Many dealers will encourage you to make additional hedge bets on craps numbers (2, 3 and 12) to protect your pass line bet. You’ll always hear "any craps" bets called whenever a new shooter is coming out. Wanna know the secret that craps pros use to profit on the come out? Let’s find out!

Any craps is the most common hedge bet and pays seven to one. This means that if you have a ten dollar pass line bet and a $1 any craps bet, you’ll win $9 ($10 - $1) if the 7 (or 11) rolls, and lose only $3 ($10 pass line - $7 any craps) instead of $10 if the 2, 3, or 12 rolls. It sounds okay, but let’s look at the numbers. At the end of 36 rolls, you’ve invested $36 (36 x $1) in these hedge bets. The 2, 3 or 12 will theoretically roll four times (once each for the 2 and 12, and twice for the 3) in 36 rolls. So if you win these craps bets four times, you’ve won $28 (4 x $7) and spent $36 (36 x $1), giving you a $8 ($36-$28) loss.

You can also bet $2 ($1 each) Craps and Eleven (C&E). Craps (2, 3, or 12) pays 7 to 1, while the eleven pays 15 to 1. If the eleven rolls you win $24 ($10 pass line + $15 eleven - $1 any craps). The seven will win you $8 ($10 pass line - $2 C&E). If the 2, 3 or 12 should roll, you’ll lose $4 (+$7 craps - $1 eleven - $10 pass line) instead of $10. This time, though, in 36 decisions, you’ve invested $72 (2 x $36) in hedge bets. The 2 and 12 will have each rolled once, and the three and eleven twice. You would make $7 on the 2 ($1 x 7), $14 on the 3 ($2 x 7), $7 on the 12 ($1 x 7), and $30 on the eleven ($2 x 15). This totals $58 ($7 + $14 + $7 + $30), but you’ve already invested $72, so you have a $14 ($72-$58) loss. Another winner for the house! Finally, you can make a 3-way craps bet (on the 2, 3, and 12) for $3. This is different from the any craps bet because the odds are higher -- 30 to 1 for the 2 and 12, and 15 to 1 for the 3. So if the 2 or 12 roll you win $18 ($30 - $10 - $2) instead of losing $10, and if the 3 rolls, you win $3 ($15 - $10 - $2) instead of losing $10. This bet also means that you will win on the 7 and 11 (from your pass line bet) AND on the 2, 3, and 12 (from the 3-way craps bet). In 36 rolls, however, this time you’ve invested $108 ($3 x 36). The 2 and 12 will roll once, and the 3 twice. At 30 to 1, the 2 and 12 pay $30 each, for a total of $60. At 15 to 1, the 3 pays $30 ($2 x 15). You made $90 ($30 + $60) but spent $108 for a loss of $18!

Unfortunately, as you can see, you can not profitably protect a $10 pass line bet by hedging it with craps bets. Some craps writers have maintained that a craps hedge bet is only profitable with a pass line bet of $25 or more, with a $4 any craps bet. Let’s look at the math. If you bet $4 any craps you’ll win $112, which comes from $4 (bet) x 4 (number of times 2, 3, or 12 rolls) x 7 (payoff). You’ll lose $144 ($4 x 36) resulting in a $32 loss. So, it’s still not a good bet. In fact it’s worse than a $10 pass line bet with a $1 any craps bet! Now let’s look at the same $25 pass line bet with a C&E hedge for $4. If the 11 rolls, you’ll win $83 ($25 pass line + $60 eleven - $2 any). The 7 will win you $21 ($25 pass line - $4 C&E). If the 2 or 3 roll you win $1 ($28 - $25 - $2). In 36 rolls you’ve invested $144 ($4 x 36) . The 2 and 12 will each have rolled once, and the 3 and 11 twice each. You would make $14 on the 2 ($2 x 7), $28 on the 3 ($2 x 14), $14 on the 12 ($2 x 7) and $60 on the 11 ($2 x 30). This totals $116. So you’ve lost $28 ($144 - $116). Finally, let's look at a $6 3-way craps bet with a $25 pass line bet. If the 2 or 12 roll you win $31 ($60 - $25 - $4). If the 3 rolls you win $1 ($30 - $25 - $4). In 36 rolls on this bet you’ve invested $216 ($6 x 36). At 30 to 1, the 2 and 12 pay $60 each (30 x $2) for a total of $120 ($60 + $60). At 15 to 1 the 3 pays $60 ($2 x 15 x 2). You made $180 ($120 + $60) but spent $216 giving you a $36 loss! Craps is a math game, and, as you can see, there is no way you can protect a pass line bet with craps hedge bets whether your unit is $5, $10, or $25. So, the secret of protecting your pass line bet is to save all the money you would normally use for hedge bets and use that money to make more pass line bets! Pssst... Now you know the secrets of protecting your pass line bet with craps bets!