Why You Should Consider Craps Prop Bets

There are many bets you can place in craps. Pass line and don’t pass line wagers are the most popular because they offer high RTP and are available on the come-out roll.

You’ll win many times with these bets, too. The pass line bet wins 49.29% of the time, while the don’t pass line wins 47.93% of the time and has a 2.78% chance of pushing.

Of course, craps has an entirely different side to it in the form of proposition bets. Unlike the pass line and don’t pass line bets, prop bets have lower odds of winning and, sometimes, terrible RTP.

These are just some of the reasons why many gambling experts suggest that you steer clear of craps prop bets. As you’ll see in the following guide, though, prop wagers aren’t always a bad deal. In fact, they can even be advantageous in some ways.

Craps Prop Wagers Are Commonly Called “Sucker Bets”

Those who rail against prop wagers often call them sucker bets. As the name implies, a sucker bet is something that only a stooge would make.

Craps prop bets are victims of their worst elements. They get a bad reputation because of several awful wagers.

Any seven takes the cake for being the worst of the worst. Your only chance to win this wager is for a seven to be rolled.

This occurrence only happens one out of every six times. The 4:1 payout is nice when it does happen, but the 83.33% RTP is atrocious.

Two and 12 are really bad prop bets as well. These two wagers require the shooter to roll a two or 12, respectively, for you to win.

The 30:1 payout for either bet is exciting. However, a two or 12 only comes up one out of every 36 rolls. Besides the high volatility, you’ll also be looking at dismal 86.11% RTP.

The bets covered above are not only the worst in craps but also some of the worst in all of gaming. For this reason, prop wagers generally carry a bad reputation.

The Case for Making Craps Prop Bets

The best craps strategy is to place pass line and don’t pass line bets backed with odds. The latter are special wagers that offer 100% RTP.

However, you don’t necessarily need to fear deviating from common strategy with prop bets. The latter can be cheap and, in some cases, offer favorable payback.

Lower Minimum Bets

Pass line and don’t pass line bets are fairly expensive in land-based casinos. You’ll need to risk anywhere from $5 to $25 with these wagers, depending upon the venue.

Some land-based casinos charge up to $25 for these bets for two reasons:

1. They don’t make much money from these wagers.
2. Pass line/don’t pass line can take multiple rolls to be decided, thus reducing the casino’s hourly profits.

By contrast, prop bets don’t cost nearly as much to make. They generally require between $1 and $5 wagers in brick and mortar casinos.

At the right bet size, your theoretical losses with the unsightly Any 7 could even be lower than with pass line. Here’s an example to illustrate this point:

Pass Line

• You must wager $25 on pass line.
• You place 100 bets.
• 100 x 25 = $2,500 in total wagers
• The house edge is 1.41% (98.59% RTP).
• 2,500 x 0.0141 = $35.25 in theoretical losses

Any 7

• You must bet $1 on Any 7.
• You place 100 wagers.
• 100 x 1 = $100 in total wagers
• The house edge is 16.67% (83.33% RTP).
• 100 x 0.1667 = $16.67 in theoretical losses

Of course, playing real money craps online allows you to place any bet for a dollar. But if you’re someone who craves the excitement of land-based tables, then you’ll find prop bets much cheaper to place.

Big Payouts

The downside to common wagers like pass line, don’t pass line, come, and don’t come is that they do not offer large payouts. Instead, you’re only paid even money on wins.

Prop wagers, on the other hand, can deliver huge payouts. They might not hit very often, but they pay well whenever delivering a win.

Here are the largest payouts in craps:

• 2 – Pays 30:1
• 12 – Pays 30:1
• Yo (11) – Pays 15:1
• 3 – Pays 15:1
• Hi-Lo (2 or 12) – Pays 15:1
• Craps (2, 3, or 12) – Pays 7:1
• Hard 4 & Hard 10 – Pays 7:1

More Entertainment

One great thing about craps is that it allows you to place multiple types of bets in a round. You could place a pass line wager and one or more prop bets.

This scenario provides more action and entertainment in each round. It can also help you capitalize more when your chosen number(s) comes up.

Here’s an example on winning multiple bets in a round:

Some Prop Bets Offer Solid RTP

As covered earlier, proposition wagers don’t have the greatest reputation in terms of payback. Some of these bets feature RTP as low as 83.33%.

