The Best Craps Bets to Make
Although chance is the very essence of Craps, experienced players know that there’s always a way to improve your odds and gradually accumulate your profit – usually, with no more than a bit of discipline and restraint. Despite the high payouts, certain Craps bets are a double-edged sword which can drain your budget in a jiffy.
Fortunately, this can be avoided by selecting the low house edge Craps bets with a less generous winning potential. Don’t let the payout rate fool you, though; the Craps bets listed below will give you just the kind of consistency you would want from a game of chance, and although there are no guarantees a certain bet will win, the odds are favorable enough to make it worth the risk.
Low House Edge Craps Bets That Actually Pay More in the Long Run
Pass Line
This is the most popular Craps bet and for a reason – the house edge is extremely low, which make it the go-to option for both Craps beginners and the experienced players. Pass bet wins if the Shooter rolls a Natural (7 or 11) and loses on Craps (2, 3, 12).
The payout for Pass line is not impressive – only 1:1, or $200 on a $100 bet but the house edge of 1.41% definitely trumps the even-money payout. If you are playing Crapless Craps, the possibility of losing on Pass Line bet is removed altogether – it will either be won on a 7 or the point will be established, moving the bet onto a new dice roll session.
Don’t Pass Line
This bet has an even lower house edge than the previous one – only 1.36%, with 976:949 winning odds. Just like the Pass Line, it pays even money, generating $200 on a $100 wager. If you decide to lay a wager on Don’t Pass and bet against the Shooter, the following can happen:
- The bet wins on 2 or 3 Come Out roll
- The bet loses on 7 or 11 Come Out roll
- The bet is a tie on 12
- The bet wins on 7 after the point is established
- The bet loses if the point number is rolled before 7
Obviously, whatever this bet lacks in solidarity and the spirit of camaraderie (remember, you are going against the Shooter), it makes up for in odds…
This is the table the way you would see it at Bovada. Many tables will look different at various casinos, but ultimately, any bet can be placed at any of them.
Pass Odds
With the point established, Odds bets are a natural choice for a number of players. Pass Odds (or Taking the Odds) wager means that you are betting the point number will be rolled out before a 7. The odds are not fixed and the payout rate depends on the outcome:
| Dice Total | Payout Rate | Potential Profit |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2:1 | $300 on $100 bet |
| 5 | 3:2 | $250 on $100 bet |
| 6 | 6:5 | $220 on $100 bet |
| 8 | 6:5 | $220 on $100 bet |
| 9 | 3:2 | $250 on $100 bet |
| 10 | 2:1 | $300 on $100 bet |
This bet does not have a built-in house advantage, which means that all payouts are in perfect correlation with the true odds.
We can also tell you that one of the best places to play Craps is at Bovada, where you can currently grab up to $3000 in casino money as a welcome bonus!
Come Bet
The house edge for this bet is 1.41% (same as with the Pass Line) and the difference between Come Bet and Pass Line bets is timing – Come bet is placed after the point has been determined and the payouts are settled according to the table below:
| Dice total | Payout rate | Potential profit |
|---|---|---|
| The Natural (7 or 11) | 1:1 | $200 on $100 bet |
| 4 | 2:1 | $300 on $100 bet |
| 5 | 3:2 | $250 on $100 bet |
| 6 | 6:5 | $220 on $100 bet |
| 8 | 6:5 | $220 on $100 bet |
| 9 | 3:2 | $250 on $100 bet |
| 10 | 2:1 | $300 on $100 bet |
| Craps (2, 3, and 12) | 0 | Bet is lost |
And here is the table the way you would see it at BigSpin Casino. As mentioned, it may look considerably different, but all of the same bets can be placed.
Don’t Pass Odds
Don’t Pass or Laying the Odds are opposite from Taking the Odds bet described above. This option also becomes available after the point has been established. If a 7 comes up before the point, the player wins.
The house edge for payout rate is 1.36% and the payout tables looks like this:
| Dice total | Payout rate |
|---|---|
| 4 | 1:2 |
| 5 | 2:3 |
| 6 | 5:6 |
| 8 | 5:6 |
| 9 | 2:3 |
| 10 | 1:2 |
Don’t Come Bet
This bet is placed after the Come Out roll and it wins on 2 and 3. If the 7 or 11 are rolled, Don’t come bet will lose. The payouts are even and the house edge is 1.40%
Place 6/8
Submitting a Place Bet means that you are actually wagering on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 rolling out before a 7. Focusing on the 6 or 8 is probably the best decision that you can make, as the house edge is the lowest in this case (1.40%), not to mention the higher hit frequency rate of these two totals.
The probability for each of the total is displayed in the table below:
| Total | Number of Combinations | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 (1+1) | 2.78% |
| 3 | 2 (2+1/1+2) | 5.56% |
| 4 | 3 (1+3/2+2/3+1) | 8.33% |
| 5 | 4 (1+4/2+3/3+2/4+1) | 11.11% |
| 6 | 5 (1+5/2+4/3+3/4+2/5+1) | 13.89% |
| 7 | 6 (1+6/2+5/3+4/4+3/5+2/6+1) | 16.67% |
| 8 | 5 (2+6/3+5/4+4/5+3/6+2) | 13.89% |
| 9 | 4 (3+6/4+5/5+4/6+3) | 11.11% |
| 10 | 3 (4+6/5+5/6+4) | 8.33% |
| 11 | 2 (5+6/6+5) | 5.56% |
| 12 | 1 (6+6) | 2.78% |
Looking at the table, you can easily spot that 6 and 8 have the highest occurrence rate after 7, and that their probability percentage is almost 14%.
The Place bet can be laid on 6, 8 or both 6 and 8 – the latter is the best alternative as it comes with lowest house edge when compared with 4 or 10 (6.7%) and 5 or 9 (4%). The payout rate for Place 6/8 bet is 7:6.
The idea behind this bet is, obviously, killing two birds with one stone, or, in this case, two numbers most likely to land after a 7.
Conclusion
Walk into any brick and mortar casino and there’s a pretty solid chance you’ll find a crowd around the Craps table and there’s reason for it. With the people screaming, laughing, drinking, and kissing the dice, the whole experience can be intoxicating!
By you ending up here, we all know you have an interest in playing Craps! Let this article help you along the way to winning and having a great time doing it! We’ll also attach a couple more articles just in case you have any more questions or any doubts as to the fantastic time you can have playing this timeless game!
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