19 Bets to Avoid When Playing Craps – Whirl Bet, Horn Bet, and More

What do the worst craps bets and wearing socks and sandals have in common? I will tell you! They’ll get you home much earlier than anticipated.

It’s nice to be able to joke about bad craps bets but losing money is no laughing matter. That’s why some studious players avoid craps when assessing the casino house edge of different games.

But should you avoid craps entirely? I don’t think so. You just need to be wise when hitting those tables.

Anyone who knows craps understands that some streets you don’t want to go down. Talking about shooting for the stars might be admirable if you’re writing a poem, but that kind of dangerous optimism belongs nowhere near a craps table.

Of course, I’m not looking to scare you here, my friend. It’s all good. But take it from me and my steady years of experience in the casino realm — there are definitely some craps bets to avoid at all costs.

If you already know what the bad bets in craps are, here are some reputable and safe casinos where you can play instead.

Whether you are playing craps at the best real money online casinos or the finest establishment in Monte Carlo, you must be able to identify the best bets.

How do we do this? Well, the process of elimination isn’t a bad way to start. The Any 7 is arguably the worst bet in craps.

How does the Any 7 work, you ask? Well, this is a single-roll wager on the winning dice combination being 7. That means that any other number causes you to lose Any 7.

Pretty…crappy but there is good news, of course. And that is that a 7 has a much better chance of appearing than any other combination. But there is more bad news—you still only have a 1 in 6 chance (5:1 odds) of this happening on a single roll.

Even worse, Any 7 only pays 4:1 on your bet. Given the wide discrepancy between this and the 5:1 true odds, this bet carries a whopping 16.67% house edge. If the house edge is your biggest worry, this is the worst bet in craps.

You have not read that wrong. That’s almost a 17% house edge, which is not great to say the least.

Before I dive into the other bad bets in craps, you should know where to play it online. The best site for craps betting is Wild Casino, one of the top sites for gambling. They have a high-end casino with a wide range of available games.

Craps is not a commonly found game at online casinos, so you want to make sure you know where to play it when you want to. Not only can you do so at Wild Casino, but they also welcome you to their site with a 250% deposit bonus (up to $5,000).

You can use these extra funds to bet on craps or any other casino game that you might enjoy.

If you aim to identify unprofitable craps bets, you should learn how the 2 bet works.

In a nutshell, this is a single-roll bet on the prospect that the shooter’s next toss will produce a 2. That means that any other number will see you lose your stake.

And while high-risk, high-reward is a thing, should you be focusing on one of the worst craps bets out there if you intend on making money?

Get this: One of the 36 possible dice combinations can produce a 2. This means that your odds of winning your bet come in at a very steep 35:1.

If you were betting with friends on the top horse betting sites online and chose a nag at this price, you might hear it as “a donkey.”

Further to the long odds being a reason to avoid this one, a 2 bet only pays 30:1 for successful wagers. What does this mean? Well, a hefty 13.89% house edge, which is almost as bad as Any 7.

If you’re going to play real money casino games with high odds, you might as well avoid the “snake eyes” and try roulette. We have a great guide to get your started!

How the 12 bet works are not too dissimilar to the 2 wager. The main difference is that you need a 12 combination to land to win.

Again, you’re also facing the same 35:1 true odds. This means that your chances of winning this bet are pretty high. It won’t come in very often. And if it does, you only get a 30:1 payout, making the house edge a less than appealing prospect at 13.89%.

“What is the worst bet on craps?” is a question that pops up quite a lot. The reason is that the sizeable house edge puts off some amateur players.

That is not to say that you can never win real money playing craps bets like these. It’s just that they are, well, rare.

There have been some legendary craps rolls landed by high rollers over the years. But mega wins are few and far between. For the most part, it’s balls and fortune over skill and tact.

Known as the Whirl and World bet, depending on your fancy, this single-roll wager combines the Horn and Any 7 wagers.

Here’s how it works. You must get a 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12 to win, while any other number results in a loss. The Whirl has complicated odds, which makes it a difficult bet for new players to understand.

And if you have no real sense of how a wager works, you probably shouldn’t be putting money on it. Allow me to elucidate.

The Any 7 portion of the wager is a push when 7 is rolled. Meanwhile, the Horn portion pays 26:5 on a 2 or 12 and 11:5 on a 3 or 11. It makes sense to pay more for a 2 or 12 because losing craps bets occur less frequently.

With a 13.33% house advantage, I’d consider avoiding this bet. Even with hugely profitable slots games making way for electronic craps machines with virtual dealers, the odds will remain the same.

