If you understand how to play craps and don't need a crash course, you still might not understand proposition or horn bets. Horn bets make craps fun!
The Horn Hi bets are made in incremants of 5. They cover the 4 horn numbers with the Hi designated number getting twice the bet amount of the other 3 numbers. A $5 Horn Hi Aces is $1 on the 3, 11, and 12, $2 on the snake-eyes. A $100 Horn Hi Twelve would be $20 on the 2, 3, and 11. The twelve would be $40. If the twelve hits it pays.
Most players start with a simple pass line bet where the house edge is a tiny 1.41 percent. A pass line bet wins when 7 or 11 is thrown on the first roll, loses when 2, 3, or 12 is thrown on the first roll and is in serious limbo when a 'point' is established should 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 total on the dice. To win, that number must roll again before 7 comes up on the dice. That's craps, almost as easy as blackjack once you get the hang of it.
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However, you don't need a pass line bet to play at the craps table, and if you get bored waiting for your pass or don't pass bet to hit, there are plenty of other places to put your chips.
Horn and Proposition Bets
Craps is a fast action game and it is the stickman's job to entice you with proposition bets. A prop bet is a one-roll bet. You either hit the bet on the next roll or you lose! Most authorities will tell you to avoid prop bets because the house edge is so high. I won't. I like prop bets because they are fun and add a lot of excitement to the game.
When the stickman asks, 'anybody on eleven,' he wants you to toss him a chip for the next roll coming up an eleven. If it rolls, you will be paid 15 to 1 or 15 for 1, depending on where you are playing. That's a nice payoff and you can usually make the bet for as little as a dollar. A two-way eleven is half for the dealers and half for the player if it hits.
Sure, the house edge is 11.11 percent (if you are getting 15 to 1) on a eleven bet, but if you make a $1 bet every ten minutes and play for six hours, it only costs you $4 on average because you will win the bet twice in 36 rolls and get back $32. The fun part is when a lot of elevens are rolling and you get paid more often.
There are plenty of other prop bets on a crap game. The bets, how many times they will average rolling and the house edge are:
- Two - 1 time in 36 - pays 30 to 1 - House Edge 13.89 percent
- Three - 2 times in 36 - pays 15 to 1 - House Edge 11.11 percent
- 12 - 1 time in 36 - pays 30 to 1 - House Edge 13.89 percent
- Any craps - 4 times in 36 - pays 7 to 1 - House Edge 11.11 percent
- Any seven - 6 times in 36 - pays 4 to 1 - House Edge 16.67 percent
Horn Bets
Like prop bets, you must ask for a horn bet and either toss the chips to the stickman or tell the inside dealer well before the dice 'total' and a number is made. Don't just throw your chips into the stickman's other bets!
A horn bet is split between 2, 3, 11 and 12—and is a single roll bet. A $4 horn bet is $1 on each number, so when 3 or 11 hits you get paid $12 or 3 to 1 on your bet. This is because you lose $1 on the 2, 11 and 12 and your bet stays up on the horn, so the dealer deducts $3 from your 15-1 payoff and gives you $12.
If a 2 or 12 rolls, you win $30 minus the three $1 losing bets and receive $27. You can bet any amount on the horn and when 3 or 11 rolls they will multiply your bet by three and pay you. When 2 or 12 rolls they will multiply your bet by 6.75 and pay you.
Horn High and World Bets
Horn high and world bets are for $5 increments. When you bet a horn high 12, $2 is on the number 12 and $1 is on 2, 3 and 11. You have to call out 'Horn High' and choose where that extra dollar goes (2, 3, 11 or 12).
Megabucks payout schedule. When you place a world bet, you have $1 on 2, 3, 11, 12 and also 7. Again, the stickman will tell the inside dealer what to pay you and your original bet will stay up for the next roll. Yes, you are allowed to take it down.
I remember the first time I ever encountered craps at a casino in Las Vegas. I was drawn over to it by the hooting, howling, and high fives going on around the table. That ancient human trait of curiosity drew me toward it like a moth to a flame. I had to know what was getting everyone so excited.
I meandered over, watched for a few minutes, and left utterly baffled by what I had just seen. I was none the wiser about craps, and in fact, I left the table that night knowing less about it than I did before I’d gone over. Craps does that to people in the beginning, and understanding craps bets, rules, and etiquette is an entire discipline which takes a while to master.
I couldn’t possibly teach you everything there is to know about craps in one blog post. However, I can break down the five wildest bets you can make and show you the numbers behind them. So, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
What Are the Five Wildest Bets in Craps?
Before we get to breaking the bets down, let’s first identify what the wildest bets you can make in craps are. That starts by defining what I mean by wild.
For me, the wildest bets are those which are most improbable and hence have the biggest potential payouts. I certainly wouldn’t call the ‘Pass Line’ bet wild, since it has a 1:1 payout and a house edge of just 1.41%.
So, assuming you agree with my definition, here are the five wildest bets you can make when playing craps. I’ve ranked these in order of payout starting with the highest.
