Five Crazy Craps Curiosities for Live Casino Success

Even as the online casino gaming industry has continued to grow at astonishing rates – even as players from all over the world have flocked to live dealer games of every kind and color – craps has remained somewhat of an outlier.

The reason for this isn’t terribly hard to understand!

In a gambling landscape filled either with games like Blackjack and Roulette, which take only a few minutes to learn (but a lifetime to master), as well as incredibly simple games like most slots and lotto games, craps is a major outlier.

This game is easily the most complicated mainstream table game to learn. There are dozens of different bets, a large and unique terminology, and a culture all its own.

Whether you’re brand new to the game, have already dipped your toes in the water, or are a properly seasoned veteran, here are five curious points about the game that are very much worth knowing. Let’s dive in!

A Bet with No Casino Advantage???

It’s a truism of casino gambling that the house always wins. After all, how could it be otherwise?

If they didn’t earn money consistently, why in the world would casinos stay in business?

With that said, there is exactly one wager in all of the standard casino table games out there that players can make without any advantage going to the house. (Well, two, if you count the double up feature on some video poker titles.) And it just so happens that that wager is found at the craps table.

That would be the Odds bet. And, speaking literally, it is a somewhat odd wager!

That’s because the odds bet can only be made once the action is already in motion. It’s a supplemental, in-progress bet. Strictly speaking, after a pass bet, and odds bet is a wager that the point will be rolled before a 7; after a don’t pass bet, an odds bet is exactly the opposite: a wager that a 7 will be rolled before the point.

Because this bet has truly zero house advantage, we suggest betting lower amounts (perhaps even the minimums) on line bets, then betting as much as you’re comfortable on the odds.

After all, how often do you have the chance to place a bet without giving the house any advantage at all?

2) Voyeueristic Gambling

Without a doubt, craps is the most social game on any casino floor.

The ability to bet on or against the hot shooter makes for a unique and fascinating experience, both socially and as a fan of casino gambling!

Admittedly, it’s not easy to recreate this experience when playing online. Increasingly, it’s becoming possible to play while watching (and reacting to) other gamblers bets in real time, which adds a lot to the live dealer experience. You sure can’t get it in roulette!

Because this social element is completely unique to craps, we recommend taking some time to drink the whole thing in, before trying to dive in.

Remember that just because one can behind others, doesn’t mean one immediately has to!

3)Learn the Bets

Beyond the above, first and best thing you should know about the game of craps is which bets offer the best odds. And this is a straightforward thing to learn!

The so-called Line bets – pass, don’t pass, come, and don’t come – offer the best odds available.

For the record, we don’t just mean the best odds available in this game…

… nope! We’re talking about the best odds in all of casino gambling!

These bets join elite blackjack play and some video poker opportunities as the only places gamblers can get the house edge to under 1%.

There are plenty of other worthwhile bets to learn: Place, Buy, Lay, and Field, for example. But the line bets, plus the odds bet, give newcomers a fantastic place to start.

4) Sucker Bets Galore

It’s hardly unique to find a casino game offering bets that come with some extremely unfriendly odds for players. Think of Blackjack side bet abominations like Lucky Ladies, or the monstrous innovation of triple zero roulette wheels. Terrible bets are indeed a dime a dozen!

However, the relatively simple, player-friendly odds available in other bets in both of those games render such variants and side bets fairly obvious.

Craps is different.

The complexity of the game can conceal just how poor many of the wagers really are! In short, any bet we’ve not mentioned above should be regarded as a sucker bet, and avoided under all circumstances.

Big fans that we are of taking full advantage of member rewards programs, all the perks and all the top casino bonuses in the world won’t save players from the odds like this. We’re talking about house edge between 9.09% and 16.67%!

In particular, all Hard Ways, Any Seven, Hop Bets, Any Craps, or totals of 2, 3, 11, or 12 should be avoided under any and all circumstances.

5) Practice Makes Perfect (er, um, Better at least)

Because this game can be so difficult to learn, it can be especially worthwhile and rewarding to play some practice rounds without ponying up any real cash.

This is advantageous not only because it will help new players learn the possible bets, the pace of the game, and because it will save painful and embarrassing losses…

… it’s also because craps is often such a social experience!

Especially (but not exclusively) when playing at brick and mortar casinos, the craps table tends to be the most exciting, fun, and overwhelming spot in the whole building. Coming to the table with the quiet confidence that follows proper practice will ensure that new players can relax and enjoy the vibe, without needing to slow down play to ask too many questions or messing up the flow of the table.

In short, practice is about more than profit here… it’s about pleasure, too!