What Is the Safest Bet in Craps?
Last reviewed: June 2026
The safest bet in craps is the Free Odds bet — and it is the only wager in any standard casino game that carries a 0% house edge. Taken alongside a Pass Line or Don’t Pass bet, Free Odds drives your combined edge down to ~0.37% at the 3-4-5× odds cap common in most casinos. Nothing else on the craps layout comes close.
This page explains exactly why Odds bets are mathematically fair, how the combined edge is calculated, and which bets you should avoid entirely.
What are Free Odds bets?
Once the shooter establishes a point (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10), you may place an additional bet directly behind your Pass Line wager. This is called taking odds (or “taking free odds”). There is no house markup — the casino pays at the exact true probability of the point repeating before a 7-out.
| Point | True odds | Odds bet payout |
|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 2 ways to make the point vs. 3 ways to roll 7 | 2:1 |
| 5 or 9 | 4 ways vs. 6 ways to roll 7 | 3:2 |
| 6 or 8 | 5 ways vs. 6 ways to roll 7 | 6:5 |
Because the payout matches the true probability, the expected value of the Odds bet is exactly zero. The casino earns nothing on it. This is why you will never see Odds listed on the felt — the house has no incentive to advertise it.
On the Don’t Pass side, you can lay odds (betting the 7 comes before the point repeats). The payouts invert: 1:2 against 4/10, 2:3 against 5/9, and 5:6 against 6/8. Same 0% edge.
For a deeper look at how payouts are structured, see Craps Odds Bets.
How the combined edge works
The Pass Line alone carries a 1.41% house edge (exactly 7/495). Don’t Pass is slightly better at 1.36% (exactly 27/1980, because the bar-12 push — where the 12 is a push on the come-out roll — reduces the casino’s advantage slightly).
When you back a Pass Line bet with Free Odds, the 0%-edge Odds wager dilutes the overall house edge across your total action. The more you put on Odds relative to your flat bet, the lower the blended edge:
| Odds cap | Combined edge on total action |
|---|---|
| 1× odds | ~0.85% |
| 2× odds | ~0.61% |
| 3-4-5× (casino default) | ~0.37% |
| 5× flat | ~0.33% |
| 10× | ~0.18% |
The 3-4-5× structure is the most common in Las Vegas and online craps rooms: 3× on the 4/10, 4× on the 5/9, and 5× on the 6/8. At that cap, your combined edge is approximately 0.37% on total action — better than almost any bet in any table game.
Example: You bet $10 on the Pass Line; the point is 6. You back it with $50 in Odds (5× the flat bet).
- If the 6 repeats: win $10 on the Pass Line + win $60 on the Odds bet (6:5 payout on $50) = $70 profit on $60 wagered.
- If a 7-out: lose $10 + lose $50 = $60 total loss.
- The casino’s edge applies only to the $10 Pass Line portion, not the $50 Odds portion.
That single mechanical fact is what makes the Odds bet uniquely powerful.
How craps compares to other games
For context, here is how Pass + 3-4-5× Odds stacks up against other commonly cited “low-edge” bets:
| Bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Craps — Free Odds alone | 0.00% |
| Craps — Pass + 3-4-5× Odds (combined) | ~0.37% |
| Craps — Pass Line alone | 1.41% |
| Craps — Don’t Pass alone | 1.36% |
| Blackjack — basic strategy (3:2 table) | ~0.50% |
| Baccarat — Banker | 1.06% |
| Baccarat — Player | 1.24% |
| European roulette | 2.70% |
| American roulette | 5.26% |
Pass + full Odds is the lowest-edge path available to a flat-money gambler at a live table.
Bets to avoid on the craps layout
The craps table is filled with high-edge proposition bets that look appealing but carry enormous house advantages:
| Bet | House edge | Why it looks tempting |
|---|---|---|
| Place 6 or 8 | 1.52% | Pays 7:6; reasonable, but worse than Pass + Odds |
| Place 5 or 9 | 4.00% | Pays 7:5 |
| Place 4 or 10 | 6.67% | Pays 9:5; often misquoted — the true edge is 6.67%, not a lower figure |
| Field (2:1 on 2 and 12) | 5.56% | Looks like an even-money bet |
| Any Craps (2, 3, or 12) | 11.1% | Pays 7:1 on a bet with true odds of 8:1 |
| Any 7 | 16.67% | Pays 4:1; true odds are 5:1 |
The Place 4/10 edge deserves special emphasis: 6.67%, not a lower number that sometimes appears in print. That figure is derived from the exact probability: the house pays 9:5 on a bet that should pay 2:1, and the shortfall works out to exactly 1/15 of each dollar wagered.
Any 7 and Any Craps are the archetypal “sucker bets” — the kind of one-roll propositions the stickman calls out loudly precisely because the margin is so favorable to the house. See Craps Trap Bets for a full breakdown of what to skip.
The practical strategy
The optimal craps approach fits in one sentence: bet Pass Line or Don’t Pass, then take or lay the maximum Odds your bankroll allows.
Come and Don’t Come bets work identically to Pass and Don’t Pass but are placed mid-roll after a point is already established. They carry the same 1.41% / 1.36% edge and can also be backed with Odds, so they are equally valid.
Everything else on the layout — Place bets (other than 6/8 as a secondary option), Fields, Hardways, and proposition bets — carries a meaningfully higher edge and should generally be avoided by anyone focused on getting the most play for their money.
If you are new to the game, Craps for Beginners covers the mechanics of the come-out roll, how points are set, and how to place your first bet at the table. You can also practice the layout interactively at /games/craps/.
For a full comparison of edge percentages across every common wager, see Best and Worst Casino Bets and House Edge by Game.
Frequently asked
Does “0% edge” mean I will break even on Odds bets? In the long run, yes — the Odds bet itself has zero expected loss. But you will still fluctuate up and down on any individual session because variance is real. The 0% means the casino has no mathematical edge over time; your results depend entirely on which outcomes the dice produce. See Variance for how that affects short-run results.
How much should I put on Odds? As much as your bankroll can sustain at the cap the table allows. A common guideline: buy in for at least 20× the Odds bet amount so a normal losing streak does not wipe you out before variance can even out. See Craps Variance and Bankroll for session-length math.
Is Don’t Pass + Lay Odds better than Pass + Take Odds? By a fraction: Don’t Pass starts at 1.36% vs. Pass at 1.41%. Both drop to approximately the same blended figure once full Odds are added, so the difference is negligible in practice. Choose whichever you prefer to play.
Why do casinos allow a 0% bet at all? The Odds bet is invisible on the layout and only available after a player has already placed a Pass or Don’t Pass wager. The casino collects its margin on the flat bet; the Odds bet is a player-retention tool that serious players know about but casual players rarely use. It costs the casino almost nothing in practice because most players do not take full Odds.
Sources & further reading
- Wizard of Odds — Craps — house edge calculations for every craps bet, including combined Pass + Odds figures
- /learn/house-edge/ — how house edge is defined and why it matters across all casino games
- /learn/craps-odds-bets/ — detailed mechanics and payout math for Free Odds wagers
Educational explanation only. No real-money gambling happens on LearnTheOdds.
Responsible gambling: 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).