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ABOUT "BONUS CRAPS" LICENSED BY GALAXY GAMING Updated January 3, 2017 Bonus Craps is a side bet that is licensed by Galaxy Gaming to be used by
casinos on their existing craps tables. Here's how Galaxy Gaming describes the Bonus Craps side bet: First,
there is the "All Small" bet in which the player makes a bet that the shooter will throw the "small numbers"
of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 before he throws a 7. The bet usually pays 35 for 1, which means if you bet $1 on the All Small you are
paid $35. Then there is the "All Tall" which pays if the shooter throws the 8, 9, 10,
11 and 12 before a 7 and it pays the same 35 for 1. The big jackpot money is the "All"
bet which pays 175 to 1 if all of the numbers are thrown before a 7. If a shooter rolls a "winner
7" on the come-out roll, the Bonus Bets are lost and if you are betting the Bonus Bets you have to start all over, and
this is what has dramatically changed how craps has played. Before the Bonus Craps bets became popular, players welcomed a
come-out roll winner 7, but now with so many players betting the Bonus Craps bets, a winner-7 on the passline makes them lose
on the Bonus. And with that jumbo payout of 175 to 1 on the "All" players are now more interested in the shooter
rolling "numbers" including craps numbers, than in making passes and winning on the passline. In the photo below, the shooter has rolled all of the numbers without throwing a 7 and the Small and Tall bets have
been paid. After the ALL bet is paid, the remaining $5 chip on the ALL will be removed.
| Caesars Palace, Las Vegas |
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| Small, Tall, All bets layout on craps table |
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YOU WIN BUT YOU LOSE It happens all the time now. A shooter
rolls a winner-7 on the come-out roll, and there is a moan at the table. The moan is because the players won their $10 passline
bet, but lost the $5 on the Small, the $5 on the Tall, and the $5 on the All. When that happens dealers often say, "you
won but you lost." The Bonus Craps bets have now created more demand for "hedge bets"
on the craps table. Many players are now making the Any 7 bet, also known as Big Red, which carries a very high house edge
in order to insure or hedge that a winner-7 on the come-out roll will wipe out their Bonus Craps bets.
I MADE THE POINT OF 5 AND THE TABLE MOANED Over New Year's
Weekend at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas I was having a good roll. I hadn't had a winner-7 on a come-out roll, but I made several
passes and I was rolling a lot of numbers. In fact, all of the players, including me, had won the "Tall" Bonus Craps
bet, and all I needed to throw was a 2 (aces, snake-eyes) to win the ALL. The point was now 5.
I rolled several numbers when the dice rolled and showed a 1 and then the second die continued to bounce around and finally
settled on a 4 for a winner-5. But instead the players at the table cheering for the passline winner -- the table moaned.
The table players were not hoping for the second die to be a 4... they were hoping for another 1 (ace) so they'd win the ALL
bet. As the players moaned, and as the dealers started to pay off the winning passline bets, I
said to the other players, "this is the first time I ever rolled a winner and the winning players moaned." Unfortunately, on my next come-out roll, I rolled a winner. But it was a 7 and that wiped out all of the Bonus Bets
and we had to start over. The only "winner" that is welcomed on the come-out roll is
an 11 or yo because that number is needed to win the Tall and the ALL Bonus Bets. If you happen to roll an 11 or yo on the
come-out roll, you are a hero.
BONUS CRAPS STRATEGIES If there is a goal or strategy for the Bonus Craps bets it is simply this: throw every number but a 7. But there
are other strategies players use including betting "Big Red" or "Any 7" to protect or hedge or insure
their "Bonus Craps" bets should the shooter throw a winner-7 on the come-out roll. Another
strategy is to be sure that your passline bet is greater than the total of your bets on the Small, Tall and All. For example
if you bet $25 on the passline and the shooter throws a winner-7 on the come-out, you will be paid $25 for the passline and
you will still have a $10 net profit after losing the $15 on the Small, Tall and All. Another
strategy is to have a bet on the passline equal to the amount of money bet on the Small, Tall and All. If you are betting higher amounts, you might also need to insure your passline bet against a craps number on the
come-out. While you need craps numbers to win the Small, Tall and ALL, a craps number (2, 3, 12) on the come-out roll will
make you lose your passline wager. A strategy I have used at lower-limit craps tables is this:
with $5 each on the Small, Tall, and All, I have $15 bet on the passline and $3 bet on any craps. If a "number"
is thrown on the come-out, the any craps bet is lost and the game continues. If a winner-7 is thrown on the come-out, the
$15 paid on the passline bet restores the $15 lost on the Small, Tall, All bets. If a craps number is thrown on the come-out,
the any craps bet pays $21 which returns a slight profit after restoring the $15 bet on the passline and a number is made
on the Bonus bets. In the photo below the shooter just rolled an 11 which won the Tall Bet. The
Small bet was won and paid earlier. Once the Tall and ALL are paid, those chips will be removed.
| Bellagio Casino, Las Vegas |
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| Small, Tall, All bets layout on casino craps table |
THE BONUS BETS BOTTOM LINE The bottom line for your money is that betting the Bonus Craps bet is giving you a chance to win a big payoff on
a small wager, but it is also making you risk more money and in some cases to buy hedge bets or insurance bets. Every one
of these bets has a house edge, and you must remember that. And when you make additional insurance and hedge bets to protect
your Bonus Craps bets you are adding to edge that the casino already has on the traditional game of craps.
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