I love to bet on sports. It’s been my favorite way to gamble since I learned what gambling was. When I’m in a casino and looking for a traditional casino game to play I always look to the craps table first. Craps is, by far, my favorite casino game.
The combination of a small house advantage and fun environment are intoxicating. A few years ago, I wrote an open letter to craps letting it know how about my feelings. Since the time, my passion for rolling the dice has grown more than I could have imagined.
When I’m in a casino I really want to play the games where I can limit the casino’s house edge. Depending on what bets you make in craps, the house edge can be almost zero percent. Yes, there are craps bets with a house edge of around 20 percent but I don’t concern myself with those bets.
ODDS
The best bet you can make in the casino is taking free odds on your passline bet. The passline is essentially the bet that gets you in the game on the first roll (aka come out roll). Once the first roll makes a point, your passline bet will win if that number comes up again before a seven. Playing the odds is when you place additional money behind your passline bet. The casino pays the true odds on this bet and it has no house edge. These free odds are your best bet in the casino. When you combine the free odds with your passline bet, you almost have a bet with no house edge for the casino.
The worst free odds you’ll find in a Vegas casino are 2x odds. The house edge on a 2x passline bet is about 0.00572. It’s pretty great that these odds are the worst case scenario. Understanding the house edge in 2x odds is important. If you don’t want to max your odds at tables that offer more at least, you know that the house edge is small when you play 2x odds.
Most craps games on the Las Vegas Strip have 3x-4x-5x odds. This means you can place 5x odds if the point is 6 or 8, 4x odds if the point is 5 or 9 or 3x odds if the point is 4 or 10. The house edge on 3x-4x-5x odds is 0.00374.
The Vegas Strip casinos seem to always be looking to decrease your odds in most games but this remains one of the best bets in the casino. It’s also one of the most affordable. Even with $15 limits you’re still under $100 for a passline bet with max odds.
My favorite casinos to play craps are in Downtown Vegas at the Golden Gate, The D and El Cortez. Their craps games are 10x odds. The house edge on full 10x odds is only 0.00184. 10x odds in a craps game is the sweet spot for me. It's great that my favorite downtown casinos offer these odds.
I can make a $5 passline bet and afford full odds since it’s only $50. Not only am I playing a game with almost no house edge but I feel like a high roller being one of the few people with max odds. Win big or go home baby!
Main Street Station and Casino Royale have 20x odds but the 0.00099 house edge doesn’t seem worth risking another $50 per roll. Besides the larger bet with minimal returns, I prefer the atmosphere at the other casinos. As I mentioned earlier, the vibe at the table is a major part of the experience playing craps.
ATMOSPHERE
A major part of my romance with craps is the atmosphere at a craps table. Everyone is standing up and a bit more attentive than every other game in the casino.
Having players who are more alert leads to more excitement. There’s no loafing around the craps table. If something good happens, you’ll hear about it. You’ll generally hear roars in a casino from two areas - the sportsbook and the craps tables. It’s probably not a coincidence that these are my favorite places.
The Golden Gate casino is a small casino with low ceilings. This may be claustrophobic for some but the low ceiling also contains the excitement from the table and creates a vibe unlike most spots. The music at the Golden Gate is loud and since the room is so small, the drink service is fast. This is a combustible combination and it’s a rush unlike any other casino.
