Craps Bankroll Management Guide for US Players
Craps bankroll management pertains to the strategies and actions used to manage your money while playing craps. Effective craps money management can help players minimize losses, sustain play over a long time, and increase chances of profitability.
In this article, we examine what bankroll management in craps is and how to efficiently manage your craps bankroll to give you the highest likelihood of success.
What is Craps Bankroll Management & Why is it Important?Craps bankroll management is essentially how you manage your finances when playing craps. It encompasses several elements, including setting a budget, determining bet size, establishing win and loss goals, and formulating betting systems and strategies.
There are several reasons why it is so important to manage your bankroll for craps. First of all, bankroll management is an effective, responsible gambling tool. By planning and managing your money for gambling, you protect yourself from developing a gambling addiction and facing financial difficulties.
A good craps bankroll strategy also ensures longevity when gambling, which gives you the best chance of making a profit. Gambling comes with highs and lows, and there are times when you lose several rounds in a row. If you’re managing your bankroll well, you can ride out these downturns and recover your losses.
Tips for Managing Your Craps BankrollNow that you know why craps bankroll management is so important, let’s take a look at five key areas to consider when managing your money for this popular casino dice game.
Tip #1: Set a Budget Tip #1: Set a BudgetThe first thing to consider for effective craps bankroll management is your budget. Your budget for craps should only be from expendable cash. Don’t use the money you need for food, bills, rent, etc.
It should also be an amount you can afford to lose and feel comfortable losing. Hopefully, you won’t lose your whole bankroll and will actually win some, but there’s no guarantee. Losing more than you are comfortable with can lead to chasing losses, resulting in poor betting decisions and losing even more money.
Tip #2: Bet Size Tip #2: Bet SizeYour bet size is closely linked to your budget. You need to ensure that your bet size suits your total bankroll. For instance, if you have a $200 bankroll for a session, then betting $50 on every roll could deplete your total bankroll in just a few minutes. It’s good practice to have your bet size be roughly 2-5% of your total bankroll, depending on your personal preference and risk aversion.
Tip #3: Set a Win Goal Tip #3: Set a Win Goal“Quit while you’re ahead, all the best gamblers do.”- Baltasar Gracian. This is great advice, but how far ahead should you be when you quit? Well, you should determine this before you sit down for a session. A good win goal is around 20-30% of your starting bankroll.
Tip #4: Set a Loss Limit Tip #4: Set a Loss LimitSetting a loss limit as part of your craps bankroll management is just as important as setting a win goal. You shouldn’t leave a casino with nothing of your session’s bankroll left. Ensuring that you set a loss limit prevents you from having the mental anguish of having “lost everything”.
Tip #5: Use Good Bets Tip #5: Use Good BetsThere are various bets available at a craps table, and they are not all equal. Bets like odds, pass/don’t pass the line, or come/don’t come bet are considered good bets. This is because while the payouts are low, the house edge is also low, giving you a better statistical chance of winning money.
The Importance of Betting Units in Bankroll ManagementWhen playing at a craps casino site or brick-and-mortar casino, it is vital you plan how much you are going to bet on each roll. For craps money management, it’s helpful to think in betting units rather than dollar amounts, which simply refers to the amount of money you bet each time you make a wager.
For example, let’s say that each time it’s possible to bet on the pass line, person A wants to bet $10, and person B plans to bet $25. If both of these people had $200 to play with, person A would have 20 betting units (200/10), while person B would have only 8 units (200/25).
So why are betting units so important in terms of craps bankroll management? First, betting units are helpful if you wish to implement a specific betting strategy or progressive betting system. They are also extremely helpful in determining the required size of one’s bankroll.
If we look at the example above of the two players with $200. Person A has 20 betting units, a decent amount of bets that should be enough to spend at least an hour at the table without breaking. Person B, on the other hand, only has 8 units and could quickly deplete all or most of their bankroll.
Craps Bankroll Calculator ExplainedA craps bankroll calculator is a simple and straightforward mathematical method that is useful in determining how much money you’ll need to play based on three factors.
- BANKROLL = (BET SIZE) x (20 ROLLERS) x (# OF SESSIONS)
To help you understand this better, we’ll break down each of the elements in this calculation.
Bet Size Bet SizeYour bet size is how much you plan to wager on each roller. When working out your bank size, you consider that all your bets will lose, even though, in reality, you will almost certainly win some. However, just for the calculation of bet size, it’s assumed each wager will be a loss.
The bet size is also based on your original bankroll. If you win a hand or hand and have more money than you started with, don’t adjust your bankroll during your session.
It’s also important to take into account all panned wagers, but you don’t need to consider any press bets you’ll make from winnings.
20 Rollers 20 RollersMost professionals recommend using between 2-5% of your bankroll per wager when playing craps. A “20 roller” view is another way of saying your bet size should be 5% of your bankroll, as you have 20 wagers on the roll of the dice (100/5 = 20) . You can change the number of “rollers” based on what percentage you are comfortable with, for example:
- 1% = 100 rollers
- 2% = 50 rollers
- 3% = 33 rollers
- 4% = 25 rollers
- 5% = 20 rollers
However, we think 20 rollers is a decent number, as it should be enough to last an hour unless you are incredibly unlucky. It also provides decent returns on wins while still offering security and longevity.
Number of Sessions Number of SessionsFinally, you need to consider the number of sessions you want to play. If you plan on going to a casino four times over a weekend, you need to account for this in your bankroll calculation.
