Online Craps Strategy Guide: From the Basics to Optimal Play

Craps, like roulette, is a game of predictions. You need to predict which numbers the shooter will roll with two dice. There’s a certain amount of luck in that, as you’d expect. However, with the right craps strategy, there are ways to improve your long-term expectation.

So, without putting it off any longer, here are the best craps strategy tips you can use at your favorite US online casino, including the famous dark side method. 

Craps Tips & Tricks

Truth be told, there aren’t any tricks in craps. The key to success is making bets with the lowest house edge, which, in turn, gives you the highest chance of making a positive return on your investment.

This, of course, requires an understanding of how to play craps and its various betting options. So, before I discuss my favorite craps strategies, let’s start with the basics and four key tips:

1. Know your aim: Craps is a prediction game similar to roulette. However, instead of betting on a spinning wheel, you're rooting for a shooter to roll certain numbers with two dice.

2. Remember the split: Craps games are split into two parts: the come-out roll and the point. The come-out roll is the first roll of a new betting round. Three things can happen: pass line bets win if the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, pass line bets lose if the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12, or a point is established with any other number. If a point is established, you can bet on numbers you want to hit before the shooter rolls a 7. 

3. Low-edge bets for the win: The best way to improve your payout potential is to focus on low house edge bets. The lowest edge options in craps are the Pass Line (1.14%) and Don’t Pass Line (1.36%) bets. I’ll explain how to use the Don’t Pass Line bet using a craps strategy known as playing the dark side. 

4. Play responsibly and consistently: Never bet more than you can afford to lose. That’s a standard tip that applies to all forms of gambling. I also recommend betting consistently. If you make Pass Line bets, stick to them. This should help prevent big swings because you’re not switching between low edge and high edge bets. 

The Best Online Craps Strategies

All of you will be at different stages of your craps journeys. So, to ensure I cater to everyone, I’ve divided up my craps strategy tips into basic and intermediate. After that, you can scroll down to the next section and learn how to play the dark side strategy.

Basic Craps Strategy Tips

The best craps strategy for beginners is a simple matter of mastering the basics. Learn how to play craps, the language used, and the bets you can make.

You can’t formulate a winning craps strategy if you don’t know what certain words and phrases mean. For example, I’m going to talk about pass line and odds bets and how you can combine them to create the best mathematical craps strategy.

You won’t have any idea what I’m talking about if you don’t know what they are. So, you first need to know how to play craps. 

Once you have a firm handle on the basics, I’ll talk you through the popular craps betting strategies listed below.

Intermediate Craps Betting Strategies

When you’re confident you can play craps online, it’s time to start thinking about the best ways to spread your bets.

Here are two of the most popular craps betting strategies I’ve come across over the years:

Iron Cross Craps Strategy

This craps strategy requires you to do the following:

• Make field bets on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12.

• Make place bets on 5, 6, and 8.

Iron Cross is known as a high-frequency craps strategy because the only number you can lose on is 7. That means you can expect small but frequent wins in comparison to other betting strategies.

The downside to this strategy is that the house edge is relatively high (1.14%) compared to certain individual bets (such as odds bets). You lose a lot of bets when 7 hits.

Therefore, it’s only suitable for players who like to play for incremental profits, rather than one-off big wins.

6-8 Craps Betting Strategy

The 6-8 point betting strategy in craps exposes you to a relatively low house edge.

For context, place bets allow you to wager money on specific numbers once a point has been established (i.e., after the come-out roll).

In isolation, place bets are low house edge bets that offer decent returns. However, each one has a different long-term expected value.

Put another way, some place bets give you a better shot at winning than others. Here’s a craps strategy chart to explain what I mean:

You can see from the table that a 6 & 8 field bet has a significantly better long-term expectation than its counterparts. That makes it a better strategy for craps, in mathematical terms, than other bets.

How to Win at Craps Every Time

I’m sorry to break it to you, but a winning craps strategy offering guaranteed returns doesn’t exist. That means you probably won’t win every time the dice are rolled.

I say probably, because the gambling gods might smile on you. However, in statistical terms, you’re at a slight long-term disadvantage, which means you’re likely to experience wins and losses, even if you use a craps betting strategy.

