Craps Strategy

Of all the casino games you can choose from, craps is undoubtedly one of the more complex to learn, but most fun and rewarding to play. The trick is to learn the rules as well as the many types of bets you can make so you can formulate and use some kind of craps strategy, whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned pro.

The sheer number of bets available in a standard game of craps is intimidating to players new to the game. The good news, though, is once you learnt the bets you’ll notice that there are only a handful worth playing. In other words, a few with the lowest house edge or advantage to help maximise your winning potential.

On this page you’ll what the ‘good craps bets’ are and those you shouldn’t waste your time one which are commonly known as ‘sucker bets’ because as tempting as they are, they can lay waste to your bankroll, leaving you feeling like a sucker. The better you choose your bets, the better your odds, and that’s a winning strategy.

Every casino gambling game has a set of myths surrounding it, and craps is certainly no different. Here are a few of the most common dispelled:

• You can predict the next dice roll – No you can’t. In land casino craps, the outcome of every roll of a pair of regulation dice is 100% random, as it is at any premier UK online or mobile casino thanks to its cutting edge Random number generator (RNG) software.
• The Shooter controls your luck – Not true. Since every single roll of the dice is 100% random, it makes no difference who the Shooter is. The reality is that in craps you’ll win some and lose some, so the trick is to capitalise (with smart betting) if the dice are in your favour and cut back it they’re not.
• Online craps odds differ from land craps odds – Not true. Whether you play standard craps in Las Vegas or at a UK online casino, you’ll find the odds to be identical. Virtual craps is just more private and convenient than land craps.
• Women are luckier at craps than men – Not true. Perhaps the all too familiar image of a woman blowing on a pair of craps dice before the Shooter wins a fortune helped spawn this myth. Gender plays no roll in craps whatsoever.

This should go without saying, but like most things in life, knowledge is power when it comes to craps. The better your understanding of how craps and its various bets work, the better positioned you’ll be to rack up winnings instead of losses.

As such, we recommend you visit our craps rules page if you haven’t already, and then any of our featured UK craps online casinos so you can try their fun play or demo craps games until you’re confident enough to switch to real money play.

When it comes to the bets available in craps you’ll be spoiled for choice. Few other casino gambling games have so many different betting options you can choose, but be very aware because not all craps bets are created equal.

Craps has the distinction of having bets with some of the lowest and highest house edge in the gambling world, which can prove a minefield to the uninitiated player who hasn’t done their homework by learning the rules of craps.

The entire point of craps is to select bet types with the best odds of paying you out, and these bets happen to have the lowest house edge.

They are the Pass bet (1.41% house edge), the Come bet (1.41% house edge), the Don’t Pass bet (1.36% house edge) and the Don’t Come bet (1.36% house edge).

These are the best bets you’ll find in craps, because every other bet has a higher house edge, including the infamous Any 7 bet. This bet gives the house an enormous 16.67% edge, or advantage over you, the player, and as such should be avoided.

If you want to watch your chip stack diminish fast, only play craps bets like Any 7 and other bets with a high house edge. If, however, you want the best possible chance to grow your chip stack, stick to Pass, Come, Don’t Pass or Don’t Come bets.

The Pass Line Bet is your best betting option on the Come-Out Roll (the roll that starts every new round of craps) because of its low house edge (1.41%) and that you’re positively betting that the Shooter will manage to roll either a 7 or 11, and not a 2, 3 or 12 (craps), which automatically loses the bet.

Any other number rolled (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) is made the Point. If the Shooter rolls the Point, all Pass Line Bets win. If they roll a 7 (a Seven-out), all Pass Line Bets lose and the round ends.

On the Come-Out roll you can also place a Don’t Pass Line bet with its even lower house edge (1.36%). Considered a negative bet since you’re betting the Shooter won’t roll a 7 or 11 on the Come-Out roll, your bet wins if the Shooter rolls a 2 or 3. (A 12 roll results in a push, which means you get your bet back).

Playing online, however, means you can make any bets you like – positive or negative - without risking boos and jeers from your fellow craps players, which is known to happen in land casino craps games.

The reason for this is that the four types of odds bets (Pass Line Odds, Don’t Pass Line Odds, Come Odds and Don’t Come Odds) each have a 0% house edge, making them the best bets in craps. However, you can only place odds bets once you’ve placed Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line, Come or Don’t Come bets, respectively.

As soon as the Shooter has established the Point you can place odds bets which have pay outs ranging from 1:2 up to 2:1. Some online casinos allow you to place odds bets that are double your original bet. As such, an excellent craps strategy is to place lower Pass Line Bets and higher Pass Odds bets where this is permitted.

Come and Don’t Come bets also have a low house edge of 1.41%, but unlike Pass Line bets which you can place before the Come-Out Roll, you can only place Come Line bets once the Shooter has established the Point. You win this bet if the Shooter rolls a 7 or 11, but lose it if they roll a 2, 3 or 12.

The low house edge of this bet can only be beaten by those of a Don’t Come Line bet. With this bet, you win if the Shooter rolls a 2 or 3, but lose if they roll a 7 or 11 (12 results. Concentrating on low house edge bets is a sure fire way to maximise your opportunity of winning in craps.

A winning craps strategy used by many seasoned land and online craps players is to place a Pass Line bet followed by two Come bets. This means you’ll have not one but three decent odds bets in play at once, and thus maximise your chances of adding to your chip stack.

Propositions bets in craps are renowned for their lousy (high) house edge (5.56% to 16.67%), and often come down to a single roll of the dice.

You’ll find that the ‘hit or miss’ nature of proposition bets typically appeals to new players who don’t know any better, as well as die-hard gamblers, but rarely to skilled and consistently successful craps players.

Like propositions bets, Big Six, Big Eight, Any Seven and Any Craps bets are widely considered to be high risk, low reward bets that are the domain of craps novices and incorrigible gamblers. Nothing will erode your chip stack faster than a fondness for these high house edge bets (9.09% to 11.11%).