Craps Odds and Strategy: Every Bet Ranked

Craps is the casino game with the widest spread between the best and worst bets on the same table. The Pass Line carries a 1.41% house edge. The odds bet behind it carries zero. “Any Seven” in the middle of the layout carries 16.67%. That’s a 12× difference in edge, all on the same felt, all bet on the same two dice. Knowing which bets to make and which to ignore is 90% of craps strategy. Here’s the complete ranking.

The Complete Craps House-Edge Table

Bet	Payout	House Edge	Tier
Odds (behind Pass/Don’t Pass)	True odds	0.00%	Best
Don’t Pass	1:1	1.36%	Core
Don’t Come	1:1	1.36%	Core
Pass Line	1:1	1.41%	Core
Come	1:1	1.41%	Core
Place 6	7:6	1.52%	Good
Place 8	7:6	1.52%	Good
Don’t Place 6/8	4:5	1.82%	Good
Buy 4 (5% vig on win)	2:1 − vig	1.67%	Good
Buy 10 (5% vig on win)	2:1 − vig	1.67%	Good
Place 5	7:5	4.00%	Meh
Place 9	7:5	4.00%	Meh
Field (2:1 on 12)	1:1 / 2:1	5.56%	Skip
Field (3:1 on 12)	1:1 / 2:1 / 3:1	2.78%	Better
Place 4	9:5	6.67%	Skip (use Buy 4)
Place 10	9:5	6.67%	Skip (use Buy 10)
Big 6 / Big 8	1:1	9.09%	Skip
Hardway 6 or 8	9:1	9.09%	Skip
Hardway 4 or 10	7:1	11.11%	Skip
Any Craps	7:1	11.11%	Skip
C&E (Craps + Eleven)	various	11.11%	Skip
Horn	various	12.50%	Skip
Any Seven	4:1	16.67%	Worst

The five best bets (Odds, Don’t Pass, Don’t Come, Pass, Come) cluster under 1.5%. The proposition bets jump to 9–16%. There’s almost nothing in between.

The Odds Bet Is The Only Free Lunch

The odds bet pays true mathematical odds with no house markup. If the point is 4 and you take odds, you’re paid 2:1 if the 4 rolls before 7 — which is exactly the true probability ratio (you have 3 ways to make a 4, versus 6 ways to make a 7, so the 7 is twice as likely, so 2:1 is fair).

This is unique in casino gambling. Every other bet at every other game has a house edge baked in. Odds doesn’t.

The practical result: combining a Pass Line bet with full odds lowers your effective edge. Because the two bets are combined into a single position, the total edge is blended across both.

Odds multiplier	Effective edge on combined Pass + Odds
1× odds	0.85%
2× odds	0.61%
3-4-5× odds (standard)	0.37%
5× odds	0.33%
10× odds	0.18%
100× odds (rare Vegas tables)	0.02%

A 3-4-5× craps table with full odds is the closest thing in any casino to a break-even game.

Pass Line vs Don’t Pass

Don’t Pass has a 1.36% edge; Pass Line has 1.41%. Why?

On a come-out roll of 12, Don’t Pass pushes (your bet neither wins nor loses) while Pass Line loses outright. That single edge case — which happens 1 spin in 36 on average — reduces the Don’t Pass house edge by 0.05 percentage points.

Don’t Pass is therefore the best core bet in craps by a small margin. The social cost is that you’re rooting against the shooter, which feels strange at a physical table full of strangers cheering for a 7 to land the point. Online, this social dynamic doesn’t apply — take Don’t Pass if you want the tiny edge advantage.

Place 6 and Place 8: The Only Place Bets Worth Making

Place bets let you wager on specific numbers (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) winning before 7. House edges:

• Place 6 or Place 8: 1.52% — good.
• Place 5 or Place 9: 4.00% — meh.
• Place 4 or Place 10: 6.67% — skip.

The edge difference comes from payout-rounding. 6 and 8 pay 7:6, which is nearly true odds. 4 and 10 pay 9:5, which is significantly below true odds of 2:1. If you want action on 4 or 10, use “Buy” instead — you pay a 5% commission on wins but the effective edge drops to 1.67%.

Hardways, Field, and Centre-of-Table Traps

The centre section of a craps table is where the house’s most profitable bets live. Every bet there has double-digit house edges. A quick review:

• Hardway 4 or 10 (both dice showing 2-2 or 5-5): 11.11% edge. Pays 7:1. Most common trap because “7:1” sounds attractive.
• Hardway 6 or 8 (3-3 or 4-4): 9.09% edge. Pays 9:1.
• Any Seven: 16.67% edge. The single worst bet in mainstream casinos.
• Any Craps (2, 3, or 12 on next roll): 11.11% edge.
• Horn (split on 2, 3, 11, 12): 12.50% edge.

These exist for variance-hungry players. If you enjoy the occasional big-payout spike, fine — but understand the long-term cost.

Strategy Cards: What Good Players Actually Do

Three strategies, ranked by conservatism:

1. Pure Pass + Max Odds (Most Conservative)

Only bet: Pass Line + maximum odds once a point is set. Do nothing else. Effective edge: 0.18–0.85% depending on the table’s odds multiplier. This is the mathematically cleanest play.

2. Pass + Max Odds + 2 Come Bets (Standard)

After a point is set, place a Come bet on each of the next two rolls and take odds on both Come points. Now you have action on 3 numbers simultaneously. Blended edge still under 1% on a 3-4-5× table. Gives the game its “engaged” feel.

3. Standard + Place 6 and 8 (Aggressive)

If the point isn’t 6 or 8, add Place 6 and Place 8 bets. You’ve got action on 4 numbers. Blended edge rises slightly because Place 6/8 adds 1.52% exposure, but you now cover most of the table. Stop here — anything more aggressive means adding high-edge bets.

Bankroll Management

Rough rule of thumb for a session: bring 40× your Pass Line unit. On a €5 Pass Line table with 3-4-5× odds, that’s €200 minimum. This covers streakiness without forcing you to stop in the first 10 rolls.

Set a stop-loss (e.g., half your bankroll) and a stop-win (e.g., +25%). Walking away when either trigger fires is what separates a disciplined player from a broke one.

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