There are a number of betting systems for casino or Bank Craps that may be advertised on the internet, in newspapers or magazines or sold in book form. They all promise to let you in on a secret method of beating the casinos complete with tables, percentages, lists of odds and detailed explanations of how they work. They even give you example games with real rolls of the dice recorded in a real casino.  Don't be blinded by science and read the next line very carefully.

All these systems are cons to get your money in exchange for useless methods that are just going to lose you a lot more of your money at the Craps table. All bets offered by the House have a built-in percentage against you and no matter what combination or system you use the house always has the edge. Anyone who had a real system would be very wealthy and wouldn't be publishing it for you to read.  As for illustrating a system with real rolls from a real casino, you are almost certainly never going to get the same rolls when you play.

Here are some of the most common systems and the reasons why they don't work.

This is the old gambling theory of doubling up bets. Bet 1 unit on the Pass Line. If you lose bet 3 units (double your bet plus 1). If you lose again bet 7 units (double your bet plus 1) and so on. Sooner or later you must win and you will be up. If you win then start betting again from the 1 unit up. This system doesn't take into account the house betting limits. The minimum and maximum bet you can make. Say they are set at $1 minimum and $100 maximum. Your first bet would be $1, the next $3, and the next $7, the next would be $15, then $31, then $63, then the next would be $127. The last bet is way over the limit and the casino won't accept it. You've lost your money because the dice have had a run of no Passes. A run of the dice like this does happen and your bust after just 6 bets.

A variation on the Rothstein system. Wait until the dice pass four times and then put $4 on them losing on the 5th roll. If you lose, put double your bet ($8) on them losing on the next roll, and so on, until you win. It's the same thing as before - your going to hit the House limit on a bad run of the dice. Watching the dice pass four times doesn't affect the next roll. The odds are the same for every single roll of the dice regardless of what was thrown previously.

This system says you will win when the dice are hot and win when the dice are cold. You bet on the dice to win when the shooter makes a pass. You continue to bet on the dice to win until a losing through occurs and then you switch your bets on to Don't Pass. You simply switch when the dice are having a hot run and back again when the dice have a cold run. This doesn't take into account the times when the dice alternate between wins and losses on consecutive throws. The dice will have runs like this too and you will be losing heavily if they do.

A big time gamblers system which has even deceived some Craps operators. You place the maximum limit (although it can be less) on all of the six place bets: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. If the limit is $200 then this makes a total of $1,200. As soon as one of these bets is won you collect on it and call off the remaining five place number bets. Yes, most casinos allow you to call off place number bets at any time. The theory is that the bettor has six numbers against the house's one, the 7. There are 24 ways to make the place numbers and only 6 ways to make a 7 so the odds are worked out as 4 to 1 in favour of the gambler with the system. The problem is if you do roll a 7 you lose all the money on the place numbers. If we take 36 rolls of the dice and assume they come up according to the correct odds (all 36 combinations of two dice) we can see how this kind of bet pays off.

The player has lost $470 which still gives the house the edge on this system at 1.296%.

In this system you place your bet (say $60) on the Don't Pass line or Lose line before the come out throw. The shooter is then supposed to throw a point on the come out roll, either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. You then put $60 on the points place number. The idea is if the shooter doesn't throw the point you have still won on the Don't Pass bet and you are still even. You've lost $60 on the place number but won $60 on Don't Pass. If the shooter makes his point you lose $60 on the Don't Pass but your up by between $48 and $10 depending on which place number it is. The originators of this system say you can't lose barring craps and naturals on the come out throw. The problem is you can't bar craps and naturals and of course they will be thrown so the system is worthless. This system gives the casino an edge of 2.27% because of the money you will lose when naturals are thrown.

So, there are no winning systems for Craps, but you can keep the House edge down to something pretty small by smart play.  Read Good Craps Play for a guide.