I’m writing a series of blog posts about casino games and the good and bad strategies for playing those games.

• Learned this strategy from Color Up great youtuber, I wanted to try it out so I did, I ran threw multiple attempts with my friends and by myself and every si.
• The Basic Strategy. The Basic Strategy for craps is thus very simple: You make a bet on Pass, Come, Don't Pass or Don't Come, and you place as much in odds on that bet as you can afford commensurate with your money management strategy.
• The Craps Iron Cross strategy is based on a Pass Line bet, Place bets, and a Field bet. Iron Cross works best if the Point is 5, 6, or 8. The reason being that it’s the cheapest setup. The result of using Iron Cross is that you will win on ANY NUMBER except seven.

Craps is one of my favorite casino games, so I’ve been looking forward to writing this one.

Craps is one of my favorite casino games, so I’ve been looking forward to writing this one. And the beautiful thing about craps is that it’s a game of pure chance. The best strategy is just to choose the bets with the lowest edge for the house and have fun. Sep 08, 2020 Craps is undoubtedly the most exciting games at every online casino. Players can have huge percentages of their bankroll out on the table at any given time, and can only hope that the shooter makes them rich. The camaraderie among players and fast-paced action make craps many a player’s favourite. Of course, the casinos love the game, too.

And the beautiful thing about craps is that it’s a game of pure chance. The best strategy is just to choose the bets with the lowest edge for the house and have fun.

But I’ll have some things to say about some of the strategies and systems that other writers promote, too.

They’re mostly bad craps strategies.

Here’s the Only Craps Strategy You Need

When you’re dealing with an entirely random game – like craps – the only strategy that matters is choosing the bets with the lowest house edge and having fun.

I’ll have something to say about shooters and whether they have control over the outcomes later in this post, but for now, let’s just agree that games like craps are purely chance.

In other games that are entirely random, like slot machines, you don’t even really need to decide which bet to place. It’s chosen for you before you sit down.

When playing craps for real money, you have a handful of good bets you can make, but most of the bets on the table are bad. Just skip the bad bets, and you’re all set.

The Bests Bets at the Craps Table

The best bets at the craps table are the pass line bet and the don’t pass bet.

The come and don’t come bets are also great wagers.

I always advise casino gamblers to try to limit their gambling to games where the house edge is lower than 2% — preferably 1.5% or lower.

The house edge for the pass and come bets is the same, 1.41%, which means they qualify.

The house edge for the don’t pass and don’t come bets is even lower, 1.36%, but the 0.05% isn’t worth worrying about. Most people prefer to root for the shooter to succeed.

The other bet to think about at the craps table is the odds bet. This is a bet you can only place after making one of the 4 bets I already mentioned and when the shooter has set a point.

This is one of the only bets in the casino that has no house edge. It’s a break-even bet, but it can be expensive.

It can also drive the effective house edge on the money you have in action down to almost nothing.

Here’s how that works.

How the Odds Bet Changes the House Edge for the Better

If you’re betting on the pass line and the shooter sets a point, you can expect to lose $1.41 for every $100 you bet. That’s on average and in the long run.

If you’re playing at a casino that only allows you to place an odds bet at 1X the size of your pass line bet, you can put another $100 into action.

Your expected loss remains $1.41, though, which effectively cuts the house edge in half, from 1.41% to 0.71%.

If you’re able to bet 2X your original bet on the odds bet, you can lower that even further to 0.36%. (You have $300 in action, but your expected loss is still only $1.41.)

The more you’re able to bet on the odds bet, the lower the house edge for all the money you have in action becomes.

It’s clear why betting on the pass line and taking the most odds that you can is an effective strategy. With the odds bet, you can get the house edge in craps lower than 0.5% at least some of the time at the table, making it an even better game than blackjack.

And what’s more, you don’t have to memorize basic strategy to get the low house edge at craps.

You just need a big enough casino bankroll to make the right bets, and you need enough sense to avoid the bad bets at the table – of which there are many.

Any Strategy that Involves Placing ANY Other Bets at the Craps Table Is a BAD Craps Strategy

There’s a reason gambling experts measure bets according to their house edge. That’s because it’s the single best indicator of how good or bad a bet is.

The house edge is a statistical estimate of how much money you’ll lose as a percentage of your original bet over the long run.

If the house edge is 1.41%, the casino expects to win an average of $1.41 every time you bet $100.

If the house edge is 16.66%, the casino expects to win an average of $16.66 every time you bet $100.

Which bet looks like the better bet for the casino?

And which one looks like the better bet for the gambler?

It shouldn’t be hard to make the distinction.

