This is bad craps strategy. These aren't even the worst craps bets. There are far worse ones than that. Hard 4 and hard 10 are both bets that have a house edge of more than 11%. If you want a good craps tip, stay away from these. The casino is robbing you here! Even worse are the proposition bets. Craps rolls are one of the most interesting events that happen on the Casino floor. This Craps strategy guide for beginners helps you understand the ins and outs of the pass or come bet. Three Point Molly. This craps betting strategy makes use of the Pass Line bet and the Come bet. The “purpose” of this strategy is to secure your Pass Line bet, as a Come bet is paid on a 7 or 11, numbers on which a Pass Line bet will lose after the Point is established. At 3X, this strategy reduces the house edge to 0.47%. With the 3X-4X-5X it’s 37%. With 10X odds the strategy produces a house edge of 0.18%. Once again, this.still. doesn’t give you the best of it–or an ‘overlay’ in gambling parlance–but it does give the player a fighting chance to grind out a profit. Strategy For Craps Questions. The truth is that craps is a negative expectation game. If you play long enough, you’ll eventually go broke. But you can get more entertainment for your money if you understand some of the basics of craps strategy. 1- Start Your Craps Career by Sticking with the Most Easily Understood Bets on the Table.

I’ve never read a blog post or an article about the game of craps or craps strategy that didn’t mention how exciting the game is.

Okay. Now that we have that out of the way.

The purpose of this post is to introduce you to the 10 most fundamental concepts in craps strategy. This is not a get rich quick scheme. I don’t have any systems to sell you.

My only interest is in helping you save money at the gambling tables and have fun while you’re doing it.

The truth is that craps is a negative expectation game. If you play long enough, you’ll eventually go broke.

But you can get more entertainment for your money if you understand some of the basics of craps strategy.

1- Start Your Craps Career by Sticking with the Most Easily Understood Bets on the Table

The basic bets in craps are the pass and don’t pass bets. These are bets on whether the shooter “succeeds” or not. These are also the best bets on the table. The house edge for each of those bets is, respectively, 1.41% and 1.36%.

Both those bets pay even money, which make them marginally less exciting than some of the other bets. But the payout isn’t what’s important for each bet. It’s the house edge.

That’s a mathematical estimate of how much of each bet you expect to lose on average over the long run. It’s always expressed as a percentage.

If you bet $100 on every roll of the dice and place the pass bet every time, the casino expects your losses to average $1.41 for every bet you place.

This is exceptionally low compared to most bets at most other casino games. In fact, it’s significantly better than most of the other bets at the craps table.

At an average craps table, you’ll see about 100 rolls of the dice per hour. If you lose $1.41 on average for each of them, you’ll see an hourly loss average out to $141.

That sounds awful until you compare it to other games like slot machines, which usually have a house edge of 7% or more, or roulette, which has a house edge of 5.26%.

Most of the time I recommend taking the bet with the lowest house edge, but in craps, I think it’s so much more fun to root for the shooter that it’s worth the 0.05% difference in house edge.

2- Continue Your Craps Career by Placing One of Only 2 Bets in the Casino with a House Edge of 0%

A bet with a house edge of 0% is a bet that will break even in the long run. I only know of 2 bets in the casino with a house edge of 0%:

• 1. The double up bet in video poker
• 2. The odds bet in craps

When you’ve made a pass or don’t pass bet in craps, you can place a 2^nd bet if and when the shooter sets a point. You win this 2^nd bet if the shooter succeeds if you placed a pass bet, and you win it if the shooter fails if you placed a don’t pass bet.

The tricky thing about the odds bet is that it isn’t labeled on the craps table. You place the bet by putting the additional chips behind your initial pass or don’t pass bet.

Since this bet has no house edge, it’s an opportunity to get more money into action without any real long-term risk.

Craps Strategy 2020 Pdf

Some writers combine the 2 bets together for purposes of illustrating the total house edge on the 2 bets combined. I don’t see much point in doing that.

I can tell you, though, that the best strategy decision you can make in craps is to take the biggest odds bet that you can, every time it’s available.

The odds bet is part of what causes the crazy streaks of luck in the game, but that’s also part of the charm of craps.