The good news is that you can improve your potential using a mathematical craps strategy known as playing the dark side. This strategy is split into two parts: the don’t pass line bet and odds bets.

Playing the Dark Side in Craps

The best strategy for craps is making a don’t pass bet and laying the odds. Don’t worry if that sounds like gibberish, I’ll break it down for you.

The first thing to explain is the concept of laying. In betting, the word “lay” means you’re betting against something to happen. Therefore, when you’re laying an odds bet, you’re betting against the shooter rolling the point number.

Now that’s clear, here are the two parts of this optimal craps betting strategy:

Part 1: The Don’t Pass Line Bet

A pass line bet in craps is when you back the shooter to hit a 7 or 11 on the come-out roll. A don’t pass bet is the opposite. You’re betting that the shooter won’t hit a 7 or 11 and, instead, will hit a 2, 3, or 12.

A pass line/don’t pass bet remains active if the shooter establishes a point, i.e., they roll any number except a 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12.

You win with a pass line bet if the shooter hits the point number before rolling a 7. Conversely, you win with a don’t pass bet if the shooter rolls a 7 before hitting the point.

To summarize, here are the possible outcomes when you make a don’t pass line bet:

• You win when the shooter rolls a 2 or 3 on the come-out roll.

• You tie if the shooter rolls a 12 on the come-out roll.

• You lose if the shooter rolls a 7 or 11 on the come-out roll.

• You lose if the shooter establishes a point and hits that point before rolling a 7.

• You win if the shooter establishes a point but hits a 7 first.

The don’t pass line bet has a slightly lower house edge than the pass line bet (1.36% vs. 1.41%). This alone makes it a mathematically optimal craps strategy. You can further optimize your strategy with odds bets.

Part 2: Laying the Odds

Once you’ve made a don’t pass line bet, you’re allowed to make odds bets. These are side bets on the point, which means you want the shooter to hit the point number before rolling a 7 (which brings the game to an end).

You can also lay the odds. This means you’re betting that the shooter won’t hit the point before they roll a 7.

These bets pay true odds, so the house doesn’t have an edge. That’s great for you, but there are two caveats to consider:

1. The payouts depend on the point you’re laying against:

• Laying against a point of 4 or 10 pays 1:2

• Laying against a point of 5 or 9 pays 2:3

• Laying against a point of 6 or 8 pays 5:6

2. You can only bet certain amounts.

The maximum odds bet varies from casino to casino, but it’s usually between 2x and 5x the value of your don’t pass line bet.

Whatever amount you can bet, this craps betting strategy requires you to take the maximum odds allowed for the point. Doing this covers you against the shooter hitting the point number.

How You Win By Playing the Dark Side Craps Strategy

When you play the dark side craps strategy, you can win in a variety of ways:

• You can win the don’t pass line bet, i.e., if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3 during the come-out roll.

• You win when you lay the odds if the shooter rolls a 7 before hitting the point.

You’re not covered for every eventuality, so playing the dark side doesn’t mean you’ll always be celebrating in the sunlight.

However, you are covering a lot of possible outcomes, which means this is the best strategy for craps if you want the best long-term expected value.

Top Craps Games to Play

Now you know the best crap strategies, let’s take a look at some of the ways you can play this diverse game at one of my favorite US online casinos, BetMGM Casino:

Responsible Gambling

I say this in all my casino strategy guides because it’s the most important skill you can master as a gambler: don’t risk more than you can afford to lose.

Knowing the best mathematical craps strategy is useless if you don’t know how to manage your money. Only risk a small percentage of your bankroll (5% or less) at the craps table.

Additionally, you should stop playing when you win enough (I recommend 20%-40% of your starting stake) or when you’ve lost too much (25% or more of your starting stake). Combine these two skills, and you’ll be well on your way to playing responsibly.

Finally, if you want to exercise more control, use the responsible gambling tools provided by the top US online casinos, including personalized deposit and betting limits, timeout options, and live support.

You can read more about how to control and how to spot early signs of the problem in our dedicated responsible gambling center. If all else fails, feel free to contact one of the national avilable resources:

• The National Council on Problem Gambling

• Gamblers Anonymous

• Gam-Anon.org

• GamTalk.org