Guide To Craps Odds – Place Your Bets Like A Boss
Sup, dawg! It’s your boy Derrick here with another online casino guide. Today, we’re going to talk about craps odds.
Craps can be a doozy – there is an entire telephone book of rules and bets players can make. We’ve already covered the rules of how to play a craps game so we ain’t going to beat around the bush. Instead, we are going to cover the odds of each bet you can make in a craps game. There’s a lot to cover so hang in there, bro.
No Crapping Out: Craps Rules and Tips For Beginners
Alright, dawgs, I’m going to assume that, if you are reading this, you understand the basics of how to play craps. If you don’t, you really should learn the basics of craps.
Not only is this one of the oldest gambling games in the world, but it’s also a ton of fun even centuries later. Whether you are playing at a land-based casino or joining a live casino online, playing craps never seems to get boring.
How To Place Bets in Craps?
If you want to play craps, but aren’t sure how to start or which bets to place, you can follow this quick guide on how to get started. Please note that this is as basic as it gets and its main purpose is to familiarize you with the game.
1. Make Sure There’s Space at the Table
More of a rule for land-based casinos but also a good thing to keep in mind during live craps games. When picking your craps table (land-based or online), make sure there’s room for you. Nothing kills the mood like a crowd of people or waiting forever for your turn. Unlike in other games (like Texas hold ’em), other players won’t really affect your odds. At the same time, you don’t want to play at a table without any players. Ideally, you should look for about 5-10 players. So, pick a table with enough players, but not too many.
2. Check the Craps Table for the Dealer’s Puck
Craps Etiquette 101 – always check the Dealer’s Puck before you start placing bets. You’ll see this puck appear on one of the placed bet numbers. If the puck is white and it says “ON”, that means that a game is currently in progress (it’s in the “Point phase”) and you should wait until the shooter wins or sevens out. When the dealer flips the Puck back to “OFF”, you can go ahead and join in on the fun.
3. Hand your Pass/Don’t Pass Bet to the Dealer
If you are new to craps and want to start things slowly, it’s probably best you start with Pass line and Don’t Pass line bets. The pass bet is really easy to understand as it gives you 1:1 odds and you are only waiting on two numbers (7 and 11). Alternatively, you can also bet on the don’t pass bets where you bet on 3 numbers (2, 3, and 12). Pass odds and Don’t pass odds give you about the same chance of winning.
4. Wait for the Come out Roll
When the shooter makes a point number, the come out roll starts. This is where players can start placing some stronger and riskier bets. If you are a beginner, you may just want to stick with the pass line and don’t pass line bets (maybe make a point bet too if you are feeling bold).
5. Hand any Additional Multi-roll or Prop Bets to the Dealers
Once you start feeling more confident about your Craps strategy, you can start making those multi-roll bets. There are a ton of different types of bets that you can make in a craps game and there are no rules which prevent you from placing more of them.
6. Wait for the Dealers to Distribute any Winnings
After the shooter finishes rolling, the dealer will distribute the winning bets and a new game (with a new shooter) can begin.
Defining the House Edge
Just like in all casino games, the house always has an edge (except during a few specific bets of which we will talk about later). Fortunately, Craps is a casino game where the house edge is relatively lower when compared to other casino games. For example, for a bet on the pass line, the house edge is 1.41% per bet made. Craps is all about maths, dawgs. The house edge is defined when you consider the number of throws and the likelihood of how often each number combination will roll. We don’t want to bore you with the statistics, so let’s just leave it with that.
What Makes The Best Craps Odds
I’m guessing many of you dawgs just want to know about the best possible odds so you can go and get rich quick on the craps table.
Well, just like in all casino games, there really isn’t a sure-fire way to make every single roll a winning bet. Down below, I’m going to try and cover every single craps bet that you can make, along with their bet odds and house edge, and you’ll get a clearer picture of the situation.
What Are the Worst Bets to Make in Craps?
In my opinion, the worst bets you can make in Craps are, so-called, “custom bets”. In these types of bets, you will make a number bet, but you will also get to decide which two the dice are going to land on. For example, you can bet that the next number is going to be a 10 but that the dice will land as a 4 and a 6. Since, in most cases, such rules don’t exist you’ll have to ask the dealer if he/she will accept your bet. If they do, you will still be at their mercy about the odds. So, unless you are feeling really lucky, don’t try to show off and play by your own rules, dawgs. Just stick with the already established bets.
Another bet that you should avoid are proposition bets (prop bets). These bets happen out of the blue and are proposed by the dealer. Basically, when the dealer feels like it, he/she will propose a custom bet for the dice (an 11, a 3, whatever) and will ask if anyone wants to bet on this number. The odds here are 15:1, which is tempting, but the chances of getting the proposed number are really slim. Sure, prop bets add a lot of excitement to the game, but it’s very unusual that a prop bet wins. I mean, the fact that it’s proposed by the dealer should be a given.
Types of Craps Bets
Down below, we are going to talk about all the traditional crap bets, as well as talk about the house edge and the odds.
Pass Line Bet
As basic as it gets when it comes to bets in craps. With a pass line bet, you are essentially betting on the shooter to win.