Even the best of the bad bets on the craps table are inferior to the 1.41% or 1.36% you can get from the pass, don’t pass, come, and don’t come bets.

And trust me on this:

You can have PLENTY of fun sticking with the basic bets at the craps table.

Betting Systems Where You Raise and Lower the Size of Your Bets Are Bad Strategies

The classic example of this kind of betting system is the Martingale System, where you double the size of your bets after each loss. When you do this repeatedly, you eventually win back the money you’ve lost along with a profit of one unit.

The problem with a system like the Martingale is that you’ll eventually run into a big enough losing streak that it will wipe out all those small profits and then some.

Most people underestimate how quickly a bet’s size gets when doubling after every loss.

They also overestimate how likely they are to avoid long losing streaks.

If you double a $5 bet once, that’s $10.

But if you run into a losing streak of 8 bets in a row, you’re looking at having to bet $640 to make up for your losses.

Also, every roll of the dice is an independent event. The odds don’t change based on how many times you’ve won or lost in a row.

You might think the probability of losing that 8^th bet is lower than the likelihood of losing the first one, but the truth is that the dice have no memory. They have the same 6 sides, no matter how many times you’ve lost in a row.

Each bet in craps is an independent event, and any betting system will assume that the odds are changing based on how many times in a row you’ve won or lost.

Money Management Strategies Don’t Hurt Anything, but They Won’t Improve Your Odds of Winning, Either

Money management strategies involve having strict gambling discipline about how much of your bankroll you’re willing to risk before quitting the game. They also require you to stop when you’ve won an arbitrary amount of money.

Money management techniques are often used in conjunction with betting systems.

Here’s an example of a money management strategy in craps:

You decide your bankroll for the session is $250, and you’re playing for $5 per roll of the dice.

Your stop-loss limit is $100, so, if your bankroll drops to $150, you must quit the craps session and go do something else.

Craps Perfect Strategy App

Your win goal is $250, so once your bankroll gets up to $500, you must quit the game and go do something else.

Craps Perfect Strategy Meaning

This kind of strategy might increase your chances of walking away from the game a winner.

But that’s only because a lot of gamblers will just keep playing until they’ve lost their entire stake. They just don’t generally have a lot of sense about that sort of thing.

The Jury’s Out on Dice Setting or Dice Control

I’ve seen multiple reputable gambling writers express interest and some belief that some craps shooters can influence the probability of specific outcomes. I’m skeptical – in the extreme – but I’ll give it an appropriate amount of credence.

The idea is that you hold the dice a specific way – “setting” the dice – then throw with a minimum amount of force – just enough to hit the back wall and eliminate most of the rolling action.

A controlled shooting expert doesn’t have to be perfect. Instead, they’re trying to be like someone who’s playing darts. They improve the probability enough to change the negative expectation on a bet to a positive expectation.

You can buy books and videos explaining how to get an edge at craps this way, but I can’t imagine the amount of practice and record-keeping required to have any confidence in your ability to change the odds.

Imagine if you spent 1000 hours trying to learn how to control the dice and coming up short. Maybe you just don’t have the knack for it.

That doesn’t sound like a good deal to me.

I’d rather learn to count cards in blackjack.

Conclusion

Those are the best and the worst of the strategies I know of for playing craps in the casino. I know plenty of people who would disagree with every recommendation I’ve made, but the math behind the game doesn’t lie.

The best strategy is to stick with the bets with the lowest house edge and have as much fun as you can.

Craps is the most charming game of chance ever devised. It features a large array of wagers and several phases, which gives players freedom of choice. You can get decent winnings by using one or two basic bets or make things interesting by utilizing a Craps system.

In essence, these strategies are a series of stakes that you make throughout a round. In this article, we will highlight the most popular systems, discuss their strong and weak sides, and give recommendations based on your budget and risk tolerance. Once you find the right approach, you can test it by visiting one of the casinos we recommend.

The Truth about Craps Systems

Many people and “experts” will brag about “perfect” strategies that will “win you money every time.” The cold hard truth is that Craps is a gambling game. The casino will always have an advantage, which means that there’s no such thing as an unbeatable Craps system.

The risk of losing is omnipresent, so it’s best to look at the dice-rolling classic as a form of entertainment. We know it’s cheesy, but betting within your means and knowing when to stop is absolutely essential.

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Still, what systems can do is manipulate the exposure levels. Some combine several bets to reduce your potential losses and give you a good chance of winning. Others are high-risk and require a larger bankroll but can pay off huge if you can get a streak going.

Thus, to find the best Craps system for your needs, you’ll want to establish how much you can spend on one session and how much risk you can withstand. Knowledge of the bets is also a must. If you need to brush up on the basics, we’ve explained all the wagers on our home page. Now let’s check out the systems!

