| Updated: Craps may be a game of pure chance, but playing without a plan is almost always a recipe for failure. Many bets carry a high house edge that can erode any profits you have already made. A solid strategy, on the other hand, can help minimize losses and extend your playing sessions, even with a modest bankroll.
Before we examine the components of a basic craps strategy, it is important to note that no strategy can guarantee long-term winnings in craps. The nature of the game makes complex strategies and betting systems ineffective. Players should remember that their decisions cannot influence the outcome. Each result is random and depends solely on the roll of two dice.
For a craps strategy to succeed, it must account for several factors, including each player’s goals and resources: how much they can afford to bet and lose, how long they intend to play, their knowledge of the game, and their tolerance for risk. When outlining the main points of our strategy, we should also identify the bets that will form its foundation, as well as those we should avoid.
This article presents some of the safest and most effective tactics for playing craps, both online and in land-based casinos. These tips should prove useful to novices and experienced players alike.
The Best Bets for a Successful Strategy
One of the first things to consider when learning how to play craps is the variety of available bets. Most casinos offer between 30 and 40 different bets – some focus on a particular number, such as 7, whereas others cover large groups of numbers and are therefore more likely to win. However, to ensure a steady profit, casinos tend to pay at odds that are significantly lower than the true mathematical odds of these wagers.
Still, certain craps bets offer a low house edge of around 1.40%, and these are the wagers players should consider fundamental to their strategy. It is also essential to differentiate between single and multi-roll bets, as they differ dramatically in house-edge percentages, overall complexity, and level of difficulty.
Which Bets to Make?
Which Bets to Avoid?Which Bets to Make?
Every sound craps strategy begins with the Pass Line bet. It is the most basic craps wager, and the game cannot begin without it. In land-based casinos, the shooter is required to make the Pass Line bet or its opposite, the Don’t Pass bet. In online games, players must sometimes place chips on the Pass Line to start the game.
So, what is the Pass Line? With this wager, players bet that the shooter will roll a 7 or 11 before crapping out by rolling 2, 3, or 12. After a point is established, players hope that the point will be rolled before a 7. Those who opt for the Don’t Pass bet generally win when Pass Line bettors lose and lose when Pass Line bettors win. These wagers pay even money, which is not particularly impressive. However, they offer favorable odds and a low house edge.
Focusing on so-called “right” betting, the Pass Line bet offers true odds of 251:244. The chances of winning and losing are nearly identical, while the house edge is 1.41%. The same applies to the Come bet, which is similar to the Pass Line bet except that it is placed after the point has been established rather than at the beginning of a new round.
Furthermore, taking Odds on a Pass Line bet can be an even better tactic because the Odds bet has no house edge. Often referred to as Free Odds, this option acts as an addition to the main Pass Line or Come bet. Players effectively increase the amount wagered by adding 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x, or more to the original bet. The Odds taken behind Pass Line and Come bets can be increased, decreased, or removed at any time.
With this combination, the house edge falls to 0.80% with single odds, 0.6% with double odds, and 0.4% with 3x-4x-5x odds. It declines further to 0.3% with 5x odds, 0.2% with 10x odds, and 0.02% with 100x odds. Another important point is that Pass Line and Come bets are both multi-roll wagers, which means they usually require several rolls of the dice before being settled.
This gives players the opportunity to place additional bets, hedge their main wagers, or create different patterns based on Pass Line and Come bets. For example, a player can make a Pass Line bet, wait for the point, take Odds, and then place a Come or Don’t Come bet. If the main bet remains unresolved after the next roll, the player can add more Come bets, take Odds on the Come bets, and so on.
Another option is to incorporate Place bets on 6 and 8 into a basic craps strategy because 6 and 8 are the most likely numbers to be rolled after 7. These two bets offer favorable odds and a house edge of 1.52%.
Which Bets to Avoid?
As noted above, most craps bets carry a high house edge. In many cases, it exceeds not only the 1.41% theoretical edge of the Pass Line but also the house edge of other table games such as blackjack, poker, baccarat, or roulette. Players should remember that the house edge is a theoretical advantage calculated over an almost unlimited number of games, and real-life results rarely match the expected value.
The house edge indicates the average outcome players can expect from a particular craps bet. Wagers with a higher house edge are generally less favorable to players than those with a much lower percentage. In fact, most proposition bets are considered “sucker” bets because of the extremely high mathematical advantage they give casinos. Here are the worst bets in craps:
- Any 7: 16.67%
- 2: 13.89%
- 12: 13.89%
- Whirl: 13.33%
- Horn: 12.50%
- Yo (11): 11.11%
- 3: 11.11%
- Hi-Lo (2 or 12): 11.11%
- Craps Numbers (2, 3, or 12): 11.11%
- C&E Bet: 11.11%
- Hard 4/Hard 10: 11.11%
These bets should be avoided, especially by novices. However, they can be incorporated into a specific betting pattern and combined with wagers that offer significantly better odds. Consistently betting on 7 is likely to deplete a player’s bankroll quickly over time.
