Betting on Hardways
Written June 17, 2008 by Jack Jones
Today we are going to try to give you some secrets to hardway betting in craps. Most people who play craps know that these bets have high payoffs, with the six and the eight paying 9:1 and the four or ten paying 7:1, but the payoff only comes when two identical numbers are rolled. These means you need either 2 -2 (4), 3 -3 (6), 4 -4 (8), or a 5 -5 (10).
1 -1 (2) and 6 -6 (12) do not count as hardways because that is the only way they can roll.
This means that if you bet on a hard eight then you can only win if a 4 -4 is rolled. You lose your bet if a 3 -5 or 2-6 combination appears. Same goes for the other numbers and combinations that do not have identical numbers rolled.
So how do professional craps players make money on hardways?
The true odds of the hard 6 and 8 are 10:1 but the payoff is only 9:1, giving the casino a 9% edge. The true odds on the 4 and 10 are 8:1 but the payoff is only 7:1, giving the casino a 11% edge. But, since all of the hardways roll only once then why are the odds different? And if each hard number rolls the same amount (one in 36) as the 2 and 12, why aren’t the odds identical? The payoff for the 2/12 is 30:1. Why don’t the hardways pay higher?
When you place a bet for the 2 or the 12, it is a bet for just a single roll. If any number other the 2 or the 12 rolls then the player loses. The true odds of these bets are 35:1 since they should appear only once in 36 rolls. The hardway bets will stay on the board if anything other than a seven or an easy way rolls. Even though a hard number should roll once in 36 rolls, it stays up more often than the 2 or the 12, which is why the payoff is lower.
Since hardways stay up until they either hit or lose, it is easy to start a progression with them. This means bet $1 each on the hard four, ten, six and eight for a total of only $4 to start out. These hard numbers each should roll once in 36 rolls. If there is a long time between sevens, you could win $7 + $7 + $9 +$9 or $32 for a $4 investment.
If the seven (or the soft number) rolls you would increase your bet by $1 and put it back up. So you might have different bets on different numbers. You should also have a 30% win goal and loss limit for this hard way method. If you buy in for $500 you would quit if you win or lose approximately $150.
Some crapshooters try to minimize their losses by calling bets “off” when 6 rolls go by to help minimize sevens. The bets are also off on the come out when everyone is rooting for a seven.
Next time you play, give this hard way progression a try.