Best Mathematical Craps Strategy – Tip the Odds in Your Favor
The best Craps player is not someone who just relies on Lady Luck. Of course, there is a whole lot of luck required to run a winning streak like Stanley Fujitake or later on Patricia DeMauro did. Playing Craps is also a strategical endeavour where you are aware of the different Craps bets and how you can lower house edge impact by creating a situational betting strategy. Eventually, everyone is on the hunt for the best mathematical Craps strategy that optimally balances stakes and winnings. In this regard, it is irrelevant whether you play Craps in online casinos or in land-based casinos.
A Craps table offers a massive variety of bets and especially to new gamblers, this can seem very distressing. Proper money management is therefore the key to any casino Craps strategy. In the following article, we will elaborate on Craps strategies that apply to all sorts of players. It includes fodder for newbies and furthermore tackles more advanced players who already had a dice roll or two. Let’s do it!
How to Win at Craps: Preparations
Before you deem yourself the master of the Craps game, you need to pick the low-hanging fruits that come with online Craps games. Playing online removes the barrier that you can face if the puck is showing the On-side and the point is set. You cannot just join a real-life Craps table at any given moment or whenever you wish. Online Craps entitles you to play any given game at precisely the time you want to.
Another advantage of online gambling sites is that you indulge with dice rolls across different variations of the casino game. The integral benefit is that you can test these games for free in their respective demo versions. A land-based casino is usually hasty in nature: actions need to be taken in a short matter of time since time is money as they say. Virtual Craps, on the other hand, leaves you all the contemplation areas you need to dwell on a Craps betting strategy:
- Check the table minimum and align it with your available budget,
- try the multitude of Craps bets, again and again, to see how they work for you,
- only play Craps in the best casino which equals license and high security,
- always study the rules because the dice game has diverging forms and shapes.
Use your chance to fully experience all those aspects since a proactive approach outranks any reactive decision-making when the real gameplay is on.
Understand the Craps Odds
A Craps game consists of two stages primarily. That said, players will wager money in the form of casino chips on the corresponding layout of the table. The two major Craps bets at the beginning of a round are the Pass Line bet and the Don’t Pass Line bet. These are predictions on the outcome of the first roll that a “shooter” (the person rolling the dice) takes. The initial bet pays off if the shooter rolls 7 or 11 (“natural”) in terms of Pass Line bet. Vice versa, Don’t Pass Line bets win if the dice show 2, 3 or 12 and the shooter craps out. Those are the so-called come-out roll bets.
The second stage starts in case the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 establish a point number. This is where the shooter must hit that particular number before he or she sevens out. Pass Line bets succeed if the shooter rolls the specific value, while Don’t Pass Line bets win whenever the shooter sevens out. Additionally, gamblers are able to make Come bets as long as a point is set. A Come bet is similar to Pass Line bets and both betting types can be placed ahead of a singular roll.
These bets have the lowest house edge among the multi-roll bets. The correct Craps odds strategy will always involve the thought that these general bets have a house edge of 1,41% (Pass Line) and 1,36% (Come bet). As much as this works in a player’s favor, there are also the single-roll bets that twist the house edge way more to the gambler’s disadvantage.
Craps Betting Strategy Tips: Don’t waste it on Single-Roll Bets
As with other casino games, Craps boasts a variety of bets that scale the payout in alliance with the house edge. A one-roll bet is a prime example of high payouts (up to 30:1) and the equivalence in bone-breaking house edge. Overall, the house edge can reach up to 16 percent and more! Accordingly, we recommend you keep your thoughts far from one-roll bets such as:
- Any 7: pays if any 7 is rolled,
- Craps (2, 3 or 12),
- Hi-Lo: pays if 2 or 12 are rolled,
- Field bet: you win if 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 turn out to be the result,
- Horn bet: part of the proposition bets and a combination bet of 2 and 12 as well as 3 and 11.
A Craps bet on a single roll amplifies the house edges to between 5,56% (field bets) and a staggering 16,67% for Any 7 bets. They may seem to be the best bet in light of their astonishing payout. But it is important to know that the payout odds and the true odds usually contrast in an ample manner. Whereas the Any 7 true odds are 5:1, online casinos pay 4:1. Which then again takes the house edge to heights that rarely ever pay off. Rather sooner than later you will find yourself on a losing streak.
