins six dollars, a 10-dollar bet wins 12 dollars, etc. A three-dollar odds bet on a 6 or 8 would only win three dollars.

Over time there is no house edge on the odds portion of a craps bet. The odds bet is often referred to as “free odds” because of this. But is this bet truly free.

When players hear the word “free,” they sometimes erroneously assume that the money placed as odds is not at risk.

In any casino game, all money bet is at risk.

If you bet 10 dollars on the line with no odds, the house edge is 14 cents – over time. You may lose 10 hands in a row for a loss of 100 dollars. If you chose to also add an odds bet of 100 dollars, for a total of 110 dollars bet, those lost 10 hands would cost you 1,100 dollars.

On the flip side, if the ten 10-dollar hands were winners, you would win 100 dollars with no odds bet. With the addition of a 100-dollar odds bet, you would win 1,300 dollars.

Over time (thousands and thousands of decisions) you would lose six times for every five times you win and would end up losing, on average, 14 cents for each hand played – the house edge on the 10-dollar base portion.

Adding odds to the base bet increases variance (or volatility) – the severity of swings in the bankroll. This means a larger bankroll is required as the odds bet is increased.

Regular craps players already know this. They know they must have a larger stake to add odds bets.

“Free odds” are not free. They add excitement to the wins and the anxiety to the losses, but they do impact the bankroll in the short run. When it comes to casino play, beware of falling into casino traps.

As always, may all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and tiny.

Jerry “Stickman”

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines and 888casino.com. He authored the video poker section of Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker! You can Jerry “Stickman” at [email protected]
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