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Craps
Why Hard Ways Are Hard in Craps
| by Larry Edell, published on Wednesday,
October 3 2001 |
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| The hard four must roll 2 & 2 to win. You lose on a 1
& 3 or 3 & 1. The hard ten must roll 5 & 5. You lose on a 4 & 6 or a 6 &
4. So of the three ways to make a 4 or 10, two are soft and only one is
hard. The true odds of the hard 6/8 are 10:1 but the payoff is only 9:1,
giving the casino a 9.09% edge. And the true odds on the 4/10 are 8:1
but the payoff is only 7:1, giving the casino a 11.1% edge. But, since
the hard 6/8 rolls once and the hard 4/10 also rolls once, why are the
odds different? And if each hard number rolls the same amount (one in
36) as the 2 and 12, why aren't the odds identical? The payoff for the
2/12 is 30:1. Why don't the hard ways pay higher? When you place a bet
for the 2/12, it is a one roll bet. If any number other the 2/12 rolls,
you lose. Their true odds are 35:1, as they each should appear only once
in 36 rolls. The hard way bets, however, stay up if anything other than
a seven or an easy way rolls. Even though a hard number should roll once
in 36 rolls, it stays active much more than the 2/12, which is why the
payoff is lower. And the reason why the odds for the 4/10 and 6/8 are
different lies in the way the odds are calculated. As stated previously,
the four or ten rolls three times, but only one of them is hard. This
means that you lose twice and only win once with a hard way bet. The six
or eight rolls five times, but only one is hard. This means you lose
four times and win only once. This is why it is easier to lose a hard
six or eight than it is to lose a hard four or ten. One good use of the
hard ways is to protect your lay bets. If you lay the 4 (or 10) for $40
you can also place a hardway bet for $6 as a hedge bet. If the seven
shows, you'll win $14 ($20 lay - $6 hardway). If the hard four rolls,
you'll win $2 ($42 hardway - $40 lay) instead of losing $40. Of course,
if the soft four rolls, you'll lose $46 instead of $40, but you're only
risking $6 to save yourself $40 on the hard number, which remember,
occurs once in three times. Other than hedge bets, you should stay away
from hard ways - that's why they call them hard ways - they're hard to
beat! And, as always, don`t forget to tell your friends about this
Playing Craps article called `Why Hard Ways Are Hard!'. |
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