Top 10 Craps Tips

Craps can be confusing to beginners and there are plenty of reasons why this can be so.

A typical Craps table has a plethora of betting options which don’t seem to make any sense.

This problem is compounded by the fact that when you play Craps in land-based casinos, there is a lot of hustle and bustle going on around the Craps table. People shout animatedly and watch every roll of the dice expectantly.

If the shooter lands the “right” numbers the players around the Craps table tend to get excited and many of them even cheer like sports fans when this happens.

This can be quite a confusing experience for beginners to Craps.

But the good news is that when you play craps online, you don’t have to worry about being surrounded by crowds of experienced players. In fact, a lot of live craps tables online have a quick tutorial on how to play craps as well where you can practise craps without spending any money.

If you are wondering if there is a smart way to play craps or any strategies for playing craps, don’t worry. We’ll share with you some cool tips for craps that will help you to reduce the house edge and increase your chances of walking away from a craps table with a neat profit.

Craps Tip 1: Maximize Your Odds Bets

In our opinion and experience the best bet when you are playing craps is the odds bet. Odds bets are paid at true odds and the house edge one these bets is zero.

The odds bet in craps is a separate bet that is made after the come out roll. The odds bet is tied to your come/don’t come bets and pass/don’t pass bets. Sure, overall the casino still has a net house edge but this does not mean that the odds bet is the best house bet.

Most casinos will allow you to take (or lay) odds up to three times your pass line bet. For example, if you bet $10 on the come out roll, you can place an odds bet up to $30.
Maximize this bet. Since the casino pays true odds on it, betting the maximum gives you the best chance to make money. So, if you wager $10 on the flat bet (before the come out roll), take (or lay) odds at $30. If your flat bet is $25, you can buy odds up to $75.

Craps Tip 2: Be Willing to Play the “Dark Side”

This is a controversial tactic when you are playing Craps because the other plays on your table may not like it. When you place lay bets and “don’t come” bets, you are essentially playing what is called the “dark side”. This tactic involves laying odds instead of buying odds.

In simple words this means that you are betting against the shooter. Before he hits the point you hope and bet that he rolls a 7. This also means that you are betting against everyone on the Craps table which is why a lot of your fellow craps players on the table might now like it.

Imagine doing this in a land based casino. When everyone starts placing the bet that the shooter would hit the point before he rolls a 7 while you bet against it. Imagine winning while everyone else loses. If you have friends on the craps table they might not be very happy when this happens and you might some mean vibes from them.

But you can avoid this while playing Craps online because you don’t have to see these players personally!

Craps Tip 3: Place the 6 or 8 to Win

There is a low house edge on place bets on 6 and 8. The house edge is only 0.46% on a table paying 7:6 for these. That’s a pretty low house edge!

1. There are five ways to roll a 6: 1-5, 2-4, 3-3, 4-2, and 5-1.
2. There are five ways to roll an 8: 2-6, 3-5, 4-4, 5-3, and 6-2.
3. Meanwhile, there are six ways to roll a 7: 1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, and 6-1.

The odds are against you, but not by much. Bottom line, place 6 and 8 are solid wagers on craps.

Craps Tip 4: Find an Online Casino to Play Craps Online

We recommend playing craps online as we stated in our craps for dummies guide.One of the biggest reasons to play craps in an online casino is the fact that many casinos offer casino bonuses. If you get a 100% bonus you get exactly the same amount of money from the casino to play on their casino.

We found offers from the best casinos for playing craps online below:

Craps Tip 5: Lay Against the 4 And 10

There are only three ways to roll a 4: 1-3, 2-2, and 3-1.
Likewise, there are only three ways to roll a 10: 4-6, 5-5, and 6-4. 

From above, we know there are six ways to roll a 7. That means the chances of seeing a 7 before a 4 or 10 are high. Given that, it’s a good idea to lay against those numbers.
That means you’ll earn 1:2 if you see a 7 before the 4 or 10. You’ll also have to pay a small commission (4%) to the casino if you win. The commission is charged because the odds of winning are in your favor.

You don’t have to wait until after the come out roll to lay against the 4 and 10. You can do it at the same time you place your pass line bet. If you do so and see a 7, you’ll win on the pass line and win payouts for your lay bets.

Craps Tip 6: Don’t Double Your Lay 4 or 10 on an Outside Point

Let’s  say you bet $25 on the 10 and $25 on 4. On the come out roll, the shooter rolls a 10. You lose the bet on the 10 and the 10 becomes the point.

Conventional wisdom might suggest that you should should double the amount on your lay bet on number 4 to $50 in the next bet (or vice versa if the shooter rolls a 4 instead of 10).

You should avoid doing that though. Just place a bet on full odds. Leave your existing lay bet at the same amount and either bet bet on the pass or don’t pass bet.

For instance, if the come out roll of the dice is number 10, leave the bet amount at $25 on number 4 and double it to $50 to make up for your loss on your bet on number 10.

These five craps tips were centered around which bets you should make while playing craps. Now we’ll be talking about the bets you should avoid in craps.

