Our main craps bets page details some of the smarter and more popular craps bets.
Below we detail a few more, but note carefully however, some of these bets offer
really horrible returns (so make them knowing that you're almost guaranteed to
lose). Remember to have a look at some of the smarter
craps bets.
Big 6 & Big 8 Bets
Quite possibly one of the worst bets you could make in the entire casino. These
bets are very similar to a place bet on the six or the eight, with the difference
being that the place bets pay 7 to 6, while with the big 6 / 8 you only get paid
even money. Thus, in terms of payouts the big 6 / 8 have a whopping house edge
of 9.09%, compared to just 1.52% on the place bet. Yes, the big 6 / 8 is not a
very smart bet to make.
The Hard Way Bets
Getting a "hard way" means making the total of the two dice on doubles.
Thus, if you wanted to hit a hard six, the only way to do it is with two threes.
Thus, you could say it's called "the hard way" because its so hard to
win anything that way. There are only four possible hard way combinations: 4 (2x2),
6 (3x3), 8 (4x4), and 10 (5x5). Note as well that these are not one-roll wagers
- hard ways win if the selected hard way is rolled before a seven appears or an
"easy" combo of the hard way total is hit. So, if you have a bet on
a hard 4, if a 3 and 1 come up before two twos you're out of luck. The payouts
for hard four and hard ten are 7 to 1, and the true odds are 8 to 1. The house
edge is 11.11%. The payouts for hard six and hard 8 are 9 to 1, and the true odds
are 10 to 1. The house edge is 9.09%. These bets, as well as the other proposition
bets exist seemingly to make the house easy money - they all have horrible house
edge values, and no sensible player would make these bets with any consistency.
Other Proposition Bets
Proposition bets are those placed in the middle of the table layout, and they
pertain only to the 'next roll'. These bets as seen with the Hard Way bets above
never have a good house edge. I won't get into any details about each (simply
because I wouldn't advise you to make these bets), but I will detail their names
- Any Craps, Any Seven, Eleven or Three, Twelve or Two, Horn Bet, Horn High
Bet, C & E and Hop Bets.
Other Bets
Two other bets that are worthy of note are the Lay Bet and the Buy
Bet. The lay bet can be made at any time during the game. In effect it is
the opposite of the buy bet, and the same as the don't come bet - but with different
odds. The lay bet may be placed on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 and is based on whether
or not a seven will be rolled before your number. A buy bet can decrease the house
edge and allow you to win more. The numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 can all be "bought",
but usually the 4 or 10 is picked because they offer a better payoff. The buy
bet is similar to the place bet in that the number you buy must come up before
a 7 does in order for you to win. The odds are however higher for a buy bet.
