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Beginner craps players can be a bit intimidated by the seemingly complex layout of the craps table and not distinguish the good and bad bets, and that’s where this guide promises to help you out.
Looking at the true odds and payouts of each wager found at the craps table, we’ll tell you which bets to stick to and which to avoid.
Top Craps Bets to Make
The best way to play craps is to keep things simple. You can see many proposition bets on the table, but they are only there to draw your attention from the bets that make the most sense.
Betting on the pass, don’t pass, come, and don’t come bet is a good idea. The best strategy is to place a small wager on one of the pass line and then back it up with the odds bet by placing chips right under the line. The odds bet alone has no house edge, while the combination of these two bets carries an edge of under 1%.
Worst Bets in Craps
Craps has its fair share of sucker bets, some of which give the casino a mighty 16.7% house edge. Depending on where you play craps, you may not see some of these wagers on the table layout, but if you ever spot them, stay clear.
Big 6 and Big 8
With this bet, you’re putting your money on 6 or 8 to roll before a 7 does. This is essentially the same as making a place bet on these two numbers, but with a worse payout. Namely, the Big 6/8 pays even money, less than a regular place bet on each of the two numbers.
The house edge on this craps bet is 9.1%. The only reason it exists is so that some casinos allow you to bet on it at a table minimum, while the place bets on 6 and 8 have a higher minimum limit (if the table minimum is $10, 6/8 place bets will be $12). Still, many casinos, including the ones in Atlantic City, completely leave out the Big 6 and Big 8 bets from their craps tables.
Hardways
Hardways are one of the proposition bets located at the center of the table. They include numbers 4, 6, 8, and 10 rolled as a double (double 2s make a 4, double 3s make a 6, etc.). When you bet on any hardway, you are betting that that number rolls before the seven or before it’s rolled the “easy way” (non-double).
While the payouts on these bets seem pretty good, the house edge is not. Namely, the hard 6 and 8 carry an edge of 9.1%, while the hard 4 and 10 give the casino an edge of 11.1%.
Other Proposition Bets
Hardways are pretty bad, but they are actually not as bad as some other proposition bets. Namely, 3 and 11 are just as bad as the hard 4 and 10, while 2 and 12 have an enormous house edge of 13.9%.
The any craps bet has an edge of 11.1%, horn 12.5%, and the absolute worst is any seven, which carries the edge of 16.7%. So many of these bets are bad because they’re one-rolls, meaning that you only win if the shooter rolls the given number on the first try.
Craps Payout Cheat Sheet
| Bet type | True odds | Payout | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass/come | 251:244 | 1:1 | 1.41% |
| Don’t pass/don’t come | 967:949 | 1:1 | 1.36% |
| Pass/come odds | |||
| 4 or 10 | 2:1 | 2:1 | 0% |
| 5 or 9 | 3:2 | 3:2 | 0% |
| 6 or 8 | 6:5 | 6:5 | 0% |
| Don’t pass/don’t come odds | |||
| 4 or 10 | 1:2 | 1:2 | 2.44% |
| 5 or 9 | 2:3 | 2:3 | 3.23% |
| 6 or 8 | 5:6 | 5:6 | 4.00% |
| Field bets | |||
| 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 | 3:1 | 1:1 | 5.50% |
| 2, 12 | 35:1 | 2:1 | 5.50% |
| Place bets | |||
| 6 or 8 | 6:5 | 7:6 | 1.52% |
| 5 or 9 | 2:3 | 2:3 | 4.00% |
| 4 or 10 | 2:1 | 9:5 | 6.67% |
| Big 6 or 8 | 6:5 | 1:1 | 9.09% |
| Hardways | |||
| 6 or 8 | 10:1 | 9:1 | 9.09% |
| 4 or 10 | 8:1 | 7:1 | 11.10% |
| Single-roll bets | |||
| 2 and 12 | 17:1 | 15:1 | 11.11% |
| 3 | 17:1 | 15:1 | 11.11% |
| 11 | 17:1 | 15:1 | 11.11% |
| Any craps | 8:1 | 7:1 | 11.10% |
| Horn | – | – | 12.50% |
| 12 | 35:1 | 30:1 | 13.90% |
| 2 | 35:1 | 30:1 | 13.90% |
| Any 7 | 5:1 | 4:1 | 16.67% |
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