Craps Betting

As with all Casino games, the long term Odds are always in the casino's favor, however, with Craps the advantage to the casino is very small.

The game of Craps is played with Two Six Sided Dice. This results in 36 number combinations being available. The least likely number combinations total 2 (1,1) and 12 (6,6). The most likely combination total is 7 which can be made 6 ways (1,6), (2,5), (3,4), (4,3), (5,2) and (6,1). The other totals, 3 to 6 and 8 to 11, can be made with more than 1 combination, but less than 6 combinations.

Basic Craps Bets

The following are among the Best Bets for the Player :

Pass Line Bets / Come Bets have Identical Odds.

For the Come-Out roll the odds are in favor of the shooter. He/she has a better chance of throwing a 7 or 11 than a 2, 3 or 12.

Don't Pass Bets / Don't Come Bets have identical odds.

These are the opposite of the Pass Line and Come Bets as you are betting against the shooter on the initial roll. For the Come-out roll the odds are in favor of the shooter. He/she has a better chance of throwing a 7 or 11 than a 2 or 3.

Odds Bets - These are excellent wagers for the player, as there is virtually no advantage for the casino.

Pass Line Odds Bets / Come Bet Odds Bet - The odds of throwing the Point or the Seven remain the same, but the payoff increases if you are successful.

Don't Pass Odds Bets / Don't Come Odds Bet - These bets are used to increase your winnings when betting against the player. There is a greater likelihood of the shooter throwing a Seven than the Point so the payoff is not as great.

Place Bets - These bets payoff less than the other bets described so far, but not a lot less.

Buy Bets - These have the same odds of winning as Place bets and the payoff is higher, but you have the 5% service charge to factor in.

Lay Bets - They are the exact opposite of Buy bets, your chances of winning are higher, but you have the 5% service charge to factor in.

Big Six or Big Eight Bets - Six or Eight can be rolled in 5 ways while seven can be rolled in 6 ways. Thus you have 5 ways to win and 6 ways to lose, but the payoff is only even money. This is not as good a bet as basic bets.

Hard Four or Hard Ten Bets - A Hard Four or Hard Ten can only be rolled one way while seven can be rolled in 6 ways (and 4 and 10 can be rolled two other ways). This totals 1 way to win and 8 ways to lose, but the payoff is only 7 to 1. This is not as good a bet as basic bets.

Hard Six or Hard Eight Bets - A Hard Six or Hard Eight can only be rolled one way while seven can be rolled in 6 ways (and 6 and 8 can be rolled 4 other ways). This totals 1 way to win and 10 ways to lose, but the payoff is only 9 to 1. This is not as good a bet as basic bets.

One Roll Bets - Can be fun to play and can payoff well, but should generally be avoided.

Field Bets - These are popular. Seven numbers can win while only four can lose. However, the winning numbers can only be rolled 16 ways resulting in a 44.4% chance of winning, and a 55.6% chance of losing. The payoff is usually even money.

Any Seven Bets - You have 6 ways to get seven and win and 30 other combinations that lose. The payoff is 4 to 1, if there was no casino advantage it would pay 5 to 1.

Any Craps Bets - There are 4 ways to roll the dice to win, the other 32 combinations lose for you.The payoff is 7 to 1 but with no casino advantage it would pay 8 to 1.

Two or Twelve Bets - These are separate wagers, but the odds are the same. A two or a twelve can only be rolled one way, all other 35 combinations cause you to lose. The payoff is 30 to 1 but with no casino advantage it would be 35 to 1.

Three or Eleven Bets - These are separate wagers, but the odds are the same. A three or an eleven can be rolled two ways, while all other 34 combinations cause you to lose. The payoff is 15 to 1 but with no casino advantage it would be 17 to 1.

Craps Eleven (also called a Horn Bet) - Here you must bet four chips to cover the four numbers so you lose three chips even if you win on one number. This loss of three chips, plus the casino advantage on the winning number make this a bad bet.