I mentioned the horn bet in the above section and how it relies on a 2, 3, 11, or 12 being rolled for you to win.

Any other number results in a loss, of course. But given that four number combinations will result in a win, the Horn looks like a good opportunity. The problem is that you only have a 1 in 6 chance of any of these numbers being rolled.

My Father’s Day card on how to be a good dad. Well duh, of course roulette is a bad idea, #craps is the best option. #BestDad pic.twitter.com/NvF7sHZOMr

— VegasDuffy (@VegasDuffy) June 19, 2022

Just like with the Whirl bet, this wager involves split payouts.

You receive 27:4 on your bet for a 2 or 12 and 3:1 for a 3 or 11. This is, again, a confusing prospect for new players. Worse yet is that the Horn carries a 12.5% house edge.

Ouch.

This bet is called Yo because the croupier often yells “Yo Eleven” to avoid confusion between 11 and the similar-sounding 7.

I wonder how often a guy or girl called Eleven turned around with a confused look on their face, aiming arched eyebrows at the dealer.

But I digress. Yo is a simple wager on if the next dice combination will be an 11. The odds of an 11 being rolled are only 17:1. Despite the high payout of 15:1, Yo has a large 11.11% house advantage.

Now you know why the Yo is up there with bad craps bets.

How the 3 bet works in craps is almost the same as the 11 wager.

The main difference, of course, is that you are betting on a 3 being rolled. I know, I know. Roll your eyes and pass the tissues.

Given that only 2 out of 36 dice combinations will form a 3, you won’t be looking at many wins with this bet. And you’ll be facing the same 11.11% house edge as betting on 11.

That 11.11% will appeal to some players, though. The type that favors superstition over skill. We all know gamblers like that, right?

“My kid was born in November 2011, so I’m in!”

Even the biggest casinos in the world have their fair share of those guys. That might be why they are doing so well in the first place.

The Hi-Lo is a wager that will bag you a win, providing you land a 2 or 12.

You’ll lose if any number/s other than these two is rolled. Does that make it a terrible bet by itself? No. Not exactly. Again, the devil is in the detail.

Hi-Lo’s true odds (17:1), payout (15:1), and house edge (11.11%) are the same as the 3 and Yo bets. This makes sense because Hi-Lo only offers two dice combinations that separate you from lording it as a winner and crying into your cocktail as a loser.

In addition to only playing real money online craps at reputable sites, it’s on you to learn about the worst bets to avoid them.

Makes sense, no?

This is the one that everyone wants to know about when they first pick up the game.

Craps! It’s the name! But how does the craps bet work? And should it be the wager you target first when you hit up real money casinos online or in-person?

Let’s put it this way. Craps sees you win when a 2, 3, or 12 is rolled, and you lose with any other number combination. These three numbers combine to offer you four out of 36 dice combinations that’ll result in a win or 8:1 true odds.

But the 7:1 payout doesn’t deliver enough to offset the high odds, and you’ll be facing an 11.11% house edge.

So, it’s a no from me, dawg.

While not the worst bet on a craps table, this one makes the list for obvious reasons.

The C and E wager combines the craps bet (2, 3, 12) with Yo (11) and is another wager that offers split payouts based on what number combinations turn up.

You get a 3:1 payout when a 2, 3, or 12 are rolled and a 7:1 payout for an 11.

But these are also the four dice combinations that are least likely to come up. The end result is another bet with an 11.11% house advantage.

Some would argue that you would be better off chasing hot drops jackpot payouts at these odds.

This is a bet on you forming either a 4 or 10 with an exact combination.

The brass tacks are that you win if 4 or 10 are rolled with pairs (2-2 / 5-5), and you lose if 4 or 10 are formed with non-pairs (1-3 / 4-6), or if a 7 is rolled.

And not even Frank Sinatra singing about craps is bound to get players excited about that one.

As you can see, a limited number of combinations will make you win or lose. This means Hard 4 / Hard 10 is a multi-roll wager that continues until 4, 7, or 10 combinations are formed.

While this hardways bet is interesting, you might still want to avoid it due to the 11.11% house edge.

How the Hard 6 / Hard 8 bet works is a little easier to understand than some of the others on this list of the worst craps bets to place.

This wager is similar to the one described above, except that you’re trying to form 6 or 8 with pairs (3-3 / 4-4). You lose when forming a 6 or 8 with non-pairs (1-5, 2-4 / 2-6, 3-5) or when a 7 turns up.

While Hard 6 / Hard 8 gives you a better chance to win than Hard 4 / Hard 10, this wager still carries an unfavorable 9.09% house advantage.

