Craps on a Budget: The Best Low-Risk Strategy

If you’re playing craps on a tight budget, it’s essential to have the right approach when betting. This will ensure you make the most out of the money you have without risking losing more than you can afford to spend.

Fortunately, following a budget-friendly and low-risk craps strategy isn’t very difficult, you just need to focus on the right things. So, if you need a $100 or $200 craps strategy that will ensure you use your limited bankroll wisely, these tips will help you play craps on a budget and make money!

Pass Line Bet With Several Variations

If you’re an experienced craps player, it won’t come as any surprise that the pass line bet, followed by a few additional bets, is the best low-risk strategy you can have in craps. The most popular example of this is a system in which you make the pass line bet and follow it up with two come bets.

Additionally, many craps enthusiasts who play on a budget also opt for a strategy of making the pass line bet and following it with a 6 or 8, or in some cases, both.

This is a particularly prevalent low-risk craps strategy, as players can set themselves up with multiple winning opportunities with either a $11 or $17 minimum bet.

Make Just 6 and 8 Bets

After the 7, numbers 6 and 8 are the two most commonly rolled numbers in craps. So, it makes sense to focus on these when playing on a budget, as it provides you with the best odds for your money.

This bet always pays 7:6, which does call for a few important considerations. Primarily, even when you’re playing on a $10 minimum craps table and have a tight bankroll, you don’t want to bet this amount, but slightly higher. Ideally, you want to make multiple bets of $6, totaling $12.

Nevertheless, it is still a low-risk strategy, as its house edge is just over 1.5%. So, while you are betting slightly more than the minimum with each wager, the low house edge still ensures your bankroll is safe long-term.

Pass/Don’t Pass Bets

This is arguably the least exciting strategy of the ones we covered on this page. However, it passes the important criteria of offering a low house edge and low betting limits, making it a suitable pick for craps players with limited bankrolls. It is an even simpler version of the first strategy we’ve covered.

The pass and don’t pass bet both pay 1:1 and have a house edge of slightly above 1%. For instance, sticking to the $10 table minimum and placing just the pass bet and not following it up with a come bet enables you to constantly play with just a $10 wager.

Players who prefer having multiple numbers working with each roll might find this strategy a bit boring. If you like fast action and multiple winning possibilities, it might not be the right pick for you. But if this isn’t an issue for you, sticking with a simple pass or don’t pass bet can be a very effective strategy.

Avoid Taking Odds Bets

This might seem a bit counterintuitive at first glance. Odds bets offer fair payouts on most betting options. Moreover, these appealing bets come with a 0% house edge, so most craps players look at them as the perfect long-term option, as the casino doesn’t have any advantage.

However, the goal of playing craps on a budget is cutting costs, only placing simple bets, and not risking a lot of money per wager.

And while taking odds is enticing, it does involve putting additional money into the game. This is because you can’t just take this bet outright. You need to add it to your pass/don’t pass or come/don’t come bets.

Skip Hardways Bets

Lastly, another group of bets you should skip when playing on a tight bankroll are hardways bets. Exciting, entertaining, and offering good payouts, these bets are great for a true craps experience in a casino.

But, they are a terrible pick when you don’t have a big bankroll. The main reason is that these bets have the highest house edge in the game, between 9% and 11%.

So, while they can provide a good win occasionally, the odds are mathematically very much against you, and you’ll likely run out of money when playing with a limited budget.