Turning Craps betting on its head

What’s your favorite part of the Craps table? Mine is stepping up to the table for the first time, watching the shooter roll the dice, and seeing everyone jump up and down when the shooter rolls a point that everyone actually needs.

In Craps, you can bet on the shooter, or you can bet against the shooter. Most people bet on the shooter because, well, there’s nothing worse in life than rooting for someone to do poorly. But in Craps, though uncommon, people do bet against the shooter. It’s called betting on the dark side, or against the point. And it encompasses 3 things—betting on the Don’t Pass line, betting on the Don’t Come line, and Lay bets.

Wondering why people would bet on the dark side? Well, there are two main reasons. First, the odds of betting on the dark side are a bit better. The second reason? Because 7 is the number that’s most likely to be rolled, some people like to be rooting for a 7 instead of trying to avoid seeing one rolled.

But before you jump into a Don’t Pass bet, remember there’s a bit of a hurdle in getting past that first roll. But as soon as that’s established, a 7 is more likely to pop up than the point number, so you’re good to go. The same philosophy applies to Don’t Come bets. That’s all well and dandy for those two bets, but Lay bets are a bit different because you’ll receive the opposite of true odds, minus 5% commission. If you seven out, you’ll actually end up paying more than you get back. So if you were to lay a 4 or 10 for $10, you will only see $5 profit.

If you’re new to betting on the dark side, there are some strategies you can employ to make things easy and more lucrative. My favorite is betting 1 and 3. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Bet $5 on Don’t Pass.
2. As soon as the point is established, throw down $15 on the Don’t Come line.
3. If 6 or 8 is the Don’t Come Point, put $2 down on Hardway 6 or Hardway 8.

So here’s how your bets will pay out in this Craps betting scenario. If 2 or 3 is rolled, you’ll win the Don’t Pass bet. If 7 or 11 is rolled, you’ll lose. As soon is a point is established, you’ll lose it on those rolls, and win $20 whenever a 7 appears before the established point or the Don’t Come number. We also have a Craps betting guide that will certainly come in handy.

Now here’s the best part. If the hardway hedge bet you made pulls through, you’ll see a nice $18 profit from that bet, which means your $15 loss is actually a $3 win.

Have we confused you yet? Perhaps you’re not an experienced Craps player. Don’t worry. You can play for free at Prism Casino right now and take your time to learn the game. All it takes is a free account to get started, so sign up, log in, and put the Dark Side to the test!