Craps System: Iron Cross Variation

This is perhaps the most popular strategy for the game of Craps. It’s called “Iron Cross” because when you place all the required chips on the table, their shape resembles that of a cross. You’re going to need $42-$54 per shooter, so a session of 10 rounds will require a bankroll of $420-$540.

It’s not the cheapest Craps betting system, so you might want to continue browsing if you’re new or on a tighter budget. Several variations exist, but here, we’ll take a look at one that uses the pass line bet and odds wagers. Here’s what you need to do:

1. On the come-out roll, put down $5 on the pass line.

2. Once a point is established, place:

   a. $10 in odds bets (you can also max out the limits if you wish)

   b. $5 on the field bet

   c. $10 place bet on 5, and $12 on the 6 and 8 each.

3. Let it roll! Don’t forget to load up your positions when bets are resolved.

Note: What’s nice about this Craps betting system is that you can save money in certain scenarios. If the point is on 5, 6, or 8, you can skip doing a place wager on that number. It’s also possible to withdraw your stake on the point number in the following rounds.

The Pros: With Iron Cross, you will win money on every roll that is not a 7. It also utilizes the wagers with the highest RTP in Craps, including odds bets, which have a 0% house edge.

The Cons: You’ll lose every stake on the table once a 7 appears. As you might know, the 7 is the most common dice combination, as there are six ways to roll it. A Craps system that works like that can demolish your bankroll on an unlucky streak.

The Hammerlock Craps System

This one was made famous by Martin J Silverthorne in his book “Hammerlock Craps!” It promises “profit under any circumstances at the Craps table.”

That’s a bold claim, and it’s simply not true. You can’t beat the house over the long run, but if you’re lucky, like with all other decent strategies, it can help you make some wins. You’re going to need between $300 and $600 at the lowest betting tier, but the bankroll can be adjusted for high rollers.

Blackjack Perfect Strategy Chart

Let’s see how the Hammerlock Craps system works:

1. Before the come-out roll, start with $5 bets on the pass and don’t pass. A point needs to be established, so replace the starting two wagers if needed. Silverthorne says that this type of hedging protects you on the come-out roll. That’s fine and dandy, but the protection is gone on a roll of 12, as 12 is a tie on don’t pass and a loss on pass.

2. After a point is set, it says to lay $30 odds (do an odds bet on don’t pass). This is where another problem with the Hammerlock Craps system occurs. Most tables won’t allow a $30 odds bet unless the point is a 6 or 8, and there are harsher limitations on other games. You can find land-based casinos that have looser restrictions, but you’ll have to do research. You can still max out the odds bets on restrictive titles but know that your losses won’t be covered entirely in the event of a 7.

3. At the same time, do two $12 place bets on the 6 and 8. Wait until you win once on the 6 or 8, take the other place bet down, and substitute it with an “inside 22.” Craps system reviews will tell out that inside 22 consists of four place bets – $5 on the 5 and 9, and $6 on the 6 and 8.

4. If one of the inside 22 bets wins, take down the remaining place bets, so only your pass + don’t pass + lay odds remain. Here, you’re hoping for a 7. Still, if the point number rolls before it, you’re going to be at a loss.

The Pros: In case you find a suitable table and the dice rolls in your favor, you can win good money.

The Cons: While we did a simplified version of the system (the book has progressive/regressive betting levels), the house edge isn’t negated at any point. Hammerlock is not a 100% winning Craps system, nor one that will make you a profit in the long run.

A Strategy for Low Rollers

Strategies involve the placement of multiple bets, which means that you’ll often need a larger bankroll to support them. This system is great for those on tighter budgets because you’ll only risk $12 per round, meaning that you need $120 at most for 10 shooters.

It’s also a relatively low-risk approach, which is great if you’re price-conscious. Follow these steps to pull it off:

1. Start by placing $5 on the pass line and $5 on the field bet before the come-out roll. If you can find a table that pays triple on the 12 or 2, this Craps system will work even better.

2. a. perfect scenario would be for a 4 or 9 to roll. That way, you can use the field bet winnings and another $2 to cover two $6 place bets on the 6 and 8 as a follow-up.

   b. If a 2 or 12 appears, your total payout is $5. On an 11, you take home $10. Again, you can use the winnings for the 6 & 8 place bets.

   c. If a 3 or 7 appears, it’s a push. You won’t lose or win anything, so keep going.

   d. The chink in the armor of this and similar Craps systems is that you’re going to lose $5 if 5, 6, or 8 become the point. Here, you can stop further wagering, hoping to recoup your losses on the pass line and start from step 1 on the next come-out roll. The alternative is to use the remaining $2 set aside for the round and take a long shot by staking them on the two proposition bets that pay 10:1 (hard 6 and hard 8). If you get a hit from the propositions, use $6 to cover the corresponding place bet and collect the rest.