3- Stay Far Away from the Bets in the Center of the Table

Not every bet at the craps table offers good odds. In fact, most of the bets offer lousy odds. I mentioned earlier that you can measure how good a bet on a casino game is by how low the house edge is.

Let’s take a look at the house edge for some of the bets in the middle of the craps table:

The “any 7” bet pays off 4 to 1 if the shooter rolls any total of 7 on the next roll. The odds of winning that bet, though, are 5 to 1. The difference is the house edge.

• Assume you bet $100 on any 7 for 36 rolls. And also assume that you have a perfect distribution for those rolls.
• You’ll win that bet 6 times, but you’ll lose 30 times.
• With a 4 to 1 payout, you’ll win $400 X 6, or $2400.
• But you’ll have lost $100 X $30, or $3000.
• Your net loss is $600.
• Since you placed 36 bets, you can average the amount lost into the number of bets to get your average loss per bet. In this case, it’s $16.67, which is 16.67% of $100.

And that’s just one example.

The house edge on the various bets in the center of the craps table range from 2.78% to 16.67%. None of them are good bets.

Just stick with the pass and don’t pass bets. Skip all the sucker bets in the middle of the table.

4- Steer Clear of Betting Systems Where You Increase and Decrease the Size of Your Bet Based on Previous Outcomes

You’ll sometimes see craps “experts” suggesting that you use some variation of the Martingale System for craps. The Martingale is a betting system used with even money bets at table games. You double the size of your bet after each loss until you win.

SEEMS fool-proof. But it’s not.

Here’s an example of how it might work at the craps table:
You bet $5 (the minimum in this casino) on the pass line bet, and you lose. On your next bet, you bet $10. If you win this time, you’ll recoup your $5 loss on the previous bet and have a $5 profit to show for it.

But if you lose again, you double the size of your last bet again, this time, from $10 to $20. This recoups the $5 you lost and the $10 you lost, and you have a $5 profit.

You can continue this progression as long as your money holds out and as long as your bet stays beneath the table max.

The problem with the Martingale System is that doubling the size of your bets increases your bet size far faster than you’d expect. You might think it’s hard to lose the same bet 8 or 9 times in a row, but it happens more often than you think.

When it does, you see a devastating loss. In fact, that loss will be so devastating that you’ll lose all those tiny profits you made previously.

Here’s what 8 bets in a row look like if you start with $5:

• 1. $5
• 2. $10
• 3. $20
• 4. $40
• 5. $80
• 6. $160
• 7. $320
• 8. $640

A lot of craps tables with a $5 minimum have a $500 maximum bet. If you lose 7 times in a row, you break the system and can’t continue.

Also, if you lose 7 times in a row, you’ll have lost $635 already. To place a $640 bet at this point means you’ll have put $1275 in action over the course of 8 bets.

And if you win that final bet?

You’re only up $5 for the entire session.

Betting systems like the Martingale have no way of overcoming the house edge. They seem like a good idea in the short run, but in the long run, you’ll lose just as much money (or more) using this kind of betting system as you would if you just randomly varied the size of your bets.

5- Don’t Try to Hedge Your Bets Either

You’re hedging your bets when you place a bet intended to offset the losses from another bet.

An example might make it easier to understand:
You place a $10 bet on the pass line. You simultaneously bet $2 on the “any craps” bet. (The any craps bet wins if the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12.)

It’s impossible to lose with this bet. If the shooter rolls a 7 or an 11 on the come out roll, you win $10. Sure, you’ll lose the $2 any craps bet, but you’ll have a net win of $8.

If the shooter rolls a 2, 3 or 12 on the come out roll, you win $14 (7 to 1). Sure, you’ll have lost the $10 pass line bet, but you’ll have a net win of $4.

This seems like a no-brainer strategy. The problem is that it doesn’t account for when the shooter rolls a point.

How often does this happen?

• You have 36 possible outcomes in a come out roll.
• 4 of those possible outcomes are any craps. (1,1; 1,2; 2,1; 6,6).
• 8 of those possible outcomes win the pass line bet (1,6; 2,5; 3,4; 4,3; 5,2; 6,1; 5,6; 6,5).
• That’s 12 possible outcomes where you’re guaranteed a profit.
• But on the other 24 outcomes (2 out of 3 times), the shooter will set a point. In each of those cases, the “any craps” bet loses right out of the gate. You still face the house edge when the shooter tries to roll the point.

