Where to Place the Pass Line Bet In Craps. Another good feature of the Pass Line bet is that it is placed on the craps table in a position that is easy to reach. The craps table layout is the same two times so no matter on what side of the table you are standing you will see the Pass Line run alongside the short end of the table. You can easily place your chips on this line and you don’t have to worry much of them being tampered with by a clumsy player. Pass Line Bet with 1 Come Bet This betting pattern is one of the most basic ones that you can apply at the craps table, being both simple and effective at the same time. To start off, you need to place one Pass wager coupled with a double Odds when the point number becomes known. If you bet the Pass Line, and the shooter makes his point, you win your bet. The Pass Line bet is always paid off at even money. It's a good wager. When betting wrong (Don't or Against the Shooter) the player takes the opposite position from a right bettor. 4.2.1 The basic pass line bet When betting the pass line the player puts his bet right on the pass line, say $1. Then, the rst roll is called the come-out roll. This bet is immediately won if a 7 or 11 is rolled (paid even odds) and immediately lost of a craps (2,3,12) is rolled. If any other number is rolled then a point is established. Pass Line: On the come out roll, which is the roll before a point is established, 7 or 11 wins on the pass line and 2, 3, or 12 loses. Any other number becomes the point (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) and is marked by the puck. In order to win the pass line bet, after a point is established you must roll the point again before a 7.

With craps being the versatile game that it is, you have multiple options when it comes to placing bets. Out of the available wager types, the Pass bet has to be one of the most popular out there. It is a fundamental part of the game and it serves as a cornerstone in craps betting. In this guide, we provide you with some important information as to how you can spice up your gameplay and introduce some more advanced betting patterns that can improve your position.

Pass Bet Explained

Before we take a look at the more advanced strategies, it is prudent to first do a quick rundown of how the Pass bet works. For starters, the Pass bet is placed on the Pass Line position on the craps table. If the first roll results in a 7 or 11, you directly win even money, however, if it is a 2,3, or 12, then you lose. If any other number comes up, then it will be called ‘the point’ and the dealer will place a marker on the number that says ‘on’. After that, the shooter will roll the dice again until the point or a 7 comes up. If the point is rolled again, then you win even money but if the result is a 7, then you lose the bet.

As you can see, this is quite a simple bet once you get the hang of it. It generally, comes with a house edge of around 1.40%, meaning that it is mostly worthwhile when compared to other available options. Similarly, it offers better odds and a smaller house advantage than many other casino games that pay even money.

Examples of Popular Pass Line Betting Patterns

Having gone over the basics of the Pass bet, we can get more into the different wager combinations that you can utilize during your craps sessions. Luckily for you, there are many different bet types in craps, which will allow you to place many different combinations at both land-based establishments and online casinos. Below, you will find detailed explanations of some of the most common betting patterns with the Pass bet.

Pass Line Bet with 1 Come Bet

This betting pattern is one of the most basic ones that you can apply at the craps table, being both simple and effective at the same time. To start off, you need to place one Pass wager coupled with a double Odds when the point number becomes known.

After that, you should put down some chips on Come and again on the double Odds. This result in you having bet on two numbers at the same time, giving you the opportunity to hedge your bets to a certain extent. Furthermore, you should also keep in mind that rolls of craps and eleven are not taken into account where correct betting is concerned, while the double Odds should always be there to support the other two numbers.

Additionally, the rules of the game dictate that if either one of the Pass or Come numbers comes up again and you win the respective bet, then you have the option of instantly replacing it with another number. More specifically, when the Come number is rolled again and you win the bet, the casino will allow you to place the same wager again, while also backing it with double Odds. All while this is happening, the standing Pass bet will remain valid until you win or cancel it.

This betting pattern is quite common among, especially among new and careful players. It allows for low-risk betting since there are two numbers covered at any given time. Moreover, placing the specific bets exactly as outlined above will also reduce the house edge to approximately 0.6%, providing you with almost true odds. This is about as close as you can get to playing craps without the casino taking a cut of your bankroll over time and even when it does come into effect, the percentage is so low that you are unlikely to notice. On the other hand, a betting pattern this conservative also limits the winnings potential in most scenarios.

