Craps Odds and Probabilities
You may have heard that casino craps offers some of the best odds in the entire house. So you may want to explore some of odds charts and probabilities of rolling combinations of certain numbers. Basically all of the odds are connected to the two dice that are thrown. These are also six sided dice used in many other games as well such as sic bo. Because there are 6 sides on each die, two dice gives you 36 possible outcomes when you roll the them and we'll explain the odds of rolling 7's and other numbers.
Dice Combination Odds
There are 11 possible outcomes but 36 possible combinations that add up to those outcomes. These range from 2 to 12. The lowest roll you can get is 2 (snake eyes) and the highest roll that you can make is 12 (box cars). Take a look at the craps dice combination chart below to see all the possible outcomes that can be rolled.
Total Roll | Number of Possible Outcomes | Odds | Possible Combinations |
---|---|---|---|
2 | 1 | 35 to 1 | 1:1 |
3 | 2 | 17 to 1 | 1:2 , 2:1 |
4 | 3 | 11 to 1 | 1:3 , 3:1 , 2:2 |
5 | 4 | 8 to 1 | 1:4 , 4:1 , 2:3 , 3:2 |
6 | 5 | 6.2 to 1 | 1:5 , 5:1 , 2:4 , 4:2 , 3:3 |
7 | 6 | 5 to 1 | 1:6 , 6:1 , 2:5 , 5:2 , 3:4 , 4:3 |
8 | 5 | 6.2 to 1 | 2:6 , 6:2 , 3:5 , 5:3 , 4:4 |
9 | 4 | 8 to 1 | 3:6 , 6:3 , 4:5 , 5:4 |
10 | 3 | 11 to 1 | 4:6 , 6:4 , 5:5 |
11 | 2 | 17 to 1 | 5:6 , 6:5 |
12 | 1 | 35 to 1 | 6:6 |
Notice that there are 6 possible combinations of the dice that can make a total of 7. This is why the term "lucky 7" is so famous in the gambling world. There is some craps strategy that needs to be planned out after knowing the probability of certain dice rolls. You can also visualize the dice roll combinations above as well. Check out the payout odds for each bet and free odds table for charts, house edge and odds percentages information.
Calculate Craps Odds and Probabilities
If you would like to calculate the odds of rolling a certain combination, just take the number of possible combinations of that roll and divide it by the total number of possible outcomes. For example, rolling a 7 has six combinations. Therefore 6 divided by 36 would be a 1 in 6 chance of rolling a seven. Alas, the odds of rolling a 2 or 12 would be 1 in 36. If you would like to find the percentage value of rolling these combinations, just use a calculator to divide the fraction 1/36 = 0.028 = 2.8%. The probability of rolling a 7 would be 6/36 = 1/6 = 0.167 = 16.7%!
Another way of thinking about the craps game is thinking that since there is a 1 in 6 chance that a 7 will be rolled, there is a 5 in 6 chance that a 7 will not be rolled. So betting on a point number in this case or betting for the shooter to not roll a 7 is a great bet as 5 out of 6 rolls will not be a lucky seven.
House Edge Craps Odds
True odds are defined to be the fair odds where the player and the house have equal odds. When the player has true odds, this means the house has a 0% edge and the edge is eliminated. Usually the house always has an edge, which is calculated to be the difference between what odds the house pays out and the true odds. For instance, when a player rolls a 12, the odds should be paid out 35 to 1 according to the probability charts above. This is actually the true odds.
If the casino pays less than $35 for every $1 bet when a player rolls a 12, then the house would be making a profit in the long run since it's not paying true odds. This would be an example of the house edge, which almost always happens in every game in the casino because a casino is a business that eventually takes in a profit. Craps is one of the only games around where the house edge can be eliminated. By knowing the true odds and all the combination probabilities, you can really improve your strategy and make some powerful money making bets! With no house edge, you can easily play all night long without having to worry about your bankroll running out quickly either.