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How to pick the best bets on the craps and roulette tables
by Frank Scoblete
by Frank Scoblete
The following article provides Craps and Roulette tips using the format of
Always, Never, and Sometime statements.
1) Roulette
While some gambling purists will say that you should never play roulette because
of its humongous 5.26 percent edge, I am not a purist. I realize that some people
will always love that wheel and no matter how much you cajole them, they will
never give it up.
In fact, there are better and worse approaches to roulette.
Always look for European roulette wheels to play. Those are the ones with a
single 0, as opposed to the American wheel that has both a 0 and a 00. Despite
the bizarre fact that the European wheel was invented in America, and the American
wheel was invented in Europe, there’s no irony when it comes to reducing the
house edge from 5.26 percent down to 2.7 percent, which is what happens when
you switch from American to European.
In fact, if you have the opportunity to play the European wheel with the en
prison or the surrender option, the house edge is reduced in half to 1.35 percent
on the outside even-money bets such as red/black, odd/even, high/low; making
them even better bets than a majority of the bets to be found in the casino.
If you do get stuck playing the American wheel, as most of you will, never make
the five-number bet of 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 -- unless you want to take a horrendous
house edge of 5.26 percent and push it up to almost eight percent! That’s what
the five-number bet does -- it takes you from the frying pan into the fire.
Ouch!
2) Craps
Craps is a game with a kaleidoscope of bets -- most of which will red shift
your gambling account if you persist in making them. So, never make any of the
Crazy Crapper bets in the middle of the table. Bets such as yo-eleven and 12
and Any Craps and Whirl and World and Horn and Hard 4, 6, 8, and 10, and Big
Red are sucker bets of the worst kind at the craps table -- or sucker bets of
the best kind if you happen to be the casino.
They always have big house edges, often in the double digits. They have alluring
names, true, but their names hide their disfiguring features -- they can cripple
your bankroll in short order. The Field, too, is a never, even when the casino
offers a 3 to 1 payout on the 12 or 2.
The always bets of craps are easy to list. They are Pass, Don’t Pass, Come,
Don’t Come, Odds. If your intention is to cut the house edge to its very minimum,
always use these options.
The sometimes bets at craps can get a little tricky as sometimes things always
do. Here they are with advice on when you make them and when you don’t.
Placing the 4 or 10 is a never because of the high 6.67 percent edge, but sometimes
buying either or both is a good deal. When is that? When you only have to pay
the five percent commission after a win. For high rollers buying the 4 or 10
for $50, the casino edge is about 1.3 percent -- better than the Pass Line or
Come!
Sometimes placing the 6 and/or 8 is the way to go, especially if you are on
a low budget and want to get into the action on the two most active numbers
after the 7. The casino only has a 1.52 percent edge on these bets and that
is not so bad in the general scheme of things.
The Placing of the 5 or 9 is another never because of its four percent edge,
but here, again, sometimes it might be okay to buy it. When would that sometimes
be?
On those rare occasions when casinos will allow buying them and paying the commission
only after a win just as we did with the 4 and 10 above.
If you’re an “action” player, a euphemism for a player who doesn’t make the
best bets at craps, always utilizing the buy option in these scenarios makes
the game a far tighter contest between you and the casino.
Frank Scoblete
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