Don T Pass Craps

This question has a simple answer. The don't pass bet has a lower house advantage than the pass bet. If you're comparing craps wagers by how likely they are to pay off, don't pass bets are technically better than pass line bets.

1. Don't Pass Craps Strategy
2. Craps Dark Side Strategies

Look at the house edge on various bets in craps. Poke around on that site long enough and you'll see that the house edge on pass line bets is around 1.41%, while don't pass bets give the casino a 1.36% edge.

Pass Bet Details

1. Posts tagged with ‘don't pass craps' Seven Steps to Smarter Don't Play Let's start this article out with a little common sense explanation of something most players get wrong.
2. Don't Pass Bet with 2 Don't Come Bets Plus a Field and Lay Bets on 4 and 10. As already mentioned above, all of these craps bet patterns correspond to the 3% rule never to make a bet that offers the casino a house edge larger than 3%.

Pass is the fundamental wager in the game of craps. Bettors who place a Pass bet are hoping that the shooter will roll a 7 or 11 on the come out roll. Otherwise, if the shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, a point is established and play continues. Once that point is set, pass bettors are hoping that number will appear again before a 7. The worst possible result for pass bettors is a 2, 3, or 12 – when this number appears on the come out roll, everyone who bets with the shooter is a loser.

Don't Pass Bet Details

The Don't Pass bet available is a rather independent way to approach the dynamic craps game, as it allows the players to place it by themselves. It is a self-service bet, meaning that the dealer does not have to contribute to the bet placement.

Don't pass bets are the opposite of pass bets. Don't pass bettors are hoping the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll. If that doesn't happen, don't pass bettors are hoping that a 7 appears before the established point.

Understand that both of these wagers pay even money. Since they pay the same, but one has better odds than the other, you must be thinking: why do people place pass line bets at all?

Three important twists to the way the game is played explain why.

Right vs. Wrong Craps Bets

Spend any time reading up on craps and you'll come across these phrases – 'right bettors' and 'wrong bettors.' Understand that don't pass bets are literally the opposite of pass line bets. Betting on the pass line means betting WITH the shooter, while laying don't pass bets means betting AGAINST the shooter.

Gamblers who bet with the shooter are called 'right' bettors, while those lay wagers against the shooter are called 'wrong' bettors. Believe it or not, a lot of people prefer to bet with the shooter (even at a slight disadvantage) than bet on the wrong side.

A don't pass bet is a bet that the shooter will 'seven out' before the point number reappears. Peer pressure and gambling tradition imply that you'd be better off betting with the shooter. It's a stroke of genius on the part of casinos, because they're gently pressuring customers to take less-advantageous bets.

'Betting to Lose'

Another reason commonly cited in discussions about pass vs. don't pass bets – the idea that people don't like 'betting to lose.' What's that mean?

Imagine the game of craps if everybody switched over to better don't pass. The dice would be switching hands back and forth – losing would be the same as winning used to be. Wrong bettors are ignoring the appeal of the hot shooter, which is by far one of the most exhilarating things you can see on the casino floor. Once a shooter 'gets hot,' customers start increasing their bets, the money starts flowing, and a crowd forms. People who wager on the don't pass line are cut out of that excitement altogether. If 'don't pass' became the new 'pass,' the game itself would change fundamentally.

Low Difference in House Edge

Let's be honest – the difference in edge between don't pass and pass is very small. Craps appeals to a certain kind of bettor, one that is not likely to get all that excited about an additional 0.5% advantage. Sports bettors and blackjack players? Absolutely. Craps players? They're not really known for their ability to slow down and calculate.

The fact that the difference in the casino's advantage is so low is no doubt another factor in the popularity of the pass line. Let's say you're betting $5 per round and seeing 100 outcomes an hour. If you place only pass line bets, your expected losses are around $7 an hour. If you place only don't pass bets, your expected losses are $6.80 an hour. To most people, betting with the shooter is totally worth that extra $0.20 an hour, just to protect them from the scorn of the rest of the table.

Those are all pretty powerful reasons to avoid don't pass bets. But the fact remains – most people simply don't want to bet against the shooter.

And now for a little extra wisdom – there's nothing at all wrong with betting against the shooter. No casino employee will tell you that you can't bet the 'wrong way.' No dealer will kick you out of the game, and no other players are allowed to do anything to you just because you're betting against them. What they can do is make your life a bit miserable – give you the cold shoulder, etc.

This is why you'll often see wrong bettors sitting off to themselves away from the crowd betting with the shooter. All they're really doing is taking the better bet – the one with the better chances of winning. But the culture of the game is such that a 'wrong' bettor is likely to get a little guff from the rest of the table.

Don't Pass Craps Strategy

Craps is the most famous dice game, which is definitely worth trying. Craps has stormy atmosphere, offers a wide palette of bets and better odds than Roulette – the queen of casino games, when employing the best manner of betting.

