Craps (version 2) – Part 2 of 5
Mike: Hi, my name is Mike Shackleford, otherwise known as the Wizard of Odds. I'm here with my favorite dealer, Angela Wyman.
Angela: Hey.
Mike: And this is Part Two of my Series on Craps. You can watch Part One which was all about the Pass Line and Come Bets, by Clicking Here.
In this Part Two, we're going to be talking about Betting the Numbers and the Field Bet. All right.
Question 1 - [00:29]
Angela: All right, I'm ready. All right Mike, there's a whole section of this table that you haven't explained to me yet. What is the Field?
Mike: Okay. The field bet, unlike every other bet we've talked about so far is a bet that's resolved in just one roll, every single time, no exceptions.
It pays, if the next roll is a two, three, four, nine, 10, 11 or 12, and it loses on all the other numbers. In addition, it pays two to one, on a two, and three to one, on a 12, if you're playing in a generous casino. All the other wins pay even money and again, all the other numbers lose. This is a very popular bet, its right here big in everyone's reach. So it's a frequently made bet.
So the House Advantage, if they pay three to one on the 12, is 2.78%, which is a lot better than a lot of the other bets, it's not the best of bets, it's not so worse, it's kind of in the middle. I personally don't bet it, but I don't begrudge anyone else who does. So let's give it a try.
Angela: All right.
Mike: So I'm going to bet $10 on the Field and you can just throw it out there, you don't need to get the dealer's attention.
Angela: Okay. Thank you. [Dice rolls]
Dan: Nine, Centerfield.
Mike: Okay. So, nine pays even money. And much like betting the numbers, the dealer is going to assume- well actually because you can easily reach here, you can do whatever you want.
Let's keep it going.
Angela: Okay.
Dan: Nine, Centerfield again.
Angela: Nine. [Laughs]
Mike: Another nine. I am feeling good, so I'm going to press long bets and let it ride.
Angela: Oh, I'll do the same.
Mike: Very good.
Dan: Six, no field six.
Mike: All right. Well, so that's pretty much all there is to say about the field bet. Again 2.78% House Advantage, if the 12 pays three to one, some of the stingier casinos in Vegas only pay two to one on the 12, that doubles the House Advantage to 5.6%. My advice is, if you like betting the field, play at a casino that pays the four way, the three to one on the 12. As a little bit of trivia, they do it backwards up in Northern Nevada. There they pay three to one on the two instead of the 12. But either way as long as you're getting three to one, on one of the other, you're in good shape on the field. And yes, that's all there is to say about that.
Question 2 - [03:18]
Angela: Okay. I've heard people talking about Place Bets or Buying a Number or just take a number and I don't understand what that means at all. [Laughs]
Mike: Okay. Let me explain it. Craps players tend to be impatient people and often they don't want to wait on a come bet to for a point to be established, they want to bet on a number immediately and you can do that in Craps. And I'm going to tell you how. It's called Betting the Numbers.
In my old Craps video, you may have heard me refer to it as By Bets and Place Bets, but people don't really use that parlance anymore now, you just bet the numbers, you just tell the dealer what numbers you want to bet and they will give you the correct odds if you win.
Angela: Okay.
Mike: Now let me emphasize that it's really important to put it in the right incriminates on all these bets, because if you don't and the dealer you will get rounded down. And that will significantly increase the House Advantage. A good dealer will warn you if you don't bet in the correct amounts, but not every dealer is a good dealer. And I will tell you, a good way to get the dealers on your side is to tip.
Angela: Yes. Yes. Frequently and often. [Laughs]
Mike: Yes. I have nothing against tipping.
Angela: No, you don't. You're quite generous that way. [Laughs]
Mike: Thank you. So let's talk about betting the six and the eight first, which has a nice low House Advantage of 1.52%. And the way that works is, it's a very simple bet. For example, betting a six, is betting that a six will be rolled before seven. Much like as pass line or a come bet on the six. Except you're going right to that number immediately. And again, it pays seven to six because it's more likely to roll a seven than a six, so they're rewarding you with getting paid more than even money.
