Craps Betting The Field Strategy
The most common craps bet. The Pass Line bet is made on the come out roll and wins if a 7 or 11 is rolled. If a 2, 3 or 12 is rolled the bet loses. If any other number is rolled the point is established. If the point is rolled before a 7 the bet wins. If a 7 is rolled the bet loses. Pays even money. It’s clear why betting on the pass line and taking the most odds that you can is an effective strategy. With the odds bet, you can get the house edge in craps lower than 0.5% at least some of the time at the table, making it an even better game than blackjack. After the Point is established, necessary Place Bets, are out on the Craps table. There is now a positive use of the Field. When making COME BETS. Make the Come Bet and an equal wager on the Field. The Come protects the Field for an Any Seven for even money. The Field 'insures' for the 2, 3 and 12.
- Craps Betting The Field Strategy Games
- Craps Betting The Field Strategy Against
- Craps Betting The Field Strategy Game
The title of this post is a misnomer. I wanted to write a post covering the other bets at the craps table, assuming if you’re reading this then you might already know the basics of how casino craps work, I thought we could call these “intermediate craps bets.”
But the truth is that these bets are all worse than the basic bets in craps. When playing craps the best players in the world stick with five bets:
- Pass
- Don’t pass
- Come
- Don’t come
- Odds
Those are the best bets in the game, and you don’t even need to place any other bets.
But if you want to know why, read on for information about the other bets on the craps table:
The Field Bet
The field bet is one of the best of a bad lot. It’s a one-roll bet, which means it gets resolved based on what happens on the next roll of the dice.
The field bet wins even money if a 3, 4, 9, 10, or 11 is the result.
And the field bet pays double if a 2 or 12 is rolled.
If any other number gets rolled, the field bet loses.
The house edge for the field bet is 2.77%, which is roughly twice that of the pass line bet with its house edge of 1.41%.
I don’t recommend placing the field bet, but if you need to do something besides pass or don’t pass, come or don’t come, and odds, this is one of the only reasonable bets on the table.
Place Bets
A place bet can be a good deal, too, at least when contrasted with most of the other bets on the table. A place bet is similar to an odds bet, but instead of winning based on the point that was set by the shooter, you get to choose your own point.
For example, you can bet place 4 or place 10. Or you can bet place 4 or place 9.
If you bet place 6 or place 8, the payoff is 7 to 6. The odds of winning, of course, are 6 to 5, so the house edge on this one is 1.5%.
That makes this a reasonable bet to place.
Some players also like place 5 or place 9. The payoff for either of those is 7 to 5, and the house edge is 4%.
Most people, with good reason, stay away from the place 4 or place 10 bet. The payoff for that one is 9 to 5, and the house edge is 6.7%.
Feel free to make a place 6 or place 8 bet anytime you like, with my blessing.
Skip the other place bets, though.
Buy Bets
The buy bets are just like a place bet or an odds bet. But they have their own wrinkles, too.
The buy bets pay out at true odds, just like an odds bet would.
But you pay a 5% commission on these bets.
This makes the house edge for any of these bets 4.76%.
This means it’s crazy to buy 6 or buy 8, even though those options are available to you. The same bet with a slightly lower payout when you win is the place 6 or place 8 bet.
It sort of makes sense to place a buy 4 or buy 10, but it’s better just to skip it, there, too. The house edge is lower than it would be if you bet place 4 or place 10, but there are so many bets that are so much better for the player on the table that you shouldn’t bother with either of them.
Lay bets are just like buy bets, but they’re for wrong bettors. They pay out just the same as if you were laying the odds, but the casino takes that 5% commission.
The Proposition Bets
The proposition bets are the worst bets on the table and should be avoided at all costs. And it might take some self-control to avoid them because the stickman is shilling those bets. A good stickman can get players excited about these bets even when they know the odds are lousy.
Some people love prop bets because you don’t have to risk much to place these bets. You can bet as little as a dollar at most casinos. The problem is that the house edge is so high that even at a dollar a bet, you’ll still lose a lot of money fast making those bets.
Proposition bets are one-roll bets that usually offer big payouts.
Here are some examples of prop bets along with their payouts and the house edge for each. Remember that the house edge is the average amount of each bet you’ll lose in the long run based on the probabilities.