- 2 craps or 12 craps
- 3 craps or 11
- 6 or 8 (Hardways)
- 4 or 10 (Hardways)
- 2 or 12 (Horn Bet)
There are some bets which could have easily been on this list. For example, the ‘any craps’ bet also has a 7 to 1 payout and the same house edge as betting on 4 or 10, but I did say I was going to break down the five wildest bets, so I had to go with one of them and just run with it. Star quest game.
Now that you know what the five wildest bets actually are, at least according to this player, let’s break them down and study them in greater detail.
2 Craps or 12 Craps (35 to 1 Odds)
If you’re totally new to craps, you might not even know what ‘crap’ is. Well, it’s time to learn.
Craps is when 2, 3, or 12 is rolled. If this happens on the Come Out roll, the shooter is said to have ‘crapped out.’ If you’re confused by these terms, it may be an idea to check out our learn craps page as it’ll run you through the fundamentals.
Betting on 2 craps or 12 craps pays a whopping 30 to 1, putting it well within our agreed definition of a wild bet. It’s made even wilder by the ridiculous house edge – no less than 13.9%.
Yes, this is an unlikely bet, but it could turn a $10 bet into $300 in a few split seconds. That’s what wild bets are all about, right?
3 Craps or 11 (17 to 1 Odds)
This one isn’t quite as wild as betting on 2 craps or 12 craps, but it’s still in the ballpark.
This bet pays no less than 15 to 1 if lady luck is on your side. The house edge is 11.1%.
Do you see a pattern yet? The lower the house edge, the lower the payout, and vice versa.
Personally, I’d make the 2 craps or 12 craps bet over this one, but that’s just me. You’ll have to do the math for yourself and decide how you want to play it.
6 or 8 Hardways (10 to 1 Odds)
You could bet on a 6 or 8 as a place bet, meaning you just predict these numbers will come out before a 7 and leave it at that. However, 6 or 8 place bets only pay 7 to 6 – hardly what you’d call wild.
What I’m talking about here is betting on a 6 or 8 as a hardways bet, meaning you also bet on how the 6 or 8 will be formed. For example, you could bet that a 6 is formed by a 2 and a 4, via a 5 and a 1, or via two 3s.
Naturally, it’s much harder to predict this (hence it’s called a hardways bet), and so it pays much more when you get it right – a tasty 9 to 1.
The house edge on this bet is 9.09%. That’s steep and perfectly illustrates why the payout is so big. You won’t land this one often, but hey, it’ll boost your bankroll quickly if it does happen.
![Craps keys for prop bets Craps keys for prop bets](https://www.casinonewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/evolution_gaming_betmgm_288-300x200.jpg)
4 or 10 Hardways (8 to 1 Odds)
Here we have another hardways bet, meaning you won’t just have to guess the number but will have to guess how it’s formed.
Let’s look at another example to clarify things. Let’s say you want to wager on 4. It would be simple to just bet on that, but that’s a place bet, and it only pays 9 to 5. When you do it the hard way and guess whether the four will be two 2s or a 3 and a 1, the payout will increase to 7 to 1.
The house edge on this bet is even higher than the other hardways bet mentioned here. It’s 11.1%. Yikes!
Horn Bet
A horn bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 2, 3, 11, or 12. The horn bet is found in the middle of the craps table alongside the prop bets.
When you make a horn bet, you’re actually making four separate bets. That means if you bet $10 on it, you’re actually betting $2.50 on each number. If you’re betting with an odd number, such as a $5 chip, you can double up on one of the numbers.
- If 3 or 11 come up, you’ll get a 3.75 to 1 payout.
- If 2 or 12 come up, the payout will be 7.5 to 1.
Horn High Ace Deuce
Unfortunately, the horn bet is also known as the ‘suckers bet,’ so I really wouldn’t be in any rush to make it. A 7.5 to 1 payout would be nice, but there are much better bets to make when playing craps online or in a brick-and-mortar casino.
Craps World Bet
![Bet Bet](https://www.casinonewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/gambleware-logo-161118.jpg)
The Wildest Bets in Craps – A Summary
If you feel like I did the first time I left the craps table in Vegas – bewildered and slightly worried about whether or not you’ll ever understand craps – let go of that tension in your shoulders and relax! We’ve all been there, and I can assure you that this all makes a lot more sense after a few live craps games.
Craps Keys For Prop Bets
As with most casino games, the best way to learn craps is to play it. You can test some of these wild craps bets out for free by claiming a no deposit bonus or by using a free craps simulator.
Go ahead and try out some of the wild craps bets you’ve learned about here. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend placing large amounts of money on them right away, but they’re fun to make, and if the gods of the odds do decide to make your day, they can quickly boost your bankroll and cause you to hoot, howl, and high-five like the people I saw that night long ago in Vegas.
Craps Horn Bet Keys
After a few games, you’ll understand why they say craps is the most exciting game in the casino. Good luck, and remember the number one rule in any casino game – have fun!