Have you ever tried to reduce your odds on an already placed come bet with double odds? Ever tried it after just one hit on the point? I caught on to a conversation recently asking about dealer reaction to this that I found incredibly interesting.

This guy was calling out “odds down” after the point hit once as a strategy to maximize his odds – basically by conceding to win less and less but somehow the risk/return made more sense after hitting once. I’ll get to whether I agree with this tactic or not, but my main point of interest was his observation of how the dealers responded. And that was to say, in an irritated tone. This guy claimed he got nothing but flack from the dealer, going so far as to make “chicken” noises, shaking their head or simply ignoring the request unless pressed again to change the odds. It’s probably worth mentioning this happened in Atlantic City and not Vegas.

There are a few reasons why he could be getting this reaction, of course (outside the possibility that it’s his personality). First, the dealers might think it’s an intelligent move and they, therefore, have less of an opportunity to clear the players’ chips. Second, it could be the exact opposite, that the dealers see this as a poor strategy, and are trying to offer backhanded assistance with the message that you need to keep your odds the same or press them up by a unit. And, probably the most likely, they just don’t want the hassle of dealing with it.

The strategy behind this was based off the reasoning that if the point came up multiple times, he wasn’t maximizing his winnings with odds. And I tend to fall into the camp of believing this to be poor strategy. It’s not, in actuality, maximizing your play. If you play craps and bet the come bet, you’re taking the stance that you believe numbers will repeat. That’s the point of the come bet. So backing off that stance is wishy-washy and ultimately counter-productive to your ultimate goal, which is to win as much money as you possibly can. Reducing your odds in this situation just doesn’t make sense.

Also, this guy thought he was “pushing his luck” after the first poin thit, but in actuality, his luck is being pushed equally even before this happens. This is the biggest fault to the betting strategy.

Another strategy, probably better suited for what this guy wanted to accomplish, was to use place bets. These are much more flexible – you can take them down, make them, increase and decrease them anytime you want.