- Any craps is a bet that wins if the next roll lands on 2, 3, or 12. The payoff is 8 for 1 (or 7 to 1, depending on how you look at it.) The house edge is 11.1%.
- Any seven is a bet that wins if the next roll lands on a total of 7. The payoff is 5 for 1 (or 4 to 1). The house edge is 16.9%.
- Eleven is a bet that the next roll lands on a total of 11. The payoff is 16 for 1 (or 15 to 1). The house edge is 11.1%.
- You can also bet on a three result. That has the same odds and payouts as a bet on eleven.
- Snake-eyes is a bet that the total will be 2. It’s one of the highest-paying bets on the table, with a payout of 31 for 1 (or 30 to 1). The house edge for that bet is 13.9%.
- You can also bet on a total of twelve. That has the same odds and the same payouts as the bet on snake-eyes.
Just save yourself some misery and skip the prop bets.
The Hardway Bets
A hardway bet is a bet on a total of 4, 6, 8, or 10, but it only wins if you get a pair that results in the total. Any other combination that adds up to that number is an “easy” total.
This is a multi-roll bet that loses if the 7 or the easy total comes up before the hard total comes up.
The hardway bets are longshots with a big payout. If you bet hard 4 or hard 10, you get a 7 to 1 payout, and the house edge is 11.1%.
If you bet hard 6 or hard 8, you get a 9 to 1 payout, and the house edge is 9.09%.
I don’t suggest taking a hardway bet, but if you do, bet hard eight. At least that’s got a cool sound to it.
You also get a better payout when you win, and you face a lower house edge.
How the House Gets Its Edge
I’m going to give one example of how the house gets its edge here, but you can use the same thought process to calculate the house edge for any of these bets.
Let’s look at the hard 6 bet. The odds of winning that bet are based on the number of ways you can win (there’s just one) and the number of ways you can lose (any 7 and any easy 6).
- You can roll a total of 7 in any of 6 different ways.
- You can roll an easy total of 6 in any of 4 different ways.
This means that that’s 10 ways to lose and 1 way to win, or 10 to 1 odds.
The payoff when you win is 9 to 1.
Suppose you place this bet 11 times, wagering $100 each time, and you saw statistically perfect results. (When you calculate the house edge, you always assume statistically perfect results.)
- You’ll lose that $100 on 10 of those rolls, for a loss of $1000.
- You’ll win $900 on one of those rolls.
- Your total loss over the 11 rolls is $100.
- That’s $9.09 average per bet, or 9.09%.
The difference between the odds of winning and the payout odds is where the house edge comes from, every time. Here you can find out more about the craps bets ranked according to the house edge.
Conclusion
Between my previous post about the basic bets in craps and this post about the intermediate bets in craps, you know just about everything there is to know about craps betting.
But I might have gotten something wrong or left something out. If that’s the case, would you do me a favor and leave a comment?
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.How about this opinion: only stupid people bet the field, DUH!!!!
Does that make me fit in better here or what?!?!
Let's keep these conversations on rails.
After all, nobody can handle a suggestion that a field bet isn't stupid. So let's just go with the stupid thing then.
Oh my god all those people playing craps are retarded! IKR!!! Hardways and field bets!! Why stop there when you can bet the any seven bet for $50,000 at Caesar's Palace! Or maybe a $50,000 put bet after the point is established at a four! Gawd how stupid people are out there to make a $5 field bet!!!
Yeah those people are stupid and I'm smart making max odds and come bets only. Yeah. Smart me.
ZCore13
Try this is you want an 83.333% winner and only 16.666% loser
you need $205, ABS (Anything But Seven) or AB7
place the 5 for $50,and the 6and 8 for $60 each. Now chuck the last $35 on the field
here is what happens based on what rolsl
2 - $70 double
3 - $35
4 - $35
5 - $70 - $35 field = $35
6 - $70 - $35 field = $35
8 - $70 - $35 field = $35
9 - $35
10 - $35
11 - $35
12 - $105
if you roll a 7 your dusted and lose the whole $205
so you have 30 winners and 6 losers
you can expect to win $38.50 per win and -$205 when you lose
win 5/6 times
lose 1/6 times
Try this is you want an 83.333% winner and only 16.666% loser
All that fun and at a cost of just $15 a throw.
A house edge of 2.78% doesn't bother me too much. It's all a matter of degree.