3. Rinse and repeat! The nice thing about this Craps betting system is that you have the freedom to do whatever you please if you’re in the green zone. You can use the funds to take odds on the pass line, double up on the place stakes, and so on.

The Pros : Relatively low bankroll requirements and risk exposure.

The Cons : If 5, 6, or 8 appear often on the come-out roll, the chances are that you won’t have a good time. Still, you have enough time to cut your losses and try another day.

The Knockout Craps System

Ah, yes. Another sensationalist strategy that is marketed as a way to get rich. The official site for the Knockout Craps system claims that you can “make $5,000 in a day” and “turn $60 into $2,252 in an hour.” Don’t fall for this type of scheme! The house has an advantage in every Craps bet, so making multiple ones doesn’t magically negate or remove it. Sure, odds bets are paid fairly, but they are attached to wagers with a house edge, so it doesn’t matter.

Besides, this approach is just a re-branded version of “Doey-Don’t.” On a $5 table, you’re going to need $250 for 10 shooters. Let’s see where the “magic” happens:

1. Place two $5 stakes on pass and don’t pass. With the Knockout Craps system, the only way you’ll lose is if a 12 appears, which happens once on 36 rolls on average.

2. Follow it up by maxing out with odds bets behind the pass once a point is established.

3. That’s basically it. The book adds progression/regression betting, 5-count elements, and a bunch of smoke and mirrors to make it sound like it works.

The Pros : It’s a way to win small amounts frequently.

The Cons: When you lose, it’s going to be grand. It’s likely that all the winnings you made will evaporate, and you’ll go in the red zone. Sadly, with the Knockout Craps system, your bankroll will be on the receiving end of the K.O.

“The Best” Craps System

Are you an aggressive player with a big budget? Then this approach might suit your style. It was introduced by Sam Grafstein, an esteemed Craps player known as “The Dice Doctor”. Interestingly, it involves the utilization of the field bet, which has a larger house edge than what we would consider as optimal. For this reason, it’s essential that you locate a table where the 2 or 12 pay triple on the field. That way, the RTP goes from 94.4% to 97.2%, which is almost identical to that of European Roulette.

A Craps system that works quickly without being too complicated is always a plus. This one will win or lose big quite fast, so at least you won’t be playing for hours. It also involves both progression and regression elements. Here’s how it goes:

1. You only need to focus on the field bet. Begin by placing $10 there on the come-out roll. Remember, you need a “pays triple” sign on the 2 or 12.

2. If you win, double up with your payout (bet $20). If you win again, take your chips and leave $15 on the field. On the following win, you double up again, and on a fourth lucky roll, your wager becomes $25.

3. This winning Craps system relies on the good streak we outlined above. Remember this progression $10 > double > $15 > double > $25 > double > $35 > double > $50 > double > $75 > double etc.

4. So, what happens if the streak is broken? Return to the original $10 bet and start again.

The Pros : You can win massively with a succession of good rolls.

The Cons : There’s a good chance that a lucky streak won’t occur, which could erase your bankroll in less than 10 minutes. Be careful!

An Unbeatable Craps System Doesn’t Exist, but Bad Ones Do

Craps Perfect Strategy Challenge

After this detailed rundown on the most popular strategies, we’ve established that there’s no such thing as an unbeatable Craps system. Gambling is a form of entertainment, and the fact that one can win money with luck is exploited by those who want to sell you something. If you plan to use a system, do it for fun, and don’t forget that there’s always a risk of losing.

If you visit online iGaming forums, you’ll likely encounter other approaches used by less experienced players. Perhaps they got a lucky break with proposition bets or other high-payout, high-house edge wagers, and they’ve shared their experience in an overly-enthusiastic way. There’s nothing wrong in congratulating them, but it’s best to avoid Craps systems that primarily include:

• The Big 6 & 8

• Any of the proposition bets (the big group of 8 dice combinations)

• The C & E zones

Try Out What You’ve Learned

We’ve reached the end of our article. By this point, you might be wondering where to trial strategies and pick out your favorites. You could visit a real-life casino, but a quicker, simpler, and better move would be to go for an iGaming site that we’ve approved. These venues will allow you to play free demos, which are the perfect medium to test systems with no financial risk.

Craps Perfect Strategy Against

If you then decide to play with real money, you can deposit instantly and enjoy a wide array of table games, Slots, and specialty releases. Good luck, and remember that the best Craps system is staying disciplined!