Chapter 8b
HARDWAY BETS
BREAKING BETS DOWN

​HARDWAYS
The 4, 6, 8, and 10. When the dice add up to one of those numbers and they land as a pair, it is considered rolled “hard”. When the dice add up to one of those numbers and they don’t land as a pair, it is considered rolled “easy”. I.e. a Hard 6 is the dice showing 3-3 while an Easy 6 is the dice showing either 5-1 or 4-2.

Every time one of those numbers are rolled, you will say out loud whether the dice landed “easy” or “hard”. A Hardway is betting that the dice will land “hard” before they land “easy” or before a 7 is rolled. Only when a players number comes “easy” or a 7 is rolled will their Hardway lose.

Hardways work during the come-out roll unless players call them off and most players will call them off.  Hardway bets are not contract bets nor are they one-roll bets. They can be called off or taken down at anytime before a decision. 

​The 4 or 10 can roll three ways. 
One way wins.
The remaining two "easy ways" lose plus they lose six ways of the seven. 
No other number the shooter rolls matter. 
The odds of winning are 8:1​

The 6 or 8 can roll five ways.
One way wins.
The remaining four "easy ways" lose plus six ways of the seven.
No other number rolled matters.
The odds of winning are 10:1

Casinos don't pay 10 to 1. They pay 10 "for" 1 on the hardway 6 and 8. That means the player wins 10 but losses the bet. Say what? That's right, you lose the bet when it wins. Sort of. The stick will pay the entire 10 x the bet if the player chooses, but the player will no longer have another bet on it. Most players will 'stay up' on the winning hardway and take 9x the bet. To their credit, some casinos do print 9 to 1 on hard 6 & 8 and 7 to 1 on the hard 4 & 10. The word "for" was designed for easy subtraction in one-roll prop bets (I'll explain that later) and seems silly to use "for" on the hardways. 

But the bottom line is...

• The hard 6 & 8 pay 9x the bet
• The 4 & 10 pay 7x the bet

​It's easy to pay simple dollar bets but sometimes, especially when the table gets hot and players are winning big, hardways can get nasty. What is 24 x 7? How about  46 x 9? Experienced craps dealers can tell you the answer with ease. What's the trick you might ask?

You've come to the right place.
​It's called breaking bets down.

​Here is our little secret....(Don't tell anyone)....
If 1 x 7 = 7 then  10 x 7 = 70
If 2 x 7 = 14 then 20 x 7 = 140
If 3 x 7 = 21 then 30 x 7 = 210
See a pattern here?
Suppose a player bets a $13 hard 4 that pays 7x
When we look at 13 we see 10 first then the 3
10 x 7 = 70 and 3 x 7 = 21.....70 + 21 = 91
Wasn't that easy? Let's do another one.

$24 hard 10 that pays 7x
20 x 7 = 140 and 4 x 7 = 28.....140 + 28 = 168
Cool huh?

​Okay one more...
$35 hard 4 that pays 7x
30 x 7 = 210 and 5 x 7 = 35....210 + 35 = 245
We always look at the 10's then the 1"s

Let's try some hardway 6 & 8 that pays 9x
You can simply multiply the bet 10x then subtract bet amount or multiply bet x9.
Myself, I prefer 9x the bet.
1 x 9 = 9 then 10 x 9 = 90
2 x 9 = 18 then 20 x 9 = 180
3 x 9 = 27 then 30 x 9 = 270
Let's do a couple shall we?
Suppose a player bets a $13 hard 8 that pays 9x
Again, when we look at 13 we see 10 first then the 3
10 x 9 = 90 and 3 x 9 = 27....90 + 27 = 117
Too easy, here's another one...
​
$21 hard 6 pays 9x
20 x 9 = 180 and 1 x 9 = 9....180 + 9 = 189
$32 hard 8 pays 9x
30 pays 270 and 2 pays 18.....270 + 18 = 288
We always look at the 10's then the 1's

Remember that bet above?  46 x 9?
40 x 9 = 360 and 6 x 9 = 54.....360 + 54 = 414

Let's take another peak at that last bet shall we?
40 x 9 = 360 and 7 x 6 = 54.....360 + 54 = 414
A bet like this, which is not common by any means but sometimes on a game that players are winning big they may hand the base dealer a handful of chips...."Here, bet all this on the hard 6", or they might press the bet after winning that can lead to ridiculous amounts wagered at times. It doesnt matter what they bet, you have to figure it out.

Now you could multiply 46 x 10 then subtract the bet..
46 x 10 = 460 - 46
Sometimes subtracting is not easy when all eyes are upon you.

On a mobile device? Turn your phone sideways

Illustration courtesy of Parlay Nation

Next up....
​PROP BETS

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