Best Craps Progressions II

12 December 2020

By Jerry Stickman

[Many gambling pundits advocate betting progressions as a method to increase winnings – or conversely to reduce losses. This advice can work for the game of craps only if the shooter is a controlled shooter. A controlled shooter can reduce the occurrence of 7’s or increase the occurrence of other point numbers from random.

Against a random shooter, there is no betting method that will improve the lot of the gambler at a craps table. The gambler will lose as the math dictates.]

This is the second in a series of three articles directed at the true advantage players of the game of craps. Those who through dice control can gain an advantage against the casino.

Last time I wrote about two betting progressions that are very simple to use but still very powerful. This time I will go into more detail on these progressions.

The two progressions mentioned last time are the press-and-pull (or the pull-and-press variant) and the up-a-unit. The press-and-pull progression alternates between pressing the place bet when the number hits and pulling the profits when it hits. The up-a-unit progression adds one unit to the place number each time it hits. In any of these progressions, each number that you place works independently of other numbers. You only take the next step of the progression on the number that hits.

Let’s look at some detailed information for each of these progressions.

We will look at the numbers for the 6 and 8 with a betting unit size of $12, since the place bet on the 6 or 8 must be a multiple of $6. Each line of information below contains the hit number, amount of the current bet, the net amount of win (win amount minus what is added to the bet), and the accumulated win to that point.


Up-a-Unit:

Number of Hits, Amount Bet, Win, Accumulated Win
0 - $12, -- , -$12
1 - $12, $2, -$10
2 - $24, $16, $6
3 - $36, $30, $36
4 - $48, $44, $80
5 - $60, $58, $138
6 - $72, $72, $210
7 - $84, $86, $296
8 - $96, $100, $396
9 - $108, $114, $510
10 - $120, $128, $638
11 - $132, $142, $780
12 - $144, $156, $936
13 - $156, $170, $1106

Pull and Press:

Number of Hits, Amount Bet, Win, Accumulated Win
0 - $12, -- , -$12
1 (Pull) - $12, $14, $2
2 (Press) - $12, $2, $4
3 (Pull) - $24, $28, $32
4 (Press) - $24, $4, $36
5 (Pull) - $48, $56, $92
6 (Press) - $48, $8, $100
7 (Pull) - $96, $112, $212
8 (Press) - $96, $16, $228
9 (Pull) - $192, $224, $452
10 (Press) - $192, $32, $484
11 (Pull) - $384, $448, $932
12 (Press) - $384, $64, $996
13 (Pull) - $768, $896, $1890

Press and Pull:

Number of Hits, Amount Bet, Win, Accumulated Win
0 - $12, -- , -$12
1 (Press) - $12, $2, $-10
2 (Pull) - $24, $28, $18
3 (Press) - $24, $4, $22
4 (Pull) - $48, $56, $78
5 (Press) - $48, $8, $86
6 (Pull) - $96, $112, $198
7 (Press) - $96, $16, $214
8 (Pull) - $192, $224, $438
9 (Press) - $192, $32, $470
10 (Pull) - $384, $448, $918
11 (Press) - $384, $64, $982
12 (Pull) - $768, $896, $1878
13 (Press) - $768, $126, $2006

The three betting strategies are arranged starting with the least aggressive (Up-a-Unit) to most aggressive (Press and Pull).

The important figure is the “Accumulated Win.” Notice that for the first several hits the less aggressive strategies outperform the more aggressive strategies. As you rack up more hits, however, the more aggressive the strategy, the better you do.


The same betting strategies can be used for any box number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10). They have very similar results.

In all cases, the Up-a-Unit strategy performs best with fewer hits and the more aggressive betting strategies perform better with a higher hit number. It takes 10 to 11 hits (depending on whether the Pull and Press or Press and Pull progression is used) before either outperforms the Up-a-Unit betting progression.

Hitting a specific box number 10 times or more is a very infrequent event – even for the most skilled of dice controllers. With either of the more aggressive progressions, the shooter has to check the position of a chip in the rack, make the betting decision based on that position and then flip that chip to point the opposite direction indicating the switch from press to pull or from pull to press.

Simply saying “Up a Unit” every time a number hits takes all of the thinking out of the progression, allowing the shooter to stay in the zone more easily. It also has the added benefit of being more profitable for all but extremely rare hands.

Sometimes the simplest can be the most powerful. Comparing the results of the simplest progression to the more common and slightly more complicated schemes proves that except for very uncommon hot streaks, you are able to put more of the casino’s money in your pocket (or give less of your money to the casinos) with the simplest progression strategy.

Ask yourself – how often do I hit one specific number more than eight times in a given roll? Unless you can answer that question with a reasonable amount, the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle seems to also apply to progression betting in craps.

Using one of these betting progressions can help your financial performance at the craps table. Just remember, that betting progressions do not help when used on random rollers. They only work when the shooter has the ability to modify the outcome of the dice by reducing the appearance of the 7 or by increasing the appearance of one or more box numbers from random.

Next time we will explore some more complex – and aggressive – progression strategies. Until then, remember: if you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague

May all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and small.

Jerry “Stickman”

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerry@aol.com