The Field Bet in Online Casino Craps

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The Field Bet is one of the many wagers that players can place in the game of craps. It is one of the more popular wagers because of its simplicity. However it is also deceptive in a sense. Therefore it is essential that players understand this wager completely before employing it.

The simplicity of the Field Bet stems from two reasons. The first reason is that the bet can be placed anytime. It can be placed before the come out roll or after the point is established. Players need not keep such factors in mind. The second reason for the simplicity is that the bet is decided in a single roll. The player places the wagers, the dice are rolled and the player either wins or loses. The wager is not carried forward.

In online casinos the chips for the Field Bet are placed in the field box which is a huge area marked out on the layout. It has the text "Field" inscribed and the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12 listed in a row. The numbers 2 and 12 are circled. If any of the numbers listed in the field box show up on the dice then the player wins and if any other number shows up then the player loses. The payouts for all the winning numbers are not the same. The numbers 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 pay out at even money. The numbers 2 and 12 pay out at 2 to 1. This is the reason for circling 2 and 12. In some online casinos either 2 or 12 pays out at 3 to 1.

Newbie players are often deceived by the Field Bet. There are 11 possible numbers that can be rolled with two dice in a game of craps. Seven of these numbers result in a win in the Field Bet. Four of these numbers result in a loss in the Field Bet. Hence uninitiated players argue that the chance of winning is almost twice that of losing. However this argument is fallacious. Players have to consider how many ways each number can be rolled. The losing numbers (which are 5, 6, 7 and 8) have many more ways in which they can be rolled than the other numbers. The total number of outcomes of the two dice is 36. The four losing numbers can be rolled in 20 ways and the eleven winning numbers can be rolled only in 16 ways. Since 2 and 12 pay out at 2 to 1 it is equivalent to 18 winning ways as against 20 losing ways. This gives a house edge of 5.55%. There are other bets in online craps that have a much lower house edge. In any event if a player is willing to settle for such a high house edge he should be playing online slots were at least he can hope for very high payouts and have a lot of fun in the bargain.

If at all players want to wager on the Field Bet they should locate online casinos that offer a payout of 3 to 1 for either 2 or 12. This reduces the house edge to 2.7%. At this level the house edge is still higher than that offered by the best bets in craps. But it can be accepted for wagering occasionally and with smaller amounts.

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