Can you win money at craps? Of course. You can win a lot.

However (and this is a big however), your chances of beating the game largely depend on the types of bets you make. Happily, craps has some of the very best bets in the casino. Smart players rely on these excellent craps bets.

The house edges on the good bets range from 1.36% to 1.41% to 1.52%. Such bets give the player a really strong chance at any given time of winning at craps. The house has an edge on these bets but it is a very small edge. It is much easier to beat a small edge than a large edge.

Sadly, there are far more rotten bets at craps – dozens of them. Bets that range into the high teens and on some new-fangled bets into the 20 or higher percentage range. Aside from a stroke of luck from the gods of chance, no one survives craps making these horrible bets very often.

The Best Craps Bets

If you watch a game of craps, you will note that just about every player makes more than one bet. Indeed, three or four or even more bets are thrown onto the table by fevered craps players. Such betting is the equivalent of putting one’s head in a noose and jumping off a balcony. The results will usually be deadly.

I’ve got good news and bad news here. The good news is that the good craps bets are indeed good. The bad news is that all the other craps bets are bad, very bad, and even worse than that. Do not make a bad bet if you want to win at craps. Easy advice to hear; hard advice for craps players to follow for some reason.

Best Craps Bets	House Edge	Loss Per $100 Wagered
Don’t Pass	1.36 %	$1.36
Don’t Come	1.36 %	$1.36

Tip: On the Don’t Pass and the Don’t Come you are betting against the point or the number and for the 7 during the the game.

Best Craps Bets	House Edge	Loss Per $100 Wagered
Pass Line	1.41 %	$1.41
Come Bet	1.41 %	$1.41
Place the 6 for $6	1.52 %	$1.52
Place the 6 for $6	1.52 %	$1.52

Tip: On these four bets you are betting with the point or with the 6 and/or the 8 against the 7.

Please note that I have made the losses out of $100 wagered. A $10 wager will be losses that are one tenth the amount. Also note that you do not lose in steady increments. You’ll win some bets, lose some bets, and so on, but in the course of your craps affairs, this is what the math says you can expect to be down betting this way. Betting “place bets” on the 6 and or 8 is usually done in increments of $6.

The Best Way To Play Craps: Make “Odds Bets”

Now, there is a great bet that the casinos allow you to make once you have a Pass Line or Don’t Pass wager on the board. This option is called “odds.” It can also be used on the Come and Don’t Come bets when they are on a number. It is a vitally good bet.

The Pass and the Come players are betting with the shooter to hit anything but a 7. A winning wager is paid at even money. Of course, when you put that Pass bet up or Come bet up, you can win even-money when 7 or 11 hits (you lose if a 2, 3 or 12 rolls). You have four more ways to win than you have to lose when you wager like this.

Once these bets are on numbers, then the odds shift in favor of the casino. However, the casino will allow you to put more money into the game using a bet called the odds.

This bet has no house edge whatsoever.

How To Place Your Odds Bet

On the Pass Line, you put your odds bet behind your Pass bet; on the Come bet, you place the odds on the layout and the dealer will put that money on your Come bet.

The odds bet will pay the exact correct odds of a bet. If you put odds behind a point of 4, a win will pay off those odds at two to one. On a 10, it is also two to one, on the 6 or 8, the odds will pay $6 to $5 and on the 5 or 9, the odds will pay three to two.

Tip: These odds are based on how often the number hits in relation to how often a 7 will hit.

On the Don’t Pass or Don’t Come, the odds are figured based on how often the 7 rolls. So, for a 4 or 10, you put up twice as much money because the 7 will come up six times to the three times either a 4 or a 10 shows. Same with the other numbers. This means you have the long-end of the bet – in short, you bet more to win less.

The best way to handle these “right” bets is to have as much as you can in odds and a smaller bet on the Pass or Come portion of the bet.

Odds bets can usually come in 2X (two times odds) to 3X, 4X, 5X, 10X or higher.

In some casinos during the pre-pandemic there were casinos that allowed 100X odds on the Pass and Come bets. So, a $5 Pass Line or Come bet could have $500 in odds placed on it. Wow!

Okay, you now know the very best bets in craps. That’s right. The above bets are it. All the other craps bets are not worth making.

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Lead image credit: Chris Martin/Flickr, CC BY 2.0

MLB Teams Located in Canada

Presently, the Toronto Blue Jays are the only MLB team located north of the border. Located in Toronto, Ontario, the Blue Jays play home games at the Rogers Centre (formerly called the ‘Sky Dome’).

In the standings, Toronto is a part of the American League East (Also called the ‘A.L. East’) which also features the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Baltimore Orioles. Last season, the Blue Jays managed to make the playoffs; however, the team was swept by the Minnesota Twins in the first round.

Toronto should be a competitive team this year as well, but the division remains tough. They will only go as far as star players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette take them. The roster in itself is fairly solid, but most of it needs to be productive and consistent as offseason acquisitions were few and far between. Most nights, they should have a decent shot at winning and could be worth betting on.

Important MLB Dates Every Canadian Baseball Fan Should Know

MLB Opening Day marks the beginning of each regular season around the end of March. This year, things will start a little earlier on March 20-21, 2024 as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres will play a two-game set of regular season games in Seoul, South Korea.

The rest of the season resumes on March 28th and continues until September 29th. The postseason begins on October 1st, meaning the World Series could end as late as November 2nd. For a quick reference of all the most important MLB dates in 2024, please refer to the table below.

