As if there weren’t already enough different bets you can make on a craps table, the casinos are always looking for new and different ways to attract players and then get their money quicker, to make room for more players waiting to play while the tables are full.
It’s all about getting fresh money in the table’s drop box.
In this guide, we will explore the most popular craps bonus bets and find out how to use them efficiently.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
These interesting side Bonus Bets on the casino's craps tables are a set of independent wagers that pay handsomely and give you something to brag about in the future.
Here’s my “What You Need to Know Guide” about them below, based on what I’ve encountered when I have played. (Casinos often tweak the rules and adjust the payoffs more to their liking.)
Fact
These craps side bets should capture your attention and are worthy of your play, as that will add more excitement as you near the point of winning one of them. A single Bonus Bet win can make your day.
If you play the craps bonus bets on everyone who shoots, even though the bets might be small ones, they will quickly add up as your buy-in usually will diminish quicker than without playing them.
Unless, of course, you get lucky and win the high-paying bonus bet offered. Then you’ll be talking about that Bonus Bet win for weeks.
Bonus bets like the ATS, All, Tall and Small, Sharpshooter Bet, Fire Bet, and Repeater Bets are all calculated to make you hand over your money to the casinos quicker than if those bets weren’t available to bet. Some are more winnable than others.
Some are rarely won. Which bonus bets are offered is decided by each different casino. Some offer several bonus bets, some offer just a single bonus bet.
So, it’s your choice.
Do you want the excitement of chasing a really hard-to-win bet that you’ll be able to brag about if you do win it, or do you save your buy-in for more mundane and winnable bets?
Here’s the lowdown on several of the most popular Bonus Bets found on craps tables today.
Individual Repeater Bets can be made anytime before that number has rolled once.
Ten individual Repeater Bets: on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, that you collect on when you have bet the Repeater Bet on that number and it rolls once more that the number of times it is expected to roll during an average turn.
You can bet as many or as few Repeater number bets as you like. Payoffs vary between numbers.
The Repeater Bets are built around how often each of the different numbers you can roll, 2 through 12, are expected to roll during a shooter’s turn.
You can bet on just one point number rolling more frequently than expected, or you can bet them like penny candy on up to all 12 numbers.
To win any of the Repeater Bets you must have a bet on that number before it has been rolled for the first time during a shooter’s turn and the shooter must roll one more than expected occurrence of that number before a turn ending 7.
There are spaces clustered on the table to track each bet to know when they are won. The two and twelve have two small labeled circles, where a small chip with a 2 on it is placed each time a 2 rolls. When both spaces are full, the players who had a bet on Repeater 2 are paid off for their win.
There are three small labeled circles for each the 3 and 11, four small labeled circles for each the 4 and 10, five small circles for each the 5 and 9, and six small circles for each the 6 & 8; so that hits on each number can be tracked as they happen.
The nice thing about Repeater Bets is that you can concentrate your bets on just your signature numbers that you toss the most when it is your turn to shoot, which greatly increases your chance of winning the bets you have made.
That is certainly better than the shotgun approach where you be every number and hope to win some of them.
On other shooters that you bet on, you will want to track which numbers they are throwing the most and concentrate your bets on just those numbers.
Remember
Some good craps shooters seem to have the ability to hit different number combinations, say 4 and 10, while others will toss entirely different signature numbers, so just betting the most commonly rolled 6 and 8’s isn’t necessarily the best betting strategy.
Three separate bets, you can bet just one bet, or two, or all three bets. Bets must be made before the come out roll. Bets lose to come out 7’s.
Win them All Bet is won by betting it and both the All Small and All Tall bet rolls before a 7 rolls. Pays 175 to 1, in addition to also getting to collect the pay-offs for All Small and All Tall bet wins.
ATS is hugely popular. The initials stand for All, Tall, Small, referring to the numbers you can roll, from 2 thru 12. The All Small encompasses the five numbers lower than 7. The All Tall encompasses the five numbers larger than 7.
You place your All Tall Small craps bets before a point is established. You can bet just the All Small, just the All Tall, or just the Win them all. Or you can bet all three bets.
If you bet the All Small and 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 rolls in any order before a 7, you win the All Small bet, which pays 34 to 1 where I play.
If you bet the All Tall and 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 rolls in any order before a 7, you win the All Tall bet, which also pays 34 to 1 where I play.
If you have bet the Win Them All and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 all roll before a 7, then you win a 175 to 1 payoff for the Win Them All bet.
If you have just bet the Win Them All part of the bet, you’ll only get the 175 to 1 payoff when all the required numbers roll before the 7. If you have bets on all three, you’ll collect 34 to 1 when each All Tall and All Small wins.
Then, when the second of those bets is won, they will pay it, then pay you 175 to 1 for your Win Them All part of your bet.
