Calculate the house advantage by dividing our $6 net loss by our $66 total investment (6 / 66 = 0.0909). As you can see, the house advantage for the Big 6 bet is a huge 9.09%. A 9.09% house advantage means if we keep betting the Big 6 over a long period of time, we expect to lose an average of about $0.91 for every $10 that we bet. Advanced craps players can sometimes even flip some of the odds into their favor. The casino’s advantage extends beyond the house edge. In addition to the house edge on each bet, the casino is banking on the fact that most players at the craps tables don’t know how to play the game and don’t know the smart vs. Not so smart bets on the table. A bet on the 6 and 8 pays even money and has a small house edge of just 1.5%, making this a relatively safe bet. The 3 Point Molly Strategy: Making Use of Good Bets 3 Point Molly is a craps strategy designed to allow players to keep wagers low, while increasing the potential for payouts.

There are several ways to play craps with a low house edge. The first step is to find a craps table with high odds. This means the maximum amount that the house will let you back up line bets with. On the Las Vegas Strip, this number is usually 3 times on 4 and 10, 4 times on 5 and 9, and 5 times on 6 and 8. It will be described as a 3-4-5x table. All max winning odds bets pay $60 when hit.

While many players will find 3-4-5x tables perfectly acceptable, players with deep bankrolls will want to find at least a 10 times table. In Las Vegas, these are available at Stratosphere on the Las Vegas Strip and at Golden Gate, The D and El Cortez downtown, as well as a variety of locals casinos. Players will find 20 times tables at Sam’s Town and Main Street Station. Casino Royale on the Strip offers 100 times craps.

The reason odds are so important is because there is no house edge on the amount played behind a line or come bet. The return is 100%, which substantially lowers the house edge on the entire bet.

Once a good craps table is located, the next step is to avoid all of the bets in the center of the table. These tend to have double digit house edges. You should only bet in four places; Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line, Come and Don’t Come. These four boxes offer the lowest house edge on the craps table.

Pass or Don’t Pass

The next step is to determine if you prefer to play with the house or the other players. Most people choose to bet on the player’s side. This means that they will hope that points are made and that 7’s only appear on come out rolls.

This strategy starts with taking the Pass Line bet. Once a point is established, take the maximum allowable odds. A conservative player can stop there, but for very little house edge, the Come bet is a good next step. The come is a side bet looking for a new number. It will move to the top of the felt like a place bet if a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 are rolled. If that happens, once again take the max odds and take another Come bet.

Most players that use this strategy will stop once there are two Come bets in position. Aggressive players will continue to bet this until the player throws a seven out.

If a player makes a point, the odds on the come bets are turned off by default. That way, if a player throws a seven on the come out, only the flat bets lose and the odds are returned. Very aggressive players will call all of these odds on for the come out roll. This lowers the house edge substantially, while at the same time creates massive variance. The killer with betting this style is that a 7 will completely wipe a player out.

Betting the Don’t

Players with bigger bankrolls may want to consider playing from the don’t side. It is the same concept in that a player bets the Don’t Pass and follows it with Don’t Come bets. The odds are in reverse so a player lays more than he wins. For example, laying a 6 or 8 requires $6 for every $5 that the player wants to win. The 4 and 10 require a 2-1 lay. The house edge is slightly smaller from this end. Another advantage to this is that a number can only be picked off one at a time when it is rolled. When a 7 comes, all bets win. This can create a large windfall in between slow losing streaks. It is important to be well bankrolled for this play.

Craps is one of the most popular dice games in the world, with a rich history that can be traced back to the Roman Empire. The dynamic pace of play and the wide range of betting options are what have caused craps to become an absolute staple in both online casinos and landbased gambling establishments.

Since craps relies heavily on chance and there is no way to affect the outcome of the dice toss, many inexperienced players wrongly assume craps is an easy game to play. This is not necessarily true as the sheer number of betting options will suffice to overwhelm any craps novice. While there is no way for players to predict the outcome of the dice with certainty, they can still turn up a good profit as long as they take the time to learn the bet types and the possible dice combinations. Understanding the house edge, the true odds, and the payouts certainly can work to the advantage of craps players.

Understanding the House Edge

Gambling establishments do not generate profits because the personnel manages to outplay the customers. The casinos’ profits result from the built-in advantage they have over their players. This built-in advantage is referred to as the “house edge” and is the key thing inexperienced players need to understand prior to joining the craps table.

All casino games are tilted in favor of the house as it utilizes the law of averages to gain its edge over the players. The house edge is typically expressed as a percentage and represents the average profit the casino collects from each wager the players make. Please note the house generates a profit on every single bet, regardless of whether it is a winning or a losing one.

As was mentioned earlier, there is a great number of bets you can place in craps. But what is more important, the house edge tends to fluctuate between the different bet types. On some craps bets, the house edge drops to zero while on others, the house’s advantage skyrockets to a two-digit figure. That is why, smart players choose bets with lower house edge which helps them to exploit the game and end their betting session on profit.

Let us demonstrate how the house edge works with an example. Bets on the Pass Line have a low edge of 1.41%. This means that for each $100 players wager on the Pass Line, the casino will collect an average of $1.41. Whether players win or lose is irrelevant – either way, they will lose $1.41 on average per every $100 they wager on the Pass Line. There are players who prefer to place Proposition bets because the latter have more substantial payouts. However, this is not always a good idea since the house edge for Proposition bets ranges between 5.56% and 16.67%.

