The Fire Bet in Craps: Big Payouts, Brutal Odds
Last reviewed: September 2026
The Fire Bet is a side wager that a single shooter will make at least four different points (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) before sevening out. Hit all six and common paytables pay 999:1. It is one of the most exciting sweats in the casino and one of the worst bets on the table, with a house edge in the neighborhood of 20% to 25% depending on the paytable.
How it works
You place the Fire Bet (usually $1 to $5, before a new shooter’s first roll) and it rides the shooter’s entire hand. Only different points count: making the 6 three times lights one candle, not three. The bet stays alive until the shooter sevens out, at which point you are paid according to how many distinct points were made.
A common paytable:
| Distinct points made | Pays |
|---|---|
| 3 or fewer | Lose |
| 4 | 24:1 |
| 5 | 249:1 |
| 6 | 999:1 |
Paytables vary by casino. Some pay on 4 points, some only start at 5, and the top prize is sometimes listed as 1000-for-1 (which is 999-to-1). Every variation shifts the edge, but none of them shift it anywhere near fair.
How rare is the jackpot?
Making all six distinct points in one hand requires a long, seven-free hand with the points spread around, not just a hot one. The published math puts it at roughly 1 in 6,000 hands. Making at least four distinct points, the minimum that pays on the table above, happens a little less than 1% of the time. Almost 9 out of 10 Fire Bets die with zero or one point made.
Run those probabilities against the payouts and the house keeps roughly 20 to 25 cents of every Fire Bet dollar, depending on the exact paytable. Compare that to the pass line at 1.41%, or the odds bet behind it at exactly zero. The Fire Bet is 15 to 20 times more expensive per dollar than the line bet sitting next to it.
Why people play it anyway
Because the story is irresistible: a dollar chip turning into a thousand while the whole table screams for the shooter. That is a real form of entertainment, and if a $1 Fire Bet buys you a sweat you enjoy, the honest framing is that you paid about a quarter in expectation for the ticket.
The trouble starts when it becomes a standing habit. A $5 Fire Bet every shooter, at a typical pace, quietly burns several dollars an hour in pure expectation before your line bets pay their own toll.
The bottom line
Treat the Fire Bet like a lottery ticket stapled to the craps table: fine as an occasional dollar of fun, terrible as a strategy. If you want to feel the difference between hot-hand excitement and sound craps play, run both on the free table and let the session log do the talking.
Educational explanation only. No real-money gambling happens on LearnTheOdds.
Play for entertainment, not income. The math favors the house over time. Set limits, never chase losses, and if it stops being fun, take a break. 21+. Need help? Call 1-800-MY-RESET (1800myreset.org).