7
Craps is an entertainment with quite complex rules, and even the card table looks quite confusing in any online casinos. There are tens of different bets, and the speed of the game is so high that it makes it hard to understand what is going on. Although some good news are coming your way if you are just starting out: there is just one fundamental strategy for craps, so it’s relatively easy to follow it.
Strategy for beginners: Pass Line in play
There is a single bet that can be viewed as the easiest for new players – and is the bet that most beginners use in craps to start exploring the game.
When using this bet, you are placing your money on the Pass Line sector before the come out roll. Come out roll in essence starts the game – before this, the market is in the ’off’ position on the table. If the outcome of the dice throw is 7 or 11, the anyonewho risked it on the Pass Line would get a payout. If thesum of the first throw is equal to 2, 3 or 12, the cash would be lost. In any other case (when the number rolled is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) – the point is determined, marker is moved into “on” position, and is moved to the field with the corresponding point. After point is determined, the dice would be rolled again – until either a point or a 7 is rolled. If 7 is on the table before a point, the player forfeits the bet to the casino. If the point has been rolled, the lucky gambler will get a payout.
Big rule to remember with regards to the Pass Line is that, by the rules, you can stake it on it after the come out roll was made, but it is extremely unprofitable for you, and should never be done if you follow this strategy.
Betting on equal probabilities in craps
There is another strategy for playing the game. It is quite similar to some Roulette strategies and should be familiar to Roulette players, who stake money on equal probability. As in various different types of Roulette, an Odds bet in craps is available after the point is determined. Odds bets are the simplest bets on equal probability with zero edge for the casino (and so in some cases – similar to Roulette – it is most profitable to risk it on odds). Betting on Odds nets you a payout if the point is rolled before a 7. However, and this is where the difference with Roulette lies, the bets of Odds give different payouts (while in Roulette all odd/even bets, or red/black bets always pay out 1 to 1). If point 4 or 10 is rolled, the payout is 2 to 1, if it’s 5 or 9 – payout is 3 to 2, and for some points like 6 or 8 the payout is 6 to 5.
Because of how profitable this bet is for the player, and because the casino has no edge over this bet, many online casinos limit the value of this bet. In many case, you can not place a larger bet on Odds than you did on the Pass Line several times. The most frequently used limit is 3-4-5, and this means that if the point is 4 or 10, the player can bet three times the bet on the Pass Line. If a point is 5 or 9, four times the bet size on Pass Line, and five times more for the 6 or 8 point.
Mathematical waiting strategy for craps
As in many other games, it’s quite possible to estimate the probability that a specific bet would win, and this has been done a long time ago. Contrary to other gambling games, here the range of bets is quite large, but a lot of choices are not profitable for the player. So the basis of any craps strategy should be based on probabilities that a specificbet would win. It is shown below:
| Bet | Payout | Win probability | Loss probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass | 1 to 1 | 49.29% | 50.71% |
| Don't Pass | 1 to 1 | 47.93% | 49.29% |
| Bet on Odds 6 / 8 | 6 to 5 | 13.89% | 16.67% |
| Bet on Odds 5 / 9 | 3 to 2 | 11.11% | 16.67% |
| Bet on Odds 4 / 10 | 2 to 1 | 8.33% | 16.67% |
| Place on 6 / 8 | 7 to 6 | 13.89% | 16.67% |
| Place on 5 / 9 | 7 to 5 | 11.11% | 16.67% |
| Place on 4 / 10 | 9 to 5 | 8.33% | 16.67% |
| Don't Place 6 / 8 | 4 to 5 | 16.67% | 13.89% |
| Don't Place 5 / 9 | 5 to 8 | 16.67% | 11.11% |
| Don't Place 4 / 10 | 5 кo11 | 16.67% | 8.33% |
| Buy 6 / 8 | 23 to 21 | 13.89% | 16.67% |
| Buy 5 / 9 | 29 to 21 | 11.11% | 16.67% |
| Buy 4 / 10 | 39 to 21 | 8.33% | 16.67% |
| Lay 6 / 8 | 19 to 25 | 16.67% | 13.89% |
| Lay 5 / 9 | 19 to 31 | 16.67% | 11.11% |
| Lay 4 / 10 | 19 to 41 | 16.67% | 8.33% |
*where the bet is “Lay 4 / 10” this mean “Lay 4 or 10”
Bet on Place – the bet that a particular number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) would be rolled before 7. In this case the bet pays out and the value of the prize would be different due to which number was bet on and which number has been rolled on dice.
Bet Don’t Place – the other side of Place
Bet Buy – equivalent to Place, but in the case of a win, the player pays an extra commission, 5%. The payout on these bets is normally smaller than on Place bets.
Bet on Lay – the other side of bet on Buy, or Place, and bets on that the 7 would be rolled before 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10.
