Craps is a popular casino game in which players bet on the total displayed on two dice. It is a game of chance, but there are strategies with choosing your bet that go beyond taking those with the lowest edge. At the beginning of a Craps game a ‘Come-Out’ roll is made and a ‘Point’ value set. The Point can be 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. The dice are then rolled again until the same Point – or a 7 – is rolled. The process can then begin again. 

Iron Cross

For a safe betting system in craps, the Iron Cross is a popular choice since you only lose everything if a 7 appears whilst every other total offers a win. The strategy of Iron Cross craps aims for a win on your first roll, then making a profit on further rolls and moving on. More specifically, the Iron Cross system is a combination bet on two sets of numbers: the Field (2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12), plus Place wagers on 5, 6, and 8, which is a bet that one of these totals will appear before a 7. The biggest advantage of the Iron Cross is that it helps reduce the overall house edge for players to around 1.14 per cent. 

Pass and Come with odds

Betting pass and come with odds has the lowest house edge of any strategy that has you betting with the shooter. A pass line bet is a bet on the shooter’s roll to win, which means you are betting on the dice to roll a 7 or 11 on the come-out roll or on the shooter to successfully hit an established point. The pass line has a low house edge of 1.41 per cent. The house edge is even better with free odds, at 0.8 per cent with single odds, falling to 0.02 per cent at casinos that offer 100x odds. 

If a point number is established on the come-out roll, a Come bet can be placed on whether any of the point numbers will be rolled. The odds are the same for Come plus odds. 

Follow your pass bet with two or three come bets. Put the bulk of your bet in the free odds because they have no house edge. Start with the table’s minimum bet on pass or come, put the rest of your wager in odds, but check your bankroll can handle the risk. 

Don’t Pass and Don’t Come with odds

The opposite of Pass and Come, these are bets against the shooter making his point, though the house edge is slightly lower at 1.36 per cent. Edges when laying the odds also decline, to 0.7 per cent down to 0.01 per cent with 100x. As with the pass and come plus odds, the odds have no house edge, though the Don’t Pass and Don’t Come bets do. Be aware that as with the Pass and Come with odds bets, the total wager can be significant, even starting with minimum bets. 

Placing 6 & 8

This strategy is popular because you get to pick your own numbers, instead of waiting for the shooter to establish a point. You simply place bet on the 6 or 8 coming up before a 7 is rolled. The reason for this is that other than 7, the 6 and 8 are the most frequently rolled numbers. The house edge is higher on placing 6 and 8 at 1.52 per cent, which is still lower than most bets you can make in a casino.