For example, let’s say our bet size is the table minimum of $5, and we want to have four sessions. So the numbers we input to the sum are:
- Sessions: 4
- Bet Size: 5
- Rollers: 20
With all of this in mind, we can now do the calculation which will be:
- Bankroll = 5x20x4
So, for this scenario, we would need a bankroll of $400, which is $100 for each session.
Why Setting Limits & Goals Helps With Craps Money ManagementEstablishing loss limits and winning goals in craps money management is imperative for several reasons. Limiting your losses prevents over-extending, and you only lose an amount you are okay with losing. This, in turn, stops you from making impulsive bets trying to claw back losses.
Goals and limits also give you a clear framework for success and lets you easily assess your performance. You can then adjust your betting strategy accordingly.
What’s more, it also enhances your overall gambling experience. Not losing more than you can afford keeps the experience enjoyable, and hitting winning goals provides an extra element of satisfaction on top of making money.
Understand Which Craps Bets are Good & Which are NotCraps is different from many other games found at online casinos in the US in that the bets on offer have a large variation in the house edge ranging from 1.36% to 11.11%. To give yourself the highest probability of making a profit, you should be placing bets with a low edge.
- Pass Line Bet: 1.41%
- Don’t Pass Line Bet: 1.36%
- Come Bet: 1.41%
- Don’t Come Bet: 1.36%
- Odds Bets : 0% (These bets can only be placed in addition to a Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line, Come, or Don’t Come bet.)
- Proposition Bets (One-roll Bets): 11.11%
- Hardways Bets: 9.09%
- Field Bets: 5.56%
- Big 6/Big 8 Bets: 9.09%
The types of bets you place also play a role in how long you can spend at the table. Previously, we’ve looked at how many bets you need to be able to make with your bankroll, but you can also look at how long you want a session to be.
Craps is a fast-paced game, and there’s an average of around 100 rolls per hour. However, if a player is betting on the pass line and even odds bets, then they will only make bets about one in every 3 to 4 rolls. This means that they will only be betting about 20 to 30 times an hour.
Joe YarnoldEditor
Craps is well known for being a streaky game, so it’s important you are able to stay in the game long enough to hit a winning streak, and craps money management can help you do that.
You need to know how much money to bring to the table, and to work this out, you need to consider these things: how long you plan to stay at the table, bet type, and betting unit.
For example, let’s say you want to bet $5 on the pass line and 2x odds whenever possible, which would be an additional $10. You need enough money to cover 30x bets per hour, which in this case would be $450 (30 x 15).
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll go broke within an hour by betting on the pass line and odds with 30 bets available, and you give yourself a good chance of hitting a winning streak within this time.
Are Progressive Systems Useful for Bankroll Management in Craps?Progressive betting systems are strategies that dictate your bet size. They involve either increasing or decreasing your bet size based on previous outcomes. The Martingale, Parioli, and Fibonacci systems are some of the most well-known.
These systems can be useful in curbing impulsive betting, but the effectiveness and usefulness of these in craps depends on which system you use. Systems like the Martingale system, where you increase bets after a loss, are risky and require a considerable bankroll. The Parioli system, where you only increase after a win, is better suited to craps and is less risky.
However, all things considered, we would advise against progressive betting systems for most people, especially beginners. They can overcomplicate things, and it’s more beneficial to pre-determine your bet size and stick to that throughout a session.
More Useful Guides on ReadWriteHere are some other handy guides to help you improve your craps game.
Our Final Thoughts“World-renowned poker player V.P. Pappy once said, “Gambling is not about how well you play the games. It’s really about how well you handle your money.” This type of advice is something you will hear from almost every successful professional gambler. Bankroll management is probably the most important aspect of gambling.
In craps, there’s nothing you can do to change the house edge, but by handling your money well and coming up with a clear craps bankroll management strategy, you can increase your chances of profitability and significantly limit your losses. Make your plan before playing, be disciplined, and stick to your plan. When you’re ready to put your knowledge into practice, be sure to check out the craps games available at Wild Casino.
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FAQ
How to win at craps with a small bankroll?
If you are going to play craps with a small bankroll, you need to effectively manage your bankroll and make good bets. To manage your bankroll, find a table with a minimum bet size that allows you to place bets suitable for your bankroll. Bet size should be around 5% of your total bankroll. Good bets mean making bets with a high probability of winning and a low house edge, such as pass the line and come bets.
What is the safest bet in craps?The safest bet in craps is a pass the line bet, as it has the highest probability of winning and has the low house edge. There’s a 22.2% chance of winning on the come out roll and just under a 50% chance of winning after the point is established.
How much bankroll should you have for craps?A good bankroll size is different for everyone. First and foremost, your bankroll should be based on how much you can afford and how much you are comfortable losing. You also need to split your bankroll based on how many sessions you plan to play.
What is the most effective way to manage your craps bankroll?The most effective craps bankroll management strategy requires you to first set a budget, determine a betting unit size, set win goals and loss limits, and finally be disciplined in your wagering.
Responsible GamblingGambling is a fun way for some people to relax, unwind, and spend their leisure time. However, there are potential risks associated with it, and you should always gamble responsibly and protect yourself from possible negative consequences.
If you suspect you are suffering from gambling addiction, you should seek help from a professional organization such as some of the sites listed below.
- https://www.gam-anon.org/
- https://gamblersanonymous.org/ga/hotlines
- https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/
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