Craps Strategy

Craps is one of the most thrilling games in the casino and well it takes a while to get the hang of, it’s definitely worth the effort since it’s a blast to play.  Craps basically involves betting on the outcome of a roll of two dice with different betting options spread around the table.  There is one shooter which rotates around the table and the other players (of which there can be over 10) all bet on what they think the shooter is going to roll.  The first step to mastering a good craps strategy is getting a full understanding for the bets made in the game which are covered in our craps section.  Once you know the bets, you’ll need to know which bets are smart with a low house edge and which ones should be avoided during play.  Below we have outlined some of the most popular strategies for playing and winning in casino craps games.

Smart Bets In Craps
When playing Craps, you’ll want to stick to the lowest house edge bets since these give you the best chance of winning while playing the game.  The lowest house edge bet in Craps is the Pass Line bet which carries a house edge of 1.41% so this is one of the best bets you can make while playing the game.  The other bet you should always place as well is known as taking the Pass Line Odds which basically allows you to add to your Pass Line bet after the point has been established.  This bet is not marked on the craps table but you make it by placing a wager behind your pass line bet.  The odds bet is a multiple of your pass line bet and depending on the rules can be anywhere from 1-100 times the original wager.  The best thing about taking the odds bet is that it literally has no house edge whatsoever so this is one of the smartest bets that players can make while playing craps.

The other important aspect of playing the odds bet is that it ties into the overall house advantage on your Pass Line bet.  For example, with 2x odds bet the house edge lessens to 0.61% and with 100x odds the house edge diminishes to only 0.02% which is practically an even game.  It’s almost impossible to find a craps game these days with 100x odds bets however in old town Las Vegas there is still a few tables kicking around.

Bad Bets In Craps
Now that we know the good bets in craps, let’s take a look at some of the bets that you should never make at the tables.  The bet with the absolute worst odds in craps are what is known as proposition bets where you are betting that a 2 or a 12 (in 1,1 or 6,6) form will be rolled on the next throw of the dice.  While the payout is 30:1, the house edge is extremely high at 13.9% so you should really avoid making this bet at all costs unless you are certain it’s going to be rolled which isn’t possible unless you are using loaded dice!

The next worst bet that you can make in a craps game are the hard bets which can be made on 4 and 10.  A roll the hard way means that the dice use double matches to make the number, so hard 4 is 2,2 and hard 10 is 5,5.  When you make a hard way bet, you are betting that one of those combinations will come before it is rolled the easy way 3,1 for 4 and 6,4 for 10 or a 7 is rolled.  As you can imagine that’s pretty hard to do which is why the house edge is just over 11% for this type of bet.  If you do manage to hit this wager, the payout is between 7 and 8:1 depending on which casino you are playing craps at.

The last bad bets that you should avoid when playing craps are the Big 6 and 8 bets which is a bet that a 6 or 8 will be rolled before a 7.  The house edge on this bet is 9.1% and it is the exact same bet as buying 6 or 8 but pays less money so essentially this is a huge sucker bet and should be avoided at all times.

Overall, to maintain a good craps strategy ensure that you learn the bets and their corresponding house advantages so that you always make smart bets that give you a better chance of winning at the craps table.