Craps Tip 7: Ignore the Field Bets

There is an area on the craps table, marked “field”. You can find the “field” are between the areas labelled “come” and “don’t pass bar”. The area marked field has the following numbers:

• 2
• 3
• 4
• 9
• 10
• 11
• 12

The first and the last number (2 and 12) are marked with a circle around them.

This field area on the craps table is designated for making field bets. A field bet is a bet you make on whether any of the numbers in the field area on the craps table will show up on the next roll.

The payout for field bets depends on the number that shows up on the roll of the dice.

You will be paid 1x your bet amount if you 3,4,9,10 or 11 show up on the next roll.

If the next roll is 2, you get paid 2x.

If the next roll is a 12 you get paid 3x.

At first glance this seems like a pretty good bet to make considering that there are 12 numbers or 12 outcomes, you have a 7/12 chance of winning a bet or 58.33% probability.

But if you dive deeper into statistics field bets in craps are terrible bets and here’s why, the number of outcomes are not merely the numbers that can show up (1 to 12) but also in the combinations they can show up.

There are 16 possible ways you can roll a 2,3,4,9,10,11 and 12 with two dice.

Number	Dice 1	Dice 2
2	1	1
3	1	2
3	2	1
4	1	3
4	2	2
4	3	1
9	3	6
9	4	5
9	5	4
9	6	3
10	6	4
10	4	6
10	5	5
11	6	5
11	5	6
12	6	6

Whereas there are 20 ways to roll 5,6,7 and 8.

In total, there are 36 possible outcomes for all 12 numbers.

When you calculate the probability of winning a field bet you will notice that your probability of winning based on these facts is 16/36 or 44.44% and your probability of losing a field bet is 55.56%.

Now you might think that if you get a 2 or a 12 you get a payout 2x and 3x respectively but the odds of getting either of these is 2/36 or 5.6% since there is only one way to roll a 2 and 12.

Craps Tip 8: Ignore The Hardways Bets

A “hardway” bet is a bet that involves betting on an outcome where the both the dice will have the same same number. A 2 and 2 makes a hardway of 4. Whereas if you were to get 1 and 3 it would be called an “easy way” 4.

 Similarly 3 and 3 makes a hardway of 6 and 2 and 4 makes a easyway 4.

 These bets can be clearly seen in the center of a craps table along with the payouts.

That being said, we have mentioned the different hardways below and their payouts:

Hardway	Dice 1	Dice 2	Payout
4	2	2	7x
6	3	3	9x
8	4	4	9x
10	5	5	7x

You win the hardway bet when the shooter rolls the hardway number you bet on before he either:

1)rolls a 7 or 

2)rolls the hardway number in an “easy way”.

The probability of you winning a hardway bet is only 1 in 36 or 2.78%. That are some really low odds which is why these bets in craps are simply not worth it.

Another interesting fact about this bet is that a hardway of 6 and 8 have the same probability (2.78%) of landing as 4 and 10 but the former fetches you a payout 9x and the latter gets you a payout of 7x which does not make any sense.

If you do feel tempted to make a hardway bet make it on a 6 or 8 as they have a higher payout.

Craps Tip 9: Ignore the Yo, the Horn, and the Any 7 bets

We’ll explain what these three bets in short below:

The Yo bet is a bet where you bet that the next roll of the dice will be a 11. The payout of a yo bet is 16x

The Horn bet is a bet where you bet that the next roll will be a 2,3,11 or 12. The payout of a horn bet in Craps depends on the number.A 2 or 12 gets you a payout of 30x and a 3 or 11 gets you a payout of 15x.

Finally the any 7 bet is a bet where you bet that the next roll will be a 7. The payout of a any 7 bet in Craps is 4x.

These bets seem to be quite popular with craps players especially those playing craps in land based casinos.

But these bets are not good bets as you will find out below.

Let’s start off with Yo bets.

There are only 2 ways to roll a 11, 5 ,6 and 6,5. If you remember there are a 36 total ways of rolling all the numbers.

So the probability of winning a Yo bet would be 2/36 or 1/18. So essentially, your probability of winning a Yo bet in craps is just 5.56% and the house edge for a Yo bet would be 11.1% which is pretty damn high!

The high house edge works in the casino’s favor and not yours.

Next, we move on to horn bets. The odds of winning a horn bet in Craps is 1 in 5 or 20%. The house typically pays 27:4 on 2 and 12, and 3:1 on 3 and 11. The overall house edge? 12.5% which makes it a worse bet than even a Yo bet.

Finally we move on to the Any 7 bet which gives you true odds of 1 in 5. Meanwhile, the house only pays 4:1. That gives the house an edge of 16.67%.

Craps Tip 10: Come Up With A Craps Budget

You should always have a strict budget in place whenever you play casino games. When you are playing craps a budget is even more important. With so many different betting options available, it’s possible to have hundreds of dollars at risk even if you bet the $1 minimum bet on the pasvvcs line.

If you’re not careful, you can easily blow through your budget.
Come up with a system that helps you to preserve your money. For example, limit each bet to $3 and stick to the bets I recommended above. Also, establish a stop-loss figure at which point you log off and walk away for the evening (e.g. $50).
Having these types of rules in place will allow you to enjoy playing craps without worrying about burning through your money in a single session.