How to win at Craps

Best Craps Strategy –  Can you win money at craps?

Based on the house edge percentages above, you can probably already deduce that the best way to play craps revolves around those percentages. The Pass/Don’t Pass, Come/Don’t Come bets (and Odds bets; explained later) have the lowest house edges, and hence present the best answers on how to win money at craps. 

For the rest of the bets, you’re not really getting good payouts based on the true odds for those rolls. It’s not a good approach to win at craps. 
If you’re here to play Craps for fun, then that’s totally fine! See our guide on applying some bankroll control and you’re good to go.
But for profitability, we are going to go ahead and focus only on the bets with the best (lowest) house edges.
 
Your percentage of winning a Pass Line bet is at 49.3% (hence a house edge of 1.4%) and therefore close to even. Hence, you could employ a bunch of a strategies that revolve around even payouts. 

However, this way, you also lose out on the rest of the game, and since each game can go on for a few rounds, you’re much better off playing a faster game like baccarat or blackjack if you want to employ these strategies. 

Instead, consider one of these strategies below on how to win money with craps.

3 Point Molly Strategy in Craps

A strategy that utilizes the favourable house edges on the Pass/Don’t Pass or Come/Don’t Come bets is called the 3 Point Molly System. 
How It Works:

1. Pass Line Bet: The strategy starts with a standard Pass Line bet before the come-out roll. If a natural 7 or 11 is rolled, the player wins. If a 2, 3, or 12 is rolled, the player loses.
   
   
2. Establish a Point: Once a point is established (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10), the player continues to play by placing a Come bet.
   
   
3. Come Bets and Odds:
   
   
   • After the point is established, the player places a Come bet.
   • If the next roll is a 7 or 11, the player wins the Come bet. If it’s a 2, 3, or 12, the Come bet loses.
   • If any other number is rolled, to become the Point, the player takes odds on that Come bet, just as they would on the Pass Line.
   • The player continues placing Come bets until they have three numbers covered (hence the “3 Point” name), each with odds placed behind them.
     
     
4. Winning and Payouts:
   
   
   • The Pass Line bet wins if the point is rolled again before a 7.
   • Come bets win if their respective come points are rolled before a 7.
   • The 7 is the “catch” with this strategy—if a 7 is rolled while three Come bets are active, all bets lose, but if a 7 is rolled on a Come bet before it moves to a point, it pays out.

Advantages

• Limits losses: The 3 Point Molly limits the player’s exposure to three Come bets at any one time, which can be advantageous during a cold streak.
  
• Maximizes winning streaks: This strategy allows the player to ride a hot shooter by having three numbers active at a time.

Disadvantages

• Requires a larger bankroll: Because you are betting on three numbers and taking odds on them, you need a substantial bankroll to sustain the strategy.
  
• Complexity: The strategy is more complex than simpler systems like the Iron Cross, requiring careful management of multiple bets.

Iron Cross Strategy in Craps

The Iron Cross strategy is designed to cover most of the possible outcomes of the dice roll, aiming to win on any number except for a 7. The strategy’s goal is to win small, frequent payouts. It is one of the best ways to play craps.

How It Works:

1. Place a Field Bet: The Field bet covers the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12. If any of these numbers are rolled, the player wins, typically even money, except for 2 and 12, which may pay double or even triple depending on the casino rules.
   
2. Place Bets on 5, 6, and 8: In addition to the Field bet, the player also places bets on the 5, 6, and 8. These numbers are not covered by the Field bet, so placing bets on them ensures that the player is covered on all the numbers except for the 7.
   
3. Winning and Payouts:
   • If the shooter rolls a 5, 6, or 8, the player wins the Place bet and loses the Field bet. The Place bets on 5, 6, and 8 typically pay 7:5 or 7:6, depending on the number.
   • If the shooter rolls a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12, the player wins the Field bet and loses nothing else. The payout on these can vary, but the player usually wins even money, with 2 and 12 paying more.
   • If the shooter rolls a 7, the player loses all bets.

Advantages

• Frequent payouts: This strategy wins on nearly every roll except for a 7, leading to a high frequency of small wins.

