Craps Dice Rolling Strategy
Craps is some of the most fun you’ll have in the casino. However, if you want to be an educated craps player, you’ll need to understand some of the probability and odds involved with rolling a pair of dice.
Craps is always played with two dice, each of which is shaped like a cube less than an inch wide. Unlike the dice you’ll buy at your local game store for board games or RPGs, the dice used in craps have sharp edges and pointed corners.
Craps dice are also bigger than the dice you’ll find in a game like Yahtzee or Monopoly. Most of the time, a casino will imprint their logo on the dice they’re using, too. The dice are red, but they’re also translucent, so you can see that there are no weights attached.
The chance of rolling any combination of numbers on the dice is 1 in 36. This “1 in 36” number can mislead you. There are only 11 possible values (2 through 12) that you can roll. “7” is the most frequent die roll combination. This is rolling 1’s, which will be two in total on your first roll in a dice game such as Craps. What is the probability of rolling snake eyes? Snake eyes is the roll of two 1s and it is the lowest roll in a dice game. Dice setting and precision shooting. This IS NOT A SYSTEM, It is a skill and we can teach you. We also have a Basic Craps class. Located in Las Vegas. Classes 5 days a week! Craps Strategy: Best Craps Bets The best bets to place, whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned pro, are the Pass Line bet and Don’t Pass Line bets. These bets are similar to Blackjack and roulette in that you basically have a 50/50 chance of doubling up and the house only has a 1.41% advantage. The seven should roll six times in 36 rolls, and the combination of the 6 and 8 should roll ten times (five times each). So, in 36 rolls, you should win 10 times (at $35) and lose six times (at $60). This turns out to be a net loss of $10 ($350-$360).
Craps shooters often get on hot streaks. If a shooter gets on too hot a streak, the boxman will pause the game to examine the dice to make sure there’s no funny business going on.
The number of possible combinations on a pair of dice is what the game is built around. That’s also the subject of this post: how the dice combinations work in a game of craps.
What Combinations Are There?
Each die has six sides, and they’re numbered from 1 through 6, using dots. If you add the numbers on opposite sides of the dice together, you always get seven. So the 1 and the 6 are opposite each other, the 2 and the 5 are opposite each other, and the 3 and the 4 are opposite each other.
You have a total of 36 possible combinations – you have six possible combinations on one die and six possible combinations on the other die. Out of these 36 possible combinations, you have 11 possible totals.
Here are the possibilities:
- A total of 2, which can be made up of only one combination: a 1 on each die
- A total of 3, which can be made up of two different combinations: a 1 on the first die and a 2 on the second die; or a 2 on the first die and a 1 on the second die
- A total of 4, which can be made up of three different combinations: 1 – 3, 2 – 2, 3 – 1
- A total of 5, which can be made up of four different combinations: 1 – 4, 2 – 3, 3 – 2, 4 – 1
- A total of 6, which can be made up of five different combinations: 1 – 5, 2 – 4, 3 – 3, 4 – 2, 5 – 1
- A total of 7, which can be made up of six different combinations: 1 – 6, 2 – 5, 3 – 4, 4 – 3, 5 – 2, 1 – 6
- A total of 8, which can be made up of five different combinations: 2 – 6, 3 – 5, 4 – 4, 5 – 3, 6 – 2
- A total of 9, which can be made up of four different combinations: 3 – 6, 4 – 5, 5 – 4, 6 – 3
- A total of 10, which can be made up of three different combinations: 4 – 6, 5 – 5, 6 – 4
- A total of 11, which can be made up of two different combinations: 5 – 6, 6 – 5
- A total of 12, which be made up of only one combination: a 6 on each die
If you look at this closely, you’ll notice that it makes a symmetrical bell curve. Also, the number of combinations that create a specific total can be divided by 36 to get the probability of getting that total.
A Note on Probability
Probability is a way to measure how likely it is that an event will occur. For our purposes, an event is a total on two dice.
Probability is just a ratio comparing the number of ways something can happen with the total number of possible events.
If you want to know the probability of rolling a 7, you just divide the number of ways you can get a 7 (there are six ways) by the total number of possibilities (36).
Six divided by 36 is the same as 1/6, which is also the same at 16.67%.
When it comes to craps, it’s often useful to use odds as your preferred format for expressing probability. To do that, you just compare the number of ways something can’t happen with the number of ways it can. For example, the odds of rolling a 7 are 5 to 1. They’re actually 30 to six, but you reduce, just like you would a fraction.
Craps Dice Rolling Strategy Tactics
You can compare the probability of winning a bet with the payout odds to see what kind of mathematical edge your land-based casino has on a specific bet.
This is the beginning of craps wisdom.
The Point Numbers
The point numbers are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10.
The 5 and the 9 have four possible combinations, and the 6 and the 8 have five possible combinations.
The odds of a 7 coming up before a 4 is easy to calculate. You have six possible combinations totaling 7 versus three possible combinations totaling 4.
That’s 2 to 1 odds.
The odds are the same for rolling a 10.
The odds of a 7 coming up before a 5 (or a 9) are six versus four, or 3 to 2 odds.
The odds of a 7 coming up before a 6 (or an 8) are six versus five, or 6 to 5 odds.
When the shooter makes a point, it’s his job to roll that point total again before rolling a 7.
Now, you know the odds that he’ll succeed.