The hedge bet doesn’t change your odds of winning. It only looks that way.

Almost all craps betting systems involve raising and lowering your bets based on when you’re winning or losing. But they also often involve systems for hedging your bets.

Don’t bother unless you think it sounds like a fun way to place bets. Even then, the house edge on the any craps bet is higher than you should be willing to pay.

6- Play Craps for the Lowest Stakes that Remain Interesting for You

You can calculate how much an hour of gambling at a given game will cost (on average) by multiplying the house edge by the number of bets per hour. You multiply that by the average size of your bet to get your expected hourly loss.

In the short run, this number is meaningless. It’s just a long-term expectation, and your results will vary from that mathematical expectation. But the longer you play, the closer you’ll eventually come to seeing the mathematical expectation become a reality.

This means that in the long run, you’ll lose twice as much money betting $10 per roll as you would if you were betting $5 per roll. The bigger your bet size, the more expected loss is.

I have just as much fun at the craps table betting $5 as I do betting $10 or $20, but you might have more money than I do. (I am, after all, only a poor gambling blogger.)

Years ago, I read a great book called Poker Night by John Vorhaus. He wrote about how to choose the stakes for your poker game. If you’re playing for such low stakes that winning or losing doesn’t matter to you at all, poker is an exercise in boredom.

He suggest playing in a game based on your “gulp limit.” That’s the amount of money that would make you swallow really hard if you lost your wallet with that amount in it.

That’s the size of your starting bankroll—your gulp limit. You can back-calculate the stakes you want to play for by dividing that bankroll by 10 or 20.

If your gulp limit is $200, you should be playing for $10 or $20 per roll.

7- Find the Casinos Who Offer You the Biggest Odds Bet Multiples

Since the odds bet offsets the house edge on the pass line and don’t pass line bet in proportion to how much you wager on it, the more you bet on it, the better off you are. But casinos have a maximum bet size for the odds bet based on a multiple of your original pass or don’t pass bet.

If you’re betting $5 per roll, the most you can bet on the odds bet is $10. If you’re betting $1000 per roll (you high roller, you), you can bet $2000 on the odds bet.

You can find casinos in Las Vegas which allow you to take 10X or even 15X odds, but 2X is more common. You should look for casinos which offer bigger limits on the odds bet.

Some casinos have 3x 4X 5X odds bet maximums. In these casinos, you can bet 3X your original bet if the point is 4 or 10, 4X your original bet if the point is 5 or 9, and 5X your original bet if the point is 6 or 8.

This is meant to simplify payouts for the craps dealers. Those bets pay off at 2 to 1, 3 to 2, and 6 to 5, respectively.

If you make the pass line bet with the maximum odds bet at a 3X 4X 5X table, the payout is always 7 to 1 on your total action. This makes it easier for the dealer.

Still, you’re better off finding a casino that allows you to bet more than that on the odds bet.

My suggestion for the best place to play craps in Las Vegas is the Casino Royale. It’s on the Strip, and it features some of the lowest betting minimums and highest possible odds bets in Las Vegas. You can bet $2 per roll of the dice in craps, and you can place an odds bet of up to 100X, or $200.

The cumulative house edge on a pass line bet taking maximum odds drops to just 0.02%. You won’t find a bet (or combination of bets) anywhere in any casino in the world with such a low house edge—unless you’re a card counter or an expert video poker player. (Those professions are outside the scope of this post, though—sorry.)

8- Consider Learning How to Set and Control the Dice

The idea behind dice setting and dice control is that a skilled shooter can affect the probability of getting a certain total on the dice. If skill comes into play when you’re rolling the dice, craps becomes a game more like darts than roulette.

I’m skeptical of this possibility, but I’ve seen gambling writers and experts I respect who lend the idea some credence. Even if it’s possible, I don’t think it’s practical for most gamblers to try this. Here’s why:

To be able to control the dice, you’d need to practice. You can’t practice for free in a casino, so you’d need to build or buy a casino-equivalent craps table to put in your garage or basement.