Still, it is a good method of experiencing craps at low risk, as it gives you the opportunity to play for quite a long time and you may even make some money at the end of the day. Moreover, the simplicity of the pattern makes it accessible to both new and veteran players alike.

Pass Line Bet with 2 Come Bets

This betting pattern has much more potential to score bigger wins, while also keeping the house edge on the low side. If you have some experience with craps you might want to consider putting it in practice.

Basically, this pattern is not too different from the one detailed above, requiring you to place a Pass bet complemented by 2 Come wagers, each followed by double Odds. Essentially, the difference is that you cover three numbers at any given time rather than two, though at the risk of wagering a little more money. However, with bigger risk come greater rewards and risk is what casino gaming is all about.

Much like the previous one, the Pass Line bet with 2 Come bets pattern keeps the house edge to a minimum when double Odds are played on all numbers. More specifically, it does not even reach 1%, typically staying in the 0.5% – 0.6% range. Though that is a given when using this type of betting pattern. What you should take into account, however, is that Come wagers do not count on come out rolls, meaning that the Odds are not active either. In other words, regardless of what the result of the dice throw is you can neither win or lose the Come bet’s odds.

Pass Line Bet with 2 Come Bets and Two Place Bets on 6 and 8

This is the riskiest pattern that we will present you with in this guide and it is one that involves quite a lot of potential winnings, provided that you have good rolls. This betting pattern will see you wagering even more money than the previous one and the house advantage is somewhat higher than in the other two patterns, but then again, what is casino gaming without the risk. Basically, you put down a Pass bet, followed by 2 Come wagers with double Odds, while simultaneously maintaining Place wagers on 6 and 8. With the Place bets, the house edge rises to 1.52%, which is higher than the ~0.6% featured in the previous two patterns. Granted, you can also bet on a single number or on none at all. It all depends on your personal preference. However, our recommendation is that you keep as many of ‘inside numbers’ covered as your bankroll allows.

You begin the pattern by putting down a Pass bet with double Odds, after which you make two Come bets, also supported by double odds. If it happens that neither 6 or 8 are covered under the already placed wagers, then make a Place bet on the required numbers. You should keep the size of the Pass, the double odds, and the Place wagers identical. Doing it properly will mean that you have up to five numbers accounted for.

Therefore, be prepared when you come to the craps table, knowing that you may end up having to place a lot of money at risk. Obviously, you should only do so if you feel confident enough in your knowledge of the game and you understand that you may lose some before you win some. After all, this is the most aggressive betting pattern featured in this article and as such, there is a lot at stake. If you can make it work for you, then you may just end up with a large pile of chips in front of you. However, if you suspect that you cannot deal with this betting pattern just yet, then consider using the other two. Moreover, check out our guide on bankroll management in craps to gain some insight as to how you should place your bets in the long term and when it is time to leave.

Is It Worth Using a Bet Pattern?

Now comes the all-important question whether betting patterns are worth the trouble. There is no clear-cut answer to that, as it happens. All of the different patterns come with their unique advantage and disadvantages and in all situation, you are putting money on the line. Granted, certain betting patterns involve higher and lower degrees of risk than others. For example, the third pattern that we discussed covers a wide array of betting options and to achieve that betting range you need to risk a larger amount of money. Of course, that also means that if you are successful you will also win more.

Much like any other game of chance, you put your bankroll on the line but betting patterns do something that stand-alone wagers do not. With a betting pattern, you risk more money than the average bet but in doing so, you also create situations where even if you lose a certain wager you can still make up for the loss with another bet. This essentially equalizes the risk to a certain extent and as in the case of the first two patterns, you bring down the house edge to less than 1%.