So the mathematically speaking again, the House Advantage is 1.52% which for a casino game is pretty low. It's not as good as the pass on the come bets at 1.41%, it's just a little bit higher. So I'm not going to bite anyone's head off, if I see them make a place bet on the six or the eight.
Angela: All right.
Mike: Okay. So let's give it try. How about we bet on both of them?
Angela: Yes.
Mike: $6 on each. So this is how we would say it, we would tell the dealer. I'll take the six of the eight for $6 each.
Angela: Okay.
Mike: Angela, we already have a pass line bet and the point was a ten and we may place bets on the six of the eight. So let's try to roll a six or an eight.
Angela: All right. [Rolls dice]
Dan: Four easy.
Mike: Okay. So nothing happens there because we didn't bet the four. And try again.
Angela: All right. Six or eight. [Chuckles]
Dan: Eight easy.
Mike: All right, you did it.
Angela: Yay, my number. [Chuckles]
Mike: So you can see that the dealer paid you $7 because our $6 win seven. And the way place bets work is the dealer assumes that you want to remake that bet. So he only pays your winnings and he assumes that you're going to let your original bet leave it alone on the table. You can always say, “Take Me Down,” which means, “Give me my original bet back again, I don't want to bet it again.” But most players, if a bet wins, they're going to bet it again. So you don't see that happening very often. So they just assume that you want to keep a winning bet going.
Angela: Okay.
Mike: So pick up your winning $7 and again, six or eight are the points.
Angela: All right. Nice.
Dan: Six easy.
Mike: All right, you just hit the six, so we're going to get another $7 there, and we're still covered.
Angela: All right. Thank you.
Dan: Eight hard.
[Mike:All right, you hit another one. It's your lucky day.
Angela: It is. I like this, I can just keep winning.
Mike: Yes, that's a great thing about Craps.
Angela: I love this game.[Laughs]
Dan: Out, seven.
Angela: Aw.
Mike: All right, well that's the bad thing about Craps, it's good until it's not. And those sevens cause most bets to lose but it has to happen eventually.
Question 3 - [08:04]
Angela: Okay. So how does betting the five and nine work then?
Mike: It works much the same way as betting the six and the eight. The odds are different, instead of paying seven to six as you do on the six and the eight, it pays seven to five, which is more, but it's harder to win those bets, that's why it pays more. Mathematically speaking, the House Advantage, betting the five in the nine is 4% which is significantly higher than the 1.52% on the six and the eight, this is why you see a lot of people bet only by the six and the eight. So you should always bet in increments of $5 on those. Again, bet an increment of $6 on the six and the eight, bet in $5 comments on the five and the nine.
Just for the sake of covering everything, again, 4% House Advantage on the five and the nine. I don't recommend it, but let's do it anyway for the sake of example.
So that way I might actually make the bet is, I would put my bets here in the middle of the table and say to the dealer, I'd like the five and the nine, please.
Dan: No problem. Five and nine is the bet.
[Angela: All right. Same bet, please. Five and nine.
Dan: Five and nine, it's a bet.
Angela: Thank you.
Mike: Okay, shooter, try to roll a five and nine.
Angela: All right. [Laughs] All right. [Rolls the dice]
Dan: 11.
Mike: Okay, so nothing happens there.
Angela: Okay. I like these nothing happens, so I get to roll the dice. [Laughs]
Mike: Yes, it's free entertainment.
Angela: It is. All right, here we go.
Dan: Nine, Centerfield.
Angela: Yay. Okay.
Mike: You did it. So, much like last time, the dealer is only going to pair winnings and assume we want to keep our original bet up. So collect your $7 of winnings and try to get another five or nine.
Angela: All right. [Rolls the dice]
Dan: Five.
Angela: Yay.
Mike: All right. You did it. So here's another $7 coming our way. And again, the magic numbers are five and nine.
Dan: Six, easy way.
Mike: Okay. Nothing happens there.
