How to Use Basic Craps Strategy

What is basic craps strategy, and how do you use it?

If you already know how to play craps, basic craps strategy is probably a no-brainer.

If you’ve never played craps, you might think that it’s something like basic blackjack strategy.

But I have good news for you. No charts are tables are necessary for using the most basic strategy for craps.

How Does Strategy Work With Casino Games Like Craps?

All casino games are games of chance, so any attempt to use strategy with such games is based on getting the odds as close to being in your favor as possible. It’s impossible in almost all casino games to get an edge over the casino; the best you can hope for is to reduce the casino’s edge to its lowest point.

You measure the casino’s advantage in a casino game with a metric called “the house edge.” Statistically, it’s the amount you expect to lose on average in the long run for every bet. If the house edge is 2%, then you’re expected to lose an average of $2 every time you place that bet.

That’s a long-term average, though. In the short run, it’s next to impossible to lose the expected house edge figure.

In craps, for example, you place a bet on the pass line—the most basic bet in the game—and you either win $100 or you lose $100. It’s impossible to lose just $2 on that bet. You can’t even lose $2 per bet on average over two or three bets either.

When we’re talking about the long run, we’re talking about hundreds or thousands of bets. And even then, the games are random, so the results could deviate significantly from the average.

So, your strategy is to make the decisions in the game that keep the house edge as low as possible. The higher the house edge is, the better the casino’s statistical edge over the player is.

What Is the House Edge in Craps?

In some games, like blackjack, you only have one bet that you can make. You just bet on a hand of blackjack and get paid off based on how the hand turns out.

In other games, like baccarat, you get to choose which bet to place. Sometimes, the house edge for the different bets is the same, as in roulette, and sometimes, it’s different, as in baccarat or craps.

For example, in roulette, it doesn’t matter if you bet on a color or an individual number, the house edge is the same—5.26%.

In baccarat, a bet on the banker has a house edge of 1.06%, which is better than the house edge for the player—1.24%. A bet on a tie in baccarat has an even higher house edge—14.36%.

Craps is like baccarat, but you have even more bets available to you in real money craps than you do in baccarat.

Here’s the good news, though, in two parts:

• The most basic bets in craps have the lowest house edge.
• Craps has one bet that has no house edge at all.

The house edge on the basic bet in craps—the pass line bet—is 1.41%.

That’s relatively low for a game in which you don’t have to make any decisions that affect the outcome.

And the house edge on the odds bet in craps—which you can only place after placing a pass bet and the shooter setting a point—is 0%.

That’s right.

It has no advantage for the casino. The odds bet pays off at the same odds you have of winning, so, in the long run, you’ll break even.

The only other bet in the casino like that is the double-up option on some video poker games where you have the opportunity to double your winnings after winning a hand.

What About the Other Craps Bets?

There’s only one bet at the craps table better than the pass line bet, and that’s the don’t pass bet. This bet has a house edge of 1.36%. That’s only marginally better than the pass line bet, but it has a big drawback.

When you bet the pass line, you’re betting WITH the dice. You’re rooting for the shooter to succeed. Most of the gamblers at the craps table like to root for the shooter to succeed, and the high-fives and excitement at the table are all related to a shooter getting on a hot streak.

You can also place bets called come and don’t come bets. These are the same bets as the pass and don’t pass bets, but they treat the next roll as if it were a come-out roll—regardless of whether they’re actually come-out rolls or not.

The house edge for the come and don’t come bets are exactly the same as for pass and don’t pass, and the odds bets also have a house edge of 0%.

You’ll see an astonishing number of other bets on the craps table. Most of these are called prop bets, and they’re bets on the next roll of the dice.

The house edge on all the other bets at the craps table are terrible.

You should pretend they don’t exist.

You won’t have any more fun at the craps table by making bets with a house edge of 9%, 14%, or 19%.

You’re just more likely to lose money, and you’re more likely to lose bigger amounts of money.

This Makes Basic Strategy for Craps Simple

The basic strategy for craps is so simple that it almost doesn’t warrant being called a strategy.

You just walk up to the table and make a pass line bet.

If the shooter succeeds or fails on the come-out roll, you collect your winnings or accept your losses and bet the pass line again.

If the shooter sets a point, you make the biggest odds bet you can afford and that you’re allowed.

The odds bet, though, has all kinds of complexities that intimidate newcomers to the game.

But once you understand them, the odds bet is super easy, too.

All About the Odds Bet in Craps

The first weird thing about the odds bet in craps is that it’s the only bet on the table that’s not labeled. It’s almost as if the casino prefers you not to know about it. I don’t know why they care. They don’t lose any money on the odds bet.

To place the odds bet, you wait until the shooter has set a point, then you put the odds bet behind your original pass line bet. Tell the dealer you’re taking odds.

The other weird thing about the odds bet is that it must be made in multiples of your original bet, and that multiple has a max that varies from casino to casino. At some casinos, you might only be allowed to place an odds bet that’s the same size as your original bet. At others, you might be allowed to take 10x odds.

The final weird thing about the odds bet is that it pays off differently based on what the point is. The likelier it is that the shooter will roll the point, the lower the payout is.

But there are only three payouts for the odds bet:

• If the point is four or 10, the odds bet pays off at 2 to 1.
• If the point is five or nine, the odds bet pays off at 3 to 2.
• If the point is six or eight, the odds bet pays off at 6 to 5.

In the example I’ve been using, if you had $200 on odds with the point being four, you’d get a $400 payout if the shooter makes the point. If the point is five, you’d get a $300 payout. And if the point is six, you’d get a $240 payout.

And in all of those cases, the original $20 bet would pay off at even money.

What About the Don’t Pass Strategy?

Betting against the dice is slightly better for you mathematically, but it’s not worth it. The odds bets’ payouts are the opposite, too. They pay off at 1 to 2, 2 to 3, or 5 to 6 odds, respectively.

Most gamblers don’t enjoy placing bets that pay off at less than the amount you risk.

Is That It?

Yep, that’s it for the basic craps strategy, but I have one word of warning:

Don’t.

Don’t try progressive betting strategies at the craps table.

It’s easy to get a lot of money into action at the craps table all at the same time. You can stack up some staggering wins when a shooter gets hot.

But you can see a huge amount of money get washed away with a single roll of the dice.

Lowering and raising the size of your bets based on what happened on the previous bet is not a legitimate strategy for lowering the house edge, though.

Just pass on betting systems.

Conclusion

The basic craps strategy is to stick with the basic bets at the table and ignore all the bets with a high house edge.

That’s all you need to know to enjoy craps while minimizing your risk. Good luck!