Free bet coupon in craps

I get a pamphlet of free bet coupons in the mail every month. I get one for every 3.5 days (1 coupon for Weekdays, 1 for weekends). Anyways they used to send me $100 coupons, then they cut it back to $60, then they cut it back even further to $15, and now they cut it back to $10!

So here's my strategy for the free bet coupon, feel free to laugh. I put the $10 free bet coupon on the don't pass, and then I hop the 7's for $9. If they roll a 7 I get paid $48 and down. If they roll a number and then seven out I make $1. If they roll a yo or a number and then make their point then I loose $9 and the free bet coupon. Of course if a 12 hits then I think I would just leave the coupon up.

Is this a good use of my free bet coupon? I just think for $10 it's kind of a joke.

Quote: guitarmandp

I get a pamphlet of free bet coupons in the mail every month. I get one for every 3.5 days (1 coupon for Weekdays, 1 for weekends). Anyways they used to send me $100 coupons, then they cut it back to $60, then they cut it back even further to $15, and now they cut it back to $10!

So here's my strategy for the free bet coupon, feel free to laugh. I put the $10 free bet coupon on the don't pass, and then I hop the 7's for $9. If they roll a 7 I get paid $48 and down. If they roll a number and then seven out I make $1. If they roll a yo or a number and then make their point then I loose $9 and the free bet coupon. Of course if a 12 hits then I think I would just leave the coupon up.

Is this a good use of my free bet coupon? I just think for $10 it's kind of a joke.

no it is a bad use of one. Just use it on the don't pass and don't hedge.

That is the absolute worst way to use a free bet coupon. Either put it on the pass or don't pass and let it sit till it wins or loses. However, if the coupon is not restricted to even money payouts, bet it on any hard-way-hop (31 for 1).

Quote: RS

That is the absolute worst way to use a free bet coupon. Either put it on the pass or don't pass and let it sit till it wins or loses. However, if the coupon is not restricted to even money payouts, bet it on any hard-way-hop (31 for 1).

Wouldn't a straight bet on roulette be a better use than a hop?

Straight up on the DP and lay max odds if they'll let you.

Quote: Venthus

Wouldn't a straight bet on roulette be a better use than a hop?

Yes it would be. Gets 35/38 the value. In craps you get 30/36 the value (unless you trick 'em and say 31 n down).




And what's the point in max odds? To increase variance with 0 advantage? Hmmm...

Quote: RS

And what's the point in max odds? To increase variance with 0 advantage? Hmmm...

When playing DP the risk is all in the come out. The odds would pay fairly but the actual chances of winning the odds bet is in your favor. 6:5, 3:2 or 2:1, depending on the point.

Where else can you get a zero-house edge bet for free?

That doesn't mean you should take it.

The free "Direct" bets that I receive have some restrictions.
In craps you can only bet the pass line.
In Bac you can only bet Player
In roulette you can bet Red, High or Odd.

I always bet Red. So far this year I bet 45 times on Red and walked away with money 22 times. I say walked away instead of won because in AC if 0 or 00 is the winning number you lose half of your even money bets. When that happens they take my direct bet voucher and replace it with chips that are worth half the value of the direct bet voucher. I take the chips and walk away a winner.

Quote: RS

And what's the point in max odds? To increase variance with 0 advantage? Hmmm...

I've been thinking about that. Since you can't make the free odds bet unless you roll a number to resolve, at that point you can no longer think of the coupon bet as a +EV situation [I'm thinking]. Thus it probably doesn't matter if you take any odds or not.

This might be a useful video. There are a lot of details for how to deal with coupons on a craps table, and it's another beginner mistake I see people not getting the full value of their coupon, especially on match play or coupons that only pay even money that people bet in the field and so on.

Quote: guitarmandp

Is this a good use of my free bet coupon? I just think for $10 it's kind of a joke.

Nothing in a casino is a joke. You READ that coupon and if you choose thats fine, if it is so restrictive that is Pass Line only then so be it, but don't hedge. Its win or lose.

Some couples like to come in with their mailers and take opposite sides of a freebie, but otherwise its not worth hedging anything.

If you start using those freebie coupons, they will start going back up in value.

Quote: Ahigh

This might be a useful video. There are a lot of details for how to deal with coupons on a craps table, and it's another beginner mistake I see people not getting the full value of their coupon, especially on match play or coupons that only pay even money that people bet in the field and so on.

I get horribly confused with coupons. Even so, an even money match bet on the field would pay even money for 12 and 2? But would the money you put doen also pay even money then? See, that's how I get confused.

The coupon book given on check-in at the 4 Queens has a $10 match play for even money bets. Both times I had it, I used it on pass line bets. the first won on a 7 come out roll, the second lost on a 3 come out roll. I'm not sure how much I coudl have put down in odds had a point been set. 4Q has a 5x rule. So with the $10 match bet can I set down $20x5=$100 or only $10x5=$50?

