In reality, craps is a fairly simple game of trying to roll your point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) a second time after the come-out roll before rolling a 7. If that was the only object, and there were no other bets, players would find that the odds were quite reasonable (under 1.5% house edge), but the game would drag on for a long time because every other roll would mean nothing.
Fortunately, there are many other wagers that can be made at the game of craps so players find the game quite exciting. Unfortunately some bets have a house edge 10x higher (16.66 on a few) than the pass line. With those kinds of odds against the player it is important to understand both craps odds and some simple strategy and systems for playing the game.
The best craps strategy is to take the Odds Bet. Once the shooter establishes a point, if you have placed a Pass Line/Don’t Pass Line, you can plan an extra free odds bet. This is generally regarded as the best bet to make in Craps as there is no house edge. Here at OnlineGambling.com, we believe that craps strategy depends on two things: 1) minimizing the house edge and 2) keeping yourself entertained. The first part is easy if that's all you are concerned with. Craps has some of the best odds in the casino and is one of the easiest games to play if you want to maintain a low house edge. Best Craps Bets. The primary aim of betting providers is to take the money of clients, and your main purpose is to prevent this by placing good wagers. To help you achieve success, we will list some of the best bets in craps. Thus, understanding the best craps bets, you will be able to develop a winning craps betting strategy and avoid losing cash.
Your overall winning strategy at craps is to have fun and make money when the dice roll your way, so making bets like eleven, any craps and the hardways can be incorporated into your play, but keep them to a minimum so the higher house edge doesn’t knock your bankroll for a loop. Successful craps players tend to become very aggressive when they are winning, often called playing on “house money.” Some players have also learned to reduce the house edge by practicing dice control.
Simple Three Bet Strategy
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To capitalize on the low pass line and come line odds, many players stick to a total of just three bets: a pass line wager with odds and two come bets with odds. To follow this system, wait for a new shooter or come-out roll and make a wager on the pass line. If 7 or 11 rolls you are off to a good start and can take the winning payoff and start again. If 2, 3, or 12 rolls, replace the losing wager and wait for a point to roll.
When a point is established, take double odds on your pass line bet and make a come line wager equivalent to your pass line bet. Now, if 7 rolls, you lose your pass and odds bet, but get paid on the come bet. If 11 rolls, you bank the payoff and wait for a come point to roll. Obviously if a 2, 3 or 12 rolls you will have to replace the losing come bet. When a new come point is rolled, take double odds and replace the come bet with an equivalent wager and repeat the earlier steps until you have your pass line and two come bets working with odds.
When the pass line point is made you’ll get a nice payoff. If one of your come bet numbers rolls again you’ll get paid with odds and will then place a new come bet and repeat the process. If the casino you are playing in offers higher odds than 2x, start increasing them while staying with the same flat bet as your table stake increases. That’s the extent of this strategy. It limits your liability but gives you bets with low house odds, unless you opt to start increasing your bets after each payoff.
There are two downsides to the three bet strategy: your come bet numbers must roll twice for you to be paid once, and sometimes the shooter seems to make all those other numbers and not your own personal points.
Craps For Fun
Place Bets
For players who prefer to get paid as soon as a number is rolled, place bets and buy bets offer the next most reasonable house odds. After a point is established you can place a wager directly on the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 with the dealers help. Your minimum bet on any number is likely to be either $5 or $10 on the 4, 5, 9 and 10, and $6 or $12 on the 6 and 8. This will actually be less expensive than making come bets and taking odds, but carries a higher house edge.
A popular way of limiting your exposure is to make a small pass line bet and take 2x odds to start. Then, place the “inside” numbers (5, 6, 8, 9) when an inside number is the point, or place the outside numbers (4, 5, 9, 10) when an outside number is the point. This gives the player a total of four wagers in action. As the place numbers are rolled the player may take the payoff, or “press” the wager and take down the remaining few dollars from the payoff and hold on to it.