Try this is you want an 83.333% winner and only 16.666% loser
you need $205, ABS (Anything But Seven) or AB7
place the 5 for $50,and the 6and 8 for $60 each. Now chuck the last $35 on the field
Craps Betting The Field Strategy Games
Try this is you want an 83.333% winner and only 16.666% loser
you need $205, ABS (Anything But Seven) or AB7
place the 5 for $50,and the 6 and 8 for $60 each. Now chuck the last $35 on the field
I don't know if 'nezbit' is advocating this 'system' as a smart way to play or whether it is suggested only as a way to at least collect on a bet more times than not even though the overall loss exceeds the overall win. The bottom line is that the losses in the case of a seven wipe out the wins.By the way, I don't believe in 'systems' which is why I put the word in quotes. Like the Wizard and most people on this Forum, I also do not believe in a hedge. A 'hedge' is a method of insurance that is meant to protect against risk. It should not be used to increase losses.
As I figure it, the house edge on using the 'Anything But Seven' is 3.14% which is higher than the house edge for simply betting the field (which is 2.78%). I also read that the house edge on this system is 3.97% but I could not conclude how that was figured. Someone else can gladly correct or educate me. Perhaps the Wizard has calculated this already.
Another 'system' is to cover all six points with place bets as well as betting the field--so that the 4, 9, and 10 will be paid twice. Though there will be double payoff ten times, there is a reduction in winnings 14 times. I believe the house edge here is a little lower than the 'Anything But Seven' but still higher than if you bet the field by itself.
Craps Betting The Field Strategy Against
Search for 'MENSA' ..
To be fair, the edge per roll is lowered not raised with this system compared to a simple field bet.
The problem with the system is that it requires more money on the felt and has more exposure to a seven requiring a larger bankroll to be effective.
Many of these 'anything but seven' approaches are advocated to be used on players who are expected to roll fewer than the average number of sevens.
The MP204 is a similar system that just pushes on crap and yo rolls compared to the iron cross. But it's equally bad for exploiting dice control (avoiding sevens) because the edge per roll is too high.
But if all you can do it avoid sevens, I think working the comeout with max odds is a far superior method of play where you just have to get a comfort level for the ups and downs.
MENSA, Iron Cross, and MP204 'systems' in general appeal to people who have learned a little bit about the game and are generally more interested to employ a system than to have fun playing the game or get serious about having enough of an edge for it to matter (which takes a lot more effort!)
Even when they work, most get a profit on average of $1 per roll or less with hundreds of dollars at risk of a seven being rolled at any moment.
For a new player who is looking for a system, it might be quicker to use systems on roulette as you will learn more quickly how systems don't work compared to craps where you could be left chasing a red herring for a long time before coming to the final conclusion that you are merely postponing a huge loss rather than avoiding it entirely.
There is also a 'four rolls no seven' bet at Sam's Town, and I recently posted how to engineer a 'Three rolls no seven bet' on my website. Both of these bets have pretty good edges per roll similar to the MENSA and Iron Cross systems.
http://forum.goodshooter.com/topic227.html
At 1.1412% edge per roll (EPR) for four rolls no seven and 1.8215% EPR for three rolls no seven (adding a 3-way red after the third roll), these both compare favorably to the 1.136% EPR on the other system of not rolling sevens mainly due to the lack of need of such a large amount of money being exposed. IE: you only have to bet $5 for a four rolls no seven to get a 1.136% EPR at Sam's Town. So for a small time bet, Sam's Town's no seven bet is a better deal than the Mensa approach. Also the dealers don't have to take so long to set it up.
But it's still the type of thing where if you're alright with 1% edge per roll or higher, you're probably more into systems than you are into trying to have a good shot that gives you an advantage.
There is merit to playing systems. Some people like postponing financial stress as evidenced by our country's use of credit cards.
Different strokes for different folks!
Craps Betting The Field Strategy Game
so on a $205 bet you can expect to lose (38.50 - 41) $2.50 per throw
-$2.50 / $205 wagered = -1.2195% expected value
not bad for a table game ( this percentage drops if 12 is only a double )
I have stated this before in other threads, i seriously hope this is the system that the DI/DC use. If they can 'honestly avoid the 7' then they will/should have an edge and might as well get paid for every throw except a 7.
yes i have heard it called the iron cross as well.
You can obviously do different variations of the bet sizing as well. I just use the '205' because that is where i am comfortable bankroll wise personally.