Craps Strategy Guide
Learn How to Play
Know the Best Bets
- Pass
- Don’t Pass
- Come
- Don’t Come
- Free Odds
- Place Bets on 6 and/or 8
Don’t Forget to Claim Your Winnings
Craps Systems Don’t Work
Sizing Your Bets
Getting Along with the Other Players
Craps Dice Setting
Dice Setting 101
Betting Strategies When Setting the Dice in Craps
Summary
Craps Bets Explained
The Pass Line Bet
Don’t Pass Line
The Come Bet
The Don’t Come Bet
Taking Odds
Laying Odds
Place Bets
Buy and Lay Bets
Put Bets
Proposition Bets
The Field Bet
Big 6 and Big 8
Hardways
- Hard Four (2-2)
- Hard Six (3-3)
- Hard Eight (4-4)
- Hard Ten (5-5)
Any Craps
Any 7
Eleven or Three
Twelve or Two
Horn Bet
Horn High Bet
C&E
Hop Bet
Odds for Dice Outcomes in Craps
The Basics of Probability
True Odds
Payout Odds
The House Edge
The Best Odds in Craps
The Worst Odds in Craps
Theoretical Probability of Winning Craps
Possible Totals and Their Probabilities
Expressing these Probabilities
Understanding the House Edge
Calculating Expected Losses per Hour
Craps Betting Systems
Hedge Bets
The Rothstein System
The Watcher System
Hot and Cold Betting Systems
The Best System Is No System at All
Martingale System – Progressive & Reverse
An Example of the Martingale in Action
Does the Martingale System Work?
- The fact that you don’t have an unlimited bankroll, and
- The fact that casinos have betting limits.
Craps Odds Bet Payout
The Reverse Martingale
Casino Craps Odds
Knowing the mathematical odds of the dice achieving a certain outcome is the essence of the game. If you are going to play for money, then try and remember these odds.
For a description of the kind of bets you can make playing Craps, see instructions from a real casino or dice-play's Craps guide. If you want to understand more about how odds work, see dice odds.
You will be at a slight disadvantage with the Pass Line bet since the odds of the dice winning are only 970 times out of 1980. The edge against the dice passing works out as 1.414%.
The following table illustrates the bets found on Vegas/Nevada, Atlantic City, etc., Bank Craps tables. Bets in red can be made in other ways at better odds.
Bet | True Odds | Pay-off | House Edge % |
Pass Line/Come Bet | 251 to 244 | 1 to 1 | 1.414 |
Don't Pass/Don't Come Bet | 976 to 949 | 1 to 1 | 1.402 |
Pass Line Odds/Come Bet Odds/Buy Bets (5% commission) | |||
Numbers 4 or 10 | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 | 4.76 |
Numbers 5 or 9 | 3 to 2 | 3 to 2 | 4.76 |
Numbers 6 or 8 | 6 to 5 | 6 to 5 | 4.76 |
Don't Pass Odds/Don't Come Bet Odds/Lay Bets (5% commission) | |||
Numbers 4 or 10 | 1 to 2 | 1 to 2 | 2.44 |
Numbers 5 or 9 | 2 to 3 | 2 to 3 | 3.23 |
Numbers 6 or 8 | 5 to 6 | 5 to 6 | 4.0 |
Field Bets | |||
3, 4, 9, 10, 11 | 5 to 4 | 1 to 1 | 2.78 |
2, 12 | 2 to 1 | ||
Place Bets | |||
Numbers 4 or 10 | 2 to 1 | 9 to 5 | 6.7 |
Numbers 5 or 9 | 3 to 2 | 7 to 5 | 4.0 |
Numbers 6 or 8 | 6 to 5 | 7 to 6 | 1.52 |
Free slot play in vegas. Hardways | |||
6 or 8 | 10 to 1 | 9 to 1 | 9.09 |
4 or 10 | 8 to 1 | 7 to 1 | 11.1 |
One Roll Bets | |||
Any 7 | 5 to 1 | 4 to 1 | 16.9 |
Any craps | 8 to 1 | 7 to 1 | 11.1 |
2 craps or 12 craps | 35 to 1 | 30 to 1 | 13.9 |
3 craps or 11 | 17 to 1 | 15 to 1 | 11.1 |
Horn Bet (3 or 11) | 3.75 to 1 | ||
Horn Bet (2 or 12) | 7.5 to 1 | ||
Big 6 or 8 | 6 to 5 | 1 to 1 | 9.09 |
Bet | True Odds | Pay-off | House Edge % |
Hardways | |||
4 or 10 | 8 to 1 | 15 to 2 | 5.56 |
6 or 8 | 10 to 1 | 19 to 2 | 4.55 |
Place Bet: 4 or 10 | 2 to 1 | 19 to 10 | 3.33 |
2 craps or 12 craps | 35 to 1 | 33 to 1 | |
There is no Big 6 or 8 | - | - | ------ |
- | - | ------ |
Crap Table Odds
Bet | True Odds | Pay-off | House Edge % |
Don't Pass/Don't Come | 976 to 840 | 1 to1 | 4.40 |
There are 36 possible outcomes of two dice. The following tables show the true odds for the specified outcome of the dice.
(A) This column gives the number of possible ways of making the dice total.
Craps True Odds Hard Ways
(B) This column gives the odds against making the dice total in a single roll.
(C) This column gives the odds against rolling the dice total before a 7.