Walking up to a craps table for the first time can feel like stepping into a whirlwind of excitement: the dice are rattling, the crowd cheers, and chips slide across green felt with every roll. Yet beneath the energy lies a game governed by math, where knowing which bets carry the lowest house edge—and therefore the best payouts—can turn casual fun into long-term success. As someone who’s spent countless hours studying table trends and testing strategies, I’ve learned that understanding the true odds of each wager is just as important as trusting your gut. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the bets that give you the best shot at walking away ahead.
Understanding craps basics
Before diving into specific payouts, it helps to grasp the basic flow of craps. Each round starts with the “come-out” roll: if the shooter throws a 7 or 11, Pass Line bets win; if they roll a 2, 3, or 12, Pass Line bets lose. Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) becomes the “point,” and the shooter must roll that number again before a 7 to cash out Pass Line wagers. Conversely, Don’t Pass Line bets win on 2 or 3, push on 12, and lose on 7 or 11 during the come-out. Once a point is established, Don’t Pass bettors profit if a 7 appears before the point. This back-and-forth creates the core of craps excitement and informs every strategic play.
Why payout speed matters
In both land-based and online play, how quickly you can access your winnings enhances the gaming experience—and protects your profits. Many players seek out instant payout casinos uk offering speedy withdrawal times that beat industry averages. Personally, knowing I’ll have my cash in hand within minutes rather than days lets me reinvest winnings or pause play without worrying about locked funds. It’s a small detail, but when every roll counts, fast access to your bankroll keeps your focus where it belongs: on the dice.
The house edge and true odds
A key concept in any casino game is the house edge—the built-in advantage the casino holds over time. In craps, this edge varies dramatically by bet. The Pass Line and Don’t Pass bets carry some of the lowest house edges in the casino at 1.41% and 1.36% respectively. By comparison, proposition bets on single rolls, like Hardways or specific totals, can have house edges well above 10%. True odds, on the other hand, represent the mathematical payout that corresponds exactly to the probability of an event. Unfortunately, casinos rarely pay true odds on core bets—but you can come very close when you pair a Pass Line wager with an Odds bet, a combination I’ll explain shortly.
Pass Line and Don’t Pass Line payouts
At most tables, a winning Pass Line bet pays even money—bet £10, you win £10. Don’t Pass wagers also pay even money. While the payouts themselves are standard, the difference lies in when they succeed and fail. Pass Line bettors ride the excitement of cheering for the shooter, whereas Don’t Pass players quietly root for the seven, often enjoying ‘the dark side’ camaraderie of winning against the table. Although Don’t Pass edges out the Pass Line by a few basis points, many novices feel uncomfortable betting against the shooter’s momentum, so choose the side that matches your style.
Odds bets: the best value at the table
Once a point is set, players can place an Odds bet behind their original Pass or Don’t Pass wager. What makes Odds bets so powerful is that they pay true odds—meaning zero house edge. For example, if the point is 4 or 10, Odds pay 2:1; for a 5 or 9, 3:2; for a 6 or 8, 6:5. Many casinos cap the maximum Odds at a multiple of your Pass Line stake—often 2x, 3x, or even 10x in high-limit rooms. When I first discovered full-odds tables offering 10x Odds, I shifted my entire strategy: by maximizing Odds, I lowered my overall house edge on the combined bet to under 0.2%, one of the best deals anywhere in the casino.
Place bets: balancing risk and reward
If you prefer betting after the point but don’t want to gamble with Odds, Place bets on individual numbers are another option. You can Place the 6 or 8 at 7:6 payouts for a 1.52% house edge—slightly higher than the Pass Line with Odds, but still very favorable. Placing the 5 or 9 pays 7:5 (house edge 4%), and the 4 or 10 pays 9:5 (house edge 6.67%). I find Place 6 and 8 bets especially appealing because they hit frequently (each has a 13.9% chance per roll) and pay solid odds. By mixing Place bets with Pass Line play, I balance the excitement of the come-out roll with reliable, mid-range wins.
