Betting Against the Shooter for Fun and Profit

Betting Against ShooterIf you’re a craps player who is familiar with the basic bets like the pass line bet, then you probably know that those bets typically bet along the side of the shooter. What that means is that you win when the shooter wins, and you lose when the shooter loses. This is how most people bet, and it’s considered polite. However, if you have a mean streak in you, then you might decide betting against the shooter for fun. On top of that, you can also get some pretty good payout rates.

The Don’t Pass Bet

It’s considered a social “no-no” in some circles to place the don’t pass bet. This bet is more or less the opposite of the basic pass line bet, but there are some differences that you should be aware of if you don’t want to be hit with a surprise in the middle of a game. This is a bet on the come out roll, and if that roll is a 2 or 3, then you win immediately. However, if it’s a 7 or 11, you lose immediately. Hitting a 12 gives you a push on your bet, and this is a major difference that means this bet isn’t the true “opposite” of the standard pass line bet.

The way this bet works is that you’re essentially winning when the shooter loses and losing when the shooter wins. Since most people bet with the shooter with the pass line bet, you’re not going to be the most popular guy at the table since you’re going against just about everyone there. However, that’s what makes betting against the shooter so much fun. On top of that, the don’t pass bet has a slightly better payout rate than the pass line bet. You’ll have about a 99.6 percent payout rate per roll at the craps table with this wager.

Laying Odds

You can make your effective payout rate even higher by laying odds whenever a point is established. When the come out roll is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, then the shooter will be trying to hit the point again before a seven comes, and you have the option to bet against that. Betting against the shooter here has a house advantage of exactly zero percent, so you’ll have a 100 percent payout rate. When you average this against the 99.6 percent payout rate on the don’t come bet, you can see where the profit part of the equation comes into play.

If you lay the odds when the point is a 4 or a 10, then you will be paid out at 1:2. When the point is a 5 or 9, it will pay out at 2:3. Betting against the shooter with a point of 6 or 8 gives you a payout rate of 5:6. You’ll note that these bets all pay worse than 1:1. That’s because you are the favorite to win in every single case.