Craps Strategy

A craps table can be very daunting to a new player, making it hard to understand craps strategy, and yet the excitement of the game has long drawn crowds. Because of the speed of the game, it may be hard to pick up on craps just by watching; in fact, it might even confuse a player that doesn’t understand the bets and odds more.

Craps Bets

An important part of choosing a strategy for craps is first understanding all of the possible bets. First, the bets are different depending on whether you are the shooter (the player rolling the dice) or an observer. Shooters can only make a Pass Line or Don’t Pass bet. These are the most basic bets in craps.

A Pass Line bet is the most fundamental bet in craps and holds the most value for the come out roll. The come out roll is the first roll each shooter takes. If the shooter hits 7 or 11, then they win even money on their Pass Line bet. If they roll 2, 3, or 12 then they lose. If they roll any of the remaining numbers (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10), then they are on “the point,” and to win even money must roll that number again. If he rolls a 7 before rolling a point, then the bet is lost.

The Don’t Pass bet is only slightly less common then the Pass Line bet, and is pretty much betting the opposite. With a Don’t Pass bet you win with a roll of 2 or 3 and lose with a 7 or 11. A roll of 12 is a push. As with the Pass Line, any other roll total is the point, but with a Don’t Pass bet you want to roll a 7 before rolling the point to get even money.

Non-shooters may place several other bets called taking the odds, laying the odds, come, or don’t come.

To bet (or “take”) the odds, a player must first place a Pass Line bet. After the point has been thrown, you may increase your Pass Line bet. To win with an odds bet, you want the shooter to roll the point before a 7. Winning an odds bet will increase your winnings significantly.

Laying the odds is the opposite of taking the odds. As with betting the odds, you must wait until the point is thrown, and then you bet on the 7 being rolled before the point. This is another bet that will take your payout above even money.

A come bet is like a Pass Line bet, only it can be made after the come out roll. Alternately, a don’t come bet is like the Don’t Pass bet and can also be made after the come out roll.

Beyond the simple bet types, your bets can be placed more specifically on one roll or multiple rolls of specific totals.

Best Bets to Make

The best craps strategy focuses on the lowest house edge. The Pass Line and Don’t Pass Line bets offer the lowest house advantage with a 1.4% and 1.41% edge respectively. Therefore, a good foundation for any successful craps strategy will be either or both of these bets. To make money with either of these bets requires a little more.

Improving on the Best Bets

Because few casino game players really hit the table hoping to make even money, it is important to take your craps strategy one step beyond simple Pass/Don’t Pass bets. The next step then is the odds. You may either buy the odds or lay the odds as mentioned above with taking or laying bets. These bets literally remove the house edge. I repeat; there is no house advantage on odds, because you are playing against the dice alone.

Buying the odds means you are adding to your Pass Line bet. You do this by betting on a specific point. When you win, you get the even money from your Pass Line bet and anywhere from 2-1, 3-2, or 6-5 payout on your point bet.

Laying the odds means you are supplementing a Don’t Pass bet. And thus you are betting that they won’t hit a certain point. The payout is the same with 2-1, 3-2, and 6-5 for specific points. Many craps players choose to double these bets because most casinos pay out in whole dollars and thus will swallow any fractions that you would have otherwise won.

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