Online Craps Beckons to Dark Siders

Do not underestimate the power of the dark side of craps.

If you’re familiar with the rules of craps, and you’ve spent any time playing craps in a live setting, you’re surely familiar with the ability to bet in favor of the shooter, or against them. Some would say those who bet with the shooter are good craps players, and those that bet against them are bad craps players. But the truth in those statements has everything to do with your perspective.

Good Versus Evil at the Craps Table

The real question is, do you consider a good player to be an obedient one that follows the crowd? Or is a good player one who only places the lowest house edge bets? At a craps game, the battle of good versus evil can have two meanings.

If following the crowd is good, then a bad craps player would be one who bets against the shooter. But if making smart wagers is good, then you can’t possibly call a “don’t” player – that is, a player who places their chips on the ‘Don’t Pass’ and ‘Don’t Come’ segments – a bad one.

The Dark Side of Craps (and Why We Love It!)

Every gambling strategy is based on one thing – placing bets that have the absolute highest probability of winning. Whether it’s blackjack, roulette, craps, or even slot machines, avoiding high-edge bets is critical to any winning casino strategy. And in the case of craps, you won’t find any lower edge bets than the “Don’t” variety.

The Pass Line and Come bets are wagers that the shooter will not crap out; that they will set a point, and re-roll that point, before a 7 comes. The Don’t Pass and Don’t Come bets are wagers against the shooter; that they will crap out before setting a point, or before the point comes.

The house edge on these wagers are as follows:

• Pass / Come Bets = 1.41%
• Don’t Pass / Don’t Come Bets = 1.36%

The “Don’t” wagers are the lowest edge bets at the table. The only way to get a lower edge is to play a game that let’s you take odds on your Pass/Come and Don’t Pass/Come bets, in which case you’ll still be getting a lower edge by betting with the “dark side” (i.e. against the shooter).

• Learn More: Craps Strategy Trainer

Do Gooders Play Live, Dark Siders Play Online

The problem with betting the dark side of the craps table is that all the do gooders – the players who always route for the shooter – will hate you for it. They feel that betting against the shooter brings bad luck to the table. If you’re going to bet the dark side in a live casino setting, tha’s fine – a lot of people do it. Just don’t make a big deal of it. There’ll be no cheering or shouting hooray when the shooter craps out. Well, you can, but you’ll get anything from nasty looks to a verbal thrashing.

If you really want to enjoy the power of the dark side of craps, you might as well play online. You can cheer all you like, taking full advantage of the best craps odds, with no repercussions from the ‘do gooders’ of the game.