The only bet in the entire casino with zero house edge. Here's how to use it.
Walk into any casino and you'll find hundreds of ways to lose your money. Every slot, every table game, every side bet, every bonus wager — all designed to give the house an edge. And then there's one bet, tucked away in the corner of the craps table, that the casino pays at exactly the true odds. Zero house edge. Most players never make it. That's about to change.
Every other bet in the casino is tilted in the house's favor. If the true probability of something is 2-to-1, the casino pays 9-to-5. If the true probability is 6-to-5, they pay even money. Those small skims add up to every cent of their profit.
The free odds bet in craps is the one exception. When you place it, the casino pays you at the exact mathematical odds of your number hitting. They take nothing. Zero.
You can only place an odds bet after you've already made a pass line, don't pass, come, or don't come bet. The odds bet is a multiplier on an existing wager, not a standalone play.
Think of it this way: the casino is willing to offer you a fair bet — but only if you're already making a slightly unfair one (the 1.41% pass line).
Here's the exact sequence:
That's it. The "free" part is that the house isn't taking any cut on the odds portion. When you win, they pay you what the dice probability actually says they should.
Each point number has different math behind it, so the payouts differ. Here's the actual ratio the casino pays based on what the point is:
Notice the pattern — the harder the point is to hit, the bigger the payout. That's what true odds means. A 4 or 10 rolls about half as often as a 6 or 8, so the payout is double. The casino isn't rounding down or taking a slice; it's paying you exactly what the math says.
The catch is that the house limits how much odds you can lay relative to your pass line bet. These limits vary by casino.
| Max Odds Level | Meaning | Blended House Edge |
|---|---|---|
| 1x Odds | Bet up to 1x your pass line | 0.85% |
| 2x Odds | Bet up to 2x your pass line | 0.61% |
| 3x–4x–5x | Most common. 3x on 4/10, 4x on 5/9, 5x on 6/8 | 0.37% |
| 10x Odds | Bet up to 10x your pass line | 0.18% |
| 100x Odds | Rare, specialty casinos (Vegas downtown) | 0.02% |
The higher the odds multiplier you take, the more of your total wager sits on the zero-edge portion — and the closer your effective house edge gets to zero. At 100x odds, you're playing nearly a break-even game.
Three players walk into a casino. Each plays $10 on the pass line every roll. The only difference is how much they put behind it as odds.
Read those numbers carefully. The odds player is wagering six times as much money but their expected loss is only slightly higher. Per dollar put on the table, they're getting roughly four times the action for nearly the same long-term cost. That's the gift of the free odds bet.
If you're betting don't pass instead of pass line, you can still take odds — they work in reverse. You're betting against the point now, so you lay more to win less, because 7 is mathematically more likely to hit before the point number.
Against 6 or 8: lay $6 to win $5 (5:6) · Against 5 or 9: lay $3 to win $2 (2:3) · Against 4 or 10: lay $2 to win $1 (1:2)
Same zero house edge, just inverted. Many serious craps players prefer don't pass with max odds as their pure mathematical play.
Most recreational players stop at the pass line. You're leaving the single best bet in the casino sitting on the table. Always take some odds.
Ask the dealer, "What are the odds here?" before you start. You want to know if it's 3-4-5x or 2x, so you can size your bets correctly.
After your pass line pays off, you can put the winnings right back as odds on the next point. Free action with the house's money.
5x odds on a $25 pass line means you need $125 extra behind it — and variance hits hard. Only take the odds your bankroll can handle without flinching.
The odds bet is the casino's only honest bet. If you're at a craps table and you're not taking it — you're leaving the best part of the game on the felt.