Heavy's Axis Power Craps Forum

In the past I've talked quite a bit about casino math and how KNOWING a little bit of it can make a HUGE difference in your bankroll. The best "layman's" book on the subject IMHO is Practical Casino Math by Robert Hannum. https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Casino ... 0942828534 The book is essentially a college text book, so it's not inexpensive. Fotunately, much of the content is available on-line through one website or another. A Google or Bing search should yield plenty of info. Let's try a few:

First is the UNLV website at this link: http://gaming.unlv.edu/casinomath.html This article, which is written for management professionals in the casino industry (not the math guys, but the guys on the front line, supervising the games), explains a lot of the terminology we use here on the forum. Hold . . . House Advantage (Edge) . . . Volatility and Risk. It also has a nice chart showing the House Advantage on various casino games. Good information to have.

Hannum holds a Ph.D in mathematics and teaches at the University of Denver. His personal web page can be found here: http://mysite.du.edu/~rhannum/ There's also a link to information on his book, Practical Casino Math, at this link: http://mysite.du.edu/~rhannum/PCM2f12.html

If you're up for a bit of light reading then here's an article Hannum did for the John Marshall Law Review back in 2002: http://repository.jmls.edu/cgi/viewcont ... =lawreview

Knowledge is power. Understanding the cost of the bets you make will help you make better decisions. And Hannum (even though he is a math wiz) proves that you don't have to BE a math wiz to get it. Expand your mind. Read those articles and let us hear what you think.

The "light reading" article regarding slot machine "almost" settings recalled to me a few double diamond beauties where the reels would stop and then back up.."almost" giving you a win. Like he says, this is done playing to the psychology of hope in that a gambler will pour more money into that type of machine because "next time I could get a win." This article makes me think that in like all enterprises where a lot of money is at stake..wall street, banks..etc..Somebody in the gaming business..(It's all gaming IMO) is always figuring out how to screw an innocent. And yet people clamour for less regulation. Do they believe people who deal in large money enterprises are all virtuous and protective of the little guy? Really? I got a bridge I'll sell you. One only has to understand the rise of arbitration mandates by money companies..the arbitrators make their money and retain their ties by
deciding not for the consumer. Craps is one of the few..maybe the only game..where it is what it is. We won't go into the shaved dice discussion because I don't believe in bad dice. They get worn. But when you get the dice, feel the edges and check the sharp ends. I always do that. Any wear or rounding and you have a random set, folks. Good read. I still don't understand why an odds bet behind a PL bet lowers the house odds and by inference raises your odds. Tying the odds to a contract bet line bet which has decidedly higher odds against you winning after the point is set..you are just pouring more money into a probable losing bet. Yes, I understand they pay you true odds and odds bets can always be removed. But let's say you have a $10 PL on 9 with $30 in back. $40 bucks down the tubes is where the odds are on that bet. I don't care if I appear dumb. I would like a clear explanation of why an odds bet behing the PL is to your advantage. As I said, the odds against you making that number are there.

An odds bet behind the PL is not to your advantage. It only lowers the house edge if you look at the potential percentage loss over the whole amount bet. Bottom line you still lose the same flat amount from the PL bet. Casinos want you to take odds as they add to your volatility. Hence why Cromwell offers 100 x odds. The best game in town? No, they just want you to go broke quicker via over betting your bankroll.

However, if say you have $40 to bet in total on a shooter and start with a $10 PL bet, then adding the remaining $30 to that bet, as odds, will be the best deal you can get for your money at that stage. If you go off and have 3 x $10 place bets on other numbers then you are exposing more more to the house edge.

Of course this is all over the long-run, whatever that is as H talks about in his other thread just posted................

Yes agreed. I was just trying to explain what the deal was with odds supposedly lower the house edge of a bet. Volatility can be a good thing for sure.

It's not my $30 wagered on other numbers, again I was just trying to explain that if you have $40 to spend in total and have $10 passline, then the best deal you can get with your remaining money is to put it down as an odds bet.