Some players refrain from pressing any place bets until they have recouped their investment on a specific hand of rolls. Once they are in the black they begin pressing and add any extra chips to their pass line odds.
More aggressive players start with a pass line bet, take odds, and then place all five numbers and thus have six total wagers after the come-out roll.
Casinos also offer “buy” bets, which are place bets for slightly higher denominations. These bets carry true odds of the point rolling before a seven, but charge a 5% commission. These are very attractive, especially on the 4 and 10, when the house only charges the commission when the number rolls, not simply when the bet is made.
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Lay Bets
Another strategy for playing craps is to bet against the player making their point. Instead of making a pass or don’t pass bet, the player waits until a point is established and then lays the odds against the shooter. The good side of this strategy is that the odds are fairly low. The bad side is that any long roll by the shooter will result in quite a wait for the lay bet to be resolved.
A lay bet can be made on the same numbers as the place numbers (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), and, the same 5% commission is again charged just as the buy bets are charged. If the casino charges commission only after a payoff (when a seven is thrown and the point is not made), then bets on no 4 or no 10 have a very reasonable 1.67% house edge. The no 5 and no 9 bets have a house edge of 2% and no 6 or no 8 have a house edge of 2.27%.
Remember, as a don’t bettor the other players will likely scorn your play, especially when you are winning, since that means they will be losing. You have to be tough to bet the don’t side.
Optimizing Big Hands
The best thing about craps is that sometimes a shooter will roll the dice for an extended period of time and make point after point. If you have the numbers covered with place or come bets, you’ll get paid time and time again and can press your wagers until you have quite a tidy sum on the layout. Unlike other casino games where winning just a few consecutive bets is rare, a 10-minute hand at craps comes around fairly often. How you manage your money in-between those hands will make the difference between winning and losing. When the dice are choppy or all bad, limit your wagers, perhaps getting down to just a single line bet until some numbers begin appearing and the dice stop going point-seven, point-seven.
When the dice do roll hot, press your bets, taking down a few winners while letting more chips ride on your pass and place bets. When you do get a long roll, your bankroll will be pumped up considerably! Take advantage.
When you look at the wagers available on the craps table what do you see? Do you see a confusing layout of wagers that are confusing? Or do you see just a few important wager options that let you ignore everything else?
If you haven’t played craps before you might look at the table the first way. But once you learn the simple winning strategies on this page you can ignore everything on the table except a few simple wagers.
Here are seven quick craps strategies that you can use for winning play. They’re all easy to use so you can get started today.
1 – The Magic Odds Wager
If you do some deep research on casino gambling and the wagers that offer the best odds that are available, a few interesting things can be found.
The first thing to know is that there are basically no wagers available in the casino where the house doesn’t have an edge. The truth is that there is a way to play blackjack with a small edge over the casino, and poker players and sports gamblers can also get a small edge. But the edge you can get is small and it’s extremely hard to do.
Another interesting thing that comes up is that there’s only one wager available in the casino that you can make with no edge. This is a craps wager called an odds wager. And it’s the main reason why craps is such a good casino game to play.
But there’s a problem with the craps odds wager. You can’t place this special wager until you place a come out roll wager first. And both of these wagering options have odds for the casino.
I’m going to cover both of these wagers in other sections, but the main thing you need to know in this section is that you should always take the maximum odds wager when you play craps.
2 – Don’t Pass Is the Best Wager
Craps has two different options for wagers on the come out roll. The two options are called the don’t pass line and the pass line. These wagers are basically the opposite of each other. When one of these wagers wins, the other one loses.
Most real money craps players use the pass line wager. This is something like a tradition, and at some tables it’s even considered bad luck to bet on the don’t pass line. Some especially superstitious craps players even feel that a don’t pass gambler is working against the other players and will say the gambler is betting the dark side.
Before I continue, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. You can place a wager on whatever you want and you should ignore any other player who says otherwise. They can bet any way they like, and the way you gamble is none of their business.