- During the come out phase, you are betting on the shooter to score either a 7 or an 11.
- You lose if the shooter rolls a 2, a 3 or a 12 which is called craps.
You can keep doing this until the point is made. Once the point is made and you bet on the pass line again, you are betting that the shooter will score the point number again and lose if the shooter scores a 7. The pass bet odds are at 1:1 while the house edge is 1.41%.
Don’t Pass Line Bet
If you think that shooter is unlucky, use that to your advantage and make a lose bet, dawg. Bet that the shooter will lose with the Don’t Pass bet. Don’t pass bets are the opposite of the pass bets. During the come-out phase, you are betting that the shooter will crap out (roll a 2, a 3 or a 12). Once the point has been made, you are betting that the shooter will seven-out (roll a 7). Same odds as the pass line bet (1:1), however, the house edge here is a bit lower with 1.36 %.
Come Bet
Now, we get to the more interesting bets. During the point phase players who miss the come out bets can do a come bet.
A come bet ignores the point number and focuses again on getting a 7 or an 11. But wait, there’s more! If a shooter scores a different number that isn’t the point, that number becomes your “worker”.
Example: You make a come bet and the point is 6. The shooter rolls an 8. Now the dealer will put your come bet on an 8 and that will be your worker.
Now if a shooter rolls another 8 before they crap out, the player with the come point will win. Heck, players can even place a few extra chips to increase the odds of the come bet. Another interesting thing is that a come bet can actually stay in the game if the shooter changes. Meaning, if a shooter rolls his point and a new shooter is selected your come point stays in the game (your odds on the come point can stay too if you want). The only thing that really kills the come bet is a seven-out.
The odds of a come bet depend on the come number.
- A 4 or a 10 will give you 2:1 odds.
- A 5 or a 9 will give you 3:2 odds.
- A 6 or an 8 will give you 5:6 odds.
The house edge bet for each of these is 4.76%.
Don’t Come Bet
You may have already figured it out but the Don’t Come bet is the opposite of a Come Bet. Once a point has been established, you are betting that the shooter will crap out with a 7. If a shooter rolls a different come point, that will become your worker. Unfortunately, that worker will only earn you money if the shooter sevens out.
The odds are the same as they are with the Come Bet. Unlike the come bet, the house edge is different depending on the don’t come point.
- On a 4 or a 10, the house edge is 2.44%.
- On a 4 or a 9, the house edge is 3.23%.
- On a 6 or a 10, the house edge is 4%.
The Field Bet
Filed bets are single-roll bets. These can be placed when the point has been made. If you place a field bet, you are betting that the next number is going to be one of the following: 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12. You will lose if the shooter scores a 5, a 6, a 7, or an 8.
If you win the field bet your odds will depend on the number the shooter scored.
- A 2 (sometimes a 12, as well) will give you 2:1 odds.
- 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11 will give you 1:1 odds
- (In some online casinos) a 12 will give you 3:1 odds.
The house edge for field bets is 5.5%.
Place Bets
Place bets are cool if your shooter can keep himself from sevening-out. Once a point is established, you can bet on any of the other point numbers. What’s nice about place bets is that they will stay in the game until a shooter scores them or craps out. Different place bets have different odds:
- A 4 or a 10 can have 2:1 odds.
- A 5 or a 9 can have 3:2 odds.
- A 6 or an 8 can have 6:5 odds.
The house edge also depends on the place bet numbers:
- A 4 or a 10 have a house edge of 6.7%
- A 5 or a 9 have a house edge of 4%
- A 6 or an 8 have a house edge of 1,52%
Buy Bets
If you like the place bets but don’t like the idea of the house edge, Buy bets would be perfect for you. Instead of placing a place bet, just buy the darn number, dawgs. This way you’ll actually get true odds (no house edge). Here are the odds of Buy Bets:
- A 4 or a 10 will give you 2:1 odds.
- A 5 or a 9 will give you 3:2 odds
- A 6 or an 8 will give you 5:6 odds.
The only real catch to Buy Bets is that the casinos don’t like the zero house edge. So, instead of the house edge, you’ll have to pay a “vig tax”. This is about 5% of every single bet that you will pay after you win/lose or before you place a buy bet. It may seem hard to swallow but it’s actually a much better solution than place bets.
Big Six, Big Eight
Ahh, the big six and the big eight. New players who play craps for the very first time instantly get lured to these two numbers thinking that their craps payouts are going to be huge if they bet on these two. In reality, these are probably some of the worst bets players can make.
A Big Six and a Big Eight work the same way as making a place bet on these two numbers. The only difference is that the odds are better and that the house edge is through the roof. The odds of a big 6 and a bit 8 are 1:1, however, the house edge is at a whopping 9%. I say, stay away from these ones, dawgs.
Hardways Bets
Hardways are for the boldest of the boldest. When you bet on this multi-roll bet, you aren’t betting on a number, you are betting on a pair. You can bet on any even number such as 4, 6, 8, and 10 but the catch is that it needs to be a “hard number”. A hard 6 would consist of two 3s. A hard 10 would consist of two 5s.
