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Best Craps Betting Strategy For Beginners

No craps strategy can help you win every time, whether playing the game at a land-based or online casino. Things simply don’t work that way. However, and it’s a big one, there are strategies that you can employ, namely betting strategies, that can help you exploit some of the bets with a favorable house edge.

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Image of Craps Betting Strategy

Some bets in craps offer a house edge as low as 1.36%, such as don’t pass/don’t come bets, while others are definitely meant to be ignored.

The key is to take all of these components and put them into an equation to find the best craps strategy. 

Is There a Craps Betting Strategy?

A lot of players spend years playing craps in order to master an elusive notion — controlling where the dice will land. It’s borderline impossible. This strategy is especially useless in online craps where the Random Number Generator (RNG) determines the rolls’ outcome. 

Conversely, experienced players will use betting strategies to help them place bets with good odds in their favor. The best betting strategies come from an understanding of how craps odds work

Betting on wagers that have the best odds, and, consequently, the lowest house edge are the pass line/don’t pass line wagers. If the shooter rolls a 7 or an 11 from the first roll, the pass line bet wins. It has a house edge of 1.41%. 

The don’t pass line wager is just the opposite of the pass line bet. If the shooter gets a 2 or a 3 on the first roll, and a 7 in the second segment of the game before the point number lands, expect an even lower house edge of just 1.36%. 

Their equivalent in the second round of the game that ensues after a point has been established are come and don’t come wagers, respectively. The house edge in those bets are the same as those with the pass/don’t pass bets, making them one of the most favorable ones.

As a result, going for these wagers is the optimal betting strategy for craps, no matter if you are playing online craps or in land-based casinos. 

Stay Away From Single-Roll Bets

Image of Single Dice Roll in Craps

Sometimes, the best craps strategy would be to know when to stay away from certain bets with the house advantage regularly over 10%, such as single-roll bets. These include the field bet, where the roller must get 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 for a win, and the house edge here is between 2.78% and 5.56%, depending on the game’s variant. 

You should also avoid Any Craps and Any 7 wagers, despite the obvious appeals of their 7:1 and 4:1 payout potentials, respectively.  

How to Throw the Dice in Craps — Is There Any Strategy?

The only time you could possibly affect the outcome of a dice roll is when you are rolling them yourself. In other words, when you play live craps at a land-based casino. 

Generally, the outcome of a dice roll is completely random. However, you can use different techniques to help you tweak the mathematical odds in your favor. Here are some of them:

  1. Dice setting — Dice setting involves arranging the dice so they don’t randomly tumble when thrown. There are different sets, with the Hardaway set being the most popular one. It implies putting the top of the dice in a hard-way combination. This combo is supposed to prevent you from getting a seven. Another popular form is the 3V setting, where you set the threes in a V shape form.

  2. Grip the dice with three fingers — By using the middle finger and thumb to hold the dice in place, with the thumb between the two dice and the index finger as the guide to the dice roll, you should be able to roll the dice in an even manner, thus getting the desired combination even after they hit the table.

  3. Roll the dice gently — Don’t twist the dice in mid-air or throw them with velocity for the dice to stick together and hopefully produce the same outcome.

Dice control takes a lot of practice and is certainly not a foolproof method. With seven different ways to throw a 7 (16.66%), it makes it the most likely outcome and the one you don’t want to get. This is why dice control is vital.  

Remember that the dice must hit the back of the table, so choose the strength of your throw with care. They should touch the back of the table to slam into it.

Craps Bets With the Best Payout

Image of Craps Bets with the Best Payouts

In addition to pass/don’t pass and come/don’t come bets, you should explore several other wagers with the best possible combination of win probability and the lowest house edge. 

Such bets include the place 6 or 8 bet, with a win probability of 45.45% and a house edge of just 1.52%, rivaling those from the come-out roll. If you decide to lay the bets, you bet against the shooter, or that the 7 will be rolled before a specific number, which can lead to good payouts.  

With the lay bets, you lay the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. So, if you lay a 6, you bet that a 7 will be rolled before it. The payouts with lay bets are based on true odds, so casinos introduced a 5% commission. Still, the house edge for laying a 4 or a 10 is 2.44%, or if the commission only applies to winning wagers, then it’s 1.67%, making it a good choice. 

Final Thoughts 

The best craps betting strategy involves understanding the odds and payouts of wagers and the house edge that applies. These factors tell you that pass line bets have the lowest house edge and, as such, should be the evident choice.  

FAQ

What is the best betting strategy for craps? The best betting strategy for a game of craps is to bet on the pass/don’t pass and come/don’t come bets due to their low house edge. In the same regard, place 6 and place 8 can be the next choice for the very same reason.
Can you control the dice throw? Certain techniques can help you get the outcome of a dice throw, such as the dice setting or how you throw the dice. However, there are no guarantees that the outcome will be as desired.
Which bets offer the worst odds? Single roll bets and bets such as Any Craps and Any 7 offer the worst house edge and odds.

About the Author

Author Hi all! My name is Jayson Peter, and I am the Chief Editor here at Casino USA. I have always been a huge fan of casinos, but I noticed that there are not a lot of websites out there that discuss the gambling industry in enough detail, so that’s how the idea for CasinoUSA.com was born. With my extensive knowledge of the industry and the help of my team, I am ready to give you an insight into the exciting world of casino gambling in the United States.