Tips on How to Play Craps Online and Win

Craps is one of the oldest and most exciting gambling games ever invented.  It’s fast, furious and has an infinite selection of bet types.  Whether you win or lose money depends on the fall of the dice and what type of craps bet or bets you’ve made.

As with all online casino games, you can maximise your chances of winning by learning the finer points of the game.  Having said that, dice games are almost impossible to predict as luck and luck alone is the key factor that determines what number is rolled on the dice.

Learn the Rules of Online Craps

Unlike slots, where you have to choose a coin denomination and decide how many paylines you want to activate before spinning the reels, craps is a lot more complex.  The actual mechanics of the game is simple.  All you have to do is hit the ‘Roll’ button and wait for the sum of the dots on the dice to appear onscreen.  

Depending on what number is rolled, there are three possible outcomes:

• 7 or 11 is a Natural and you win and roll the dice again
• 2, 3 or 12 is Craps and you lose and roll the dice again
• 4 ,5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 is Point, a small white button on the gaming interface indicates ‘On’ and you roll the dice again.  If you hit the same number you win.  If you roll 7, you lose and it’s the end of the betting round.

Confused?  Well, let’s try and make it a little easier for you by defining the different bets you can make when playing online.  This is the area of craps that can seem off putting for players who have not yet experienced the thrill of the game.

Understand the Different Craps Bets  

Craps is one of the online casino games that is played on a table with a betting layout.  There are defined areas on the layout for the different bet types.  In that way, craps is similar to roulette where you can place bets on a wide range of options based on where you think the ball will come to rest on the spinning wheel

Pass Line and Come Bets

In craps, you can only make certain bets before or after the Point has been achieved.  In the case of the former - in other words before the Point is established - you have the option of the:

• Pass Line bet - wins if a Natural or a Point is rolled
• Don’t Pass Line bet - wins on 2 or 3 or when the Point is not rolled again

If a 12 is rolled, the bet is a push.

After the Point, you can make one of two bets:

• Come Bet - wins on a Natural and loses on Craps.  If Point is rolled it becomes a Come Bet Point and if Point is rolled again the bet wins, if not it loses  
• Don’t Come Bet - wins on 2 or 3 and loses on 7 or 11

The bet is a push on 12.

Hot tip: These bets may only pay out even money but they are by far the best craps bets on the table.

Proposition Craps Bets

In addition to the multi-roll pass line and come bets, you have the freedom to place virtual chips on one-roll wagers.  The bets are as follows:

• Any Seven - wins on 7
• Any Craps - wins on 2, 3 or 12
• Ace Deuce - wins on 3  
• Aces - wins on 2
• Boxcars - wins on 12
• Horn - wins on 2, 3, 11 or 12
• Hardways - wins on 4, 6, 8 or 10 provided you roll a matching pair    

These bets have much higher payouts but the house edge is also significantly higher.

Additional Craps Bets

You can also bet on specific numbers being rolled as in the Place, Field and Big 6 and Big 8 Bets.  At some B&M gambling destinations there are Odds, Lay and Buy bets too but these bet types are not usually part of the betting options at online casinos. 

In any event, these bets are not recommended, especially for novice players or those operating with a tight betting budget.  The odds of hitting the winning numbers are long and the house edge is high.

Make the Best Craps Bets

As you now know, there are dozens of bets you can make on each roll of the dice or round of craps.  Each bet type has a posted payout that can be anything from 1:1 up to 10:1 or more.  

Although it may seem counterintuitive, the best craps bets are those that pay out even money.  These are the bets that have the highest probability of winning and the lowest house edge.

By placing Pass Line and Come Bets - where the house edge is a meagre 1.41% - or Don’t Pass and Don’t Come Bets that have an even lower house edge of 1.40%, the probability of winning money is that much higher.

In this case and in the case of so many other online casino games, it’s a matter of building a bankroll by winning small amounts of money on a more frequent basis, rather than going bust on the high risk, high return wagers.

Learn to Play in the Fun Mode at Springbok Online Casino

The best way to get to grips with the different rules and bet types is to play craps in the fun mode.  At Springbok online casino you’ll find a simplified version of craps that’s really fun and easy to play. 

There’s even a ‘Help’ tab on the gaming interface that’ll get you going in no time at all.  Once you’ve got the hang of the game mechanics, you can upgrade to the real money mode. 

Remember… it’s a good idea to implement a simple craps strategy by only wagering ZAR on the low risk Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line, Come and Don’t Come bets.  In this case it’s the tortoise and the hare scenario… and we all know who won that contest!