What Are the Minimum Odds Bets at Craps in Vegas?

Recently, while playing craps at the Paris casino, I overheard a dealer tell another player his odds bet had to be at least $15, the minimum bet at this table. When I questioned the dealer, he told me that was the rule at their casino. Since when? And is this now the rule at other Caesar’s properties?

[Editor's Note: It's been awhile since we had an answer from our pit supervisor, Andrew Uyal. But here's what he has to say.]

My default line, the snuggly soft blanket I always throw over pit-related questions is, “It’s subjective.”

Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you like soft blankets), I have to break out this coverlet again. There really isn’t an industry standard on odds limits. This goes for minimums and maximums. You'll get different answers from casino to casino. There are actually even more variables, which we'll get into in a moment.

For minimums, these are the three standard answers you’ll hear:

* Bet at least the table minimum.

* Bet at least $5.

* Bet whatever you want (yes, even $1!).

The funny part about this is that you might get different answers depending on the casino, the dealer, the floor supervisor, the shift you’re playing on, the shift manager that day, the position of the sun, and the direction the wind is blowing.

When it comes to max odds, there will be differences there too. You’ll likely come across these standard answers.

* 3/4/5 is the most common and closest there is to an industry standard. If you’re not familiar, this means you can take odds of a maximum of 3x your line bet on a point of 4 or 10, 4x on a 5 or 9, or 5x on a 6 or 8.

* 10x is becoming less available as casinos look to decrease their volatility on crap games.

* 2x has popped up in a few locations (Wynn and South Point, to name a couple) and limits you to a maximum odds bet of double your line bet no matter what the point is.

The only consistency is inconsistency. At least everything makes sense, right?

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Comments

Cyclone99 Oct-17-2023

Double odds

Didn't 2x odds used to be the standard at most games before casinos started to offer higher odds limits? And single odds before that?

Jxs Oct-17-2023

100x odds

Rivers Casino just outside Chicago has 100x odds. It also has the original payout on the Bonus Bet-  35:1, 175:1, 35:1.  Plus the fire bet. Minimums can go as low as $5 weekdays morning. They have 7 table going and gets lots and lots of craps action.

Bob Little Oct-17-2023

bob

the same rules apply at the 4 queens where the minimum bet is 15.00.  I wanted to place a bet on the six and nine and put down 12.00.  I was told I had to put down 18.00 on each number

Debra Grimes Oct-17-2023

Odds bets

For Bob's comment about placing bets on numbers, those bets are different than adding an optional odds bet on a pass/don't pass bet, so I would expect the casino to enforce the minimum there.

Raymond Oct-17-2023

Odds

Casinos are welcome to impose whatever maximum odds they like, but I'm among those who vote with their feet.  Wynn, Fremont, and California offer double odds?  I'll play at the nearby Palazzo/Venetian, Four Queens, or Main Street Station, for example, which offer higher available odds.  Most places downtown and on the strip offer 3/4/5, which is fine with me--I usually start at double odds and work up during a given roll.

Back in the 50's and 60's, single odds were often the only offering at lots of casinos, and the action slowly moved towards those that offered double odds.  I learned the game from "old guys" in the early 80's, who not only knew and taught the game but also taught us what to look for.  But younger and less informed players don't know the difference anymore; many don't want to learn because they know everything already, as they bet the horn and hardways (I almost said Horn and Hardart).

ahawley Oct-17-2023

Odds for less

I recently heard a dealer at Golden Nugget tell a player who had lost nearly all their chips on the rail after playing for an hour, to put their final last two dollars in the rack on their odds bet. The player was playing odds for less, just $5, lower than the table minimum, $15.  He said the pit or "the cameras" might see it and ask.

Sam Glantzow Oct-17-2023

double odds pt 2

i remember double odds like cyclone99 mentions when table minimums were $2, and how-to books would tell you you could play $5 odds on the 6 & 8 to get the "correct" payout.

djm Oct-23-2023

Odds Maximum

I have noticed that Downtown Grand and El Cortez have odds bet maximums of $1,000 regardless of what the line bet is.
Honestly, I cannot understand why a casino would have a problem with "under-betting" a ZERO HOUSE EDGE bet. I suppose they don't want to "overwork" their dealers!

Question of the Day - 17 October 2023

Comments