Top 10 Useful Craps Tips for New Players of Casino
Craps is one of the most popular table games in real money casino that available in all casinos of world. Craps is purely a game of chance, so winning and losing depend largely on a given player’s luck and there is no predictable pattern for the outcome of the dice rolls.
But craps is deemed a negative expectation value game where the casino, unlike most players, is always on profit. Because common bets in craps like the Pass Line and Don’t Pass Line bets have slightly biased odds of 244:251, tipping the scales in casinos’ favor with a house edge amounting to 1.41%. Moreover, the casino’s built-in advantage for more complex bets like the Snake Eyes and the Boxcar bets sky-rockets to 13.89%.
There are ways to reduce the house edge and turn the tables in your favor as long as you are disciplined, composed and employ strategies that will effectively help you to accumulate winnings. If you are interested in rolling the dice, the following tips might prove to be useful and allow you to end your craps gaming session with success.
Useful Tips for Craps Players
1. Study the game in depth prior to joining the table.
You need to know not only the general rules of the game of craps, but also the unique conditions of each casino where going to play.
2. Be consistent.
Follow the rule: “Practice makes perfection” that game of craps as well.
3. Observe the rule bankroll management.
Determining the size of your bet units (the amount you wager per bet) largely depends on the size of your starting bankroll. However, what’s important to remember is that you should avoid using greater bet units, even if your starting bankroll is substantial. In craps, money can be won and lost very quickly. In craps, players are recommended to use betting units amounting to 1% of their starting bankroll.
So if you are playing online and the table’s minimum is $1, you should stick to that bet unit until you turn some profit. Placing larger bets every now and then, when you are feeling lucky is an option only if you are on profit. Whatever happens, please do not attempt to offset the losses you’ve incurred on a losing streak by increasing your bet units substantially – chasing your losses is never a good idea.
4. Place your bets on the correct position сonsidering the House Edge
Understanding the house edge is of crucial importance in this game. As mentioned above, craps is a negative-expectation value game, but being smart about the bets you place might have a positive impact on your overall profits. In some instances players are not even paid fairly. Such is the case with Any Craps bets (and other Proposition bets) where payouts are 8 for 1 – pay close attention to the wording because in this context the preposition “for” is used instead of the usual “to” to denote players are paid $7 for each winning $1 bet and not like many seem to think – $8 for a $1 bet. Besides, Any Craps bets have a massive house edge of 11,11% which works to players’ disadvantage.
Experts advise beginners to stick to the 3% Rule, at least until they gain some experience. The 3% Rule entails using bet patterns that aim at giving the house only a small statistical advantage amounting to no more than 3%. If the house edge for a given bet greatly exceeds 3%, players should stay away from placing such wagers.
Overall, players are recommended to implement a bet pattern for their craps session where Pass Line and Don’t Pass bets are kept in play 100% of the time. These can be occasionally alternated with taking or laying double odds or Come/Don’t Come bets. The house edge for the two types is respectively 1.41% and 1.40%. 6 and 8 Place bets with a house edge of 1.52% can be incorporated in the player’s bet pattern every now and then to diversify the session a bit. Free Odds bets are an interesting alternative since they typically have a 0% house edge. Any Seven and Hop Bets with their house edge of 16.67% should be avoided like the plague.
5. Set a Time Game Limit for Yourself
Always set a limit for your gaming sessions. Once your time is up, you collect your chips, leave the table and that’s that. This is the most effective way to cut your losses short, if your luck is failing you as well as to secure your profits, when such have been accumulated. Another important thing to consider – the longer the time you spend at the table, the closest the odds will match up to the built-in casino advantage.
6. Redeem Bonuses and Comp Points Internet Casino
This tip is suitable for players who prefer to engage in the game in online casino, from the comfort of their home. Online casinos aim to attract more new players by offering them nice bonuses and numerous promotional offers, designed to boost their bankrolls and increase their chances of winning. In most cases, when players register and deposit at an online casino, their initial deposit is matched with a online casino bonus. So those who claim a 100% match bonus and deposit $100, for example, will receive $100 more to play with.
Such casino bonus funds is a great way to extend and diversify one’s craps session, not to mention it prevents you from risking your own money. When playing craps, you can use your casino deposit bonus and points to experiment and add additional bets to your repertoire or simply increase the size of your bet when you feel you are on a hot streak. Please, bear in mind the bonuses typically have some wagering requirements attached to them which players are expected to meet before their winnings become withdrawable.
7. Not Use the Pattern Strategy
Dice do not roll in any predictable pattern. There is no way to determine what the outcome of the next roll will be on the basis of the previous throws.
8. Set aside part of your profit
Setting aside some of your winnings is always a suitable approach, at least for those who are reasonable enough and wish to walk away from the table on profit. Provided that you intend to play craps in a land-based venue, you can simply place some of the chips you have won in your pocket or go to the cashier and exchange them for money. If you play at an online casino, you can withdraw part of your money on your card or other casino payment system.
Thus you protect your bankroll. Many players have lost a certain height amount, immediately try to recoup and in the pursuit of victory on tilt can lose all your money.
9. Increasing bets after a profit
Applying a strategy to increase bets in a game of craps is not the best way to win.
Many players have attempted to offset the losses they had incurred at the craps table by implementing the famous Martingale strategy of betting which involves doubling one’s bet units after each loss and decreasing them back to the starting unit after a big win. In a game of craps, this strategy is ineffective.
If you win after a long losing streak, your profits would be far from impressive, especially, if you consider the massive amounts you would have lost in a short period of time. Then again, a longer losing streak is more than likely to result in you reaching the table’s limit. And finally, the Martingale was first introduced in the 18th century by a famous casino proprietor which by itself speaks volumes about this strategy’s efficiency (or inefficiency, depending on how you look on things).
That is why it would be a far better idea to implement the opposite approach in your craps gaming session. Increase bets only when you are winning and decrease them when losing. What is more, experts with years of experience recommend craps players to increase their bets when winning, but at a decreasing bet. This will enable them to generate satisfactory profits when on a hot roll, but would also minimize the negative impact of the so-called “chopping” of the dice when winning and losing rolls alternate.
It would be best to demonstrate how this approach works with an example. Let’s assume you are not an aggressive player and would increase your bets by 50% for the initial bet and $5 for the rest. Thus, you will increase your bets as follows $10, $15, $20, $25, $30 etc. Obviously the bets increase, but the increase percentage gradually drops. Of course, you should feel free to choose betting units you are comfortable with as the ones listed above are more suitable for those who like to play it safe. More aggressive players might opt for $50, $75, $100 etc.
10. Do not drink alcohol during the game
The last tip on this list is especially valid for players who intend to enjoy the game in a brick-and-mortar venue. In land-based casinos, offering complimentary drinks to customers is an established practice and it isn’t difficult to see why. Alcohol will quickly cloud your good judgement and lead to rash decisions you will soon find yourself regretting. The best way to go is to stay out of harm’s way and decline politely if free drinks are offered to you.
If you plan to play craps in online casino, should not drink alcohol, too. It is better to do it after the game session.
As a matter of fact, the game of craps is not as easy as most inexperienced players assume before they take a seat at the table. Despite the fact craps is a game with a negative value, there are ways to turn things to your advantage through planning and implementing different strategies and betting patterns, through proper bankroll management, discipline, patience and positivity. Keeping your emotions in check can also prove to be useful, especially when you are losing. Before you make a bet remember, luck does not come to the lucky, it comes to the prepared.