Unlike other internet games in which internet casinos tend to meddle and create spin-offs, craps has remained more or less the same as its traditional version. However, that is not to say that there are not a few things online players need to realize before they go rushing off to the tables.
First, not every software provider and subsequently their client casinos-offers the same odds/payouts for their games and craps is no exception. Some internet casinos offer only single odds resulting in a combined house edge of 0.85 percent on the “Do” side and 0.82 percent on the “Don’t”. Compared to many other casino games this is not bad-but you can find better. Both Net Entertainment and Microgaming offer 3x odds, which reduces the combined house edge to 0.47 percent for the “Do” side and 0.46 percent on the “Don’t”. In addition Microgaming’s Vegas Craps offers a loose field bet that pays 3 to 1 (as opposed to 2 to 1) which brings down the vigorish on that bet to 2.78 percent from 5.56 percent.
At times some software providers do get creative and develop dice games they hope will appeal to potential craps players. OddsOn, for instance, created Poker Dice and Dazzling Dice, two games that combine poker and dice in a fashion reminiscent at times to that old family favourite, Yahtzee. In each of these games players must bet on a combination that will result following a single throw of multiple dice. The paying combinations for these games are:
- Roll
- Payout
- Five of a Kind
- 20 for 1
- High Straight
- 6 for 1
- Low Straight
- 5 for 1
- Four of a Kind
- 4 for 1
- Full House
- 3 for 1
- Three of a Kind
- 2 for 1
- Two pair
- 1 for 1
Please note; before you Yahtzee-loving would be craps-playing gamblers rush off to an OddsOn supported internet casino, take note: the payout percentage for these games are relatively poor, with an average that hovers around 92 percent.
Winning Strategy for Craps
Amidst all the odds and edges and the multiple chances of betting possibilities there is actually a very simple set of rules to follow if you want to give yourself the best chance of winning at craps. This isn’t an opinion or open to debate-it has been proven statistically.
For the purpose of this strategy we will assume that you are playing at a Vegas Strip casino and you are allowed X3, X4 and X5 Odds. Try to avoid playing anywhere that does not offer you these Odds options. To play Single-Odds (where you can place an Odds Bet up to the same value as your line Bet) or Double-Odds Craps is loading the dice-so to speak-too much in favour of the house.
Gambler’s fallacy
Other systems depend on the gambler’s fallacy, which in craps terms is the belief that past die rolls influence the probabilities of future die rolls. For instance, the gambler’s fallacy indicates that a craps player should bet on 11 if an 11 has not appeared or has appeared too often in the last 20 rolls. In reality, each roll of the dice is an independent event, so the likelihood of rolling an 11 is exactly 1/18 on every roll, even if 11 has not come up in the last 100 rolls or if 11 has come up 5 times in the last 5 rolls.
Another approach is to “set” the dice in a particular way, then throw them in such a manner that they do not tumble randomly. The theory is that by doing so, one or both of the dice will be more likely to show certain numbers. Unlike other systems, this one is not mathematically absurd, because if it were possible to alter the probabilities of each outcome, then winning systems could be devised.
Nevertheless, the casinos take steps to prevent this. The dice are supposed to hit the back wall of the table, which makes controlled spins more difficult. Whether it is possible for human beings to constantly exercise the precise physical control necessitated by the theory is a source of controversy.
A small but dedicated community of controlled shooters maintain records and claim proof of dice influencing in casino conditions. Frank Scoblete and Stanford Wong, authors of books that feature dice control techniques, believe that it is possible to alter the odds in the player’s favour by dice control. In addition, some people offer to teach dice-setting skills, for a substantial fee. However, there has been no independent conclusive evidence that such methods can be successfully applied in a real casino.
As online casinos limit players’ options in blackjack, craps’ popularity is increasing substantially, it offers the best odds of all standard casino games based on pure chance.
