How to Play Craps
In craps, the “shooter” is the person that has the two dice in their hand and casts them for a specific round. At retail casinos, the shooter may change after every round, or a person may hold the role for multiple rounds. Once the shooter rolls the two dice, the sum of them will determine the result of a round.
There are two main phases of a round of craps. The first phase is known as the Come Out roll. It is the first roll of a round and can end with either a win or loss. If the come out bet is not decided then, a point is set. The point phase is the second passage of play. Once a point is set, players can bet on two main outcomes and numerous other smaller and riskier bets.
The Come Out Roll
The two main bets in craps are the Pass and Don’t Pass line bets. They are placed during the come out roll. Once players have bet on one or both of these lines, the dice are cast and the round begins.
- The Pass bet wins if the shooter rolls a 7 or 11 and loses if the shooter rolls a 2, 3 or 12.
- The Don’t Pass bet wins if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3 and has their bet returned as a push if a 12 is rolled. It loses if the shooter casts a 7 or 11.
If one of the above combinations is scored on the come out roll, the round is over, either with a win, a loss or a push (if you placed a Don’t Pass bet and a 12 is rolled). The Pass and Don’t Pass bets both pay out even money.
The Point Phase
As you may have noticed, several numbers are not mentioned above. If the come out roll sees a sum of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 rolled, a point is set. Once a point is established, the second passage of play becomes available.
In the second passage of play, the Pass and Don’t Pass bets work slightly differently.
- The Pass bet wins if the point number from the come out roll is cast before a 7 is rolled.
- The Don’t Pass bet wins if a 7 is rolled before the point number is cast again.
After a point is set, the Come and Don’t Come bets are available. Essentially, they are the same as the Pass and Don’t Pass Bets, i.e. the Come bet wins if the point number is rolled before a 7 whilst the Don’t Come bet wins if a 7 is rolled before the point number.
These bets give players a chance to bet up to 100 times their initial come out stake. Once a point is set, players will find many more bets available at a craps table.
Looking at House Edge in Craps Strategy
As we have already clarified, there are four main bets in craps, the Pass, Don’t Pass, Come and Don’t Come bets. Essentially, these bets are the most rewarding ones in craps, as they have the lowest house edge.
When playing craps, the Pass and Come bets have a house advantage of only 1.41%. As for the Don’t Pass and Don’t Come bets, the house edge is slightly reduced at 1.36%. If you are playing at a brick-and-mortar casino, you are more likely to play the Pass and Come bets, as this will make you the most friends. The Don’t Pass and Don’t Come have an improved return but are against the shooter.
Basic Craps Strategy – Back Free Odds on Your Point Bet
To increase your chances of winning, one of the best strategies to use is to bet as much more as you can on the Come or Don’t Come bets once a point is set. To do so, you may have to set a smaller stake for your Pass and Don’t Pass initial bet.
The reason behind this is that casinos pay out the odds at true value once a point is set. Essentially, the larger your bet, the less advantage the house has. If you match your initial pass bet, the house edge is reduced to 0.8%. If you double your initial bet, the house edge is reduced to 0.6%. Players that go full throttle and place 100 times their initial stake on their come out bet will only have to deal with a house edge of 0.02%.
The same applies to the Don’t Pass Bet and Don’t Come Bet, which could reduce the house edge to as little as 0.01%. Ideally, you will want to place as little as possible on your initial stake and then place as much as you can once a point has been set.
This entire process is known as maximizing your free odds bet. It offers some incredibly reasonable odds along with great payouts. Below, we will go through the house edge of each wager in craps.
The Big 6 and Big 8 Bets
Betting on the Big 6 or Big 8 also offers fairly decent odds to players. The payout for these bets is 7:6 and both numbers have a house edge of only 1.52%. It is far more rewarding than bets on other numbers as there are many more available combinations to form either 6 or 8.
Bets to be Wary of
It is recommended to take care when placing single-roll bets. This does not mean to avoid them completely, but just be aware that they do not have the best odds for the risk that is taken on them. The list of single-roll bets includes:
- The Field Bet – the bet only wins if a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 is rolled and has a house edge of 2.78% to 5.56%.
- Any Craps Bet– the bet pays 7:1 if a 2, 3 or 12 is rolled but has a house edge of 11.11%.
- Any 7– the bet pays if the corresponding roll is a 7. However, it has a house edge of 16.67%.
Craps Odds and House Edge Advantage for Bets
The best strategy to use for craps is by finding bets that have a low house edge. Below, we have included a complete list of available craps bets and their house edge.
- Any 7 has a house edge of 16.67%
- 2 or 12 has a house edge of 13.9%
- 11 or 3 has a house edge of 11.1%
- Hardway 4 or 10 has a house edge of 11.1%
- Hardway 6 or 8 has a house edge of 9.09%
- Any Craps has a house edge of 11.11%
- Field Bet has a house edge of up to 5.56%
- Lay 4 or 10 has a house edge of 2.44%
- Lay 5 or 9 has a house edge of 3.23%
- Lay 6 or 8 has a house edge of 4.76%
- Buy 4 or 10 has a house edge of 4.76%
- Buy 5 or 9 has a house edge of 4.76%
- Buy 6 or 8 has a house edge of 4.76%
- Place 4 and 10 has a house edge of 6.67%
- Place 5 and 9 has a house edge of 4.00%
- Place 6 and 8 has a house edge of 1.52%
- Don’t Come/Don’t Pass 2X Odds has a house edge of 0.83%
- Pass Line/Come Bet 2X Odds has a house edge of 0.85%
- Don’t Pass/Come has a house edge of 1.40%
- Pass Line/Come Bet has a house edge of 1.41%
As shown above, the most rewarding wagers are placed on the Pass or Don’t Pass bet and then matching – or potentially raising – the stake on the Come or Don’t Come bet once a point has been set.
Start By Keeping Things Simple
In craps, you will find loads of bets that can pay out rewardingly but do not have the best odds of winning. Thus, your best chance of winning at craps is by sticking to the four main bets in the game and aiming to capitalize on free odds whenever a point is established.