That is better than other wagers we have covered, but the table is still tilted unfavorably toward the dealer.

We’re approaching some of the better bets on this list of the worst wagers to place on real money craps.

Does that make it a good wager? Nah. It doesn’t. However, this multi-roll bet pays out if a 6 or 8 combination is rolled. You lose if the 7 is rolled first, though.

Still, the problem is that you’re only paid 1:1 on your bet due to your higher odds of winning. The result is a 9.09% house edge, which is far worse than other even-money craps bets!

The Place 4 / Place 10 wager wins if a 4 or 10 combination is rolled before a 7. Like the bet above, you lose when 7 comes up first.

This wager offers 2:1 true odds but only a 9:5 payout when you win. The result is a 6.67% house edge. At this rate, you’re better off placing a Buy 4 / Buy 10 wager because this offers a better payout along with a 4.76% house advantage.

The main takeaway should be that just because they offer bets doesn’t mean you should take them. Take a look at all the different types of craps bets to get a better idea of the full picture.

The Field wager is attractive because you win if a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 are rolled. You lose if a 5, 6, 7, or 8 is rolled.

It seems like you’d have the advantage with all of these different numbers in play. But the problem is that the four losing combinations cover 20 out of the 36 possible dice combos. You receive a 1:1 payout for winning with 3, 4, 9, 10, or 11 combinations. And you get a 2:1 payout with a 2 or 12!

The house edge with this payout schedule is 5.56%. But some casinos pay 2:1 for 2 and 3:1 for 12, which lowers the house advantage to 2.78%.

If you can find this pay schedule, then the Field bet isn’t so bad. But you can do better. While it’s milder than the very worst craps bets known to man, it is still not the most desirable bet out there!

Here’s how the Buy 4 / Buy 10 works in craps. You win a Buy 4 / Buy 10 bet when a 4 or 10 combination is rolled before a 7.

Now, in theory, the house edge should be zero because your odds of winning and the payout are both 2:1. But casinos take a 5% commission out of every bet you make, putting the house edge at 4.76%.

In these cases, I think it’s all right to make the Buy 4 / Buy 10 bet. But again, make sure to check that you are playing with safe online casinos that aren’t looking to grease you.

How the Buy 5 / Buy 9 bet works is pretty easy to understand.

This bet wins when any combination of 5 or 9 is rolled before a 7. If the latter is rolled first, you lose your wager.

At least the losing part makes sense, right? But when compared with others on this list of the worst craps bets not to make, a loss probably stings less.

Buy 5 / Buy 9 pays at 3:2. But the house takes a 5% commission from every bet, putting the house edge at 4.76%.

If a casino only takes the 5% commission on winning bets, the house advantage drops to 1.96%. And that is a much better prospect for you!

How the Place 5 / Place 9 wager works out is probably even easier to understand.

In short, this bet wins when a 5 or 9 combination is rolled before a 7. The big difference between this wager and Buy 5 / Buy 9 is that the casino doesn’t take a 5% commission out of each bet.

The house edge on Place 5 / Place 9 is 4.0%. That’s not exactly dreadful. But you can find some of the top slot casinos for real money players offering games that could rival that.

Last, and potentially least, is the Lay 6 / Lay 8 bet.

This one will see you enter the win column if you bet on a 7 being rolled before a 6 or 8, with the latter two numbers resulting in a loss. Lay 6 / Lay 8 pays 5:6 on wins, but the house also takes out a 5% commission on every bet.

I know, right.

Still, if the commission is only taken out of wins, the house advantage drops to a much more tolerable 2.27%. While not being anywhere near the worst craps bet, it’s hardly up there with the best now, is it?

With the worst craps bets you can place covered, I thought it only fair to provide you with alternatives.

The best craps bets you can place are known to smart players. These potential winning craps bets might not come with jaw-dropping odds, but that’s not necessarily bad.

Furthermore, they are not as difficult to understand, which will help beginners get to grips with the game much faster.

One of the best craps bets to place, hands down, due to the overall house edge being 1.36%.

Even better, this edge will lower to 0.7%, providing you lay single odds. It will decrease if the odds of your wager are allowed multiple times.

If you’re new to craps, it’s important to understand what a come-out roll and point number are. The come-out roll is the shooter’s first toss, which can result in a win, loss, or point.

The point is any number that doesn’t result in a win or loss on the come-out roll (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10). Now that we’ve established this, let’s look at when they don’t pass line bet wins, loses, and ties:

Given this bet is tied for having the lowest house advantage in craps, it’s a solid one to target.

