The whirl also known as the world bet in craps is the bet that is a combination of bets that includes the horn bet and the any seven bet in the game. The horn bet itself is a combination of different bets in which you are wagering on the shooter rolling a 2, 3, 11 or 12. Any of these numbers wins the horn bet. The other part of the whirl bet is the any 7 wager. All you need to do there is get a seven.
This bet is interesting because the any seven bet serves as a type of hedge bet. For example, if the shooter rolls a 7, the player will win just as much as they would lose on the horn, essentially breaking even. The player would win a profit on the horn bet though, but not as much since they would lose some money on the 7 bet. The world bet is all about risk management.
The odds of Whirl Bet
The actual odds of winning the whirl bet are 2:1. The payout odds are a little more complicated though. If the shooter rolls a 2 or 12, the payout is 26:5. If the shooter rolls a 3 or 11, the payout is 11:5. If the shooter rolls a 7, the payout is 0:1, which results in a push and you get your money back. Overall, the total house edge ends up being 13.33%. So given how complicated this bet is, the house edge is pretty bad and not good for the player. Although, it depends on the rules of the casino. Some casinos allow a payout of 5:1 on sevens instead of 4:1, which would provide some major improvements in the odds.
Examples of this bet to understand how it works
Here are few examples to understand this bet. Let’s say you wager $5 on the World and the two or twelve craps roll. Depending on the odds displayed on the layout the payoff will be somewhere around $30. The dealer will pay you $30 minus $4 – which provides the money to re-bet the losing numbers. Net pay is $26. If the three craps rolled, this pays $15 minus the $4 in losing bets – or $11.
When a craps number rolls on the Come Out you lose your Pass Line bet, so this bet works as a hedge in that regards – an expensive hedge, but a hedge nonetheless. In a $10 game you’d turn a net $1 profit on a three craps and a $16 profit on a two or twelve. If the eleven rolls you collect net $11 on the World bet plus $10 on the Pass Line for a total of $21. If the seven wins you’re “paid” net $4 on the Any Sevens portion of the World bet. That $4 keeps the Horn portion of your World bet up to win again, so it is effectively a “Push”
If you’re going to bet prop action look at it as an “entertainment” bet. Set aside a certain portion of your bankroll for “fun” bets. As long as you’re winning those bets then they are great. But don’t blow the entire bankroll chasing a World win. Give it a few shots and then focus on your other winning bets like Free Odds and Place Betting the Six and Eight. When playing at a land based casino, the dealer would probably know what a whirl or world bet is and they would just do everything automatically for you.