Dan: Seven, out.
Mike: All right. All good things have to come to an end, but we had a good run there.
Angela: Yes. [Laughs] And cocktails on me.
[Laughter]
Question 4 - [10:41]
Angela: Well, that just leaves the four and the ten. How do I play those?
Mike: Okay. The four and the ten are little bit more complicated. The way it works is they pay two to one odds if you win, but you must pay a 5% commission based on the bet amount. So 5% of $20 nicely works to $1. So you should always bet in increments of $20. However, there's an exception to that I'll get to later. But 20 is the magic number, bet an increments of $20 on the four and the ten, it will pay two to one odds. So if you were to bet $20 exactly, your net win would be $39 because you would get two times 20, $40 on the win but you would owe a dollar commission, so you would get paid $39.
And the way it actually works at the table, is the dealer will give you the $40 and you give the dealer a single.
Angela: Okay. Sure.
Mike: All right. So let's do an example. So I would like to- so get $40 and if you would say something like, I would like to bet the four and the ten, please.
Dan: Certainly, four and ten.
Mike: And it's implied that you want to bet the same amount on each number.
Angela: Okay. Thank you, I was going to ask. [Laughs]
Mike: Angela, you're the shooter.
Angela: All right.
Mike: Four and ten are the magic numbers.
Angela: Four and ten it is.
Dan: Four, easy.
Angela: Oh. [Laughs]
Mike: All right, that was quick. Okay. So, I anticipate paying my commission already. So I'm just going to put it out here. And the dealer will know that I'm paying my 5% commission with that dollar and he gives us the full 40.
Angela: I love this.
Mike: And much like betting all the other numbers, he assumes we want to keep that going. So he's only paying us the winnings, not the original bet back. So we don't need to bother betting it again.
All right, again, four and ten, shooter.
Angela: All right.
Dan: Ten, hard ten.
Mike: You did it again, what are the odds.
Angela: You would know.
[Laughter]
Mike: All right. Get your commission out there, so the dealer doesn't have to bother asking.
Angela: Thank you.
Mike: All right. Let's keep it going.
Angela: All right. Thank you.
Dan: Five, no field.
Mike: So nothing happens there.
Dan: No roll.
Angela: [laughs]
Mike: No roll.
Dan: No good in the wood.
Mike: Yes, it must land in the table to count.
Angela: [Laughs] I will try again. [Laughs]
Dan: Ten easy.
Mike: You hit the again. So that's another $39 our way. So we paid our commission and you're good to go.
Angela: All right. Thank you.
Dan: Out, seven.
Mike: All right. Like I said before, it had to end eventually, but we had a great run there.
Angela: Yes. Thank you for explaining that part, Mike.
Mike: My pleasure.
Question 5 - [14:14]
Angela: But there's always an exception. And you mentioned that there's an exception about betting 25.
Mike: Right. So the general rule is you want to bet an increments of $20 on the four and the ten. However, there is a little not so well kept secret, that if you bet exactly $25, normally 5% percent commission on that would be a dollar 25. But the dealers will nicely round that down to just a dollar. So you can bet $25, it will pay the full 50 if you win and you'll still only owe a dollar commission. Really you should owe a dollar 25 but they're nice and make it just a buck.
Angela: Okay.
Mike: And that lowers the House Advantage from 1.67%, if you bet it increments of 20 to 1.33% on exactly a bet of 25 on the four, ten.
Question 6 - [15:11]
Angela: Okay. I understand now. So, thank you, I really appreciate you explaining to me the Field and how to place a number of bets. You realize, there's still half a table that I don't understand. There's Horn bets and all these other numbers, and can you explain those too?
Mike: I would be happy to. The only thing we have left to cover, is everything in the middle of the table here.
I will tell you real quickly right now they're all Sucker Bets. You should stay away from them, but I still want to go in detail what they are anyway, just because I'm sure you're curious. And I will do that all in Part three of my Craps videos.
And again, if any of this you didn't understand, it's all on my website wizardofodds.com.