18 Casinos - Craps Basic Odds

Craps is one of those few casino games where the odds are based on the roll of the dice. Even with a house edge - and we are not talking loaded or weighted dice. Players have to rely on Lady Luck to make them winners. A craps player will roll one of thirty-six different combinations. Depending on what that combination is, your odds of winning can increase or decrease.

Do you know why the number seven is the magic number when playing craps? Because it has the most number combinations. Six out of thirty-six combinations equal seven. That basically means that you will roll a seven one out of every six throws of the dice. The numbers decrease when you count down and up from the number seven. In other words, you'll roll a six or an eight one out of every seven rolls, a five or a nine one out of every eight rolls, and so forth with two and twelve being the hardest combination to hit.

There are three types of odds in craps. "True odds" are the ones that were just mentioned about the number of times a number will be rolled. "Free odds" are the true odds that are paid to you for making an additional wager and reducing the houses edge. "Casino odds" is the difference between the true odds on the bet and how much you actually get paid. The casino pockets the rest as profit. If you know the house odds are before you place a bet, then you will know ahead of time how much less the house will pay you. So if the house odds are 1.41%, then you will lose 14.1 cents on ever $10 bet you make.

If you understand the odds in craps, then you can place wagers that are based in mathematical fact. What really makes the game even more interesting are some of the other bets you can make. For example, the pass/don't pass bet pays even money minus the house edge on whether or not the dice will make it pass the Pass Line on the table. There are also plenty of other bets that you never want to take according to craps experts. Regardless, if you know the percentage the house takes and the odds of your number coming up, you should be able to make wagers that will help you win time after time.