BEST CRAPS BETS

Practice the best bets for free

Knowing which bets are best means nothing if you have never placed them under pressure. Crapsee's free craps simulator lets you drill Pass Line with Free Odds, Come bets, and Place 6/8 with no real money at risk. The dice engine uses cryptographically secure randomness - the same math you will face at any table in any casino. Practice until the good bets are muscle memory.

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How we ranked these bets

One metric: house edge. House edge is the percentage of each bet the casino expects to keep over millions of rolls. Lower is better for you. A 1% house edge costs you $1 per $100 wagered over time. A 16% edge costs you $16. It is the only number that matters when evaluating a bet.

We are not ranking by excitement, volatility, or how often you win. A bet that wins 90% of the time can still be a bad bet if it pays poorly when it loses. House edge captures all of that in one number. If a bet has a lower house edge than another, it is objectively better over any meaningful sample size.

Numbers used throughout this page are exact standard craps mathematics. They do not vary by casino except where noted (bubble craps payout differences, vig-on-win vs vig-upfront Buy bets). For the full data table for every bet on the table, see the craps odds and payouts chart. For an explanation of every bet type, see the complete bet reference.

Top 5 best craps bets

These are the five bets worth making. In order. Stick to this list and you will be playing smarter than the majority of the table.

1. Free Odds - 0% house edge

Free Odds is the single best bet in craps and the single best bet in any casino. The house edge is exactly 0%. The casino pays true mathematical odds with no cut. That is not a rounding error - it is genuinely zero. The only other places you find 0% edge are in games with perfect strategy (which still involve mistakes) or video poker with expert play (which requires memorization). Craps Odds requires no skill: just put the chips behind the line.

How it works: After a Pass Line bet or Come bet establishes a point, you place additional chips directly behind your original bet. This extra wager pays at true odds: 2-to-1 on the 4 and 10, 3-to-2 on the 5 and 9, 6-to-5 on the 6 and 8. These reflect the exact probability of rolling the point before a 7. No house cut.

How much to take: Always take the maximum allowed. If the table offers 3-4-5x odds, take 3x on the 4 and 10, 4x on the 5 and 9, 5x on the 6 and 8. This standardizes your potential win at 6x your flat bet regardless of the point. At a 5x table, Pass Line plus max odds brings your combined edge down to approximately 0.33%. At a 10x table, it drops to roughly 0.18%.

Don't Pass / Don't Come Odds: The Odds bet also works on Don't Pass and Don't Come. Instead of "taking" odds you "lay" odds - you bet that the 7 will come before the point. The math is identical and the edge is still 0%. Don't Pass with Lay Odds gives you a combined edge of approximately 0.27% at 5x - slightly better than the Pass side.

The only catch: You cannot place a Free Odds bet without a flat bet behind it. The casino gives you the 0%-edge bet as a reward for making the 1.41% flat bet. Think of it as paying a small toll to access the freeway.

2. Don't Pass and Don't Come - 1.36% house edge

Don't Pass is mathematically the better line bet. At 1.36%, it edges out Pass Line's 1.41% because the 12 (Boxcars) on the come-out is a push rather than a loss. That push reduces the casino's take by a small but real amount.

How it works: On the come-out roll, you win on 2 or 3, lose on 7 or 11, and push on 12. Once a point is set, you win if the shooter sevens out before repeating the point. You are now on the opposite side of the table majority.

The social consideration: At a full live table, most players are on the Pass Line cheering for points to be made. When you win on Don't Pass, the table just lost. That dynamic is real. It does not change the math, but it changes the experience. At a bubble craps machine or when playing solo on Crapsee, there is no social friction - just the numbers.

Don't Come works identically to Don't Pass but starts after the come-out roll. It is the wrong-way version of a Come bet.

3. Pass Line and Come - 1.41% house edge

Pass Line is the standard craps bet. Every beginner starts here. At 1.41%, it is among the best bets in the entire casino. Compare it to roulette (5.26% on a double-zero wheel), blackjack without strategy (roughly 2-4%), or any slot machine (3-15%). Pass Line beats all of them without requiring any strategy decisions.