Best Craps Strategy and Craps Tips
Our following Craps betting strategies give you a tutorial on betting systems and what those can do for you. We include the best strategy for players who want to start playing Craps now and do not have any prior experience. We will go on to evolve into more deepened strategies that will seem bewildering for newbies. It’s best to estimate your own skillset before you give a perfect Craps strategy a shot. One integral learning is that you play responsibly and don’t stretch your bankroll until it takes its last breath. We’ll start with a low-key approach.
Basic Craps Strategy: Pass Line Betting System
A Pass Line bet is the most simple bet type at the Craps table. It’s a multi-roll bet and pays 1:1. Thereby, it keeps the house edge low with only 1,41%. The shooter initiates the bet with the come-out roll that makes you win on 7 or 11. If a point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) lands, you have another chance to win with that specific number on the subsequent roll. Only a 7 is your enemy then.
Beginner Craps Strategy: Don’t Pass Bets
A Don’t Pass bet is the occasion where you cross your fingers for the shooter’s doom. In many casinos located around you, this bet won’t cause harmony. Online casino games remove the obstacle of hoping for the Craps table member to fail by introducing the computer as your opponent. And who cares about a machine’s feelings? Don’t Pass Line is a superb basic betting strategy since it has an even lower house edge of 1,36%.
Bettors win a Don’t Pass line bet on a come-out roll of 2 or 3. The number 12 (bar-12) is a push and returns your wager. Once the point number is established, a Don’t Pass bet wins if the shooter sevens out. Don’t Pass bets show their full potential then since there are quantitatively more ways to get a 7 than for other dice combinations.
Simple Winning Craps Strategy: Place Bets
A Place bet is available after the initial come-out roll. They are placed on a point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) and win as long as the shooter does not roll a 7. They pay out 9 to 5 (a place bet on 4 or 10), 7 to 5 (numbers 5 or 9) and 7 to 6 (numbers 6 and 8). The stakes are commonly units of $5 for 4, 5, 9 or 10 and increments of $6 for 6 or 8. The house edge ranges from 1,52% to 6,67%. For 4/10 it makes the most sense to buy the bet to have it paying true odds. This reduces the given house of 6,67% to 4,76% and moreover lower if the casino commission applies to winning bets only.
Advancer Beginner Craps Betting: Odds Bets
An Odds bet is fruitful to more seasoned Craps players because it does not bother you with any house edge. It is an equibalanced bet. Odds bets are available for the Pass Line, the Don’t Pass Line and the Come bets. The difference here is that you are “laying odds” whenever you take an odds bet on Don’t Pass or Don’t Come, while you are “taking odds” if you do the same for Pass Line or a Come bet.
If you “lay odds” you will win if the shooter sevens out before hitting a point number. Vice versa, you win whenever “taking odds” if the shooter hits the point-on number 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Unfortunately, playing Craps online regularly rules out this type of bet for its potential of maximizing the bankroll. Additionally, the payouts are not quite as remarkable as they could be.
Medium-Level: Press-and-Pull-Progression
Another interesting Craps strategy of maximizing the bankroll while minimizing the risk is the so-called press-and-pull-Progression. It stands to say that this tactically switches the action of pressing their place bet and pulling the winnings after the bet succeeds for a particular amount of times. It is among the best Craps strategies due to its aggressivity, but it is not free of troubles around draining the bankroll. Here’s an example of press-and-pull:
- You wager place bets on 6 or 8,
- your stake is $6 because the paid odds are 7 to 6,
- if the dice land on 6 or 8, you win $7 and keep $1 profit while you double the bet to $12,
- if 6 or 8 land again, you win $14 and you keep a $2 profit after which you double the stake,
- on another successful roll, you win $28 and keep $4 while doubling the wager again,
- etc.
The advantage of a press-and-pull strategy is that the Craps player keeps the bankroll small, and still has every chance to gain winnings. The problem with these multi-roll bets is that the probability of landing a number many consecutive times before sevening out is also narrow.
Best Craps Betting Strategy: Iron Cross Strategy (Advanced)
Funnily enough, we recommended beforehand that you don’t capitalize on single-roll bets with Craps games. And we stick to our evaluation because other bets just cannot harm your budget as much. But for experienced gamblers who have no issue with taking high risks and can survive substantial bankroll cuts, the Iron Cross Craps strategy or alternatively Field Bet strategy is a fun pastime.
