One thing is certain in Craps and, that is, you have no control over the dice whatsoever. However, you do have control of your betting. If you know what bets you can place, you’re one step closer to winning.
Pass Line: The Pass Line is the strip that runs around the layout. The Pass Line bet offers the best odds in Craps, and pro players often bet on the Pass Line when they want to make their money stretch. The Pass Line bet relies on the ‘Come Out Roll’ and here’s how you win when betting on the Pass Line:
The ‘Come Out Roll’ is the result of the first throw of the dice and can give Players a win, a loss, or establish a point number.
If a 7 or 11 is thrown on the ‘Come Out Roll’, all bets on the Pass Line win.
If a 2, 3, or 12 (what is also known as ‘Craps’) is rolled on the ‘Come Out Roll’, all bets on the Pass Line lose.
Any other number rolled, i.e. 4,5,6,8,9,10, establishes a Point. If one of these point numbers is rolled, a puck labelled “On” is placed above the number to denote it as the point number. When a point is established, this means that it must be rolled again before rolling a 7 in order for Pass Line bets to win. Once a point is established, none of the other numbers matter (neither the Craps numbers nor the 11 nor any other number). In this case, the only number that matters is the 7 and the point number must be rolled again before a 7 is rolled for Pass Line bets to win.
If a 7 is rolled before the point number, then all Pass Line bets lose.
Don’t Pass Bar: Don’t Pass bets are the exact opposite of Pass Line bets and essentially mean that rolls of 2 or 3 on the first throw of the dice will cause Don’t Pass bets to win. If a 7 or 11 is thrown on the first roll, then Don’t Pass bets will lose. A roll of 12 is a stand-off.
Let’s say a point of 4 was established. In this instance, Don’t Pass bets will win if a 7 is thrown before a 4 is rolled again.
As you can see, Don’t Pass bets win when Pass Line bets lose. They can be removed or decreased at any time once a point is established.
Come Bets: Despite its name, the Come Bet is not made during the Come Out Roll. It is a flat bet, almost identical to the Pass Line Bet, and is made after the point is established. In this instance, Come Bets win if the dice land on a 7 or 11 and lose if they land on a 2,3, or 12. If a point is established, Come Point bets will win if the point is thrown before a 7 is rolled.
Don’t Come Bets: Don’t Come bets are the opposite of Come Bets. Once the ‘Come Out Roll’ is completed, Don’t Come Bets can be placed. If a 2 or 3 is rolled, Don’t Come Bets win. If a 7 or 11 is rolled, Don’t Come Bets lose. If a 12 is rolled, this constitutes a Push and monies on Don’t Come Bets are returned. If none of these numbers is rolled, this means that a Don’t Come point is established. Don’t Come Point bets are won if the point number is not thrown before a 7 is rolled.
Field Bets: The field bet is a one-roll bet, where a throw of 2,3,4,9,10,11 or 12 is a winner and a throw of 5,6,7 or 8 is a loser. While this may seem like a sure winning bet, the chance of winning is only 44%, because 5,6,7 and 8 account for 20 of the 36 possible dice combinations. This means that there are only 16 possible winning combinations, which equates to a 44.4% chance of winning.
Odds Bets: This is an additional bet on a Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, or Don’t Come bets that were already placed. They can only be made when the point number is established.
In the case of a Pass Line Odds bet, a smaller wager is placed behind the original Pass Line. The original bet is paid as even money. The odds bet is paid out at true odds. Although extra money is put up for this wager, it’s a profitable bet, because the House Edge is reduced to zero. This is one of the reasons why the bet is not outlined on the table layout because it gives no advantage to the House.
Place Bets: You can place the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 and, in return, you will get odds each time the number is rolled. This bet remains in effect until removed or until a 7 is rolled. Place bets can be increased or decreased at any time.
Don’t Place Bets: Don’t Place bets are the opposite of Place bets in that a throw of a 7 before the Don’t Place number is a winner.
Big 6 and Big 8 Bets: Big 6 and Big 8 bets pay even money and are one of the worst bets to make in Craps, because all Pass Line Odds bets are lost when this bet is made. A throw of a 6 or an 8 before a 7 is rolled makes these bets winners. If a 7 is thrown first, however, the bet is lost. These bets continue to stand until a 6, 8, or 7 is thrown.
“Big” bets become active during the Come Out Roll and remain active during all other rolls. They can be placed, changed or removed at any time before any roll. To be completely honest, wagering on a regular six or an eight the exact same as placing a bet on the “Big” 6 or 8, with the glaring exception of the payout. If you bet on a regular 6 or 8, your payout is 7:6 where as if you bet on the “Big” 6 or 8, your payout is 1:1.
Hardway Bets: This is a bet that a 4, 6, 8, or 10 will be rolled the hard way; i.e. the dice must add up to those numbers by making pairs. So a 4 on this bet would constitute a pair of 2s; a 6 would constitute a pair of 3s and so on. Hardway bets only become active once the point number is established. They can be made at any time and remain on the table after a win. They can be removed at any time and are always taken off after a loss. Hardway bets pay very well (9:1), but the odds of winning are very low. The Hardway bet is a one roll wager; meaning, you only have 1 chance to make the winning roll.
Proposition Bets: There are several different types of Proposition bets that can be made, including Any Sevens, Any Craps, and Betting Horn Numbers.
The Any Sevens bet involves only the number 7. If you feel like a 7 will be rolled and you place this bet, your payout will be quite significant (5:1). The House edge is very high on this bet, however, and is not a wise one.
The Any Craps bet is a combined bet for the Craps numbers (2, 3, or 12). This is also a one roll wager and pays 8:1.
The Betting Horn Numbers is a bet that 2, 3, 11, or 12 will be rolled. They pay very well but the probability of hitting these numbers is very low. In the case of a 2 or 12, the probability is 2.7% and the payoff is 30:1. A 3 or 11 yields a payoff of 15:1 and the probability is 5.5%.
The C and E bet is a combination of the Any Craps bet and 11. The two circles on the table used for the bet are used individually. When you win with this bet, you are literally losing one bet to win the other bet.
To get a better perspective on how these bets actually impact your pocket, click on the link to view detailed Craps Odds charts.
