Craps Advice
Craps is my favorite game in the casino, and if you learn how to play, it will be one of your favorites, too. I’ve written multiple posts explaining how to play.
In this post, I want to do something a little different.
Craps Advice 9 November 2006 By Frank Scoblete. Dear Frank: First of all, I've got just about every book you have published on craps, and I love them all. I have practiced the supersytem on my computer and now plan to take it to the casinos. Craps Tips and Tricks. Casino players are often looking for ways to improve their craps game and their winning chances. There are many craps tips that you can use when you are trying to win the game. You will be using the craps tips and tricks to maximise your winning chances.
I want to offer you the best tips for playing craps WELL.
If you want to do well at the craps table, these are the only 11 tips you’ll ever need.
1 – Stick With the Pass, Come, and Free Odds Bets
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The pass line bet is the basic bet when playing craps for real money. It’s a bet that the shooter will roll a 7 or an 11 on his come-out roll, or that the shooter will roll a point number and subsequently hit that point number again before rolling a 7. The pass line bet loses if the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll.
The come bet is just like the pass bet, but it treats a roll after the come-out roll as if it were a new come-out roll.
And the free odds bet is only available if you’ve made a pass or come bet, and the shooter has set a point. The odds bet pays off at the true odds of rolling the point again before rolling a 7.
If you stick with those bets, you’ll be playing the most exciting game in the casino and facing terrific odds. These bets make craps almost as attractive a game as blackjack.
2 – Most of the Bets at the Craps Table Offer Lousy Odds
One of the great things about craps is that it’s easy to learn how to make the best bets and avoid the lousy ones. That’s because the only good bets at the table are these:
- Pass
- Don’t pass
- Come
- Don’t come
- Free odds
- Place 6
- Place 8
You literally have dozens of bets to choose from at the craps table, but the house edge on the bets listed above are all less than 1.5%.
3 – Here’s What You Should Do If You’re a Beginner
If you’re a beginner craps player, stick with the pass line bet. Don’t start making a lot of come bets until you’re comfortable with what’s happening with the pass line bet.
It might be a good idea to take one of the free casino game classes where they’ll teach you how to play.
Once you’re comfortable with the pass line bet, expand your repertoire by making occasional come bets, too.
Try not to have more than two or three numbers working at one time. Any more than that, and you might be devastated by a big loss you’re not expecting.
4 – Understand the House Edge in Craps
The house edge represents the difference between the odds of winning and the payout odds for the game. Craps, like every other casino game, pays out less than the odds of winning. The difference is where the casino makes its profit.
The house edge is expressed as a percentage, and it’s an estimate of how much you should expect to lose in the long run on a game.
In the case of craps, the house edge for the pass and come bets is the same – 1.41%.
The house edge for the don’t pass and don’t come bets is 1.36%.
The great thing is the house edge for the free odds bet. It’s called “free” odds because it carries no house edge. The payout for this bet is the same as the odds of winning it.
By taking or laying odds on top of your pass, don’t pass, come, or don’t come bets, you’re effectively reducing the house edge for the game even further.
5 – Pick Your Wins Up From the Table
It’s your responsibility to pick up any money you win from the table. If you just leave those chips on the table, they’re considered new bets, and they stay in action.
If you’re on a winning streak, that’s cool. You’ll just win that much more money. In fact, win three or four times in a row by letting your winnings ride can net you a lot of cash fast.
But if you’re a more conservative player, pick the chips you’ve won up off the table after you win.
6 – Ignore Dealers at the Craps Table That Recommend a Bet
One of the dealers at the craps table is comparable to the ringmaster in a circus. He’s the stickman, and part of his job is to sell you on the idea of making bets in the middle of the table.
The house edge on those bets is terrible, and when I say terrible, I mean over 9%.
Would you rather lose an average of 9% on each bet or an average of 1.5% on each bet?
It’s the difference between losing $15/hour and losing $90/hour.
7 – Don’t Use Betting Systems at the Craps Table
Any game with bets that offer even money payouts is ripe for betting system players. Craps is no exception. In fact, you’ll have no trouble finding a Martingale or Paroli system player at the craps table.
These two systems work in precisely the opposite way, but both systems also don’t do anything to help you win the game. A negative expectation bet is a negative expectation, no matter what.