How it works: Bet before the come-out roll. Win on 7 or 11. Lose on 2, 3, or 12. If any other number rolls (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), that becomes the point. Win if the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7. Lose on a 7-out.

Come bets are Pass Line bets placed after the come-out roll. They work identically - win on 7/11, lose on craps, establish their own point. Use Come bets to get action on multiple numbers simultaneously while keeping the 1.41% edge. Two or three Come bets with full odds each gives you coverage across several box numbers at under 0.5% combined edge. That is the basis of the 3 Point Molly strategy.

4. Place 6 and Place 8 (at live tables paying 7-to-6) - 1.52% house edge

At a live craps table paying 7-to-6 on Place 6 and Place 8, these are the best non-odds bets on the table. The 6 and 8 are the two most frequently rolled point numbers - each has five ways to make it versus six ways to make a 7. The 1.52% house edge reflects that near-even probability and the 7-to-6 payout that nearly mirrors true odds.

Important caveat: This ranking applies only to live tables paying 7-to-6. At bubble craps machines that pay 6-for-5 on Place 6 and 8, the house edge roughly doubles to around 2.78%. They are still playable but no longer one of the best bets. Always check the paytable before placing these at a machine. For more, see the complete bet reference.

Bet in increments of $6 (or multiples thereof) to get the full 7-to-6 payout. A $5 Place 6 at a live table that pays 7-to-6 rounds down and costs you money. Always bet $6, $12, $18, etc.

5. Buy 4 and Buy 10 at vig-on-win casinos - 1.67% house edge

Buy bets pay true odds on any number - but the casino charges a 5% commission (the "vig"). Normally that makes Buy bets worse than Place bets on most numbers. The exception: the 4 and 10, where Place bets pay a terrible 9-to-5 for a 6.67% edge.

The vig-on-win distinction matters: Some casinos charge the 5% vig only when you win (vig-on-win). Others charge it upfront when you place the bet. At a vig-on-win casino, a $20 Buy 4 costs you $1 only when it wins, bringing the effective house edge to 1.67%. That is dramatically better than Place 4 and 10 at 6.67%, and better than most bets on the table.

At a vig-upfront casino (vig charged when you place the bet regardless of outcome), the Buy 4 and 10 edge climbs back toward 4.76% - still better than Place 4/10, but no longer in the top 5. Ask the dealer which policy the casino uses before making these bets. If they charge vig upfront, skip Buy 4 and 10 and stick to Place 6 and 8 instead.

The middle: mediocre bets

These bets are not disasters but they are not good enough to be part of a disciplined approach. Play them for entertainment if you want coverage and action, but do not mistake them for sound strategy.

Field bet - 2.78% or 5.56% depending on the 12

The Field pays on any roll of 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 (and loses on 5, 6, 7, 8). Whether it is a mediocre or a poor bet depends entirely on how the casino pays the 12:

• 12 pays 3-to-1: House edge is 2.78%. Playable but not efficient. You are paying more than double the edge of Pass Line for the excitement of action on every roll.
• 12 pays 2-to-1: House edge jumps to 5.56%. Now you are in poor-bet territory. Most bubble craps machines use this lower rate.

Check the paytable. The Field is deceptively popular because it appears to cover most numbers, but the missing numbers (5, 6, 7, 8) are precisely the most common rolls.

Place 5 and Place 9 - 4.00% house edge

These pay 7-to-5. True odds on the 5 and 9 are 3-to-2 (6-to-4). The payout is close but not close enough - 4% is three times worse than Place 6 and 8. Acceptable for adding table coverage if you are already maxing Odds and have Place 6/8 working, but not a priority bet. Bet in multiples of $5 for full payout.

Place 4 and Place 10 - 6.67% house edge

The worst Place bets. True odds on the 4 and 10 are 2-to-1; Place pays 9-to-5. That gap is expensive. At 6.67%, you are paying a similar edge to the American roulette double-zero wheel. The correct move on the 4 and 10 is to either Buy them (at a vig-on-win casino) or skip them entirely. Do not place the 4 and 10 by default.

