To the beginner, a game like Craps can be rather daunting. Once you have learned the basics and know the rules, however, you will find the game rather simple to grasp. As always, strategy plays an important role and following a calculated and intelligent strategy will assure any player of good, if not always winning, results.
A crucial part of craps is for the player to understand that it is a game of rounds. Not much can be done to manipulate the outcome at craps. Instead of trying to predict the result of a single roll, a strategically well-planned game involves riding on the outcome and accordingly varying the amount of a bet. You must bet more when you are winning and less when you are losing.
Using the Odds
Try to use high-odds bets and be mentally prepared that you will not win each time the dice is rolled. Hence, take the best odds you can manage, use them in your favor as far as possible and play cleverly. The best odds on the table, in a game of Craps are Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, Don’t Come.
Most bets can be added to, removed or deducted from, at any point of time. There are certain exceptions to this which are the come and pass bets where the player cannot go beyond the maximum bet on the odds. It is said that a Pass bet gives the house a 1.41% edge whereas a Don’t Pass bet gives a little less than 1.41%. These Line Bets form the core of a winning strategy. A part from this a player, in order to improve the best bet, must concentrate upon the Odds. He must either buy Odds in a Pass or Lay Odds in case of ‘Don’t Pass’. This plan improves your initial bet because the house takes on edge on Odds.
Place an Odds Bet by supplementing the initial Pass/Don’t Pass with an incremental amount after the Come Out roll. Generally you must buy the biggest Odds possible for the greater the Odds bet, in betting the maximum here you minimize the house advantage.
Here’s a basic rule that you can follow: If you’re Laying Odds, let the Initial Don’t Pass bet be a multiple of $6 and then bet full on your Double Odds for a multiple of $12. Similarly, when Buying Odds, make your Pass bet a multiple of $5 so as to make the Double Odds, multiples of $10.
Don’t Pass for Success
Most players choose to play right and Buy the Odds as the paybacks appear to be larger. But here’s a piece of advice to those, playing seriously to win. The strategy is to look at playing wrong so as to take the smaller house edge and grind it out. Playing Wrong and Laying Odds is for seasoned players with a big roll and who for those who have the perseverance to spread the wins over longer play time.
When it comes to Double Odds, it may be safer to not Lay Double on each round. Let’s take a look at probabilities. You will find that there are four ways to roll a 5 and 9, three ways to roll 4 and 10 and five ways in which you will roll 6 or 8. Finally, there are 6 ways to roll a 7. Here’s the catch, when you’re betting wrong and going for Double Odds, the 6’s and 8’s will appear frequently making you lose the bet. Hence a good strategy will be to play Double Odds on the 4’s and 10’s.
Be Humble
One last piece of advice which comes direct from experience: Before you arrive at the table, try to know the rules and the basic terminology used in the game. Craps has its own language which may seem complicated to a novice but can easily be learned with practice. There is nothing more annoying than a pushy player who has no idea what he (it is usually a he) is doing. Make sure to learn the basic terminology, and be humble enough to admit that you may not know everything about the game
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