The truth is that the don’t pass line is the best wager to make on a come out roll. It’s got the lowest casino edge at the table other than the odds wager, so it’s the best option.
3 – The Pass Line Is a Decent Second Option
I know that the last section states that the don’t pass wager is the best bet to make. But most craps players use the pass line wager. The question you should be asking is just how much worse is the pass line than the don’t pass line?
The casino house edge is 1.41% on the pass line. It’s 1.36% on the don’t pass wager. This isn’t a large amount.
To put this difference in perspective, consider the expected outcome of placing $50,000 in wagers on each of the two options over the course of a year. You’re going to lose $25 more on a total of $50,000 wagered when you use the pass line instead of don’t pass.
$25 is enough to buy something that you can use, so it’s not the same as a few cents. But it’s also not a large amount when you spread it over a long period of time.
You have to decide if it’s the way you want to go or if you want to stick with the slightly better don’t pass line wager. I stick with the don’t pass line because I want to get every edge I can find, even if it’s small.
4 – Everything Else Is Terrible or Worse
I covered the only three wagers you need at the craps table. Every other wager is worse and will lead to losing more money. The place 6/8 has a casino edge of 1.52%, and everything else is over 2%. Some of the wagers on the craps table have a casino edge of over 11%.
I never make a place wager or any other betting options when I play craps. I make 100% of my craps wagers based on the lowest casino edge. This means I place a don’t pass line wager and make a maximum odds wager when a point is set. This is how I recommend you play carps also, because it gives you the best chance to win.
5 – Online Casino Craps Bonus Use
When you play craps in a live casino the only kind of promotion you can usually get is the comps you earn from the player’s club. I cover this in the next section.
But if you’re willing to play craps on your mobile device or on your computer, you might be able to find an online casino bonus.
The only thing that a craps bonus really does is increase your bankroll. Rarely will a bonus actually help you improve your chance of winning. The reason why it doesn’t really help you win is because the terms state that you have to play a certain amount of time or risk a certain amount before you can cash out.
The terms are usually written in such a way that you have to risk so much that the odds of winning are basically the same as if you don’t play with a bonus. But there’s usually not a downside to having a bigger bankroll.
6 – Thou Shalt Get Casino Comps
Craps players in land based casinos aren’t going to get much in the way of rewards. But you can earn a few casino comps with your play as long as the casino offers a player’s club of some sort and you’re a member.
Even though I don’t earn many comps when I play craps, I won’t play anywhere that doesn’t offer comps. You can find plenty of casinos that offer comps for craps play, so why would you ever play where they don’t?
Online and mobile craps is a little different. Not many mobile and online casinos offer comps. Instead they use bonuses. If you do find an online or mobile casino that has craps and offers comps, you should seriously consider playing there. You probably still won’t end up winning more than you lose, but you might be able to come close to breaking even.
7 – Can You Use Dice Control?
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on dice control, but it’s something that you should at least be aware of.
Some craps players believe that they can practice enough to control the outcome of dice rolls. Or at least they believe that they can alter the outcome of some of their dice rolls.
I’m not going to argue that dice control is real or that it isn’t real. What I will say is that if you can alter the outcome of even a small percentage of dice rolls that you might be able to overcome the casino edge.
I’ve never seen proof that dice control works. But that doesn’t mean that it can’t work. And the truth is that if I could control the dice I wouldn’t tell anyone about it. Instead I’d be making a good living playing craps.
The main problem with dice control is that I don’t know anyone making a full time living just by playing craps. This is the main reason why I question if dice control is real or if it’s just something people use to sell books and courses about how to do it.
Conclusion
Craps play doesn’t have to be complicated. If you stick with 3 simple wagers you can ignore everything else and play with the lowest casino edge. Any other wagers you make just add profit for the casino and drain your bankroll.
What Is The Best Craps Strategy
You can also use bonuses and/or comps to improve your long term profits. You should be using either a bonus or comps or both every time you play at a craps table. When you play craps online use a bonus, and when you play in a land based casino make sure you’re earning comps.