The Martingale System and the Paroli System are examples of positive and negative progression systems. You raise and lower the size of your bets based on whether you won or lose previous bets.
Here’s an example of the Martingale in action at the craps table:
You bet $5 on the pass line, and you lose when the shooter 7s out. Now you bet $10 on the pass line, and if you win, you’ve won back your $5 loss along with a $5 profit.
But if you lose, you have to bet $20 on your next bet, and so on.
Eventually, you’ll run into a losing streak that’s so long that it will be impossible to place the next bet in your progression.
With the Paroli System, you’ll let your winnings ride until you’ve had a specific, arbitrary number of wins in a row.
For example, you might set a goal of winning 3 times in a row. You bet $5 on pass, win, and bet $10 on the 2nd round, and win again. Now you bet $20. If you win all 3 bets, you’ve won $35 over 3 rounds of the game.
But this approach doesn’t work, either, in the long run.
8 – Don’t Try to Become a Craps Professional
Contrary to what you might read and what some people might tell you, it’s not possible to get an edge at craps in the long run. Without being able to get a mathematical edge, you can’t possibly play craps for a living.
Even the odds bets, which have no house edge, can only be made when you’ve made an initial bet with a negative expectation.
On top of the negative expectation, you have a highly volatile game. Just because the house edge on the odds bets is 0% doesn’t mean those bets pay off often. They still lose most of the time.
It’s just that, theoretically, in the long run, you’ll win as much money as you lose on such bets.
If you want to be a professional gambler, learn to count cards in blackjack, or handicap sports with a high degree of accuracy, or play poker at a pro-level.
But stay away from craps if you want to gamble professionally.
9 – Skip Don’t Pass and Don’t Come Bets If You’re New
You might think that don’t pass and don’t come are the best bets at the craps table. And since the house edge for these bets is 1.36% instead of 1.41%, that’s true.
But that doesn’t mean you should place these bets.
In fact, if you’re new, I suggest avoiding them.
Here’s why:
Most of the other players are betting with the shooter. It’s fun to root for a shooter to win, and it’s fun to have a sense of teamwork and camaraderie at the craps table.
If you’re betting against everyone at the table, you’ll probably have less fun.
Unless you just have one of those personalities.
10 – Take as Big an Odds Bet as Possible While Still Being Comfortable
Let’s say you’re at a craps table where the minimum bet is $5 and the maximum bet is $500. And the maximum amount of odds this casino will let you take is 2X your bet.
Don’t bet $15 on the pass line and ignore the odds bet.
And don’t bet $15 on the pass line and then put $30 on the odds bet.
In one case, you’re letting the house have a more significant edge than you need to.
In the other case, you’re putting more money into action on a single roll of the dice than you’re comfortable with.
Neither of these situations is good.
11 – Free Casino Classes Are Great – Except for the Strategy Advice
Craps, more than most casino games, is a good one to learn via the free casino classes that most gambling halls offer during their slow periods. You can get an excellent feel for how the game plays and how the betting works. Most real money online casinos will also allow you to play for free and practice before you’re ready for the real thing.
Just ignore any strategy advice that live casino dealers offer. Sometimes the dealers don’t know anything about the math behind the game and give what they think is good advice. Other times, the dealers are just rooting for you to lose.
Conclusion
With a basic understanding of how to play craps, you can have more fun in the casino than most. And you’ll stand a good chance of having some big winning sessions.
It’s just as important to play smart at the craps table as it is at any other casino game.
Thinking about these 11 craps tips will keep you on the side of the gambling angels.
Craps – detecting winning streaks strategy
Craps is a very popular casino game and as such, there are many players who are looking for various effective strategies. There are strategies as to the way to bet, the types of bets to use, different betting systems and etc. There are many players who claim or seem to be able to manipulate the roll of the craps dice and this way roll what they want to in order to win (you may also read our dice control article).
By taking a look at the statistics, we will notice that winning streaks really happen in craps and therefore any player would really want to take as much advantage of that as possible. If you notice a shooter that is on a winning streak, no matter if it is superstition or he is manipulating the dice roll, you should stick with him because he is likely to win again. When a player is in a winning streak, this means that he is lucky and the statistics show that the chance for him to win again is good.
