The Pass Line bet is one of the best bets in craps with a house edge of only 1.4%. But any blackjack will say that 1.4% is too high because blackjack games routinely offer house edges of less than 1%. Knowledgeable craps players are also able to reduce the house edge to significantly below 1% by coupling the Pass Line bet with the Free Odds bet. This article explains how it is done.

The Pass Line bet is placed before the come out roll. In the come out roll a throw of 7 or 11 results in a win for the player and a throw of 2, 3 or 12 results in a loss for the player. In these situations the Free Odds bet cannot come into play. If any other number is rolled in a come out roll then that number is established as the point. The dice are rolled again and in order for the Pass Line bet to win the point must be rolled before 7. If 7 is rolled before the point the Pass Line bet loses. The payoff for winning the Pass Line bet is even money.

The Free Odds bet can be placed once a point is established. This bet, usually constrained to be equal to the original Pass Line bet, also wins if the point is repeated before 7. However the Free Odds bet has zero house edge and the payoffs offered are equal to the correct odds. In the case of the Free Odds bet the payoffs depend on the point. There are six possible values for the point. Consider the case when the point is 4. There are three ways to roll a 4 and six ways to roll a 7. The correct odds and the payoff in this case are 2 to 1. The case for 10 is identical. Consider the case when the point is 5. There are four ways to roll a 5 and six ways to roll a 7. The correct odds and the payoff in this case are 3 to 2. The case for 9 is identical. Consider the case when the point is 6. There are five ways to roll a 6 and six ways to roll a 7. The correct odds and the payoff in this case are 6 to 5. The case for 8 is identical. What happens because the Free Odds component has zero house edge is that the house edge for the combined Free Odds Pass Line bet falls from 1.4% to 0.8%.

Let us see how this bet works in practice through an example. A player wagers $10 on the Pass Line bet. The come out roll results in a throw of 8 and 8 is established as the point. Then before any further roll of the dice the player should place the Free Odds bet of $10. Now suppose that in the next roll an 8 is thrown again and the player wins both bets. The Pass Line bet pays even money so the player will win $10 from that. The Free Odds bet for a point of 8 pays 6 to 5 so the player will win $12 from that. The total amount won by the player is $22.