Player #3 has Place bets on the 5 and 8. Player #4 has Place bets on the 5 and 10. Player #5 has Place bets on the 5, 6, and 8. Player #6 has no Place bets (there are no chips in the #6 position in any of the top rectangles). Player #7 has a Place bet on the 9. Now, let’s see if you’re paying attention. We didn’t mention Player #8. Warning: betting increments on the place bets are different from the proper betting increments on the odds bets. The following are the payouts for each point Place bet on 4 or 10. Any increment of $5; If the bettor is going to bet $20 or more on the place bet of 4 or 10, the bettor is better of ‘buying’ the 4 or 10. Place bet on 5 or 9. . Odds bet: this is combined with pass/don’t pass or come/don’t come in order to enhance the odds for your existing bet. Field bet: an opportunity to bet at any time on 3, 4, 9, 10, or 11 for 1:1 payout; 2 or 12 for 2:1; but you lose if 5, 6, 7, or 8 are thrown.
I remember the first time I ever encountered craps at a casino in Las Vegas. I was drawn over to it by the hooting, howling, and high fives going on around the table. That ancient human trait of curiosity drew me toward it like a moth to a flame. I had to know what was getting everyone so excited.
I meandered over, watched for a few minutes, and left utterly baffled by what I had just seen. I was none the wiser about craps, and in fact, I left the table that night knowing less about it than I did before I’d gone over. Craps does that to people in the beginning, and understanding craps bets, rules, and etiquette is an entire discipline which takes a while to master.
Craps Bets Explained
I couldn’t possibly teach you everything there is to know about craps in one blog post. However, I can break down the five wildest bets you can make and show you the numbers behind them. So, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
What Are the Five Wildest Bets in Craps?
Before we get to breaking the bets down, let’s first identify what the wildest bets you can make in craps are. That starts by defining what I mean by wild.
For me, the wildest bets are those which are most improbable and hence have the biggest potential payouts. I certainly wouldn’t call the ‘Pass Line’ bet wild, since it has a 1:1 payout and a house edge of just 1.41%.
So, assuming you agree with my definition, here are the five wildest bets you can make when playing craps. I’ve ranked these in order of payout starting with the highest.
- 2 craps or 12 craps
- 3 craps or 11
- 6 or 8 (Hardways)
- 4 or 10 (Hardways)
- 2 or 12 (Horn Bet)
There are some bets which could have easily been on this list. For example, the ‘any craps’ bet also has a 7 to 1 payout and the same house edge as betting on 4 or 10, but I did say I was going to break down the five wildest bets, so I had to go with one of them and just run with it.
Now that you know what the five wildest bets actually are, at least according to this player, let’s break them down and study them in greater detail.
2 Craps or 12 Craps (35 to 1 Odds)
If you’re totally new to craps, you might not even know what ‘crap’ is. Well, it’s time to learn.
Craps is when 2, 3, or 12 is rolled. If this happens on the Come Out roll, the shooter is said to have ‘crapped out.’ If you’re confused by these terms, it may be an idea to check out our learn craps page as it’ll run you through the fundamentals.
Betting on 2 craps or 12 craps pays a whopping 30 to 1, putting it well within our agreed definition of a wild bet. It’s made even wilder by the ridiculous house edge – no less than 13.9%.
Yes, this is an unlikely bet, but it could turn a $10 bet into $300 in a few split seconds. That’s what wild bets are all about, right?
3 Craps or 11 (17 to 1 Odds)
This one isn’t quite as wild as betting on 2 craps or 12 craps, but it’s still in the ballpark.
This bet pays no less than 15 to 1 if lady luck is on your side. The house edge is 11.1%.
Craps Payouts 5 Betting
Do you see a pattern yet? The lower the house edge, the lower the payout, and vice versa.
Personally, I’d make the 2 craps or 12 craps bet over this one, but that’s just me. You’ll have to do the math for yourself and decide how you want to play it.
6 or 8 Hardways (10 to 1 Odds)
You could bet on a 6 or 8 as a place bet, meaning you just predict these numbers will come out before a 7 and leave it at that. However, 6 or 8 place bets only pay 7 to 6 – hardly what you’d call wild.
What I’m talking about here is betting on a 6 or 8 as a hardways bet, meaning you also bet on how the 6 or 8 will be formed. For example, you could bet that a 6 is formed by a 2 and a 4, via a 5 and a 1, or via two 3s.
Naturally, it’s much harder to predict this (hence it’s called a hardways bet), and so it pays much more when you get it right – a tasty 9 to 1.
The house edge on this bet is 9.09%. That’s steep and perfectly illustrates why the payout is so big. You won’t land this one often, but hey, it’ll boost your bankroll quickly if it does happen.
4 or 10 Hardways (8 to 1 Odds)
Here we have another hardways bet, meaning you won’t just have to guess the number but will have to guess how it’s formed.
Let’s look at another example to clarify things. Let’s say you want to wager on 4. It would be simple to just bet on that, but that’s a place bet, and it only pays 9 to 5. When you do it the hard way and guess whether the four will be two 2s or a 3 and a 1, the payout will increase to 7 to 1.
The house edge on this bet is even higher than the other hardways bet mentioned here. It’s 11.1%. Yikes!
Horn Bet
A horn bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 2, 3, 11, or 12. The horn bet is found in the middle of the craps table alongside the prop bets.
When you make a horn bet, you’re actually making four separate bets. That means if you bet $10 on it, you’re actually betting $2.50 on each number. If you’re betting with an odd number, such as a $5 chip, you can double up on one of the numbers.
- If 3 or 11 come up, you’ll get a 3.75 to 1 payout.
- If 2 or 12 come up, the payout will be 7.5 to 1.
Unfortunately, the horn bet is also known as the ‘suckers bet,’ so I really wouldn’t be in any rush to make it. A 7.5 to 1 payout would be nice, but there are much better bets to make when playing craps online or in a brick-and-mortar casino.
The Wildest Bets in Craps – A Summary
If you feel like I did the first time I left the craps table in Vegas – bewildered and slightly worried about whether or not you’ll ever understand craps – let go of that tension in your shoulders and relax! We’ve all been there, and I can assure you that this all makes a lot more sense after a few live craps games.
As with most casino games, the best way to learn craps is to play it. You can test some of these wild craps bets out for free by claiming a no deposit bonus or by using a free craps simulator.
Go ahead and try out some of the wild craps bets you’ve learned about here. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend placing large amounts of money on them right away, but they’re fun to make, and if the gods of the odds do decide to make your day, they can quickly boost your bankroll and cause you to hoot, howl, and high-five like the people I saw that night long ago in Vegas.
After a few games, you’ll understand why they say craps is the most exciting game in the casino. Good luck, and remember the number one rule in any casino game – have fun!