Craps Odds Bet: Why “0% House Edge” Needs Context
How free odds work, why the odds portion has no house advantage, and why the combined wager still has expected cost.
The odds wager pays according to the true point probability, so its own house edge is 0%. The mandatory Pass/Come line wager still has an edge, so adding odds dilutes the blended percentage rather than making the whole sequence positive expectation.
True-odds payouts
Pass/Come odds commonly pay 2:1 behind 4/10, 3:2 behind 5/9 and 6:5 behind 6/8, matching the underlying dice ratios.
Combined edge examples
Wizard of Odds reports about 0.848% combined edge per bet made with 1× odds, 0.606% with 2×, 0.471% with 3×, and about 0.374% under 3×-4×-5× maximum odds.
Lower percentage, more dollars at risk
Taking more odds can reduce expected loss as a percentage of total money wagered while increasing variance and the amount exposed on a point.
Correct comparison
Compare expected dollars lost for the betting amount and session, not just the smallest displayed percentage.