Pass/Don’t Pass Line bets and Come/Don’t Come bets are considered a smarter option, especially for inexperienced players. The tilt in favor of the casino is smaller with such bets and the probability of the shooter rolling a winning dice combination for these bets is much greater. Because of this, such bets have lower payout ratio and pay even money.

Players, who wager on the Pass Line are allowed to lay or take odds on their bets. Once the shooter rolls his point, players can collect money on their Pass Line bets but will also be paid at true odds. This causes the house edge to drop to 0% and is the only instance in which the casino does not have an advantage over craps players. How winning bets are paid also influences the house edge. When paying out winning multiple-roll bets, the casino typically rounds the sum down to the nearest number.

Dice Combinations in Craps

In order to calculate the house edge on craps bets, players are required to acquaint themselves with the dice combinations and the probability of each number being rolled. As we know, craps is played with two dice and each die is a cube with six equal-sized sides. There are 11 possible outcomes of a two-die toss, namely 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.

The number of possible combinations is calculated by multiplying the number of the sides of the two dice. Thus, we get 6 x 6 = 36, from which it follows there are 36 combinations that all will total one of the eleven outcomes we have listed above. You can check the dice combinations and the totals they add up to below.

It certainly is not difficult to notice there are more combinations for some of the outcomes. There are more ways for the shooter to roll out 7 than any other number as becomes evident by the diamond shape of the middle column. Since there are 6 combinations of the dice that total 7, the chances of this particular number being rolled are the greatest. This is yet another thing players need to consider carefully when deciding which types of bets to place at the craps table.

How to Calculate the House Edge in Craps

As craps is a negative expectation game, it is mathematically impossible for players to gain advantage over the house. The only exception is when players are taking or laying odds on their bets. However, understanding the probability of specific numbers being rolled and the house edge on different bet types is essential as it would enable players to make better-informed decisions when placing their bets.

The two dice used in the game of craps allow for a total of 11 outcomes with totals from 2 to 12. There are 36 different ways in which the shooter can roll these 11 outcomes. From this, it follows that the total of 3 can be rolled in two different ways meaning that the probability of this number being thrown is 2 to 36. Similarly, there are six different combinations that add up to seven, so the chances of throwing this number are 6 in 36. The probability of rolling any of the other numbers can be calculated in the same fashion.

Once players understand how to calculate probability, they can proceed to calculate the house edge. It would be best to provide an example to make things as clear as possible. The Craps 2 bet wins whenever a total of 2 comes up on the next roll of the dice. In other words, there are 35 ways to lose and a single way to win with this type of bet. If it wins, the payout will be 30 to 1. Since there are only two outcomes for this type of bets, win or lose, its expected value can be calculated in the following way: (1/36)x30 – (35/36) = -5/36 = -13.89%.

Other wagers, like the Any Craps bet, allow for more winning combinations. The Any Craps bet pays out 7 to 1 whenever numbers 2, 3 or 12 are rolled. There is one combination for number 2, two combinations that add up to number 3, and one combination that adds up to 12. Thus, there are 4 ways to win out of 36 possible combinations, so the probability of collecting a payout with this bet can be expressed like this: 4/36 = 1/9. This means that out of every nine Any Craps bets, one will win and the other eight will lose. The expected return for this bet can be expressed as follows: (4/36)x7 – (32/36) = -4/36 = -1/9 = -11.11%.

As you can see, the house edge in craps tends to fluctuate greatly depending on the type of bet you place. With some bet types where the outcome is determined by multiple rolls of the dice, calculating the built-in house advantage is a mean feat. Players, who experience difficulties performing such complex calculations, can try to learn the house edge of craps bets by heart.

Understanding the True Odds

You may have noticed there is a discrepancy between the probability of winning with specific bets and the way the winnings are paid out. This discrepancy is exactly what gives the house its edge. The house succeeds in maintaining an advantage over players by paying less for winning bets than the true odds would dictate. For instance, bets on the Pass Line pay even money and have the lowest house edge of 1.41% only, which means players will lose $1.40 on average per every $100 they wager at the craps table. Basically, the only exception to this rule is when free odds are taken or laid on the bet – in this case, the house holds no advantage over players because winnings are paid at true odds.

You may wonder why players persist in betting on craps when the game is obviously tilted against them. The truth of the matter is smart players exploit a phenomenon, called distribution variance, which is precisely what causes the hot and cold streaks when the dice are rolled repeatedly, because perfect, even distribution is something that occurs rarely, if ever, in nature.

Also, it is important to remember that it takes prolonged periods of time for the odds to balance out so that the house can make a profit. Thousands of hundreds of dice rolls are required for the odds to follow their natural path and maintain equilibrium. However, many players remain at the craps table for short periods of time only. It is precisely during these fleeting moments of time that variance creeps in and allows craps players to turn up a profit. At least, if they bet smartly, manage their bankroll properly, and understand the probabilities of winning with different types of bets.

The Payouts of Craps Bets

What causes confusion among inexperienced players is the overwhelming number of bets they can place at the craps table. Needless to say, as the probability of rolling out specific numbers varies, the payouts for different craps bets also differ. Since the chances of winning with bets on the Pass/Don’t Pass Line and Come/Don’t Come bets are the greatest, these wagers pay even money. The chances of winning with Proposition bets are smaller, so their payouts are more significant. You will be able to find the payouts and the house edge for all bets in craps in the table below.

Craps 6 And 8 House Edgewood