Hardways 6 and 8 - 9.09% house edge

Hardways are proposition bets that the shooter rolls a specific double (Hard 6 = 3-3, Hard 8 = 4-4) before rolling an easy way or a 7. Hard 6 and 8 pay 9-to-1, but the true odds are 10-to-1. At 9.09%, these are expensive. They serve as a hedge when you have Place 6 or 8 working and want to protect against a 7-out, but standalone they are a losing play. We list them here rather than in the bottom 5 because they are at least in the single digits.

Bottom 5 worst craps bets - stop making these

No ranking, editorial framing, or personal preference changes the math here. These bets cost you more per dollar wagered than almost anything else in the casino. Avoid them.

1. Any Seven / Big Red - 16.67% house edge

The worst bet on the table. Any Seven pays 4-to-1 if the next roll is a 7. True odds are 5-to-1 (six ways to roll a 7 out of 36 possible outcomes). The casino keeps one-sixth of every dollar wagered on this bet over time. There is no scenario - no streak, no system, no instinct - that makes this bet rational. Do not make it.

2. Hardways 4 and 10 - 11.11% house edge

Hard 4 (2-2) and Hard 10 (5-5) each pay 7-to-1. True odds are 8-to-1. The 11.11% edge makes these two of the worst non-Any-Seven bets on the layout. The Hard 4 and Hard 10 each have only one combination that wins (versus eight that lose, including the 7 and all easy ways). The payout does not compensate for that difficulty.

3. Horn, Hi-Lo, and Whirl - 11-16% house edge

Horn bets (2, 3, 11, 12 split four ways) and their variants carry house edges ranging from 11% to over 16% depending on the specific combination. They are designed to look exciting and feel like they cover a lot. They do not. A $4 Horn covers four individual proposition numbers, each of which is a losing bet on its own. Spreading money across four bad bets does not create a good bet.

4. Any Craps and C&E - 11.11% house edge

Any Craps bets that the next roll is 2, 3, or 12 (collectively). It pays 7-to-1 but true odds are 8-to-1. C&E (Craps and Eleven) splits a bet between Any Craps and the Yo (11). Both carry 11.11% or higher house edges. Common as come-out roll hedges, but the math makes them net-negative: the hedge costs more than it protects.

5. Hop bets - 11.11% to 16.67% house edge

Hop bets are one-roll bets on a specific dice combination. A hard hop (e.g., 2-2, 5-5) pays 30-to-1; an easy hop (e.g., 2-3) pays 15-to-1. True odds are 35-to-1 on a hard hop and 17-to-1 on an easy hop. The resulting edges range from 11.11% to 13.89%. Some casinos offer slightly different payouts. None of the variants bring the edge below 10%. Hop bets belong in the entertainment-only column if you make them at all.

How payouts differ: live craps vs bubble craps

The rankings above apply to standard live craps. Bubble craps machines (electronic craps) use slightly modified payouts that change the ranking for a few bets.

Bubble craps strategy adjustment: Skip Place 6 and 8 at machines using 6-for-5 payout. Put that money into Free Odds behind your Pass Line instead. Pass Line with max Odds remains the optimal play on any craps format. For full bubble craps details, see the bubble craps guide.

How to practice the best bets

Reading about house edge is useful. Placing bets correctly under the actual pace of a craps game is a different skill. Three things trip up players at a live table who know the theory:

• Forgetting to take Odds. The come-out roll lands, a point is set, and the dealer is already moving to the next shooter. You meant to put odds behind your Pass Line and never did. Practice until it is automatic.
• Placing bets in wrong increments. Place 6 and 8 must be in multiples of $6 at a live table for the 7-to-6 payout to pay correctly. New players often bet $5 and lose the fractional payout. Practice knowing which bet requires which increment.
• Getting talked into prop bets. Dealers and stickmen call out proposition bets constantly. "Any seven, seven in the middle?" You know the answer is no. Practice saying no.

The free craps simulator on Crapsee runs every bet type with correct payouts and pacing. Drill Pass Line plus Odds for 100 rounds. Then add Come bets. Then practice Place 6 and 8 at the correct $6 increment. By the time you sit at a live table, the good bets should feel like second nature.

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Frequently asked questions