If you’re roaming the casino floor in any casino and you hear a raucous eruption of noise, chances are the source of the sound is the craps table. It’s the kind of game that warrants shouting at the dice, kissing the dice, cursing the dice. Yet as popular as the game is, few variations exist in the digital sphere at BetMGM, or other operators, compared to roulette and blackjack. One of those features a live dealer.
Craps is the one game where a certain approach leaves little or no advantage to the house.
Craps Glossary Terms
- Betting right/right bettor: refers to wagering on the Pass Line. The term is used as most players bet on the Pass Line and so it usually means betting with the rest of the table.
- Betting wrong/wrong bettor: wagering on the Don’t Pass Line. This is the opposite of the betting right.
- Centerfield: refers to a 9 because it’s near the “center of the field” on the craps table.
- Crapping out: the action of throwing a 2, 3 or 12 on the Come Out Roll.
- Crap numbers (or just “craps”): 2, 3 and 12.
- Field bet: a one-off bet that 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 will appear on the very next dice roll.
- Hard number: any pair; for example, two 4s form a “hard 8.”
- Insurance: wager placed to protect against another wager losing.
- Natural: a roll of a 7 or 11 on the Come Out Roll.
- Seven out: rolling a 7 before establishing the Point number.
- Snake eyes: your dice would be showing a pair of 1s.
- Working bets: wagers that are in play for the next roll.
Those bets which are known as taking odds, are nowhere to be found on the felt layout. You just have to know about it and craps players do. Taking the odds requires an additional wager placed behind your bet on the pass line or don’t pass line. Playing craps and taking the odds are just as available with online versions with or without a live dealer.
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Jump on House Disadvantage
Regardless of whether you’re playing online or in person, taking odds on each pass line bet can be an expensive proposition to take full advantage of the house disadvantage. When a point is established, you place your free odds wager behind the original pass line or don’t pass line wager. Notify the dealer if it’s a live dealer when doing so to prevent any confusion.
If the point hits and you lay odds it is a 2 to1 payout on point numbers of 4 and 10, 3 to 2 on points of 5 and 9, and 6 to 5 on points of 6 and 8. When you put odds behind the don’t pass line, you’re “laying” odds. Here are the payouts for laying odds. 1 to 2 payout for point numbers of 4 and 10, 2 to 3 for points of 5 and 9, and 5 to 6 for points of 6 and 8.
If you choose to play with a live dealer, you can chat as they position your bets and watch authentic casino dice get tossed across a felt table from a mechanical tray. With real-life dealers, one acts as host, the other is the shooter. Action is filmed in specialized studios and streamed to your computer or phone in real time.
Knowledge is Key
The pass, don’t pass, come, don’t come bets occupy less space on the felt than the rest of the layout. That’s because there are lots of other bets, bets that can pay a lot, but are stacked in favor of the house. All you need is to memorize the different types of bets.
The odds for online craps are the same as in the casino version, and it differs only in that it’s a computer rolling the dice instead of a live shooter, if you are playing the RNG-powered version of online craps vs. the live dealer version.
Online craps does offer more flexible betting limits, especially when it comes to minimums. Most retail craps games carry a $10 a roll minimum, but online the games can be played for as little as $1 a game, even 50 cents a toss.
In addition to the live action, BetMGM offers First Person Craps from Evolution Gaming, which has a return-to-player rate of up to 99.17%. For new customers, BetMGM has a deposit bonus of up to $1,000 and a $100 no deposit bonus.
Despite the business of taking or laying odds, there’s no right or wrong way to play craps. You don’t need special strategies because the games are based on luck and the relative probabilities of certain combinations coming up on the dice. The roll of the dice determines everything and it’s over in a few blinks of the eye. The outcome of the dice cannot be influenced in any way.
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Have a Game Plan
It’s important to set a gaming budget before you play – and not go over it. This will help keep your finances in check and ensure you don’t spend all your money on gambling.
Also, check the minimum and maximum bet limits. These limits can affect the longevity of your craps strategy. Therefore, it’s important to check your bankroll against these limits and be prepared to walk away if it doesn’t suit your gameplay.
Play sober and be in a good mood should be obvious. If you’ve been drinking walk away, don’t log in. Same if you’re in a bad mood. Otherwise, you might make bad decision out of frustration, and it could cost you.
Knowing when to fold and when to hold is also vital. That means setting a win limitation. Don’t keep playing once you reach that point.
Avoid Sucker Bets
Defining the house advantage in the game is not simple as it consists of many bets, each with its own expected returns. More so, the house edge also varies per casino, both online and in brick-and-mortar establishments. For instance, bets at some casinos can have a house advantage of up to 14%.
Other bets on the table, such as the Big 6 and Big 8 wagers – which pay even money and are located in the corners – and the hardways are among those with the “worst odds.” They have a 9.1% house edge. By contrast, the Field bet (see our glossary section above) has 5.56% going to the house. Such wagers can do a lot of damage to your bankroll if you play recklessly.
A good player will make bets that have the lowest house edge. The best bets you can make in the game are the Don’t Pass/Don’t Come bets with a house edge as low as 1.36 percent, and the Pass/Come bets, with a 1.41 percent house advantage.
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