Disadvantages

• Low win amounts: The wins are typically small, and when a 7 is rolled, the player loses all bets, which can quickly negate previous small wins.
  
• High exposure to risk: Since multiple bets is on the table at once, a single 7 can result in a significant loss.

Full Odds Betting in Craps

In terms of of true odds, this is your best way to win at craps.

The key to this strategy is taking advantage of the 0% house edge on Odds bets, by betting heavily on the Odds bet. The amount you can bet is usually dependent on the casino rules and a multiplier of your original Pass line bet. Hence, this strategy will naturally require a more flexible bankroll, or management of it.

1. Start with the Pass Line Bet

• Start by placing a bet on the Pass Line.
• Reasoning: The Pass Line bet is essential because it allows you to place an odds bet after a point is established.

2. Take Full Odds

• Once a point is established (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10), place the maximum odds bets (allowed by your bankroll. See below) allowed by the casino behind your Pass Line bet.
• Reasoning: Odds bets have no house edge. The more you can place, the better your overall odds.

3. Adjust Odds Based on Bankroll

• Bankroll Consideration: If you have a larger bankroll, consider taking the maximum odds allowed (usually 3x, 4x, or 5x your Pass Line bet, depending on the casino).

Lower Bankroll: If your bankroll is smaller, take smaller odds or adjust your Pass Line bet to a lower amount to allow for a larger odds bet.

Example: If the table allows 3x odds, and you bet $10 on the Pass Line, be prepared to bet $30 on odds.

4. Avoid Other Bets

• We are focusing solely on the bet with good(low) house edges.

5. Consider a Come Bet Strategy

• Place a Come bet after the point is established, and take odds on it when it establishes its own point (similar to the Pass Line odds bet)
• Reasoning: This effectively allows you to branch out and have multiple numbers working with the odds in your favor. The more you have on odds bet, the better your long term advantage. 

6. Progressively Increase Odds

• As you win, consider increasing the odds portion of your bets rather than the Pass Line bet.

Reasoning: By increasing the odds, you’re placing more money on bets with no house edge, which can improve your overall winning potential.

Example Scenario

1. Pass Line Bet: You start with a $10 Pass Line bet.
   
2. Point Established: The shooter rolls a 6.
   
3. Taking Odds: You place $30 in odds (assuming a 3x odds limit).
   
4. Come Bet (Optional): You place another $10 Come bet, and a 9 is rolled.
   
5. Odds on Come Bet: Place $30 in odds on the 9.
   
6. Roll Outcomes:
   • If a 6 or 9 is rolled before a 7, you win both the Pass Line/Come bet and the corresponding odds.
   • If a 7 is rolled, you lose the Pass Line/Come bet and the odds.

Bet Sizing and Bankroll Control

It’s not about asking can you win money at craps, but more of can you apply the best strategy for craps? 

As with every game, applying bankroll control, bet sizing and discipline is always an integral part of our strategy. We recommended 2 ways to do this: deciding on a percentage of your total bankroll, and applying range control.

If you are using one of the systems you went through above, then you are already applying some form of range control. Hence, let’s look at bankroll management:

Play only a percentage of your bankroll

How to win money in craps? Let’s start with not losing too much! As we mentioned in previously, we recommend allocating 5-10% of your overall bankroll per session. 

Which means if your full bankroll (the total amount you are willing to play for in the long term) is 5000 euros, we recommend keeping it to a maximum of 500 euros per session.

It’s important to decide this amount beforehand and STICKING TO IT. We cannot stress this enough. If casinos removed all of their odds-based advantage, they would still make money based on the fact that people naturally lose sight of their limits. 

If you decide on 5% (250 euros), and you lose 250 euros, DO NOT think: ‘ahh but luckgurus recommended up to 10% (500 euros), so I could probably just play for another 250 euros. I would be doing the same tomorrow anyway’.

While that is technically true, the key ingredient here is your state of mind. You are ‘in the hole’, and very prone to emotional spikes and getting desperate(l). That means you will most likely play worse than usual and are more likely to lose the money.