Understanding The Pass Line Bet

Tip Category: Craps

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If you are playing craps the Pass Line bet is one of the few bets that you should be placing most of the time. It offers a house edge of 1.4% which is the lowest possible in craps and is comparable to the house edge offered by other table games. This is the reason that this bet is very popular. It pays out at even money.

This bet has to be placed before the come out roll, which is the first roll of a new series. The wager is laid by placing the chips in the area marked "Pass Line". If the come out roll is a 7 or 11 then the Pass Line bet immediately wins and the player is paid out at even money. The next roll is a new come out roll. If the come out roll is a 2, 3 or 12 then the Pass Line bet immediately loses and the player forfeits his bet. The next roll is a new come out roll. If any other number is rolled then that number is established as a point. The bet remains undecided and the dice are rolled again and again till the point or a 7 is repeated. If the point is repeated first then the Pass Line bet wins and the player is paid out at even money. If a 7 is repeated first then the Pass Line bet loses and the player forfeits his bet.

After a while the Pass Line bet can become monotonous and you may be tempted to go for the more exotic one roll bets. The temptation may be greater if the number of rolls taken to decide the Pass Line bet is high because the interim period is an inactive one. Resist that temptation because the one roll bets are a rip off. There are better ways of alleviating the boredom. The simplest way is to reverse the Pass Line bet. The reverse bet is known as the Don’t Pass bet. This bet also pays even money and has a house edge of 1.4 %. It is laid by placing chips in the Don’t Pass area. The Don’t Pass bet wins if a 2, 3 or 12 is rolled in the come out roll and loses if a 7 or 11 is rolled in the come out roll. If a point is established, it wins if a 7 is rolled before the point and loses if the point is rolled before a seven.

If you have placed a Pass Line or a Don’t Pass wager then you must not forget to place the free odds wager. This wager is placed after a point is established and carries no house edge. Therefore the house edge of the combined wager falls to 0.8%. The wager amount is equal to the original wager. In the Pass Line bet if the point is rolled before a 7 then the additional wager pays out as per the correct odds without any house edge. If the point is a 4 or a 10 the payout is 2 to 1; if the point is a 5 or 9 the payout is 3 to 2 and if the point is a 6 or 8 the payout is 6 to 5. The reverse holds true for the Don’t Pass bet. Hence when you are budgeting for the bets in craps make provision for the free odds wager.