More Fun (and Profitable) than Blackjack

I’ve been studying gambling lately.

Do you know what the best odds are in Las Vegas?

Here’s a the top 10:

1. Blackjack

• House Edge: ~0.5% (with basic strategy)

• Odds of Winning: ~49%

2. Craps (Pass Line Bet)

• House Edge: 1.41%

• Odds of Winning: ~49.3%

3. Baccarat (Banker Bet)

• House Edge: 1.06%

• Odds of Winning: ~50.7%

4. Baccarat (Player Bet)

• House Edge: 1.24%

• Odds of Winning: ~49.3%

5. French Roulette (Single Zero, La Partage Rule)

• House Edge: 1.35%

• Odds of Winning (Even Money Bets): ~48.65%

6. Video Poker (Jacks or Better, Full Pay 9/6)

• House Edge: ~0.46% (optimal play)

• Odds of Winning: Varies, but near 99.5% RTP

7. Pai Gow Poker

• House Edge: ~1.46%

• Odds of Winning: ~48.5%

8. Craps (Don’t Pass/Don’t Come Bet)

• House Edge: 1.36%

• Odds of Winning: ~49.3%

9. Ultimate Texas Hold’em

• House Edge: ~2.2% (optimal strategy)

• Odds of Winning: ~50%

10. Spanish 21 (a type of blackjack variation that offers more favorable rules for the player but is played with a 48-card deck (all 10s removed). This game has a lower house edge (~0.4%) when played with optimal strategy and offers bonus payouts for specific hands.

• House Edge: ~0.4% (optimal play)

• Odds of Winning: ~48-49%

Did you notice that Craps appears twice on this list?

What makes Craps so appealing (to smart bettors) are the “free odds” you can place on certain bets.  

Taking advantage of these “free odds” reduces the house edge to below that of Blackjack!

Blackjack house edge = .5% - this assumes you know how to play perfectly and don’t make any mistakes.

Craps house edge with “free odds” = .47% - you can let the dice do all the work, and you only need to understand TWO bets. 

What makes Craps so unappealing (to almost everyone who doesn’t know how to play) is how complicated it seems.

But (smart) beginner craps players only need to focus on two bets.  

1. The Pass Line Bet - let’s say $10.  
2. Free odds on this pass line bet - I strive for triple odds if the casino allows, in this case I plunk down $30 down behind my $10 bet once a point is established.  
3. Come Bets - and placing the same free odds on those come bets too. This is just another pass line bet allowing the dice to pick future points and placing the same $10 wager with $30 odds backing it up.    
4. 
   

Freely ignore every other bet on a craps table.  

Ignore Hard 8’s and Hard 6’s, they are fun but the house edge is over 9%.  

Ignore Yo 11’s, they seem fun but the house edge is over 11%

Another tip when playing Craps is to have enough of a bankroll. You want about 5-7x your bet cycle. Your bet cycle is the total amount you have in action during each roll.  

This is so you can withstand cold rolls, get comfortable, have time to learn and absorb the action, and hopefully encounter a “hot roll”. The greatest profits in Craps are from hot rolls lasting a long time.  

A hot roll is defined as hitting “a point” 3 or more times. During the process of hitting these points you will hit several other numbers, hopefully the ones you are betting on!

If you’re betting $10 on the pass line, backing it up with triple odds ($30), plus betting two come bets, that’s 3 bets working on every roll for a total $120.  

So you need between $600 to $800 to find your groove and hopefully find a hot roller.  

Here’s the best thing about craps, and taking advantage of those “free odds”.  

Each time you hit your point, or one of your come bet numbers is rolled, you’ll win back your $10 plus another $46 to $70 (on the $30 bet) depending on which number hits.   

Here’s the easiest way to figure out how odds payout on bets, because this has always confused me.  

You take your bet ($10) and divide it by the first number in the odds.  

Let’s say the odds are 30:1.

$10 x 30 = $300.

Then divide that total by the second number in the odds, in this case it’s a 1.

$300 / 1 = $300.  

So the payout on a $10 bet won with 30:1 odds is $300.  

If your point is a 4 or 10 those numbers pay 2:1 odds and you will win $60 on your $30 free odds bet + your original $10 at even money for a total of $70 total.

If the point is a 5 or 9 those numbers pay 3:2 odds and you will win $45 on your $30 free odds bet + your original $10 at even money for a total of $55 total.

If the point is a 6 or 8 those numbers pay 6:5 odds and you will win $36 on your $30 free odds bet + your original $10 at even money for a total of $46 total.  

The odds vary because each number has a different number of combinations, for example, there are only 2 ways to roll a 4 or a 10. So the odds payout higher than the other numbers. 

The only odds you’ll see near this good in Blackjack is when you hit the rare “BlackJack” or 21.  

At most casinos Blackjacks pays out 3:2 odds.  

Or, if you bet $10 you will win $15 for a total of $25. 

A hot roll on a craps table, while taking advantage of these simple bets should yield you several hundred dollars. Even more if you smartly increase your bets during this hot roll.  

After a hot roll, walk away! Go buy a beer! Enjoy your success and winnings for another day. 

My favorite book that I’ve read a dozen times and explains this game so anybody can understand is Casino Craps: Simple Strategies for Playing Smart, Lowering Risk, and Winning More by Robert R Roto.

Check it out at this amazon link: https://amzn.to/3CASpV9

To your success!

Shane

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