Field bets are placed on the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. 2 and 12 are arguably one of the hardest field bets because come with the smallest amount of possible dice combinations. And keep in mind that a 7 (highest possible combination density) sends you into the losing zone. Essentially, you combine a place bet on 5, 6 or 8 with a field bet. So, even if the field bet loses, you will nevertheless win the place bet, unless the dice roll ends with a 7. For instance:
- you place $12 on place 6,
- $10 on place 9,
- and $10 on the field.
Overall, you stake $32 and you will certainly have a winning roll if no 7 ruins your day. The Craps strategy has a house edge of approximately 3,8% which is not all too bad. The thing is that you actually end up with a better house edge when you make singular place bets on 6 and 8, against the Iron Cross combo bet. It’s a good advanced Craps strategy if you like the idea of regular wins, but don’t forget that 7 is statistically the most rolled number and that with Craps, playing the field is among the short-term rather than long-term betting strategies.
The Top Online Casinos to Test Craps Strategies
There are many casinos out there that invite you to their Craps tables. Like with other games, it is not all about the game selection, but furthermore about the trustworthy license. The pond of online casinos is vast, and making a choice gets harder and harder. If you want to approach your personal best Craps strategy, we, therefore, suggest one of the following licensed casinos:
- West Casino
- Caxino
- Vulkan Vegas
- Crazy Fox
- Griffon Casino
- Betsson
- Spin Samurai
- PlayOJO
- GGBet
- Katsubet
You will be glad to see that you are able to try many Craps games in a demo version. The welcome bonuses are not oversalting the soup either. That eases the potential stress coming from discovering the Craps strategies with the lowest house edge in the medium or long run.
The Bottom Line: Don’t Overdo it
If you have closely followed our observations, then you will have noticed that the best Craps strategy depends on the dice experience you have. And also on the bankroll, you pledge allegiance to while you play Craps. There are numerous bet types with this casino game and you need to understand the basic rules of come-out roll and point before you even take a shot at it.
The most basic betting strategies are the common Pass Line and Don’t Pass/Come bets. You cannot do much wrong with these Craps bets and their house edge is low (1,41% and 1,36%). On the other hand, payouts are 1:1 and accordingly underwhelming. Place bets are another beginner-friendly form of multi-roll bets after the initial come-out roll that increase the payouts, but also the house edge (between 1,52% and 6,67%).
The more serious business in terms of Craps strategy are odds bets, but they are not specifically marked on the Craps table and online Craps can easily omit them. Due to their statistical fairness (0% house edge) we wanted to mention them, nevertheless. For advanced Craps gamblers, we suggested press-and-pull (pressing bets and pulling profits) and Iron Cross strategies (combinations of place and field bets). On both occasions, the number 7 is your nemesis. The difference is, that press-and-pull is more bankroll-protecting, whereas the Iron Cross can be substantially intrusive.
Whichever you consider the best strategy for yourself: bear in mind at all times that the factor of luck was, is and will always be the most crucial one!
Best Mathematical Craps Strategy FAQ
What is the mathematically best Craps strategy?
From a mathematical point of view, free odds bets are the best choice because they don't have any house advantage. Then again, you have to consider that they are multi-roll bets and correspondingly keep the expected value on the negative side. Circumstances such as 3-4-5x odds limit the increments of the maximum odds. All in all, the house edge cannot be reverted.
What is the best bet in Craps?
Other than laying odds, it's the Pass/Don't Pass bet that has the best Craps edge of only 1,36% and 1,41%. It is a quite safe bet, but cannot exceed the payout of 1 to 1.
How do you win with a small bankroll in Craps?
Play it smart and remain with a Pass/Don't Pass bet on the come-out roll. Additionally, head for place bets after the point has been established.
Are there any skills in Craps?
Not in the general sense of it. You can train your expertise on what Craps bet works best in which situation. But that does not mean that you will get an edge over the game in the follow-up.
Can you be a professional Craps player?
You can indeed be a professional player regarding your previous Craps experiences. But once again: that does not result in you making a living out of it.
What is the Iron Cross in Craps?
The Iron Cross is a Craps strategy where you form a combo of place bets on 5, 6 and/or 8 and a stake on the field. If you lose the field, you will still win the place bet/s and vice versa. But a 7 scatters your dreams since you lose all (!) the bets.
Can you consistently win at Craps?
No, consistent wins are something that not even the most pseudo-best Craps strategy should promise you. It won't come true! Serious Craps strategies include the notion of luck and the advice for playing in digestible lanes.
