Gaming Guru

Don't Place, Lay Bets and Put Bets

The very best Darkside Don't strategies are the Don't Pass and Don't Come with Odds. The casino's edge on the Don't Pass and Don't Come is about 1.36 percent. However, there are other ways to get up against various numbers – you can Place Against numbers.

These Place Against bets are called Don't Place Bets and they are the reverse of the Rightside/Lightside Place bets because you are placing them to win on a 7 and lose on the number. There are two ways to do this. You can use a strict Don't Place bet or you can use a Lay bet. Not all casinos will allow Don't Place bets, though almost all allow Lay bets.

With the Don't Place Bet you put up the following wager to win the following amounts on the following numbers:

1. If you want to bet against the 6 or 8, you bet $5 to win $4. The house edge is 1.82 percent. That means for every $5 you bet, your expectation is to lose nine cents. For every $100 you bet your expectation is to lose $1.82. This is a good bet as it comes in under two percent.
2. If you want to bet against the 5 or 9, you bet $8 to win $5. The house edge is 2.5 percent. Your expectation is to lose 20 cents for every $8 you bet. For every $100 you bet your expectation is to lose $2.50. This is a so-so bet.
3. If you want to bet against the 4 or 10, you bet $11 to win $5. The house edge is 3.03 percent. Your expectation is to lose 33 cents for every $11 you bet. Your expectation for every $100 you bet is to lose $3.03  Not a good bet at all.

The second way to bet against numbers is to use a Lay Bet. You pay a five percent commission on the bet and the house will then pay you the true odds. None of the Lay bets are all that good. Here is how they work:

1. If you want to Lay against the 4 or 10, you bet $40 to win $20. The 5 percent is taken out of $20. Your payment of the vig (commission) is $1. The house edge is 2.44 percent. Your expectation for every $100 you bet is to lose $2.44.
2. If you want to Lay against the 5 or 9, you bet $30 to win $20. Your payment of the vig is $1. The house edge is 3.23 percent. For every $100 you wager, your expectation is to lose $3.23.
3. If you want to Lay against the 6 or 8, you bet $24 to win $20. Your payment of the vig is $1. The house edge is four percent. For every $100 you wager, your expectation is to lose $4.

With these Darkside Place/Lay bets you must use the one that has the least house edge attached to it. In casinos that allow both types of wagers, you will mix and match – although I would recommend that you only make the ones with a lower than two percent house edge – which essentially limits you to two choices!

The Put Bets

The Put bets can be made right after the Point is established. This is a Pass Line or Come bet that pays even money but that can have Odds placed on it. So if the Point is 6 with double odds, you can bet $10 as the even-money portion and add $20 in Odds to the bet. The payoff will be $34 for your $30 wager. The house edge is 3.03 percent; an expected loss of $3.03 per $100 wagered. The Odds a casino allows will determine whether the Put bet is one worth making. Check this chart out. Many casinos will not allow Put bets. Although some Put bets come in with some good edges – better than the Place house edges at times – they are never as good as Pass Line or Come bets with Odds. The bets in bold are decent Put wagers to make.

Most Darkside Don't Players use strict Don't Pass and Don't Come wagers and most will take Odds on these bets. Obviously such bets are the best ones you can make from the Darkside. The Don't Place and Lay Bets get almost no play. Why bother when you can get such small edges on the better bets? I'm guessing most Darkside players have a better grasp of the game than do most Rightside players.

Rarely do you find Rightside players interested in Put bets and some casinos don't allow them. Indeed, there are many craps players who have never heard of Put bets, they are that rare. Although some of the house edges on the Put bets are quite good, it is a bet that is either unknown or uninteresting to Rightside players who do know about it.