Every Craps Bet and Its House Edge: The Best and Worst Bets
Craps has the cheapest bet in the casino and some of the most expensive, often a few inches apart on the same table. Nothing about a roll can be played well or badly. The whole skill in craps is choosing which bets to make.
| Bet | Pays | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Odds (pass or don't pass) | True odds | 0.00% |
| Don't pass | 1:1 | 1.36% |
| Don't come | 1:1 | 1.36% |
| Pass line | 1:1 | 1.41% |
| Come | 1:1 | 1.41% |
| Place 6 or 8 | 7:6 | 1.52% |
| Field (2× on 2, 3× on 12) | 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 | 2.78% |
| Place 5 or 9 | 7:5 | 4.00% |
| Place 4 or 10 | 9:5 | 6.67% |
| Hard 6 or 8 | 9:1 | 9.09% |
| Big 6 or Big 8 | 1:1 | 9.09% |
| Hard 4 or 10 | 7:1 | 11.11% |
| Any craps | 7:1 | 11.11% |
| Yo 11 | 15:1 | 11.11% |
| Any 7 | 4:1 | 16.67% |
Every figure is the house's share of each bet once it is decided, worked out from the 36 equally likely ways two dice can land. Las Vegas Strip rules: 3-4-5× odds, the field pays double on 2 and triple on 12.
The cheapest way to play
Bet the pass line (or don't pass), then add the maximum odds behind it once a point is set. Odds pay exactly what they are worth, 2:1 on a 4 or 10, 3:2 on a 5 or 9 and 6:5 on a 6 or 8, so they carry no house edge at all. With 3-4-5× odds, the house edge on everything you bet falls to about 0.37%.
Bets to avoid
- The middle of the table. Hardways, Any 7, Any craps and Yo 11 cost 9% to 17%. Any 7 pays 4 to 1 on a roll that comes up one time in six; a fair payout would be 5 to 1.
- Big 6 and Big 8. They pay even money on the same numbers a place bet pays 7:6 on. Same risk, six times the cost.
- Place 4 and 10. 6.67%, more than four times the cost of placing the 6 or 8.
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