Beginner craps players, if you can remember only one bet, make it the pass line bet. This is the starting bet for all craps games and has one of the lowest house edges at 1.41% and highest odds of landing (251 to 244 to be exact). This is one of the best bets craps players can make, with payout odds of 1 to 1. The Pass Line is the most popular casino craps strategy. It gives a low house edge of 1.41% though this declines as the odds change. Usually, the house edge stands at 0.8% in single odds, 0.6% in 2x odds, 0.4% in 3x, 4x, 5x odds, 0,3% in 5x odds, 0,2% in 10x and 0.02 for casinos that offer 100x odds.
A craps game starts with a come out roll. The player making this roll must make a bet that meets the table minimum on either the pass line or don’t pass. The stickman pushes the dice to this player and there is a roll. The dice must hit the back wall to count.
This is the most powerful bet in all of craps. In order to play the free odds bet, you must have wagered on the pass line bet or the come bet. If the shooter has not rolled a craps number (2, 3, or 12) or a 7 or 11, then there must be a point number established (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10). Once the point has been established, players can have access to the pass odds bet or come odds bet (also just known as free odds).
Players may wager on the free odds bet in multiples of their original pass/come bet amount. Most casinos allow multiples of 1x, 2x, or 3x. Casinos in Las Vegas for example will allow players to wager 10x, 50x and even 100x odds bets. The rule of thumb is this: The more money you bet on the odds bet, the lower the house edge becomes in your overall pass/come bet that you originally made.
The odds bet itself pays out true odds, meaning there is a 0% (yes zero) house edge. There is not a single game you will ever find at the casino that will offer no house edge. It is as if you are betting head or tails on the flip of a coin. This means totally fair odds. This bet wins when the shooter rolls the point number before a 7.
Remember, the number 7 is the most frequently rolled number. Then 6 and 8 are the next two frequent, followed by 9 and 5, then 4 and 10 with the least frequent of the point numbers. The 6 and 8 pay out 6:5 or $6 for every $5 wagered. 5 and 9 pay out 3:2. 4 and 10 pay out 2:1 odds. Note that these payouts are only for the odds bet. The original Pass/Come line bet will still be paid 1:1 if it wins.
I will explain the bet using the image below. First I made a pass line bet and the shooter rolled a 4 on the come out roll. The number 4 become the point number (noted by the puck that now says 'ON'). Then the dealer moved my chips up to that area of the layout and I made a 1x multiplier free odds bet (so there are two $88 chip stacks now), which gets placed right next to the chips that the dealer moved up there. I will win both bets if the dealer rolls another 4.