Additional Information on the Field Bet

By Jerry "Stickman"

Hi Van,

You bring up a good point. Every single roll of the dice will cause a field bet to win or lose, whereas a place bet is only decided by the appearance of the number placed or by the dreaded 7. In your example of 36 perfectly distributed rolls there are only 10 decisions on the 5, but there are 36 decisions on the field bet. The HA is determined by comparing what you are paid versus what the true odds are. You are only paid (or lose your bet) when the bet is decided. In your example (placing the 5) you say the house edge will only affect 10 of the 36 rolls – about one third. Actually this is not exactly true in a live casino craps game as place bets are "off" on come-out rolls and will not be affected by the appearance of either the number placed or by a 7. But the principle is correct. In terms of dollars lost over a specific time period you will lose more money on betting a 2.78 percent HA field bet than you will lose on a 4 percent HA place bet.

Could this be why most casinos rate field bet players higher than pass/come bettors?

All the best at the tables, Van,

Jerry "Stickman"