Betting on the Dark Side
Another effective tactic many experienced craps players, particularly online, like to adopt is betting the “wrong” way. The term refers to the Don’t Pass and Don’t Come wagers, where players essentially bet against the shooter. These bets offer even better odds than their “right” counterparts – the Pass Line and the Come bet. Several other “wrong” betting options also exist, and all come with appealing opportunities to optimize your session.
However, dark siders – players who bet on the shooter to lose – are not always welcomed at the craps table. Usually, all players bet with the shooter – i.e. that the shooter will either toss a 7 or 11 in the come-out roll or the point number after a certain point has already been established. Those who bet on the dark side, however, hope the shooter will lose, and with him, everyone else at the table.
This explains why most people who play live craps in a brick-and-mortar casino prefer to be right bettors – they win or lose together, creating a sense of community and solidarity unique to the game. Online players, however, have nothing to worry about when betting against the shooter because online craps is offered only in its virtual, RNG form. In that environment, you play solo against computer software rather than against a dealer or other players. Below, you can see the advantages of adopting a dark sider’s strategy.
Don’t Pass and Don’t Come Bets Lay BetsDon’t Pass and Don’t Come Bets
Just as the Pass Line and Come bets are almost identical, their opposites, the Don’t Pass and Don’t Come wagers, are also practically the same. The only difference between them is the timing. The Don’t Pass bet can be placed before a new come-out roll, while the Don’t Come bet is available after a point has been established and the second phase of the game has begun. Both bets pay close to true odds, with a 1:1 payout against odds of 976:949.
The Don’t Pass and Don’t Come bets offer the lowest house edge in the game. It is 1.36% when the bet pushes if 12 is rolled during the come-out roll. The basic rules of the Don’t Pass bet are straightforward: it wins if 2 or 3 appears on the come-out roll and loses if 7 or 11 is rolled. If the dice show 12, the bet is considered a tie. If the shooter rolls any other number, that number becomes the point. Don’t Pass bettors then win if the shooter rolls a 7 before repeating the point.
Taking Odds on Don’t Pass or Don’t Come bets can reduce the already low house edge further. Odds are taken in the same manner described above, and most casinos allow Odds of up to 5x the size of the main bet. Some casinos and online games offer even higher Odds, reducing the house edge to nearly zero. It is 0.682% with single odds, 0.455% with 2x odds, and 0.431% with full double odds.
The house edge decreases further to 0.341% with 3x odds, 0.273% with 3x-4x-5x odds, and 0.227% with 5x odds. Players who find a casino offering even larger Odds bets will face an even lower house edge of 0.124% with 10x odds, 0.065% with 50x odds, or 0.014% with 100x odds.
Lay Bets
Another option for wrong-side bettors in craps is to place Lay bets on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. These are the same numbers that can become points during the come-out roll and the same numbers that right-side bettors use for Place and Buy bets. Wrong-side bettors, however, can use Lay bets to choose which number to bet against. In other words, Lay betting is the wrong-side equivalent of Buy betting, which pays at true odds minus a 5% commission.
When players lay a number, they are betting that the shooter will roll a 7 before that number appears. This wager can be made at any time, either before or after a point has been established. Because Lay bets are the opposite of Buy bets, their true odds and payout odds are reversed. For example, the odds of a Lay bet on 4 or 10 winning are 1:2, meaning that players are twice as likely to win as to lose. The payout is also 1:2, but a 5% commission, also known as vigorish or vig, is charged on the winnings.
To win a specific amount with a Lay bet, players must first stake twice that amount. If a player lays $20 on 4, for example, and the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling a 4, the player wins $10 in addition to receiving the original stake back. The odds and payouts of these bets vary depending on the number the player chooses to lay. Some casinos charge the 5% commission on the wager rather than the winnings. The resulting house edge is 1.67% when laying 4 or 10, 2% when laying 5 or 9, and 2.27% when laying 6 or 8.
- Craps History: How Craps Evolved from Ancient Times to 21st Century
- Craps Table and Etiquette
- How to Play Craps: Basic Rules
- Dice Combinations and Probabilities in Craps
- Understanding the Game of Craps: Odds and House Edge
- The Line Bets: The Basic Wagers in Craps
- Multi-Roll Bets in Craps
- Craps Proposition Bets
- Craps Variations
- Craps Side Bets
- Advantage Play and Cheating in Craps
- Online Craps: Top Software Providers
- Betting Patterns and Tactics to Win in Craps
- Progressive Betting Systems for Craps
- Bankroll Management Tips for Craps Players