This wager is like don’t pass line in almost every way. The only difference is that you must wait until a point number has been established on the come-out roll before accessing this bet.

The same rules apply to the don’t pass, but here’s an example to help you understand things better.

• The shooter tosses a 6 on the come-out roll. You put your chips on the don’t come space and wait for the next roll to determine your results.
• The shooter tosses an 8, which becomes the point number for your wager.
• The shooter throws a 7, which means you win.

As you can see, this works the same as they don’t pass the line. The main thing you need to get used to is waiting for the initial come-out roll before making this wager.

A pass line wager wins or loses under the following conditions, which I’ve listed below.

Pass line is a popular bet in casinos because many players enjoy betting with the shooter. But it also has a slightly worse house edge than the don’t pass line at 1.41%.

The come bet maintains characteristics of both pass line and doesn’t come.

It’s nice to know that the wager wins and loses under the same circumstances as a pass-line bet, especially if you’re a beginner. But always remember that the process of making a come wager is the same as don’t come.

Once a point has been established, you have access to this bet. The next roll determines whether you win, lose, or establish a new point!

With a house edge that rivals some video poker titles, the misconception that craps are just legal theft is proven wrong here.

And while I could give you various examples of how to win consistently at video poker, we’re not talking about that today.

Now that you know what bets to avoid when playing craps, you can give yourself a better shot at the casino. Just make sure you choose a reliable option if playing online.

Need help? Get started with a suggested site below, along with some help to get signed up.

The best wager in craps is the odds bet since it doesn’t have a house edge.

You might be wondering why I didn’t add this to the section of the top craps bets. The reason why is that it’s not always offered when playing at gambling apps or land-based resorts. If you can find it, however, get on it!

Assuming odds bets are available, here are two different types you can make.

• Pass Odds – Available when you’ve made a pass line or come bet, and the point number has been established.
• Don’t Pass Odds – Available when you’ve made a don’t pass line or don’t come bet, and the point number has been established.

In either case, odds bets are multiples of your original wager that don’t carry a house edge. The strategy behind making these wagers is that you lower the overall house advantage. Thus, they make for the best wager in craps, plainly speaking.

Still not clear? It’s OK if that’s a yes. I want you to understand this entirely before you go, so let’s do things this way. Here is a table that shows the combined house edge based on your bet and the different odds multiples.

Per the example above, Full Double odds allow you to take 2.5x odds on point numbers of 6 and 8, while all other numbers are taken at 2x odds. 3, 4, and 5x odds allow you to take 5x on a 6 or 8 point, 4x on a 5 or 9, and 3x on a 4 or 10 point.

As you can see from the decreasing house edge, it’s sensible to take odds when you have the opportunity.

One thing to always keep in mind is that the higher the odds you take, the more stake you need to part with to cover them. Also, note that many casinos don’t have odds above 5x – if they even offer odds bets at all!

We’ve covered the worst craps bets, but what about the best bets? Here are seven that you should consider.

7 Best Craps Bets You Need to Know About – How to Find the Best Odds at the Table

The odds bet is arguably the best bet in craps due to not having a house edge. Don’t Pass/Don’t Come is the opposite of the Pass Line and are the best craps bets for beginners. Your chance of rolling a 7 is the highest, but betting on 6 or 8 could lead to...

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Just like ill-fitting clothes or predators in the Amazon Rainforest, the worst craps bets come in all shapes and sizes.

We’ve seen plenty of craps wagers to avoid today. But I also wanted to make a very valid point by highlighting the best bets you can have some fun with on this game.

As far as real money casino games go, craps is not terrible by any means. It can be lots of fun. But only if you know the pitfalls and avoid the bets that make no sense.

I’m talking about some of the following ones, which we covered above.

These wagers come with house edges ranging from 11.11% to 16.67%, making them among the worst bets you can place at craps online casinos or anywhere, for that matter.

So, stick to the best bets, and you will hopefully see a drastic change in your fortunes!

Casinos make a killing of simple errors made by their customers. Make sure you are on the right side of things by avoiding these craps bets.

Also, be sure to be using an honest online casino. Here are some helpful tips for how to find one.

How To Find Honest Online Casinos – 9 Tips For Locating Trustworthy Sites

One way to spot trustworthy online casinos is to see if their registration process is fair and straightforward. It’s important to know if the casino you’re signing up at has been blacklisted before. Honest online casinos will publish their odds and RTP...

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Footnote:

• Details of electronic craps machines are courtesy of Forbes.