Craps Strategy - Basic Craps Strategy

How To Play Basic Craps Strategy

The best way to learn how to play basic craps strategy is to learn one of the two basic craps strategies below and practice it at your local casino or at an online casino.

Don't Pass Craps Strategy

The don't pass craps strategy is not as popular as the pass line strategy we talk about below because many players feel like there is something wrong with rooting against the dice shooter. While some people don't have a problem with this and if you are playing at an online casino it won't matter, the don't pass craps strategy is slightly better against the house than the pass line strategy. They are so close that most players decide to use the pass line strategy. However, if you want the absolute lowest house edge available, then this is the correct strategy to use.

Place a bet on the don't pass section of the table or the don't pass bar. When a point is set place the maximum allowable laying odds bet. When you use these bets in combination you reduce the house edge to the lowest possible percentage at the craps table. The exact percentages depend on how much the maximum odds bet allowed is. Here are the percentages for common amounts. Notice that these percentages are decimals of a percent, or in other words less than 1%. Also note that I have rounded these to the closest hundreds place.

• If the maximum odds bet is 1 times the house edge is .68%
• If the maximum odds bet is 2 times the house edge is .46%
• If the maximum odds bet is 5 times the house edge is .23%
• If the maximum odds bet is 10 times the house edge is .12%
• If the maximum odds bet is 100 times the house edge is .01%

As you can see you can play craps with a house edge of less than a half percent almost anywhere. If you are lucky enough to find a place that lets you place odds bets of 100 times your original wager you can actually play craps almost at even money. Places that offer 100 times are rare. Most places offer 2 to 1, which still lets you play this craps strategy at less than half a percent house edge.

Pass Line Craps Strategy

The pass line craps strategy is the same as the don't pass strategy above except you place your first bet on the pass line and take the maximum odds bet available. The house edge percentages for your comparison on the pass line craps strategy are as follows.

• If the maximum odds bet is 1 times the house edge is .85%
• If the maximum odds bet is 2 times the house edge is .61%
• If the maximum odds bet is 5 times the house edge is .33%
• If the maximum odds bet is 10 times the house edge is .18%
• If the maximum odds bet is 100 times the house edge is .02%

The difference between the expected return percentage between the two craps strategies is so small that you would have to be playing very high stakes and / or play for so long before noticing the difference that most people don't differentiate between the two strategies. You may choose either one and feel confident you are maximizing your craps bankroll as well as you can.

Craps Strategies

Many craps players get tired of waiting for action following the two craps strategies listed above. If you find this to be the case, you can combine either one of these with a come or don't come bet, which are the same as a pas line and don't pass bet except they are placed on rolls other than come out rolls. This way you can have multiple bets placed at the same time while maintaining the lowest house edge possible.

I have never seen any other craps strategies reduce the house odds beyond those listed above, so I am not going to expose you to any others. You are welcome to try different combinations, but using the craps strategy on this page will make your bankroll last as long as possible and give you the best chance to have winning craps sessions.

If you want to learn more about possibly trying a few more betting combinations with these systems, you can find all of the available bets and their house edge percentages on my craps betting page.