Aggressive vs Conservative Craps strategy: What’s the difference?

For casino games like poker, playing aggressively will put you in an advantageous position and influence your edge over the other players on the table. But in craps, being aggressive or conservative doesn’t leave the same effect. Instead of affecting the bets’ house edge, an aggressive craps strategy can help you achieve bigger wins while playing with higher risks. 

If you are one of the beginner players who don’t know how to play craps online or use advanced craps strategy, this aggressive vs conservative craps strategy guide will help you understand these two approaches to playing craps. Find the best craps strategy that would work for your gameplay today in Bitcasino!

What is Craps and how does it work?

Before diving deep into which strategic approach you are going to use in your game, you should first have a thorough understanding of craps and how it works. Here’s a quick walkthrough of the rules of playing craps that you need to remember when playing with craps basic strategy:

The goal of craps 

Craps is one of the most exhilarating dice games in both online and land-based casinos. However, this isn’t the only reason why players, both seasoned and novice, flock to the craps table. 

What most gamblers like about this game is that it is easy to play and you only have one goal: to correctly predict how the two dice would land on the table. This gameplay is what makes craps completely unpredictable and players enjoy the thrill of having all the risks thrown to luck.

To play craps, all you need to do is to put your chips or wager on the area on the table representing the possibility you are betting on. A successful guess on the outcome of a roll would bring wins to your bankroll!

Craps roll possibilities

In craps, there are three possible roll results on the game and these are craps, point and natural. 

Craps is the term used to refer to the sum of a dice pair equivalent to 2, 3 or 12. This is what you need to win your don’t pass bet. 

Meanwhile, the term ‘point’ is used to refer to the sum of a dice pair equivalent to 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. A roll that results in a ‘point’ is a win for the bet. 

Finally, natural represents the sum of a dice pair that results in either 7 or 11. Hitting a natural would mean that you will win if you wager on a pass bet.

Betting options

At the beginning of the game, you and all the other players need to wager. Afterwards, the dice are rolled and any of the outcomes are determined: 

Pass bet

To win a pass bet, you need to satisfy either of the two conditions: 

• Hit a natural 
• Hit a roll that would result in a point value and re-roll the dice to get the same point value as the first roll.

Rolling a 7 right after you hit a point concludes the round. 

Don’t pass bet

A don’t pass bet can be won by fulfilling either of the two conditions: 

• Hit a crap
• Roll a point in the initial roll and hit a 7 right after.

After the first roll, you can wager between come and don’t come bet but only once the shooter has established a pass line point, which is the bet that a shooter should win. 

Come bet

To win a come bet, you need to fulfil similar conditions with the pass bet. This means that you have to hit a natural or roll a point value and re-roll again to achieve the same value as the previous point. 

Don’t come bet 

As for the don't come bet, you can win it by hitting a 2 or 3 after the initial roll. If you hit a dice pair that is equivalent to 12 after the initial roll of the device, the roll will result in a Push that would allow you to keep your bet. 

Aggressive vs conservative players: What are they like

Now that you understand the basics of craps, it’s time to get to know the two types of players you might encounter on the table. Here’s what aggressive and conservative players are like on the betting table. See if any of the descriptions resonate with your game style!

The conservative player 

When playing craps, you may see some players who always want to be in control and would rarely take huge risks because they don’t want to bet on something that they aren’t certain of. These types of players are what we call the ‘conservatives’. They are those that hold off their chips until they see the biggest payoff for their wager. Their game style is all about being in control of your wager and not charging straight to risky bets. 

Despite what most players think, this type of betting approach takes a lot of skills. A conservative player would take time to read strategy books and play the best possible strategy to heighten the possibility of landing a win on the table. Considering this, the skills of a conservative player are something that is developed through time.

Through their wit, a conservative player would often use a combination of strategies they deem effective. Despite playing on the safe side, conservative players do know when to start playing aggressively. They usually hold off their chips until the last 20% of the way through the end of the game before they start playing aggressively in hopes of winning the highest possible payout. 

The aggressive player 

Standing on the opposite side of conservative players are the aggressive ones who opt to thrive in the thrill of risky bets. These players are those who you might call adrenaline junkies. They would play aggressively from the get-go and would then start easing up until the last part of the game when they would play conservatively. 

In some cases, aggressive players would continue playing aggressively throughout the game in hopes to win the betting that they wanted. However, this kind of playing style can backfire with its huge risks. The only reason why players still choose this approach in playing craps is that it can also bring the biggest wins to your table. 