Craps is very popular especially in the North America. The players may wager money against a bank, then it is Casino Craps, where a casino holds all odds, or against each other, then we talk about Street Craps. The player rolling the dice is called the Shooter. The Shooter rolls two dice against a border of the Craps table. This measure aims to prevent deceitful or controlled rolls.

Craps raises great emotions especially because the Shooter is a maker of his or her own luck. The principle of the game, basic and additional bets are described below.

Craps comes in two versions – American and British. Except for some terminology differences, the basic distinction consists in the fact that British Craps offers better odds and some disadvantageous bets are forbidden completely. The rules are the same for both versions.

The Craps layout in casino is served by four people. Boxman supervises the game and Dealers, manages cash operations and distributes chips. The Dealers standing aside of the Boxman place and pay out bets. Stickman stands in front of the Boxman, sets the pace of the game, annouces the outcome of every roll, encourages players to bet and collects the rolled dice. The Stickman also serves the bets in the middle of the table (Proposition and Hard Bets).

Layout of American Craps (a half of the table)

How to Play Craps?

The rules of Craps only seem to be difficult. In reality there are just four basic bets in Craps, which make the essence of the game. The range of bets, however, is much wider.

Craps is played in rounds, while the first roll of a new round is called Come-out Roll. The round ends immediately if the outcome of the Come-out Roll is 7 or 11 marked as Win or Natural or 2, 3 or 12 marked as Craps.

If the roll is some other value (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), then it establishes the Point. As soon as the Point is established, the Shooter keeps rolling until either seven or the Point is rolled. If the Point is rolled the Shooter begins a new Come-out Roll.

If the Shooter rolls seven sooner than the Point, he or she is Seven-out, the round ends and the Shooter hands over the dice to the player at his or her left side, who becomes the new Shooter. The player can refuse being the Shooter and pass the dice to the next player.

As it can be seen Craps is somehow connected with the sum of seven. The seven is the most probable outcome when rolling two dice. There are six possibilities out of the total of 36 to roll seven. The probabilities to roll other values are shown in the table below. The importance of seven will be clarified in the Line Bets chapter.

Line Bets – Fundamental Bets in Craps

The fundamental bets in Craps are the line bets, namely Pass Line, Don't Pass Line, Come and Don't Come. In some casinos, especially in Great Britain, they can be called Win Line and Don't Win Line. The difference is in terminology only as the principles are the same. If a player wants to be the Shooter, he or she has to bet either on Pass Line or Don't Pass Line.

Pass Line

Pass Line is the most important bet in Craps. Bet on Pass Line wins immediately if the Shooter rolls 7 or 11 (Win, Natural) in the first roll (Come-out Roll). The bet loses instantly if 2, 3, 12 (Craps) is rolled (Crapping Out).

If another value is rolled, this becomes the Point. The bets are moved from the Pass Line to the corresponding number (Point) on the Craps layout. The essence of the Pass Line bet now is to roll the Point before seven in any of upcoming rolls. It means that the bet does not have to be decided immediately after the roll. If the Point is rolled before seven it is paid out in the ratio of 1:1. If seven comes first, the bets (on all Points) lose.

It may happen that the Shooter has 'a long hand' (not rolling seven for several consecutive rounds). All possible points can be occupied (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10). Now if any Point is rolled again, the bet wins. But when seven is rolled first, it is too bad – all bets (on the Points) lose.

Don't Pass Line

Don't Pass Line is the inverse bet to Pass Line. The bet loses if 7 or 11 is rolled in the Come-out roll, the bet wins if 2 or 3 is rolled and it is a tie if 12 is rolled. In the last case the outcome will be decided by the next roll.

If other value than 7, 11 or 2, 3, 12 is rolled, it establishes the Point again. The bets are moved from Don't Pass Line area to the place above the corresponding numbers. Now the bets win if seven is rolled before the Point. The payout is 1:1. The bets lose if the Point is rolled before seven.

In comparison with the bet on Pass Linethe players have an option to pull back their bets at any time before the roll.

Come

The bet on Come has almost the same attributes as Pass Line. The only differences is that the bet is made after the first roll (Come-out Roll), when the Shooter shall roll his Point.

Again the bets win if 7 or 11 is rolled, lose if 2, 3 or 12 is rolled. If other value appears, the bets are moved to that particular number (Point) and win if the Point rolled before seven.

Come is a sort of the bet inside the game. Its purpose is to enrich the activities at the Craps table.

Don't Come

This bet has the same principles as Don't Pass Line and it can also be placed after the Come-out roll at earliest. The players can pull back their bets at any time before the roll (see the Don't Pass Line).

Odd Bets

Except of the above-mentioned four fundamental bets there are also so called Odd Bets or Free Odds (Behind the line, Odds, Free). However these bets can be limited at some casinos.