Proposition Bets
One of the worst bets you can make at a craps table is a proposition bet. This is usually a bet on a specific total on the next roll. Depending on the number, the odds might look like the following examples.
If you’re looking at a 2 (snake eyes), the odds of winning are 35 to 1.
If you’re looking at a 12, you face the same odds.
If you’re looking at a 3, the odds of winning are 17 to 1. The same holds true for a total of 11.
If you’re betting on “any 7,” the odds of winning are 5 to 1.
If these bets paid off at those odds, you’d be facing a house edge of zero. If you played long enough, you’d break even or come close to tie.
But the casino isn’t in the business of breaking even. It’s in the money of making a profit.
That’s why they set the payouts for these proposition bets much lower than the odds of winning them.
If you bet on the shooter rolling a 2, you face 35 to 1 odds. If you win, though, you only get a 30 to 1 payout.
Statistically, 36 bets of $100 each would mean losing $3500 on your 35 losing rolls and winning $3000 on your one winning roll.
Your net loss is $500.
Average that out by 36 rolls of the dice, and you’ve lost an average of $13.89 per bet or 13.89% of your action.
That’s the house edge, and it’s a huge number.
The “any 7” bet is another proposition bet which is always a one-roll bet, by the way. It’s a bet that the total will be 7 on the next roll.
The odds of winning this one are 5 to 1, but the payout is only 4 to 1.
You can calculate the house edge on this bet easily, too.
Assume six perfect rolls betting $100 each.
You’ll lose five of those bets for a total of $500 lost.
On the one bet you win, you’ll get a $400 payout.
Your net loss over six rolls of the dice is $100.
Divide that by six, and you can see that the house edge on the any 7 bet is 16.67%.
The pass line bet has a house edge of 1.41%.
On average, over enough rolls of the dice, you should lose $1.41 every time you place a $100 bet on the pass line.
But if you bet that same $100 on any 7, you’d lose $16.67.
Which one of those sounds like the better bet to you?
Conclusion
That’s as good an introduction to the dice combinations in craps as you’ll find. Once you understand the math in this blog post, you can figure out everything you need to know about every bet at the table.
Manipulating the roll of the dice (Dice Control or Dice Setting) is one of the most common methods for cheating in Craps. Holding the dice in a particular grip or throwing it in a certain manner lets players can gain a crucial edge over the house and other players at the table.
In terms of legality, Dice control in Craps is like card counting in Blackjack. It is not illegal but the casino goes through an assortment of methods to stop it.
For instance, the dice will be changed after each round, and you cannot touch the dice with two hands (to prevent dice switching). Furthermore, each roll must hit the back of the table to ensure randomness.
None the less, some people argue dice control is a matter of skill and is part of the game. For instance, in cricket the bowler has developed a refined method for throwing balls, the same is true for darts, so why not Craps?
There are a number of methods or systems for dice control that can affect the outcome of the game. Remember that when someone who has mastered the art of Dice Control it doesn’t mean that they can throw any number they choose first time.
However, in the long term they will be able to produce certain outcomes and swing the odds in their favour. For example, an ability to throw Snake Eyes (1,1) pays out 30:1. If you can roll enough times to remove the house edge (true odds of Snake Eyes is 35:1) then you will make profit over hundreds of rolls.
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Grip and Handling The Dice
Dice Grip is how you hold the dice in your hands. It involves wrapping certain fingers around the dice and letting go at specific times to create a consistent “release” of the dice.
Craps Dice Rolling Strategy Games
Dice Stacking is which direction the dice is facing in your hands i.e. 6 facing upwards or 2 point downwards. You adjust the dice’s position based on which numbers you want to roll.
When you throw the dice, you want to release them simultaneously so that they roll in synchronization. Experts recommend minimizing contact with the dice because the “stickiness” and “friction” of your fingers alters the flow. When you minimize this, the dice will roll more naturally.
You also need to put equal pressure on each dice and hold them together before they roll.
Alignment of The Dice
You need to position the dice level with the table and parallel to the sides. It takes practice, but to ensure you’re doing it right you can lower the dice to the table to check they’re position. The best landing is when the dice’s bottom touches the table flat-on. This avoids the dice’s corner hitting the table on impact.
Craps Dice Rolling Strategy Rules
Delivering and Throwing The Dice
How you should throw the dice is simple in theory. You’re looking to throw the dice straight down the centre of the table and with the same “spin” along the x-axis.
You have to throw the dice as straight as possible. Players find getting this part right the most difficult because their shoulders and body position have to be aligned correctly.
It is very similar to golf, if you’re position is off the ball will not travel in a straight line.
Aim to stop your thumb touching the ball. This is the most common reason for balls “splitting” into different directions. The less your thumb touches the ball the more control you have.
Finally, the most advanced Dice Throwers can use “Back Spin”. This counters the bounce of the dice against the wall at the end of the table (the velvet triangles). The dice are thrown with back spin along the same x-axis.
Conclusion on Manipulating Dice in Craps
Years ago, even the most basic players could manipulate the dice to improve their chances of making money in Craps. However, recent rules by casinos for Craps that the shooter must throw the dice to hit the back of the table has reduced the effectiveness of dice manipulation.
Along with this, the evidence for dice setting working is very sketchy. Although dice setting works in theory, it actually takes long term results to see the benefits. The downsides the dice manipulation includes re-rolls and being thrown out of a casino.
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