Craps Odds - What are These Craps Odds?
It is important to understand some of the basic math behind craps odds in order to place more effective bets.
There are many things you need to know about craps odds in order to place the most effective bets. It can seem quite intimidating to a novice, but if you take the time to learn a little bit about craps and craps odds before you play your first game at a live craps table, you will find that it is much easier than you thought. You can either read tutorials on the subject, or practice by playing craps online.
What are Odds?
There are many things you need to know about craps odds in order to place the most effective bets. It can seem quite intimidating to a novice, but if you take the time to learn a little bit about craps and craps odds before you play your first game at a live craps table, you will find that it is much easier than you thought. You can either read tutorials on the subject, or practice by playing craps online.
Don’t Shoot Me, I’m the Craps Player!
Odds are the likelihood of a specific outcome based on statistical probabilities. For example, when rolling one die, the odds are one in six that any of the numbers will come up.
Odds are often expressed as one of two kinds of numbers. For example, the preceding odds could be written either as a ratio 1:6 (read as one in six) or expressed as a decimal fraction such as 0.1667 (which is 1 divided by 6). Most casinos show the odds as a ratio, as this is easier for non-mathematically minded players. The decimal fraction is preferred when computing the expected winnings against payout tables, since the decimal fraction can more easily be multiplied by the expected winnings.
Craps Odds - The Dice
The following will show the odds of rolling specific numbers when throwing two dice, as is done in a craps game. Because there are multiple ways that the same number can result from two dice, the odds for rolling different numbers are different. For example, two can only be rolled by snake-eyes - a one on each die. There is only one combination of two dice that results in a two, out of the 36 possible ways (6 times 6) of throwing two dice. Four, however, can be achieved with a one and a three on either die, or with twos on both dice, which is a total of three different ways of achieving each number, so the odds are three in 36 (or to simplify it, 1:12). 1:12 odds can also be expressed as 11 to 1 odds (11 chances out of 12) against that happening. The odds shown in the list below are reflected as ratios as explained above.
- Two is 1:36
- Three is 2:36 or 1:18
- Four is 3:36 or 1:12
- Five is 4:36 or 1:9
- Six is 5:36
- Seven is 6:36 or 1:6
- Eight is 5:36
- Nine is 4:36 or 1:9
- Ten is 3:36 or 1:12
- Eleven is 2:36 or 1:18
- Twelve is 1:36
What is the House Edge?
The house edge is the profit that a casino makes on the difference between true odds and what the house (the casino) pays out. For example, if the house pays $15 on a $1 bet that the shooter will roll an eleven, they will be making a profit. The odds for throwing an eleven are 17 to 1. In order for the house to only break even, instead of profiting, they would need to pay out $18 - this is the $17 from the odds, and the $1 that was bet would also be returned to the player. No casino would offer break even odds because they would not be able to pay their operating costs, and would be unable to continue to offer craps games at these odds.
It is important to find out what the house edge is when calculating what the craps odds are for any particular game.