migB wrote:
So is the roller allowed to bet against herself?
You can be the shooter and bet Don't Pass. MOST folks who seriously play the Don't Pass line will pass the dice instead of shooting against themselves as it's bad table etiquette. You're actually betting that you crap out on the first roll or 7-out after the point is made. Since you're playing, in essence, as the house you're betting on the house advantage.
If you place a bet on the passline and a point is made you can place your odds as an additional bet behind the passline. if the point is a 6, you place the odds behind in multiples of $6 (math odds work out better on the payout for $6 rather than $5). If the point is then made the passline gets paid 1:1 but the odds are as if you've placed a standard bet on the number itself so a $6 bet makes you $7 back.
Placing bets on the Don't Pass line inverts this. Once the point is set if a 7 comes up before that point is made the don't pass line gets paid 1:1 on the bet. You can also place odds on a don't pass bet, Say the point's a 6, like above, a Don't pass odds bet would be $7 on the line. However the payout is inverted, a $7 odds on a don't pass pays $6.
Craps is a SLOW gain game. There's no jackpot to hit. It's a game where you gain money slowly over multiple bets, but to cover the combinations you have to put a lot of money on the table to start. If a shooter sets a point, a typical player will put odds on the line, and a few number bets. The way i play ($5 min bet table) i'd have about $28 dollars out after a point gets set (Passline, odds, 2 numbers with single bets). If the shooter craps out on his second roll I lose that $28. To make those bets back the shooter would have to hit my numbers at least once FOR EACH BET i put on the table before he craps out again.