How many and which bets to make at craps

26 February 2019

By Frank Scoblete

Now to the important stuff – what bets should you make and which bets should you avoid? In short, how should you play a savvy game of craps? How do you become a tough out for the casinos?

Here’s how:

• Use the 5-Count on all shooters (this technique is explained in Chapter 6 of Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!).
• Make only bets that come in with house edges under 2%.
• Understand the mathematics of the game in terms of what the house edge actually means in terms of dollars and cents.
• Use little tricks to get more in comps than you deserve.
• Play within your bankroll limitations.
• Create a 401G account (this is a gambling account separate from your normal bank accounts).

The best bets
The top-of-the-line bets are not hard to figure out – on the right side are the pass line and come bets with full odds; on the dark side/don’t are the don’t pass and don’t come bets with full odds.

If I bet $10 on the pass line or come with no odds and you bet $10 on the pass line or come with 2x (or more) odds, our expectation is to lose 14 cents for those $10 bets. However, if you bet $10 with $20 in odds on the pass line or come and I bet $30 on the pass line or come, your expectation is to lose 14 cents but my expectation is to lose 42 cents – three times more. So the rule is less on the pass line and come and more on the odds.

For dark siders, the rules are the same – don’t pass and don’t come, as low on those as you need to go to be able to afford full odds. If you must put yourself in opposition to those right side players at least get the most bang for your bucks and ignore all those hateful stares you are doomed to receive. (Yes, yes, some right side players don’t care what dark side players bet, but the right side versus dark side is a real part of the emotional underpinnings of craps.)

How many bets to make?
Every bet you make that has a house edge loses you money over time. That is an indisputable fact. One bet on the pass line with full odds would be the way to go. There is no difference between two $10 come bets (or one pass line and one come) on the table or one $10 come bet in terms of expectation per bet, but in terms of time, there’s a big difference. Both will be decided as 14 cents for that $10 over time. However, with two $10 bets on the table, you lose 28 cents. The difference is the fact that with one bet it will take twice the time to lose 28 cents.

The end result is the same: you lose, but the time to get there is much different because you lose more slowly. You have more playing time with one bet than you do with two bets. Your time has been doubled.

OK, let’s be realistic now. Most craps players can’t see themselves making just one “stinking” bet when the game is in full blossom. If you are like such players then make two come (or a come and pass line) bets or, if you can’t resist, make three bets and hold them there. Three bets will give you plenty of action. More than three at the get-go can cost you a lot of money with a quick seven-out.

Visit Frank’s website at www.frankscoblete.com. (The above is excerpted from the book Casino Craps: Shoot to Win! by Frank Scoblete.)