Craps Strategies
by Jordan Walters

We all want to win when gambling. Today, I will share with you two popular strategies for playing Craps. I first learned of these two strategies in the dark of night at some popular Las Vegas casinos many years ago. The two strategies we'll go over are Conservative Craps and Field Buster. These contrived names give you a sneak peek into what the strategy contains.

Conservative Craps

Just as the name implies, this strategy is very conservative. If you are an impatient player, move along. This isn't for anyone that needs fast and furious action. I've successfully used this strategy many times. As with any strategy, it's not foolproof, but it feels like it sometimes. I like to call this my drinking strategy, because it keeps me at the Craps table getting free cocktails for a very long time.

The premise is very simple. When you are on the come out roll, make a bet on the "don't pass" line. As you should know, you win on a 2 or 3 and lose on a 7 or 11 --12 is a push. Once the point has been established, you will place the point for the exact amount you placed on the "don't pass" line. For instance, if your "don't pass" wager was $30 and the point is now 5, you would place the 5 for $30.

You are now home free. Once you reach this point, you can't lose. If the shooter 7s out, you get all your money back. However, if the shooter hits the point, you win the odds. In our example above, you would win the odds on a $30 wager on the 5, which is $12. It's that easy. However, as you can see, this system can be very slow to progress.

Field Buster

We all know that the field bet is against the player. While it contains most of the possible numbers, it contains less than half of the possible dice combinations. Still, there is money to be made playing the field. This system is a mix of some probability and plain ol' wishing. Here's the thing. There are 20 of the 36 possible combinations missing in the field. That means a non-field number has a 55.6 percent probability of showing up on any given roll.

If that's the case, what's the probability of a non-field number being rolled four times in a row? The answer is about 9.5 percent. This strategy says that players should wait to see three non-field numbers rolled in a row and then bet the field. If the probability of a non-field number showing up on that fourth roll is 9.5 percent, then you have, in a sort of warped theory, a 90.5 percent probability of winning your wager.

To play this system, you simply count the number of non-field rolls you see in a row. When that number hits three, you bet. I've played this strategy myself and have seen others do it. Also, I've seen some get very conservative by waiting for four non-field rolls before betting. Either way, this can be an entertaining side strategy to play.