Then you’d need to practice for an insane number of repetitions to have any degree of statistical certainty that your skill is in fact affecting your outcomes. Anyone can look like they have skill by getting lucky on a dozen throws of the dice in a row. You’ll need to record your results until you have confidence in your statistical results.

That’s a lot of work for something you might turn out not to be good at. It’s also a lot of work on something that might not even be possible.

Craps Strategy 2020 2021

I don’t know of any casinos changing their rules or game conditions to combat dice setters. So I’m skeptical of how big a problem it is.

9- Try Playing Free Craps Games Online

I shouldn’t have to go into a lot of detail about this tip for it to make sense. If you’re playing craps without risking any money, you can’t lose any money. Online casinos offer play money games where you don’t risk a thing. At a lot of these casinos, you don’t even have to register an account.

10- See if You Can Find Some Buddies to Play “Street Craps” With

Street craps is the game played in an alleyway or someone’s house. You’ll see people playing street craps in a lot of old movies.

The most important difference between street craps and casino craps is the lack of betting options. In street craps, you only have the 2 betting options—pass and don’t pass. The rules for these bets work the same as they would if you were playing in a casino.

You’re just betting against the other players.

Conclusion

I can’t imagine a game in the casino more fun than craps. Luckily, it also offers some of the best odds in the casino—IF you place the right bets. Once you learn the basics of the game, it’s easy to do well at craps at least part of the time. Just stick with the bets which have a low house edge.

The rest of what you need to know about craps strategy can be boiled down to avoiding bad strategies. The bad bets at the craps table are awful. There’s never a reason to place a bet on something as silly as “hard eight,” even though PT Anderson made a great movie with that title.

Craps is a notoriously streaky game. This is good news and bad news. It means you can have big winning streaks. Sadly, it also means you can have fast losing streaks, too.

And the losing streaks are marginally more common than the winning streaks. That’s how a game with a negative expectation for the player works. Play long enough, and you’ll lose all your money.

But you can sure have some fun and walk away a winner from the craps table once in a while.

Craps is the most charming game of chance ever devised. It features a large array of wagers and several phases, which gives players freedom of choice. You can get decent winnings by using one or two basic bets or make things interesting by utilizing a Craps system.

In essence, these strategies are a series of stakes that you make throughout a round. In this article, we will highlight the most popular systems, discuss their strong and weak sides, and give recommendations based on your budget and risk tolerance. Once you find the right approach, you can test it by visiting one of the casinos we recommend.

The Truth about Craps Systems

Many people and “experts” will brag about “perfect” strategies that will “win you money every time.” The cold hard truth is that Craps is a gambling game. The casino will always have an advantage, which means that there’s no such thing as an unbeatable Craps system.

The risk of losing is omnipresent, so it’s best to look at the dice-rolling classic as a form of entertainment. We know it’s cheesy, but betting within your means and knowing when to stop is absolutely essential.

Best Online Craps Casinos

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Still, what systems can do is manipulate the exposure levels. Some combine several bets to reduce your potential losses and give you a good chance of winning. Others are high-risk and require a larger bankroll but can pay off huge if you can get a streak going.

Thus, to find the best Craps system for your needs, you’ll want to establish how much you can spend on one session and how much risk you can withstand. Knowledge of the bets is also a must. If you need to brush up on the basics, we’ve explained all the wagers on our home page. Now let’s check out the systems!

Craps System: Iron Cross Variation

This is perhaps the most popular strategy for the game of Craps. It’s called “Iron Cross” because when you place all the required chips on the table, their shape resembles that of a cross. You’re going to need $42-$54 per shooter, so a session of 10 rounds will require a bankroll of $420-$540.

It’s not the cheapest Craps betting system, so you might want to continue browsing if you’re new or on a tighter budget. Several variations exist, but here, we’ll take a look at one that uses the pass line bet and odds wagers. Here’s what you need to do:

1. On the come-out roll, put down $5 on the pass line.

2. Once a point is established, place:

   a. $10 in odds bets (you can also max out the limits if you wish)

   b. $5 on the field bet

   c. $10 place bet on 5, and $12 on the 6 and 8 each.

