Free Odds

The odds don't get any better than this.

Free odds are played differently than other bets at the craps table. You wont find it marked on the board anywhere. In effect it's a process of backing up other bets you've already made on the table. Pass line bets, come bets, and their counterparts, don't pass and don't come bets are the only ones you are allowed to back with free odds.

These bets all possess a negative expectation (the odds are against you), just like every other bet in the casino. But when you back these bets with 'free odds', the portion of your bet that was placed as free odds, is paid back as a fair bet. The house edge on the odds portion of your bet is effectively zero percent. But what does it mean to 'back your bet' with free odds? To back your pass line bet you take a multiple of your original bet and place it behind your pass line bet, already on the table.

You can't place your free odds bet right away, only after a point has been set. Similarly, placing free odds on a come bet can only occur after your come point has been set.

If you are playing craps online, your free odds bet may need to be placed differently, according to the software you're using. In Virtual-Craps.com's game your pass line bet is moved up to the point number after the point is set. In order to back the bet with odds you need to click directly beside the bet, once it has moved.

Free Odds are as important to get your head around as the basic pass line bet. Remember, you can place free odds on the pass line bet, the don't pass bet, and both the come and don't come bets. Typically a casino will let you place anywhere from two to five times your original wager in odds. This means if your pass line bet is $5, and the odds limit is 3x (or three times), you can place up to $15 in free odds behind your bet. The difference? The pass line bet alone has a house edge against it of about 1.45%, but the pass line bet with odds, overall, only has a house edge of about 0.47%. This comes from the fact that the casino doesn't short change you at all when you win, as they do with other bets.

Always take your odds, forgetting costs you money.