Craps is a game of chance that involves betting on the outcomes of a throw of a pair of dice. Craps began as the French game of “crapaud” (or “toad” in English) and has ever since been played both on the streets and the big casino houses.

Calculate the Odds Before You Bet

So you say, “So you bet on the outcomes of a throw of dice; what’s this got to do with skill? It’s only a game of chance.” Not so. Winning at craps is as much skill as it is luck. You can win at craps by studying the odds for the outcomes of the throw of dice. It is basically about intelligent betting.

First, a lesson in mathematics. Now let us suppose that we are calculating the odds for a head in a coin toss. 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.

Let us now calculate the odds for the outcome of four 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 is 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, which is what I would bet on if I had to bet on craps. Incidentally, betting “don’t come four” can give you one of the best odds at craps.

You can similarly bet on other outcomes if you know the odds.

Keep Your Cool

So you took my advice and bet “don’t come” on four and on the next roll, the dice showed four, what do you do next? Firstly, don’t lose your cool. You were unlucky the first time; this probably won’t happen again.

What if this does happen again? Don’t lose your cool. Either the croupier got really lucky or the dice are “loaded” or biased. Walk to another table. Or another casino.

Set Up an Effective Money Management System

People flock to the craps table and bet indiscriminately and ultimately, lose a fortune at it. Money-manage everything. Start with small bets and keep it small unless you are sure of winning on the roll. Bet “don’t come” more often than “come;” this will increase your chances of winning. If you are drunk or tipsy, do not play; your family and the friends would thank you for not doing so.

If you are an inexperienced player, place small informed bets first. Learn the ropes by playing for fun money at one of the several online gaming sites. Only play for money when you know for sure that you have a fair chance of winning against the house at a serious game.

Related posts:

1. Success in Craps Relies on Odds
2. Different Types of Craps Bets
3. Learning About the Probabilities in the Game of Craps
4. An Insight to Craps Bets
5. Importance of learning Craps strategy