Still, betting patterns require a certain degree of knowledge to implement properly and you have to understand what role each bet plays in the overall pattern. At the end of the day, betting patterns could do wonders for your craps sessions but you also have to put in the effort to learn the ins and outs of a particular pattern in order to apply it properly.

Craps Pass Line Bet

Conclusion

Having gone over all of the betting patterns, we are ready to come to our conclusion. Bet patterns are a great way for you to spice up your gameplay and also to improve at the game. Craps is a game of many possibilities and there is incredible depth to it. You will need to know all details about the game inside and out before you can correctly apply a betting pattern though. Each bet in a strategy serves a particular purpose and without understanding it you might fall short of your intended target. Therefore, before you try to implement a pattern you should brush up on your knowledge of the game and make sure that you have a deep understanding of what exactly you will be doing.

Another great point in favor of betting patterns is that they provide you with different ways to play craps. Since there are multiple wagers that you can place at any one time, you have multiple ways to go about each pattern. You get to choose the level of risk of each pattern and the reward potential, as a byproduct. This alone makes betting patterns a good choice but when you also factor in the fact that they can reduce the overall house edge, it only makes sense to apply one. Therefore, we recommend that you carefully take a look at the three patterns above and decide for yourself which will suit you best, taking into account the overall risk factor and the bankroll required to pull it off.

I’m writing a series of blog posts about casino games and the good and bad strategies for playing those games.

Craps is one of my favorite casino games, so I’ve been looking forward to writing this one.

And the beautiful thing about craps is that it’s a game of pure chance. The best strategy is just to choose the bets with the lowest edge for the house and have fun.

But I’ll have some things to say about some of the strategies and systems that other writers promote, too.

They’re mostly bad craps strategies.

Here’s the Only Craps Strategy You Need

When you’re dealing with an entirely random game – like craps – the only strategy that matters is choosing the bets with the lowest house edge and having fun.

I’ll have something to say about shooters and whether they have control over the outcomes later in this post, but for now, let’s just agree that games like craps are purely chance.

In other games that are entirely random, like slot machines, you don’t even really need to decide which bet to place. It’s chosen for you before you sit down.

When playing craps for real money, you have a handful of good bets you can make, but most of the bets on the table are bad. Just skip the bad bets, and you’re all set.

The Bests Bets at the Craps Table

The best bets at the craps table are the pass line bet and the don’t pass bet.

The come and don’t come bets are also great wagers.

I always advise casino gamblers to try to limit their gambling to games where the house edge is lower than 2% — preferably 1.5% or lower.

The house edge for the pass and come bets is the same, 1.41%, which means they qualify.

The house edge for the don’t pass and don’t come bets is even lower, 1.36%, but the 0.05% isn’t worth worrying about. Most people prefer to root for the shooter to succeed.

The other bet to think about at the craps table is the odds bet. This is a bet you can only place after making one of the 4 bets I already mentioned and when the shooter has set a point.

This is one of the only bets in the casino that has no house edge. It’s a break-even bet, but it can be expensive.

It can also drive the effective house edge on the money you have in action down to almost nothing.

Here’s how that works.

How the Odds Bet Changes the House Edge for the Better

If you’re betting on the pass line and the shooter sets a point, you can expect to lose $1.41 for every $100 you bet. That’s on average and in the long run.

If you’re playing at a casino that only allows you to place an odds bet at 1X the size of your pass line bet, you can put another $100 into action.

Your expected loss remains $1.41, though, which effectively cuts the house edge in half, from 1.41% to 0.71%.

If you’re able to bet 2X your original bet on the odds bet, you can lower that even further to 0.36%. (You have $300 in action, but your expected loss is still only $1.41.)

The more you’re able to bet on the odds bet, the lower the house edge for all the money you have in action becomes.

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.

And what’s more, you don’t have to memorize basic strategy to get the low house edge at craps.

You just need a big enough casino bankroll to make the right bets, and you need enough sense to avoid the bad bets at the table – of which there are many.