All three ATS bets lose to come-out 7’s before the point is established and must be replaced each time that come-out 7 happens if you want to continue to have a chance to win them.
You can hedge against losing your ATS bets to the come-out 7 by making your pass line bet equal to the sum of your ATS bets. Your pass line bet will win on a come-out 7 and those winnings can be used to refresh your lost ATS bets.
If you are betting $5 on All Small and $5 on All Tall and $10 on Win Them All, then a $25 pass line bet would be able to replace your lost ATS bets to a come-out 7.
You may want to put more money on the All Tall and All Small than on the Win Them All, because those bets are easier and more frequently won vs. the tougher to hit Win Them All.
Bill’s Tip
Where I play these bets are labeled Little Ones, Boom or Bust, and Big Ones. I have heard that was done to get around paying royalties to the bet’s creator, but it is exactly the same bet, just with different names.
It looks a lot easier to hit the 5 needed numbers for the All Small or the All Tall than it actually is. Usually, when getting close to winning either of these easier bets, you’ll be left with having to roll a 2 or 12 and that is usually very hard to do.
Keep in mind
There is only a 1 in 36 chance of rolling either each roll. There is only a 2 in 36 chance of rolling 3 or 11 each roll, and that isn’t easy either.
This craps bonus bet must be made prior to the come out roll. Bets lose to come out 7’s.
You collect on the Fire Bet when you’ve bet it and from three to all six UNIQUE point numbers are set and made by the shooter. Come out 7’s take down the Craps Fire Bet. The more UNIQUE points made after the third point, the more you win.
When the craps casino offers the Fire Bet, there will be a fire-shaped symbol with a player number inside it in front of you, just behind the pass line.
You’ll place your fire bet there before the new turn begins and it will be moved to the center of the table for you, with the rest of the Fire Bets from other players.
In making a Fire bet, you are betting on the number of unique points the shooter will set and then make during his turn.
Where I play, they use the following pay schedule; though this may vary at different casinos, some are tighter than others.
If the shooter makes the same point more than once, it does not advance the pay schedule. Each point made must a point that hasn’t been made yet on this shooter’s turn.
The Fire Bet is designed to take advantage of your greed, with a house edge of almost 21 percent. You might make four, five, or six points on a rare really hot long-lasting roll.
A lot of those point numbers most likely will be repeats of point numbers that have already been set and won, therefore, not being qualified as unique point numbers.
The approximate odds of making all 6 unique points on a single turn shooting is 16/100’s of one percent.
Remember
Some casinos don’t start rewarding Fire Bet wins until 4 unique point numbers have been set and made. That drives the house advantage up to about 25%.
Bets must be made prior to come out roll. Bets lose to come out 7’s.
You collect on the Sharpshooter Bet when you’ve bet it and three to ten NON-NECESSARILY-UNIQUE points are set and made by the shooter before a 7 rolls. The more points made after the third point, up to 10 points, the more you win.
You place your Sharpshooter bet in the space provided behind the pass line before the shooter’s turn begins. The Sharpshooter bet is a little more generous than the Fire Bet.
You are still betting that the shooter makes multiple points on his turn shooting, but they don’t have to be unique point numbers. If the shooter establishes and has made 3 points, all on 8, that counts as 3 points made.
The pay schedule for the Sharpshooter Bet, where I play, is:
Can this bet be won?
Yes, I have won the 10-point Sharpshooter Bet, then continued to shoot for another 20 minutes before finally tossing a 7. Most of those points were made on 6’s or 8’s.
Bets must be made prior to come out roll. Bets lose to come out 7’s and to any same point number being set more than once.
You bet $25 that the shooter will roll all six point numbers, IN ORDER, from 4 through 10 or from 10 through 4, without establishing any same point number twice, before a 7 rolls. Pays $1,000,000.
This bet does not exist in any casino. It’s just a bet I made up a while back as a bet to end all craps bets. Players would bet $25 to try to win it.
The shooter would have to set and make all six unique points in order, from high to low or from low to high, without repeating a point. If they did that they’d win a million dollars.
I can just see players plopping their $25 down and shouting, “Shoot The Moon, Baby!”
Give these craps bonus bets a try and see how they work for you. Just don’t go crazy betting them, as they can drain your buy-in when played excessively and not won.
You might even find yourself left with only an easy-to-hit 6 or 8 to complete one of these bets. Don’t you know it, at that particular time you couldn’t toss that easiest point number to save your life.
And that 7, that makes you lose all ATS bets is scheduled to roll once ever 6 rolls on average.
It takes someone that is either extremely lucky or an extremely good shoot to win the Win Them All part of the ATS bets, because you’ll have to hit all four of those hard-to-roll horn numbers to win, 2, 3, 11, and 12.
Recommendation
If you want to learn more about playing craps from a pro player, you can check out our craps guides collection and start shooting dice the right way.
Have fun!
