Pass Line Odds Compared to Hardway Sixes & Eights
Written March 8, 2008 by Jack Jones
When it comes to casinos, there aren’t many people out there who know more about the odds than Mark Pilarski. This week a reader asks Mark to help her show her brother how much more he is going to lose over the long run by betting hardway sixes and eights at the craps table over the pass line. Always remember, the pass line is one of the best bets you can make in the casino since it has such a low house advantage.By using a simple mathematical formula Mark proves that by playing smart you will outperform someone playing the worse odds over the long haul. That’s not to say that in short time periods the standard deviation won’t swing the results in a different way, but if you keep going time after time then there is no beat the edge.
Let’s first analyze the smarter pass line bet, with no odds, has a house advantage of 1.4%. With a $5 wager and 50 playing decisions per hour, your theoretical loss (all bets lose over time) is $5 X 50 X 0.014, or $3.50 per hour. Relatively cheap entertainment. In comparison, the weaker bet of the hard six or eight, has a house advantage of 9.1%. The damage to his bankroll would be $5 X 50 X 0.091, or $22.75 in the same amount of time. Multiply that by 15 hours of play and you’ve got a sniveling, unhappy camper with a long car ride home.
