Craps in Macau

My favourite casino game in the world barely registers in Macau, ranking 12th out of 15 in terms of gross gaming revenue, accounting for a measly 0.10%. 

Only 8 casinos offer it, with the lowest Pass Line bet found at Galaxy, City of Dreams and Studio City ($100), while the best odds are at City of Dreams and Studio City (5-5-5).

Craps in Macau: What to Watch Out For

I wouldn’t call the standard Craps bets in Macau particularly good, but they’re not horrible either.  Here are the odds for the major side bets, which are the same at every casino.

The Field:  The Field pays 2-1 on both the 2 and the 12, for a house edge of 5.56%.  Obviously not ideal, as most casinos in the world pay 3-1 on either the 2 or the 12, which reduces the house edge to 2.27%.

Horn Bets, Any Craps, Any 7, C&E:  All of these side bets pay out the same odds as in America. 

Horn Bet: 1-1: 30X, 1-2: 15X, 5-6: 15X, 6-6: 30X      

Any Craps: 7-1

Any 7: 4-1

C&E: 2,3,12 pays 3-1, 11 pays 7-1

The house edge on all of these bets is straight up nasty, exceeding 10%.

Big 6 / Big 8:  City of Dreams and Studio City are the only casinos in town to offer this bet, which is actually illegal in Atlantic City.  If you want to wager on the 6 or 8, just do so by making a standard Place bet, which returns 7-6. 

Big 6 or Big 8 is, in fact, the very same bet as Place 6 or Place 8, just with even odds!  That’s grand larceny!

Any Craps:  Ditto for this bet, the only casinos offering it in town (and maybe the world) are City of Dreams and Studio City.  Any Craps rolled before a 7 pays 4-1 for a house edge of 9.09%.

Strategy and Advice

The best strategy in Craps to make a Pass or Don’t Pass Bet, followed by taking Full Odds.  Since the odds at City of Dreams and Studio City are the highest in town at 5 times, that’s where you should be playing.

Making the Don’t Pass Bet plus Full Odds results in a lower house edge (0.23%) than the Pass Bet with Full Odds (0.33%), but I find it counter intuitive and not as fun.  When the whole table’s winning, you’re losing.  And conversely, when the whole table’s losing, you’re winning.  The only time I enjoy being the outlier is when I’m ending dreams at the Baccarat table.  When those dice are rumbling and tumbling down the table, I want to be riding the wave with everyone else. 

The only other bet I recommend making is Placing the 6 and Placing the 8, which has a low house edge of 1.52%.

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