3. Let it roll! Don’t forget to load up your positions when bets are resolved.

Note: What’s nice about this Craps betting system is that you can save money in certain scenarios. If the point is on 5, 6, or 8, you can skip doing a place wager on that number. It’s also possible to withdraw your stake on the point number in the following rounds.

The Pros: With Iron Cross, you will win money on every roll that is not a 7. It also utilizes the wagers with the highest RTP in Craps, including odds bets, which have a 0% house edge.

The Cons: You’ll lose every stake on the table once a 7 appears. As you might know, the 7 is the most common dice combination, as there are six ways to roll it. A Craps system that works like that can demolish your bankroll on an unlucky streak.

The Hammerlock Craps System

This one was made famous by Martin J Silverthorne in his book “Hammerlock Craps!” It promises “profit under any circumstances at the Craps table.”

That’s a bold claim, and it’s simply not true. You can’t beat the house over the long run, but if you’re lucky, like with all other decent strategies, it can help you make some wins. You’re going to need between $300 and $600 at the lowest betting tier, but the bankroll can be adjusted for high rollers.

Let’s see how the Hammerlock Craps system works:

1. Before the come-out roll, start with $5 bets on the pass and don’t pass. A point needs to be established, so replace the starting two wagers if needed. Silverthorne says that this type of hedging protects you on the come-out roll. That’s fine and dandy, but the protection is gone on a roll of 12, as 12 is a tie on don’t pass and a loss on pass.

2. After a point is set, it says to lay $30 odds (do an odds bet on don’t pass). This is where another problem with the Hammerlock Craps system occurs. Most tables won’t allow a $30 odds bet unless the point is a 6 or 8, and there are harsher limitations on other games. You can find land-based casinos that have looser restrictions, but you’ll have to do research. You can still max out the odds bets on restrictive titles but know that your losses won’t be covered entirely in the event of a 7.

3. At the same time, do two $12 place bets on the 6 and 8. Wait until you win once on the 6 or 8, take the other place bet down, and substitute it with an “inside 22.” Craps system reviews will tell out that inside 22 consists of four place bets – $5 on the 5 and 9, and $6 on the 6 and 8.

4. If one of the inside 22 bets wins, take down the remaining place bets, so only your pass + don’t pass + lay odds remain. Here, you’re hoping for a 7. Still, if the point number rolls before it, you’re going to be at a loss.

The Pros: In case you find a suitable table and the dice rolls in your favor, you can win good money.

The Cons: While we did a simplified version of the system (the book has progressive/regressive betting levels), the house edge isn’t negated at any point. Hammerlock is not a 100% winning Craps system, nor one that will make you a profit in the long run.

A Strategy for Low Rollers

Best Craps Strategy 2020

Strategies involve the placement of multiple bets, which means that you’ll often need a larger bankroll to support them. This system is great for those on tighter budgets because you’ll only risk $12 per round, meaning that you need $120 at most for 10 shooters.

It’s also a relatively low-risk approach, which is great if you’re price-conscious. Follow these steps to pull it off:

1. Start by placing $5 on the pass line and $5 on the field bet before the come-out roll. If you can find a table that pays triple on the 12 or 2, this Craps system will work even better.

2. a. perfect scenario would be for a 4 or 9 to roll. That way, you can use the field bet winnings and another $2 to cover two $6 place bets on the 6 and 8 as a follow-up.

   b. If a 2 or 12 appears, your total payout is $5. On an 11, you take home $10. Again, you can use the winnings for the 6 & 8 place bets.

   c. If a 3 or 7 appears, it’s a push. You won’t lose or win anything, so keep going.

   d. The chink in the armor of this and similar Craps systems is that you’re going to lose $5 if 5, 6, or 8 become the point. Here, you can stop further wagering, hoping to recoup your losses on the pass line and start from step 1 on the next come-out roll. The alternative is to use the remaining $2 set aside for the round and take a long shot by staking them on the two proposition bets that pay 10:1 (hard 6 and hard 8). If you get a hit from the propositions, use $6 to cover the corresponding place bet and collect the rest.

3. Rinse and repeat! The nice thing about this Craps betting system is that you have the freedom to do whatever you please if you’re in the green zone. You can use the funds to take odds on the pass line, double up on the place stakes, and so on.

