I hate to say it but playing craps is all about calculating odds in favor of your choice before betting on an outcome. Most people don’t like mathematics and I am no different, but if you want to win and/or minimize the house edge and improve your chances of winning, you have to learn to do a little math.

First of all, you might ask, what are odds? Odds are a little like probability. Let us now suppose that you have a coin and you toss it. What are the odds in favor of a head outcome?

Probability of the outcome = (Chances for a head)/(total chances)

Now there are two outcomes for a coin toss. It will either be a head or a tail. So the probability of a head occurrence is ½ or one out of two.

Odds are calculated a little differently.

Odds in favor of the outcome = (Chances for): (Chances against)

So in the above example, the odds in favor of the head outcome are 1 to 1.  

So you are playing craps and want to win every so often. What should you do? And how is calculating odds going to make a difference?

First of all, most novices always play right. That is, they bet on outcomes that they expect to show up. A wrong bet is betting on the numbers that won’t show up. In the next part of this article, I am going to show you that placing the wrong bets is easier and involves less risk.

Let us now calculate the odds for the outcomes four and six in a throw of dice. The total number of outcomes is 6 times 6, that is, thirty six. 

Outcomes for four = (1,3), (3,1), (2,2), (2,2) on the dice.

So the total number of outcomes for four on the dice is 4. So the odds for four appearing on the dice is = 4: (36-4) =4:32 =1:8

So the odds against four appearing are eight to one against. So if you bet on a four on a “don’t pass line” or a “don’t come” bet, there are eight to one odds that you might win.

Let us now calculate the odds for a more popular number to bet on such as six.  Out of the thirty six outcomes, six has these favorable outcomes:

Outcomes for six = (1,5), (5,1), (4,2), (2,4), (3,3), (3,3) on the dice.

So for a six the odds in favor are = 6: (36-6) =6:30 =1:5

So if you bet on a six, you have one in five chances of winning. Compare this with the odds in favor of and against the number 4. Isn’t it better to bet “come” on a six? But look at the odds against a six opposed to odds against a four. 5:1 versus 8:1. Now supposing you bet on a “don’t come” on four, won’t your chances of winning be better?

You can similarly calculate the odds for other numbers and bet on your favorites at the casino table. Remember to bet high on the outcomes that have better odds for or against them. Remember, “pass line” and “come” bets are always riskier than “don’t pass line” and “don’t come” bets. However, this obviously doesn’t hold true if the dice are biased or “loaded.”

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