Craps Betting Systems and Strategies
When playing craps, it is best to employ a strategy or system to help you determine how and where to place your bets. This will help you keep a level head and you can even improve your chances of winning if you use the strategies to their optimum. Below is a list of some of the best bets, strategies in systems that you can use in craps, to assist you in finding your fortune:
Right Way Bets
A fairly conservative and safe system to use when betting is to be a right way bettor. This means that you make use exclusively of the pass and come bets while playing with the table. These bets are said to have the lowest house edge and you immediately increase your chances of winning by sticking with just these two bets and ignoring the others.
Play the Pass Line Bet
By playing just the pass line bet, which is made at the beginning of the craps game, you reduce the house edge to 1.4%. While your winnings may be smaller they will be more frequent as there are only 4 ways to lose when playing this bet.
Play the Come Bet
This bet is essentially the same as the Pass Line bet but is made later on in the game, once the point number has been established. This bet is highly favorable as it is more likely that you win when playing it than lose.
Wrong Way Bets
As you may expect, Wrong Way betting is opposite to Right Way Betting. In Wrong Way betting, you are usually betting differently to other players by betting on the Don’t Come and Don’t Pass bets. Don’t Come and Don’t Pass bets are essentially the exact opposite of the Come and Pass Bets.
Field Bets
Betting Field bets can be greatly rewarding even though the house edge is usually raised to around 5.56% when playing them. Field bets are the bets in which you bet on a single number to come up in the first roll of the dice. Certain numbers have better payouts than others and if you want to make the biggest wins, bet on 2 or 12. Some casinos even payout 3:1 for winning on these bets, which is an exceptionally great payout.
5 Count Strategy
This strategy is used more at brick-and-mortar casinos than in online ones as it helps you pick out a good shooter worth betting, although this system may work just as well in live online games. The basic system in this strategy is to make five counts and if the shooter passes each count, you bet on him. The count should be done in the following way:
Zero: The first roll should be zero
One: The count should stick at zero until the time that the point number is revealed. Numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 raise the count to one while all other numbers leave the count at zero.
Two-Four: Keep counting, adding 1 point for each roll after the initial roll, no matter what the results are, gets to four.
Five: To make the fifth count it is imperative that the dealer rolls a point number again.
It is advised that after this fifth count has been made that you only make simple bets like the Come, Don’t Come, pass and Don’t Pass Bets.
Memorizing Odds and Payouts
This is an effective yet somewhat tedious way on which to bet. You will need to access payout charts for craps online, which can be found easily, and make your bets based on the lists of payouts and favorable bets.
Beginner’s Betting Mistakes
As craps is a rather complicated game, it is very easy for beginners to fall into betting traps. The biggest mistake beginners tend to do is go for the bets with the big payouts, forgetting that they also have the highest house edges.
Bets to definitely avoid, at least in the beginning, are the Big 6 and Big 8 bets. These bets have a hefty house edge of 9%, making you very unlikely to win if you use them. Hardway Bets of 4,6,8 and 10 have an even higher house edge of 10%!
Craps Odds
When it comes to craps odds there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the house edge in craps is one of the highest in casino table games. The good news is that the house edge can be lowered by using strategies as well as choosing a craps game with a lower house edge and a higher RTP.
If you are a new player you may be wondering what a house edge is. Basically, it is the advantage, expressed as a percentage that the casino has over the player. The lower this number is, the higher your winning chances.
Game Variations
Like most casino games, craps comes with a plethora of variations. It seems that people cannot help wanting to put their own spin on things. Crapless Craps is a version that is mostly played in the South of the U.S.A and is said to be the most rewarding type for players, giving one of the lowest house edges.
High Points Craps has the biggest differences in rules to the traditional game of craps but it is also favored because of its lower house edge and its simplification.
Craps rules get even simpler in the version of Craps known as Simplified Craps. This game is usually recommended for beginners as the rules are a lot easier to understand than in the original game.
Die Rich Craps is certainly a unique variation, with the most exciting differentiating rule being that a player wins instantly if they land a six on the first roll.
New York Craps is probably one of the lesser-known variations and as you may have guessed it was invented and is mostly played in the city of New York. The differences in this game are marginal, with the table layout being slightly different as well as a slightly higher house edge than usual.
General Tips for Craps
It’s important to put in a little thought when choosing your online casino. There are a few fraud online casinos out there so it is best to pick one that has been around for at least a few years (of which there are many) and has good reviews from real players. A choice of the casino can also be based on the casino’s welcome offer. Certain casinos may even offer welcome bonuses that are specifically for craps players.
Before playing any casino game, it is always a good idea to test it out in a free demo game before you start playing for real. Demo games are easily found on almost all casino sites and by playing them before you start playing a real-money game you familiarize yourself with the rules of the game and gain a better understanding of it.
It is also important to read up on strategy, rules, and odds before playing craps. The house edge can fluctuate based on your skills and knowledge so the more you know about craps before you start playing it, the better!
Like many casino games, craps can get heated and intense. Try not to play through your emotions but rather keep a cool and steady head. Relax and remember your strategies as you decide which bets to put on the table.