Any Strategy that Involves Placing ANY Other Bets at the Craps Table Is a BAD Craps Strategy

There’s a reason gambling experts measure bets according to their house edge. That’s because it’s the single best indicator of how good or bad a bet is.

The house edge is a statistical estimate of how much money you’ll lose as a percentage of your original bet over the long run.

If the house edge is 1.41%, the casino expects to win an average of $1.41 every time you bet $100.

If the house edge is 16.66%, the casino expects to win an average of $16.66 every time you bet $100.

Which bet looks like the better bet for the casino?

And which one looks like the better bet for the gambler?

It shouldn’t be hard to make the distinction.

Even the best of the bad bets on the craps table are inferior to the 1.41% or 1.36% you can get from the pass, don’t pass, come, and don’t come bets.

And trust me on this:

You can have PLENTY of fun sticking with the basic bets at the craps table.

Betting Systems Where You Raise and Lower the Size of Your Bets Are Bad Strategies

The classic example of this kind of betting system is the Martingale System, where you double the size of your bets after each loss. When you do this repeatedly, you eventually win back the money you’ve lost along with a profit of one unit.

The problem with a system like the Martingale is that you’ll eventually run into a big enough losing streak that it will wipe out all those small profits and then some.

Most people underestimate how quickly a bet’s size gets when doubling after every loss.

They also overestimate how likely they are to avoid long losing streaks.

If you double a $5 bet once, that’s $10.

But if you run into a losing streak of 8 bets in a row, you’re looking at having to bet $640 to make up for your losses.

Also, every roll of the dice is an independent event. The odds don’t change based on how many times you’ve won or lost in a row.

You might think the probability of losing that 8^th bet is lower than the likelihood of losing the first one, but the truth is that the dice have no memory. They have the same 6 sides, no matter how many times you’ve lost in a row.

Each bet in craps is an independent event, and any betting system will assume that the odds are changing based on how many times in a row you’ve won or lost.

Money Management Strategies Don’t Hurt Anything, but They Won’t Improve Your Odds of Winning, Either

Money management strategies involve having strict gambling discipline about how much of your bankroll you’re willing to risk before quitting the game. They also require you to stop when you’ve won an arbitrary amount of money.

Money management techniques are often used in conjunction with betting systems.

Here’s an example of a money management strategy in craps:

You decide your bankroll for the session is $250, and you’re playing for $5 per roll of the dice.

Your stop-loss limit is $100, so, if your bankroll drops to $150, you must quit the craps session and go do something else.

Your win goal is $250, so once your bankroll gets up to $500, you must quit the game and go do something else.

This kind of strategy might increase your chances of walking away from the game a winner.

But that’s only because a lot of gamblers will just keep playing until they’ve lost their entire stake. They just don’t generally have a lot of sense about that sort of thing.

The Jury’s Out on Dice Setting or Dice Control

I’ve seen multiple reputable gambling writers express interest and some belief that some craps shooters can influence the probability of specific outcomes. I’m skeptical – in the extreme – but I’ll give it an appropriate amount of credence.

The idea is that you hold the dice a specific way – “setting” the dice – then throw with a minimum amount of force – just enough to hit the back wall and eliminate most of the rolling action.

A controlled shooting expert doesn’t have to be perfect. Instead, they’re trying to be like someone who’s playing darts. They improve the probability enough to change the negative expectation on a bet to a positive expectation.

You can buy books and videos explaining how to get an edge at craps this way, but I can’t imagine the amount of practice and record-keeping required to have any confidence in your ability to change the odds.

Imagine if you spent 1000 hours trying to learn how to control the dice and coming up short. Maybe you just don’t have the knack for it.

That doesn’t sound like a good deal to me.

I’d rather learn to count cards in blackjack.

Don't Pass Line Bet

Conclusion

Those are the best and the worst of the strategies I know of for playing craps in the casino. I know plenty of people who would disagree with every recommendation I’ve made, but the math behind the game doesn’t lie.

The best strategy is to stick with the bets with the lowest house edge and have as much fun as you can.