As a player, you don’t have to stick to one approach when playing craps. You can use a combination of the two strategies according to how you see fit. After all, both playing styles offer their own advantages and disadvantages. 

Aggressive strategies: Challenging the risks for a bigger win!

Playing aggressively on the table can reel in some of the highest wins. Moreover, it is a fun and thrilling way to enjoy the game and would certainly have you at the edge of your seat with every roll of the dice. Here are some of the betting strategies that you can use as an aggressive player: 

The iron cross

The iron cross is a strategy that can help you maximise your winning chances. Your only enemy on the table is 7 since you’ll win in every other number that would be rolled. To pull this strategy off, you need to place varying bets after the point has been established. To ensure that you would get a win, you need to place an equal bet on five as well as the field. You will then make a wager 20% higher on the values 6 and 8. 

With this betting strategy, you cover every possible number except 7. Your win would vary depending on the wager you placed on each number, but you can rest assured that. The risk here is that 7 is one of the most common rolled numbers. 

The whirl 

The whirl can be a bit difficult to score on the table as a professional craps strategy, but it is certainly rewarding. This strategy fits the bill when it comes to aggressive betting. With the house edge at a staggering 13%, most gamblers won’t even look at this strategy twice, but if you are up for the challenge, it can maximise your wins. 

This betting strategy requires you to wager on the numbers 2, 3, 7, 11 or 12. Winning the bet can pay you 26:5 on values 2 and 12. Rolling a 7 would result in a tie and a roll with 11 or 3 would pay 11:5. 

The craps bet 

Betting on craps is one way to play aggressively on the table. It can rack up major wins and has a manageable house edge that is enough to keep you on your toes. This bet can pay out 7:1 and has a house edge of 11%. If lady luck is on your side with this bet, she can certainly bring good returns. 

Hard 6 

Despite being an aggressive strategy, the hard 6 bet only has a house edge of 9%. To win this strategy, the shooter must roll a couple of threes on the table. Hard 6 is one of the safest aggressive bets out there if you are new to aggressive craps strategy. 

Snake eyes 

Snake eyes offer one of the highest payout ratios with a whopping 30:1. The house edge, however, is also at an all-time high with 14%. This bet has its risks and its advantages but one thing is for sure, it can make the mood on the crap table electric with how thrilling it is. To win this bet, the two dice must land with 1. 

3 point molly 

3 point molly is a betting strategy that not most gamblers can play since it involves placing several bets with the maximum odds and low house edge. The idea behind this strategy is that by placing a pass line bet and betting on your come bet with max odds, your pass line would be protected. 

The amount that you would win with a successful roll can mitigate the incremental losses that you might have while playing with this strategy. 

Laying it down 

As a beginner, it can be easy to look past the lay bets in craps. This bet allows you to lay numbers by betting that the shooter will roll a seven before another number. What makes this even better is that it has a house edge of only 2.4%

Put bets 

Put bets are wagers you place right after the shooter has established a point. This will give you the advantage to pick your point and focus on the commonly rolled numbers. What makes it even better is that it can give you free odds, which can reduce the house edge. 

An even 12 or boxcars

An even 12 bet might have a house edge of 14%, but its 30:1 payout makes up for it. For this betting strategy, you only need to wager on the shooter rolling a 12 with 6 on each dice. 

Conservative strategy: How to stay longer on the table?

Conservative gambling in craps is all about staying the longest on the table since the longer you stay on the table, the better chance you would have of being free of incriminating evidence which would prove the authenticity of the game’s result. 

For this reason, there aren’t many strategies under this approach except betting on pass bets as a relatively safer option for your wager. As for bets with a low house edge, conservative players recommend taking the don’t pass bet. 

As a conservative gambler, you should learn how to separate your bankroll from your winnings. This would prevent you from losing more while also ensuring that you would have something to take home at the end of your game session. 

Aggressive vs conservative craps strategy: Which is better? 

Now that you know the difference between aggressive and conservative online craps strategy, you might be asking which one is the most effective. Surprisingly enough, no one method is more effective than the other since it would all depend on your gameplay. 

These strategies would depend on your attitude in playing the game as well as what you are looking for when it comes to craps. Big wins are a given, but there is more to craps than just the payouts. 

Some players are looking for the social aspect of craps along with the thrill. If you are one of these players, then an aggressive bet approach would be perfect for you. However, if you are out there for the win but unwilling to take huge risks, you might want to play it safe with conservative craps strategies. 

There is no one way to play craps and you don’t have to settle for one approach to playing. It is possible to combine these strategies to form the ultimate craps strategy that would work for you!

Words by Ana Gabrielle Gundran