Popular Ways to Bet on the MLB in Canada

MLB betting can be done from anywhere nowadays, whether you’re at the game or on the couch in your living room. The most popular MLB betting markets amongst Canadians are fairly commonplace compared to other sports, with many sites using what are called ‘American odds’ expressed as positive (ex. +110) or negative (ex. -110) numbers. Keep reading below to learn about the MLB bet types Canadians use the most.

Moneyline

Placing a moneyline bet means picking an outright winner of any given game. Betting odds with a positive number signify an underdog, whereas a negative number is assigned to the favourite. For example, if the Blue Jays have moneyline odds of +200, they would be the underdog.

The odds also tell us how profitable a bet will be. For example, a $50 wager on Toronto at +200 would yield a $150 payout (your original $50 stake plus a $100 profit).

Run Line (Spread)

A spread bet is referred to as a ‘run line’ bet in baseball. It’s similar to a moneyline bet, with the main difference being that a team must win or lose by a certain number of runs.

For example, if the Red Sox were a -1.5 on the spread, they would have to win by two or more runs for the bet to hit. If they were +1.5 on the spread, they would have to lose by one run or less (or win outright).

Totals (Over/Under)

Totals betting, often called ‘over/under’ betting, is all about the total sum of the final score. Essentially, each game is given a run total that both teams will cumulatively either exceed or fall short of.

For example, a game between the Rays and the Orioles has a total of 7.5. An ‘over’ bet would need eight or more runs to cash (ex. a 5-4 score) whereas an ‘under’ bet requires seven runs or less (ex. a 4-3 score).

Prop Betting

A prop bet is usually a wager on a statistic of a specific player. For example, betting on Bichette to hit a home run. It can also be expressed as an over/under, such as ‘Guerrero Jr. over/under 1.5 hits’.

Parlay Betting

A parlay bet is a combination bet that can include any of the previously mentioned bet types. Each single bet in a parlay is called a ‘leg’ and all legs must hit for the wager to win. For example, a three-leg parlay picking the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Red Sox to each win their respective games.

Futures Betting

Futures betting is a wager on a future event. This usually involves picking the winner of a team or player award such as ‘World Series Champion’ or ‘Most Valuable Player’. For example, picking the Jays to win the World Series.

Where to Watch the MLB in Canada

In Canada, watching the MLB can be done a few different ways. Naturally, most people are Toronto fans and subscribe to Sportsnet, which has exclusive Blue Jays broadcasting rights. Sportsnet is automatically included in some cable packages, but those without can sign up for streaming plans through ‘Sportsnet
+’ (formerly known as ‘Sportsnet NOW’).

Plans start at $14.99 per month, which will give you access to all 162 Blue Jays games along with up to 150 out-of-market games including the All-Star Game, Home Run Derby, and the MLB Playoffs. For those seeking alternatives, your best options are MLB.TV (the official MLB.com streaming service) or DAZN. MLB.TV offers a free trial and costs $149.99 for a season-long subscription. Unfortunately, local market blackouts do apply – meaning any game featuring the Blue Jays will be unavailable to those living in Ontario and potentially other areas of Canada.

That said, it’s a great way to watch 7,000+ out-of-market games if you cheer for another team, or just enjoy watching baseball in general. The site also offers a ‘Free Game of the Day’, meaning at least one game each day is free without a subscription.

DAZN has the MLB Network, which features several games as well as highlights and original programming baseball fans will love. Subscriptions start at $19.99 per month, and DAZN even offers some games for free to anyone who has an account – no subscription required. The MLB game selection will be limited compared to the other mentioned platforms, but it’s worth checking out if you want a package that includes other sports as well.

Now you know the who, what, where, when, and why of enjoying the MLB from Canada. Good luck!

Sources

Time for a change

Washington DC Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) has announced that FanDuel will replace GambetDC as the sole districtwide sportsbook platform. The transition, announced on Saturday, will occur at some point in the spring. FanDuel will gradually take over the existing GamBetDC in-store wagering kiosks.

already controls about 50% of the adjacent Virginia and Maryland markets

Intralot, the Greece-based company that looks after the OLG’s lottery and sports betting operations, selected FanDuel as the new subcontractor for the region’s struggling sports betting sector. The operator already controls about 50% of the adjacent Virginia and Maryland markets and has also had a retail sportsbook at DC United’s Audi Field since June 2022.

Restructuring the agreement

Through the new arrangement with FanDuel, Intralot will have to pay a $5m fee to the District in the current fiscal year. The OLG will also no longer have to cover the annual operating expenses of the sportsbook platform, which range between $2m and $4m each year. FanDuel will be in charge of covering all of the marketing, promotions, and payment processing.

Retail sportsbooks are open in and around the three professional sports venues in Washington DC. Operators can also offer mobile sports betting within a two-mile radius of the locations.

Talking about the FanDuel takeover, OLG Executive Director Frank Suarez said that it will “ensure that the District maximizes tax revenue under its existing contracts this year while delivering a best-in-class experience.”

A lot of questions

The original decision to give Intralot a five-year, $215m contract to create the district’s sports betting platform without holding a competitive bidding process was a controversial one. GambetDC has generated just a fraction of the $20m in annual tax revenue that was expected when lawmakers legalized the activity in 2019. Bettors complained about an array of issues, including uncompetitive odds, subpar technology, and bad customer support.

The GambetDC platform that launched in May 2020 will no longer be operational after the transition; the timeline for current accountholders to withdraw funds has yet to be determined.

Intralot was told in January to find an established private sportsbook operator to act as a subcontractor. OLG officials believed that this approach would be quicker than starting an entirely new bidding process. They also think that having an open sector would hurt the retail businesses that have seen an increase in business since rolling out wagering kiosks. The OLG’s contract with Intralot expires this summer and it is unclear if officials will want to renew their agreement.

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