The essence of the Odds is that you can place one more bet to your original bet (e.g. Pass Line), which is paid out by true mathematical odds. These bets represent a specific reinforcement of your original bet and they are definitely worth employing. They decrease profit (edge, advantage) of the casino. The true mathematical odds against rolling the values before seven are the following: 4 or 10 2:1, 5 or 9 3:2 and 6 or 8 6:5.

Of course it is possible to bet in the opposite way, when seven shall be rolled sooner than the specific value – Don't Pass Line Odds. The true mathematical odds are then reverse: for values 4 or 10 1:2, 5 or 9 2:3, 6 or 8 5:6.

If you win you will be paid out even (1:1) for your original bets and true mathematical odds for your free odds.

The free odds are placed at the table in such way that they overlap the original bets. In the same manner you can bet on Come and Don't Come. In some casinos the bets are returned if 7, 11 (Natural) or 2, 3, 12 (Craps) is rolled in the new roll.

Additional Bets in Craps

There is a wide variety of additional bets in Craps. Basically they can be split into two groups, namely into One-roll Bets, when the outcome of the bet is known right after the roll, and Multi-roll Bets, when the outcome turns up after a specific event, which determines win or loss.

One-roll Bets

One-roll bets include Proposition Bets, the Field, Horn and Whirl Bets.

Proposition Bets

The one-shot bets that win or lose after the required value is or is not rolled: 2 (Snake Eyes or Craps Aces), 12 (Craps), 2 or 12 (Hi-Lo), 3 (Ace Deuce), 11 (Yo), 2, 3 or 12 (Craps), C & E – combined bet, when one half is bet on Craps and the second half on Yo, Any Seven (or Big Red).

Field

The Field is the bet on one of the following values 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 to be rolled in the next roll. The payout for 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 is even (1:1), for 2 or 12 2:1 or even 3:1 at some British casinos. The players can place these bets on the layout themselves.

Horn Bet

The Horn Bet in fact represents individual bets on four values 2, 3, 11 and 12. The winning value is paid out by its payout ratio out of one quarter of the bet, the remaining 3/4 is lost. It is also possible to bet Horn High with 5 units (dollars), of which 2 units are bet on one the numbers 2, 3, 11 or 12. The most popular in practice is Horn High Yo, when two units are bet on number 11.

Whirl or World Bet

The Whirl Bet is made by 5 units. The purpose is to cover Horn and Any Seven. If one of the values 2, 3, 7, 11 or 12 is rolled then one fifth of the bet is paid out in the same ratio as Proposition Bets.

Multi-roll Bets

The bets are active as long as there is an event that determines either win or loss of the bets.

Hard Way

Craps Dark Side Strategies

The Hard Way of the values 4, 6, 8 or 10 means 2+2, 3+3, 4+4 or 5+5. The bet wins if the value is rolled in the Hard Way before 7 or easy way. The easy way for number six is for example 1+5, 2+4, 5+1 or 4+2. The payouts are the following: 4 and 10 7:1 (8 for 1), 6 and 8 9:1 (10 for 1).

Easy Way

The Easy Way is the opposite bet towards the Hard Way. The bet wins if the value 4, 6, 8, 10 is rolled in easy way before 7.

Big 6 & Big 8

The principle of these bets is to roll six or eight before seven in any roll. The payout of these bets is even (1:1). Because you can bet on numbers 6 or 8 directly with the payout 7:6, the players who bet on Big 6 and/or Big 8 are considered to be suckers. These bets are even forbidden at some British casinos.

Bets on Numbers

The Bets on Numbers can be made directly at any time. It is not necessary to wait until the Shooter establishes the Point. The bets are placed on the double line above the numbers. They win if they are rolled before 7. The payouts are lower than true mathematical odds. However they are relatively advantageous for numbers 6 and 8, where the payout is 7:6 (true odds are 6:5). The house edge is only 1.52% in this case! Therefore it is not advisable to bet on Big 6 or Big 8, where the payout is 1:1 and the house edge (profit) reaches 9.09%. The payouts and true odds for other numbers are: 5 and 9 7:5/3:2 (profit 4%), 4 and 10 9:5/2:1 (profit 6.67%).

Buy and Lay Bets

The Buy Bets are similar to the bets on numbers. You can buy a bet on numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 by placing the bet in the Come are and announcing to Dealer e.g. Buy the 8. The bet wins if the value is rolled before seven. The bets are paid out by true ratio, but the casino charges the fee 5% of the bet, which can be sometimes required only in case of the win. The Lay Bets are the opposite bets when seven should be rolled before the value.

The Best Bets in Craps

The profit of casino is secured by the difference between the payout and true odds. You can find the overview in the table below. The best bets for players are those that bring the lowest profit (edge) to the casino based on the expected value.