Craps betting guide: best and worst bets
Last updated:
Craps has one of the widest ranges of house edges of any casino game — from near zero on odds bets to over 16% on proposition bets. Knowing which bets to stick with and which to ignore makes a significant difference to your session results.
Best bets in craps
Pass Line (1.41% edge) and Don’t Pass (1.36%) are your foundation bets. Lay full odds behind them whenever possible — odds bets carry zero house edge. Come and Don’t Come bets work identically to Pass and Don’t Pass once you understand them. Place bets on 6 and 8 carry a 1.52% edge and are reasonable alternatives if you want action on a specific number.
Worst bets in craps
Proposition bets in the center of the table are where the house edge spikes. Any 7 has a 16.9% edge. Any Craps (2, 3, or 12) has 11.1%. Hardways (doubles on 4, 6, 8, or 10) range from 9% to 11%. The Field bet looks appealing with a wide range of winning numbers but carries around 5.6% edge on most tables. Big 6 and Big 8 are the same as Place bets on those numbers but pay even money instead of 7:6 — a significantly worse deal. Stick to Pass Line and odds, and the center of the table stays untouched.
Ben Barber got into the gambling industry through the poker rooms of London in the early 2000s. After building up a solid grounding in casino, sports betting and poker, he made the move to Malta where he spent close to a decade writing for some of the biggest affiliate networks in the region. A few years ago he relocated to Bali, which shifted his focus toward website strategy and affiliate marketing. The casino side never really left, though. He still writes reviews, how-to guides and in-depth pieces on everything from slots and live dealer tables to crypto casinos and sweepstakes sites. His approach is fact-first: help players understand how online gambling actually works before they deposit a cent.