In most of the common casino games all the bets have the same house edge. That is over the long run players can expect the same level of winnings from any of the bets. Hence it does not matter which bet players opt for. But this is not true for craps. In craps there are a large number of bets with varying house edges. It is common sense to avoid bets that have high house edges because that is like gifting money to the casino. Therefore the bets with high house edges are known as ‘sucker bets’. But new players who are not aware of the house edges are drawn to the sucker bets for two reasons. One reason is that they are simple to understand and execute. The other reason is that they are packaged with exotic names.
Some of the sucker bets are discussed below. "Craps" is the bet that has given the game its name and for that reason alone it is a popular bet. The bet wins if a 2, 3 or 12 are rolled. There are four ways to win this bet and 32 ways to lose. The correct odds for this bet should be 8 to 1 but casinos payout at 7 to 1. This leads to a house edge of over 11%. Another extremely popular bet is "Any 7". This bet wins if a 7 is rolled. This bet is popular because 7 is the most frequently rolled total. There are six ways to win this bet and thirty ways to lose. The correct odds for this bet should be 5 to 1 but casinos payout at 4 to 1. This leads to a house edge of over 16%. The "Field Bet" is also a much advertised bet in craps. The bet wins if a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 are rolled and loses if any of the other four numbers is rolled. Since seven numbers win and four numbers lose players tend to favor this bet. But the crux of the matter is that the losing numbers are rolled more often. There are sixteen ways to win this bet and twenty ways to lose. The correct odds for this bet should be 5 to 4 but casinos pay out at even money. This leads to a house edge of over 5%.
A slightly more difficult sucker bet is the "Horn Bet". In this bet an identical chip is placed on 2, 3, 11 and 12. At best only one chip can win but all four can lose. Actually these four numbers are the worst numbers to bet on because they individually have the worst house edges. Packaging them into one common bet and giving it a new name does not change anything. This bet has a house edge of over 11%.
Compared to these house edges, blackjack offers a house edge of around 1% and European roulette offers a house edge of less than 3%. This makes clear why the craps bets discussed are sucker bets and should be avoided. |
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