One-Roll Craps Bets.

Craps is an exciting, fast-paced game, and one that can be extremely profitable to you if played correctly. However, in order to maximize your chances of winning, there are some bets that you need to avoid entirely. After reading this article, you will know what those bets are and why you should be avoiding them.

These wagers fall under the heading one-roll bets, meaning that a win or a loss will be solely dependent on the next roll of the dice, and nothing further. We'll take a look at the one-roll bets available on the craps table, and why each and every one of them should be avoided if you want to be successful at the craps table.

Any 7: This is our first example of an awful bet. To start with, there are 36 different ways that the two dice can land. (If this is news to you, please stop playing craps.) Out of those 36 combinations, there are 6 ways to make a 7. That means the odds are 5:1 against making a 7. Casinos will pay out at 4:1 if you are successful on this wager. This means the house advantage is approximately 17%.

That last sentence is why you do not make that bet. You will see a pattern following here.

Any Craps: The craps numbers are 2, 3, and 12. There are 4 different ways of rolling these, so the odds against these numbers being rolled is 8:1. The house will pay out 7:1 on a successful wager. This gives the house an 11% advantage.

2 or 12: You can bet on either of these numbers individually. Obviously, each of these numbers can only be rolled one way, meaning that it is a 35:1 long shot that you will be successful. In the event that you are successful, the house will only pay out at 30:1. Again, this gives the house an advantage of around 17%. Avoid, avoid, and avoid.

3 or 11: Not really much better than the 2 or 12 bet. You are "only" a 17:1 shot to be successful here. Unfortunately, if you are successful, the house will "only" pay off at either 15:1 or, even worse, 14:1. Depending on which it is, this gives the casino an advantage of either 11% or 17%.

Horn Bet: This bet means that you are not just making one bad wager, but four bad wagers at the same time! A horn bet means that you are betting the next roll of the dice will be either a 2, 3, 11, or 12. You will bet 4 units on this wager, 1 unit on each of those four numbers. If a 2, 3, 11, or 12 is indeed rolled, then you will get paid off at the casino payout on that number. The casino will then keep the units you bet on the other three numbers. Again, this is not just one bad bet, but four of them simultaneously.

In short, if you want to be a winning craps player, there is really no positive cast to be made for placing a one-roll bet. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, feel free to gamble it up! If you want to be profitable at the craps table (like most of us do), avoid these bets like the plague.