Unfortunately, if you bet on a hard number and the shooter rolls an easy one (an easy 8 would be a 2 and a 6, or a 3 and a 5), or sevens out, you will lose. The odds are through the roof on hardway numbers but the house edge is just as mean as always.
- Odd for hard 6 and 8 are 10:1 – House edge: 9.09%
- Odds for hard 4 and 10 are 8:1 – House edge: 11.11%
2 or 12 Bets
When it comes to proposition bets, some of the most popular ones are the 2s and the 12s. Since there is only one way to score a 2 or a 12 in craps, they aren’t interesting enough to be labeled as hardways. The house edge for both of these numbers is 13.9%. The odds are at a whopping 30:1 which should tell you all about how often these two come up.
3 or 11 Bets
Same as 2 or 12 except they are a little easier to get, hence the reduced odds and a lower house edge. The odds of getting a 3 or an 11 (a one roll bet) are 15:1 and the house edge is 11.1%.
Any Seven Bet
A super simple one-time bet that you can make at any point during the point phase. You are basically betting on a 7. What kind of a 7? Any kind! Your odds are 4:1 and the house edge is a bit high with 16.9% but it’s just so simple and so effective.
Any Craps Bet
Just like with any seven bet, you are betting on any craps (a 2, a 3 or a 12). Your odds are 7:1 with the house edge being 11.1%.
Free Odds/Laying the Odds Bet
What is arguably the best bet you can make during a craps game is the free odds bet/ lay bet. At first glance, free odds bets feel more like boosts to already existing bets. Basically, when you place a pass or a don’t pass bet, you can also place a lay bet or a free odds bet underneath the pass line. What’s great about this bet is that it can not only boost your winnings but it also has true odds. That’s right, the free odd bet and laying the odds bets have zero house edge. Most online casinos and land-based casinos will let you place one of these up to five times the pass/don’t come bet amount.
Craps Table Payout
If you are playing craps at an online casino, you don’t ever have to worry about table payout because the AI is doing all the work. You probably won’t have to worry about it in land-based casinos either since dealers and stickmen are discouraged from cheating because they are constantly being recorded. With that said, there’s nothing wrong about wanting to know how to calculate your payouts, so let me help you out, dawgs.
How To Calculate Payouts?
To understand payouts, we need to understand how odds work. Let’s start with a very simple case of 1:1 odds.
- During 1:1 odds, if we bet a $5 chip and win, we will get $10 (double your bet). That wasn’t too hard, was it? Let’s try some harder examples. Let’s say we get a crazy idea to make a 2 bet and actually win. The 2 bet has 30:1 odds. Ok, how do we calculate that?
- During 30:1 odds, if we bet a $5 chip and win, we will get 30 times our bet (So 30×5) which is $150. Not too shabby. Let’s go with those weird fraction odds like when we make a place bet on 6. A place bet on 6 has odds of 6:5. Now what?
- During 6:5 odds, if we bet a $5 chip and win, we will get (6×5$)/5 = 30$/5 = $6. Hey, if even your boy Derrick can do the math, then you shouldn’t have any problems, dawgs.
Craps Betting Strategy Explained
Seeing how craps is a game that’s as old as gambling itself, you can bet your butt that players have developed strategies on how to improve their odds. Talking about all different craps strategies would make this blog too long. Fortunately for you, we’ve already done a blog about them, so feel free to check it out if you feel like you are ready for some craps strategies.
How Craps Dealers Calculate Payouts So Fast
It’s their job, dawg. If you’ve ever worked as a cashier it’s similar to that but much harder. When you do something for a good amount of time it starts feeling like second nature. Dealers are trained to serve up to 20 craps players at a time while dealing chips and calculating the winnings all while being monitored by both cameras and everyone else. It does help that they are paid so well. If you ever wondered how craps dealers do it, here are a few tricks that they use.
- Arranging chips. If you’ve ever played a real craps game, you probably didn’t pay much attention when dealers started dealing the chips. That’s one of their main tactics on how they keep tabs on their players. Each player has his/her own chip rack.
- Issuing payouts in order. Just like when dealing cards, dealers will have a certain way of dealing chips. The dealer has a specific order in which he/she deals the chips and they stick by it really strictly to keep the game organized. Pro tip: Never make physical contact with the dealer because it’s both rude and against the rules.
- Players closest to the stickman get their payouts first. Normally, when dealing payouts dealers start issuing payouts to the player closest to the stickman. Some dealers do it another way, but this is generally the preferred method.
- Dealers remember all the odds. This shouldn’t come as a surprise that dealers have memorized each and every single possible craps odds and combination. I mean, these guys deal with hundreds and hundreds of bets every single day, it would be hard NOT to memorize everything. The only time dealers might need to stop and think is if you make a proposition bet that isn’t available on the table layout, in which case they will have to make up the odds.
Craps Odds Summary
And that concludes craps odds! Even though there are a couple of bets you can make where the house edge doesn’t exist, the house always wins in the end. With that said, playing craps – whether it’s in a live casino or an actual land-based casino – is a real joy. I highly recommend you give it a try at least once and hopefully this craps odds guide has helped you understand the odds a bit better. Enjoy online gambling and play responsibly. As always, we got you, bro!
