Many casino promotions are related to earning slot points, tier points, drawing entries, or clearing bonuses. It may be tempting to bet both sides of an outcome to increase your points, entries, or wagering requirements. There are many downsides to this.
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Games with opposite outcomes to bet
There are three common games with ways to bet both outcomes. Those are baccarat, craps, and roulette. Big Wheel is another one. However, that requires covering most or all the numbers.
At baccarat, a player can bet on the banker or the player hand. Roulette has three even-money bets that are opposites. Those are red and black, odd and even, and low and high.
Craps has many ways to bet both sides. This includes the pass line and don’t pass, come and don’t come, as well as the ability to buy and lay all six numbers on the spread.
Why you should not make opposite bets at casino games
It may be tempting to make opposing wagers at an online casino or on an electronic table game to take advantage of a promotion. There are reasons why you should not do this.
The house edge is probably more than the promotional value
The biggest downside to betting on both sides of an outcome while qualifying for a promotion is the house edge related to the bets. That is aggravated by leaving no chance to ever win.
Betting opposites at roulette
Roulette is the worst game for this. Double zero roulette has a 5.26% house edge on all but one bet that is worse. Some online casinos and a few live ones have video single zero roulette. The house advantage in that game is 2.7%.
At double zero roulette, a zero comes up an average of every 19 spins. If you bet $5 on black and red or other opposing bets, the wager is $190 for every time zero is called. The return is $180. The player theoretically loses about $0.53 per spin. Even worse, there is no way to win betting this way. Every spin is either a push or a loss.
It is a little better at single zero roulette, though it has the same problem. The zero only comes up an average of once every 37 spins. At $5 bets on red and black, the player theoretically loses $10 for every $370 wagered with no way to ever get ahead. The player loses, on average, $0.27 per spin.
Covering the zeros with these bets has the same theoretical outcome. The player loses the amount of the house advantage per spin, as opposed to just needing to dodge the zeros to break even.
Opposing craps bets
There are many ways to bet opposite outcomes in craps. The pass line and don’t pass are the most common. The come and don’t come bets work the same way.
The pass line and come win if the first roll is a 7 or 11. These bets lose on a 2, 3, or 12. If the roll is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, the player wins if the number repeats before a 7 comes. The don’t pass and don’t come bets work in the exact opposite way, except that the 12 is a push. Every 36 rolls, on average, the pass line and come lose, while the don’t pass and don’t come push.
The house advantage is an average of 1.39%. If a player bets $5 on each side, it theoretically pushes every 35 times and loses half once. The loss per roll is about $0.14, on average.
Taking odds on the line bets on opposing sides does nothing to affect the loss. These bets push and are almost certainly not taken into account for promotions, slot points, or online casino wagering requirements. If you find that odds do count toward the promotion, it may be an advantage play. However, if your play gets reviewed, you risk punishment for this action.
Buying and laying the same number is another way to bet both sides in craps. Casinos online and electronic table games at live ones charge a 5% commission on wins for these types of bets. One side will always lose when the number or a 7 hits, while the other side pays 5% on the win.
These types of bets only accrue slot points and wagering requirements when settled. No promotions are earned on craps rolls that do not affect the outcome.
Banker and player at baccarat
The player and banker bets at baccarat cheer for different outcomes. The house advantage is 1.06% on the banker when the normal 5% commission is charged. It is 1.24% on the player. The house edge varies a little when playing no-commission baccarat. With over 100 hands of $5 on each side, there are about 10 pushes. The other 90 times, the player loses about $0.115. Over 100 hands of betting opposite outcomes, the player loses about $10.35.
No chance of coming out ahead in the game when betting on opposite sides
When you bet both sides of an outcome, your best hope is for a push. There are times when you will lose both bets. In other games, you will slowly grind down until you bust. There is no way to win one bet while the other wins or pushes. This is a terrible casino strategy.
The casino may review your play and punish you
Online casinos tend to review play before allowing a player to withdraw. If the security department catches a player betting on both sides to clear a bonus, it will be taken away. The best hope there is that the casino allows the player to finish the bonus with proper action. In some cases, the funds will be seized.
Retail casinos also check play when there is a big win or a player earns a massive number of points. A casino may ban a player for this action. The best outcome is just getting kicked out of the players club or promotion.
Games may be excluded from the promotion anyway
Online casinos post terms and conditions for bonuses. We recommend always reading these. Excluded games are noted. It is common that games like baccarat, craps, and baccarat are excluded from online casino bonuses. If they are not, the wagering requirement is usually astronomical. This means that you will not come close to recouping the game losses with the bonus. If the games are included, the terms make it clear that betting opposites is a violation.
Electronic table games often do not pay points. There may not be a sign that discloses this. If the game does not pay points, it is generally excluded from all other promotions.
The promotion usually does not cover the house advantage
Baccarat, craps, and roulette have house edges of at least one percent. It is rare that an online casino bonus returns more than that, even if the game is included. Retail casino promotions tend to also not be that generous, or have massive variance, like in the case of drawings and hot seats.