The easiest thing to do with a free bet coupon in craps that has nothing to "watch out" for is to wait for the comeout roll and then bet the entire bet on the pass line and if it is a match play, bet the maximum match play amount, and don't bet anything else until that resolves. This avoids several potential problems:

1) Not waiting for the comeout roll
2) Betting even money on a bet that might possibly pay better except that you have a coupon (avoid placing a number, the point, or betting the field)
3) Betting against the coupon or hedging (this can bring the wrath of the pit against you in places like the Palms Casino, the Venetian, and the Palazzo here in Vegas)

So that's the SHORT ANSWER for what to do. If the coupon is $5 to $15, there's not much reason to do anything else.

If you have a single $100 free bet, and at least $50 to $52 cash, and you want to be sure to turn it into at least $48 without hardly gambling at all, that's a whole different story. But at least there is the short answer.

I get $100 ones twice a month. I bet the coupon and $100 on DP and another $100 on Pass. I throw out a $5 Midnight bet and either win $95 or lose $5.

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If you're gonna hedge, do it in a way that makes sense. If you have 2 coupons for $100 each, put one on both sides of the line and a $5 12. Guarantee +95 or +150. Could even get it to +250 if your pushed DP can be played again and it wins.

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Why not just bet the coupon on with DP or pass and either win $100 or lose $0?

There are plenty of variables that depend on the house rules on coupons.

1) Does the coupon get taken if it wins?
2) If the coupon does get taken, will it get replaced with the win PLUS the value of the coupon?
3) Does the coupon only get paid even money?
3A) If the coupon can be paid more than even money, what bets pay more than even money? [sometimes only the field]
4) Does the casino allow you to hedge your coupon by betting against it?

Many of the questions about coupons depend on the house rules. One reason you might want to hedge is if the house only pays even money, hedging allows you to get the money out of the coupon without gambling at all at which point you can make whatever bet you want once the value of the coupon is unlocked. IE: if the answer to #3 is yes, and the answer to #4 is yes, you can effectively get paid more than even money by hedging and getting chips from the coupon first, and subsequently taking whatever bet you wanted to take in the first place.

The three casinos in Las Vegas with the absolute worst coupon policies are (#1 yes, #2 no, #3 yes, #4 no)

1) The Venetian (LVS owned)
2) The Palazzo (LVS owned)
3) The Palms

The casino with the best coupon policy (#1 yes, #2 no, #3 no, #4 yes)

1) Silverton

The casino with a slightly better policy (#1 yes, #2 no, #3 no #3a only field pays more than even money, #4 yes)

1) Fiesta Henderson

The casinos with average policies (#1 yes, #2 no, #3 yes, #4 yes)

1) <pretty much everywhere else in Vegas>

It is these variations on coupon policies that make coupon betting a little complicated. I haven't run into variations on match play, so I'm not listing that here, but hedging can also enable you to do your match play to full amount if you don't want to risk as much money and still get the most out of your coupon.

At the Silverton, coupons have the most positive EV on some of the worst bets on the table, which can be fun for those with aversions towards those bets in the typical case.

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Quote: Ibeatyouraces

I know how they work. But the way he described it, they are taken on a win and replace with chips for the win only and not more for the coupon and just taken on a loss, so the way he was doing it made no sense what so ever.

Well, maybe he can give answers for the above questions and then come up with a better way to go through the coupons. Lots of people get confused on what's the best +EV approach from a coupon (assuming the coupon has zero value without putting it on the felt). And I think this forum is here, in part, to help people with these sorts of questions. So maybe by going through the details this thread can be helpful for some folks.

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Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Why not just bet the coupon on with DP or pass and either win $100 or lose $0?

It's a Match Play so I have to wager $100 on the coupon and it gets taken win or lose. So basically no matter where use the coupon I am wagering $100 to win $200.

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Match Play wagers are +EV. Free plays are infinitely (indefinitely?) +EV. I don't understand the logic of muddying that up with hedge bets.

Quote: Deucekies

Match Play wagers are +EV. Free plays are infinitely (indefinitely?) +EV. I don't understand the logic of muddying that up with hedge bets.

There's a thread on Hedging free bet tickets to guarantee receiving about a 50% of its face value.
For example:

$50 free bet ticket in hand, $27 in real cash, guaranteed to walk away with $50 plus.
Place the $50 free bet ticket on the pass, $25 in checks on the don't pass, $2 on the 12. (30 for 1 and down = $60).

2 or 3: take down $50 from don't pass.
7 or 11: take down $50 from pass line.
12: take down $60 in props + $25 on the don't pass push, (taking it down before the next come-out roll after bar the 12. On the 12-crap roll, you only lost paper).
Point number: take down $50 on the pass line result, do or don't.

$27 guarantees walking away with $50 or $85 in cash.

It's tacky, but it was a sign of the times when the great recession of Vegas hit a few years ago. Struggling Dealers, waitresses, etc., who went from $100 a day to $30 a day in tips filled their gas tanks this way. They treated it as a Chevron free fill-up ticket.