Our craps strategy to detect the winning streaks is all about finding the streaks in the game and take advantage of them. You may well take advantage of someone’s losing streak too. Just bet against the craps bet of the unlucky shooter.
Craps tips
Craps is a very popular game among the casino players around the world. Apart from the strategies that you may find on MyCasinoStrategy, you may also read our craps tips, which will make your game more successful. Following our guidelines will be useful to you and your gameplay. The tips which we have gathered for you will help you play this interesting game better and win more.
- Always tip the craps dealer!
An important advice for a game of craps is to give tips to the dealer when you are on a winning streak. This will create a pleasant gaming environment and more people will want you to win and will be happy when you win. The environment is very important to somebody who is playing a game with dice. It will give you confidence to take advantage of the game and the winning streaks that are happening.
- Always know when to stop playing!
A problem of many players is that they do not know when to stop playing and quit. This may cost you a lot because if you are not in a mood to play, you are upset or angry, your bad session will most probably continue and it may even get worse. Very important advice is never to chase your losses and if you are in a bad session you’d better stop playing craps. Only play when you feel comfortable because that’s when you will have your best game.
- Place bets according to your resources!
During a game of craps, it is very important for every player to know what his resources are and how to use them effectively. A player must never place large bets if he or she doesn’t possess enough money to continue the game after that in case of a loss. For example, if you have allocated $1000 for playing craps, you need to place individual bets of not more than $20-$30. This will give you the opportunity to stay in the game for a longer period in case of an unlucky streak. If you’ve got a balance of $100, for example, you should place bets of $2-$3 (for the same reason).
Craps strategies
Craps is a game which has started gaining popularity during the Middle Ages. Throughout this whole time period, the game has been evolving until it becomes the game of craps that we see and play nowadays. It is being played all over the world and is one of the most popular casino games ever. You may easily notice that people playing craps are present in almost every movie in which casinos are involved – Diamonds Are Forever, for example, the famous movie about James Bond.
Due to the popularity of the game, people have always tried to develop different craps strategies, which they’d like to use in order to make the casino edge lower and thus win when playing the game. On MyCasinoStrategy, you may find several strategies, which you may use to make your chances to win better than ever. One of our craps strategies is suitable for beginner players – basic craps strategy. Also we’ve got a strategy which is suitable for experienced players – advanced craps strategy. It is all up to you to choose which one you want to go with.
Basic craps strategy
Craps Dealing Tips
The simplest and the easiest basic craps strategy for a beginner player is to learn the rules of the game and the types of bets, and make good use of them. There are many types of bets that a player can place during the game, however, the different types of bets have different casino odds. The casino edge may vary depending on the type of bet that you have chosen to place and our basic craps strategy is all about placing the bets with the lowest casino odds. Here are the different types of bets with the corresponding edge of the casino over the players:
- Pass Line/Don’t Pass Line/Come/Don’t Come bets – 1.40%
- Field Bets – 5.60%
- Big 6/Big 8 – 9.10%
- Horn – 12.50%
- Craps 2/Craps 12 – 13.90%
- Any 7 – 16.70%
As you can see, the casino edge is lowest when you place Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line, Come or Don’t Come bets – 1.40%. Therefore, as a beginner player the best strategy for you when playing craps is to place the types of bets with the lowest casino advantage possible.
Advanced craps strategy
Once you have learned how to make a good use of the types of bets where the casino has the lowest advantage possible and you have mastered our basic strategy, you may move forward and learn the advanced craps strategy that we have presented right before you.
Our advanced strategy requires you to place $3 3-way bet together with a Pass Line bet. The Pass Line bet will protect you from 7s. The $3 on 3-way bet, would be for the numbers 12, 3 and 2 ($1 each). The payout for 12 and 2 is 30:1 while for 3 it is 15:1. If 12 or 2 comes out, you will get $30. If 3 comes out, you will get $15.
You will bet $40 on Pass Line and 3-way craps bet for $3 ($1 on 12, $1 on 2 and $1 on 3). Along with them you will bet $5 on 4, 5, 9 and 10, and $6 on 6 and 8.
If you’d like to test any of our strategies and play in an online casino, you can CLICK HERE, sign up, deposit, get a bonus and try your luck.
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The information on this website does not promise or guarantee winnings in any way. Gambling with real money poses a risk and everyone must do it wisely, under his own responsibility and will.