You don’t have to settle for payback anywhere near this low, though, because plenty of worthwhile prop bets do exist.

Below, you can see the best prop wagers in terms of payout percentages:

• Place 6 & Place 8 = 98.48% RTP
• Lay 4 & Lay 10 = 97.56% (house takes 5% commission from bets)
• Lay 5 & Lay 9 = 96.77% (house takes 5% commission from bets)
• Lay 6 & Lay 8 = 96.0% (house takes 5% commission from bets)
• Place 5 & Place 9 = 96.0%
• Buy 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 = 95.24% (house takes 5% commission from bets)

Some casinos only take 5% commissions on wins for certain prop bets, which noticeably improves the RTP. Here’s a look at the payout percentages in some of these cases:

• Lay 4 & Lay 10 = 98.33% (house only takes 5% commission from wins)
• Buy 4 & Buy 10 = 98.33% (house only takes 5% commission from wins)
• Buy 5 & Buy 9 = 98.04% (house only takes 5% commission from wins)
• Lay 5 & Lay 9 = 98.0% (house only takes 5% commission from wins)
• Lay 6 & Lay 8 = 97.73% (house only takes 5% commission from wins)

Tips for Craps Prop Betting

By now, you may be interested in placing a few prop bets. If so, you can improve your chances of winning, or at least staying in the game, with the following tips.

Have a Bankroll Plan

Prop bets can definitely enhance your craps experience. However, they also make the game more expensive to play—especially when you’re placing multiple wagers in each round.

Therefore, you should work out a plan for managing your bankroll. The first step to doing so involves deciding how much money you can comfortably put towards craps.

This amount should be funds that you’re willing to part with in case of a terrible losing streak. After all, you don’t want to risk money that’s meant for bills and other expenses.

Next, you should consider how many bets you’ll place in each round. You might combine your average number of wagers into a single unit (e.g. three $5 bets = $15 unit).

Finally, you can set a stop-loss limit based on units. In other words, you’ll quit any session where you lose so many units.

Here’s an example on putting everything together:

• You plan on placing three $5 wagers (pass line and two props) in each round.
• Therefore, you’ll be wagering $15 in every round.
• You have a $450 bankroll.
• 450 / 15 = 30 units
• Your stop-loss limit is 10 units, where you’ll quit any session where you’ve lost 10 units.

Focus on Quality Bets

The freedom to choose any craps wager you like is part of what makes craps so entertaining. If you’re interested in more long-term winnings, though, then you should only consider prop bets with high RTP.

Place 6 and Place 8 are the two best prop wagers in terms of payback. Lay 4, Lay 5, Lay 9, and Lay 10 are also favorable in comparison to most casino games.

Find Low Minimum Bets

Unless you’re a high roller, you want to keep your prop bets low. A good way to do this is by finding tables that allow for $1 prop wagers.

Every online casino lets you place these low bets. Some brick and mortar establishments also feature $1 minimums on prop wagers.

At worst, you’ll be dealing with $5 prop wagers in land-based casinos. You may want to be more selective with your bets in this case.

Join the Player’s Club

You should always take advantage of rewards while playing craps. This is especially the case in brick and mortar casinos where you actually must sign up for the player’s club.

You can register for loyalty membership at the player’s desk or online. You’ll receive a player’s club card after completing registration.

This card ensures that you collect loyalty rewards with slots, video poker, and table games. In the case of craps, you’ll hand your card to the dealer.

The dealer will then pass your card over to the pit boss who’ll rate your play throughout the session. At the end, the pit boss does their best to calculate how many comps you deserve.

With online craps, you’re already signed up for the rewards program after completing general registration. You just need to place a deposit and start playing real-money craps to receive loyalty perks.

Conclusion

You’re best off avoiding most craps proposition bets. However, you don’t necessarily need to avoid all prop wagers.

Some of these bets are worthwhile in terms of the RTP. Place 6 and Place 8 (98.48% RTP) are two of the top bets in all of gaming.

Of course, you can cheaply place any prop wager in most casinos. Some land-based casinos feature $1 minimums on prop bets.

Again, the majority of these wagers don’t provide great chances to win. Some gems do exist, though, and they can ramp up the excitement.