The Pros : Relatively low bankroll requirements and risk exposure.

The Cons : If 5, 6, or 8 appear often on the come-out roll, the chances are that you won’t have a good time. Still, you have enough time to cut your losses and try another day.

The Knockout Craps System

Ah, yes. Another sensationalist strategy that is marketed as a way to get rich. The official site for the Knockout Craps system claims that you can “make $5,000 in a day” and “turn $60 into $2,252 in an hour.” Don’t fall for this type of scheme! The house has an advantage in every Craps bet, so making multiple ones doesn’t magically negate or remove it. Sure, odds bets are paid fairly, but they are attached to wagers with a house edge, so it doesn’t matter.

Besides, this approach is just a re-branded version of “Doey-Don’t.” On a $5 table, you’re going to need $250 for 10 shooters. Let’s see where the “magic” happens:

1. Place two $5 stakes on pass and don’t pass. With the Knockout Craps system, the only way you’ll lose is if a 12 appears, which happens once on 36 rolls on average.

2. Follow it up by maxing out with odds bets behind the pass once a point is established.

3. That’s basically it. The book adds progression/regression betting, 5-count elements, and a bunch of smoke and mirrors to make it sound like it works.

The Pros : It’s a way to win small amounts frequently.

The Cons: When you lose, it’s going to be grand. It’s likely that all the winnings you made will evaporate, and you’ll go in the red zone. Sadly, with the Knockout Craps system, your bankroll will be on the receiving end of the K.O.

“The Best” Craps System

Are you an aggressive player with a big budget? Then this approach might suit your style. It was introduced by Sam Grafstein, an esteemed Craps player known as “The Dice Doctor”. Interestingly, it involves the utilization of the field bet, which has a larger house edge than what we would consider as optimal. For this reason, it’s essential that you locate a table where the 2 or 12 pay triple on the field. That way, the RTP goes from 94.4% to 97.2%, which is almost identical to that of European Roulette.

A Craps system that works quickly without being too complicated is always a plus. This one will win or lose big quite fast, so at least you won’t be playing for hours. It also involves both progression and regression elements. Here’s how it goes:

1. You only need to focus on the field bet. Begin by placing $10 there on the come-out roll. Remember, you need a “pays triple” sign on the 2 or 12.

2. If you win, double up with your payout (bet $20). If you win again, take your chips and leave $15 on the field. On the following win, you double up again, and on a fourth lucky roll, your wager becomes $25.

3. This winning Craps system relies on the good streak we outlined above. Remember this progression $10 > double > $15 > double > $25 > double > $35 > double > $50 > double > $75 > double etc.

4. So, what happens if the streak is broken? Return to the original $10 bet and start again.

The Pros : You can win massively with a succession of good rolls.

The Cons : There’s a good chance that a lucky streak won’t occur, which could erase your bankroll in less than 10 minutes. Be careful!

An Unbeatable Craps System Doesn’t Exist, but Bad Ones Do

After this detailed rundown on the most popular strategies, we’ve established that there’s no such thing as an unbeatable Craps system. Gambling is a form of entertainment, and the fact that one can win money with luck is exploited by those who want to sell you something. If you plan to use a system, do it for fun, and don’t forget that there’s always a risk of losing.

If you visit online iGaming forums, you’ll likely encounter other approaches used by less experienced players. Perhaps they got a lucky break with proposition bets or other high-payout, high-house edge wagers, and they’ve shared their experience in an overly-enthusiastic way. There’s nothing wrong in congratulating them, but it’s best to avoid Craps systems that primarily include:

• The Big 6 & 8

• Any of the proposition bets (the big group of 8 dice combinations)

• The C & E zones

Try Out What You’ve Learned

We’ve reached the end of our article. By this point, you might be wondering where to trial strategies and pick out your favorites. You could visit a real-life casino, but a quicker, simpler, and better move would be to go for an iGaming site that we’ve approved. These venues will allow you to play free demos, which are the perfect medium to test systems with no financial risk.

If you then decide to play with real money, you can deposit instantly and enjoy a wide array of table games, Slots, and specialty releases. Good luck, and remember that the best Craps system is staying disciplined!