Buy and Lay bets: commission vs. payout
Buy bets function similarly to Place bets on 4 and 10 but pay true odds (2:1) at the cost of a 5% commission on wins. If you Place £20 on the 4 and it hits, you collect £40 minus a £2 commission, yielding £38; effectively, you paid £2 to access a higher payout. Lay bets are the reverse of Buy bets on Don’t Pass—betting against a number. For example, a Lay on the 6 pays true odds of 5:6 after commission. I personally use Buy bets on high-limit tables where commission costs are offset by the benefit of true odds, especially in longer sessions where minimizing house edge matters most.
Field bets and one-roll propositions
Field bets pay even money on 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11, and 2:1 on 2, sometimes 3:1 on 12. While tempting for their instant gratification, Field bets have a house edge of around 2.78% (or higher if 12 only pays double). One-roll proposition bets—like Hard 6 (pays 9:1) or Any 7 (pays 4:1)—can have house edges exceeding 9%. Early in my career, I chased these big payouts and quickly learned how steep the cost can be. Today, I reserve proposition bets for occasional excitement when I have profits to protect rather than core strategy.
Tips for choosing the best craps table
Not all craps tables are created equal. In brick-and-mortar casinos, look for tables offering higher Odds multiples: 5x, 10x, or even 100x in Vegas high-rollers’ rooms. Also check minimum bet requirements—lower minimums allow you to stretch your bankroll. Online, read the fine print: some live-dealer craps games cap Odds at 2x or 3x, while others mirror land-based VIP tables. When I play remotely, I stick to reputable platforms that list their house edge clearly and provide transparent payout tables. This way, I know exactly what I’m getting before I click “Place Bet.”
Bankroll management and bet sizing
Even with the best odds, variance can run hot or cold. I recommend stamping out rigid staking plans—like flat betting on Pass Line plus full Odds—and sticking to disciplined bet sizing, such as risking 1–2% of your session bankroll per base bet. If you start with £1,000 and cap your base wager at £10 (£20 total with Odds), you can absorb losing streaks without depleting funds. When I discovered this approach, my sessions lasted longer, and I experienced less emotional whipsaw when the dice didn’t cooperate.
Live casino vs. land-based play
Online live-dealer craps has grown remarkably realistic, with multiple camera angles and real-time interaction. I appreciate the convenience of staking bets from home, but I still find land-based tables unbeatable for atmosphere and side bets like Hardways. That said, be wary of online tables with lower Odds limits. Before signing up, I always verify the Odds multiple in the game’s rules and check user reviews for payout speed—another reason to choose platforms featured in “instant payout casinos uk” listings, which vet operators for fast, reliable withdrawals.
Common myths and misconceptions
You may have heard whispers of “due numbers” or “hot shooters,” but the truth is that each roll is independent: past results don’t influence future outcomes. Likewise, complex betting systems like Martingale can blow your bankroll quickly when you hit the table limit or draw a long string of losses. My advice: embrace the math rather than fight it. Focus on bets with the smallest house edge, and let disciplined staking manage variance, rather than chasing patterns that don’t exist.
Practical examples from my play
I recall a night at a downtown London casino where I opened with a £5 Pass Line bet, took 10x Odds on a point of 6, and watched the shooter hit the 6 on the fifth roll. That single session netted me £240 on a total £15 risk—a house-edge-adjusted win rate few games can match. In contrast, skipping Odds and spreading £5 on Field bets on the same session would have produced an expected loss of around £5 over 20 rolls. Real-world results like this cement my preference for Odds-backed bets.
Conclusion
Craps stands apart in the casino world by offering some of the most player-friendly odds available—especially when you leverage Odds bets and smart Place or Buy strategies. By focusing on Pass Line or Don’t Pass Line combined with maximum Odds, you can minimize the house edge to fractions of a percent. Avoid the temptation of high-house-edge proposition bets, manage your bankroll carefully, and choose tables (online or live) that respect math with generous Odds multiples and transparent payout policies. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll approach the craps table with confidence and feel the thrill of every roll guided by strategy rather than guesswork.
