If you are looking for an online casino game that offers a chance to incorporate strategy and bring the Casinos Edge down, the game of craps is a good one. If you have ever looked at the layout of the craps table, it can be quite overwhelming if you are not familiar with the rules of the game. Even if you know the basics of playing craps, all those different numbers, which represent different types of bets, can make you wonder if you really are maximizing the greatest advantage the game of craps has to offer.

The best bet offered on the craps table (meaning it has the lowest House Edge) is the passline bet backed with free odds. A passline bet is made before the comeout roll (the dice roller, a.k.a. the shooter's, very first dice roll after all bets have been cleared from the table), and wins if the dice roll a 7 or 11 and loses if the dice roll a 2, 3 or 12. Any other numbers rolled will become the point number, which the shooter will have to roll a second time before rolling a 7 or 11 in order for the bet to win. Once the point has been established, the bettor can then place a bet on top of their initial (at least equal to the size of their original bet). This second bet is called free odds and pays True Odds.

But what about the other bets offered on the craps table you ask?

Well, most players will agree that the next best bet in craps is the place bet. Made on the box numbers, which incidentally, are also the point numbers, place bets are made in a land based casino by setting your chips in the center of the table and telling the dealer what number you want to put them on - 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. Like free odds, place bets must be made after the point has been established and will lose if a seven is rolled before the point number. When playing craps in online casinos, a place bet is made by clicking on the boxes marked with the word "Win" and a corresponding payout (underneath the "Buy" boxes).

Players can put down any denomination they choose on a place bet, but it is advised to bet in specific increments in order to get the full payout. A quick way to know how much to bet is to look at the actual payouts shown in the boxes (see picture below).

For the numbers 4 and 10 the payout is 9 to 5, for the numbers 5 and 9 the payout is 7 to 5 and for the numbers 6 and 8 the payout is 7 to 6.

To get an even payout, you must bet at least the amount of the payout listed in each box. Therefore, bet in increments of $5 for 9 to 5 and 7 to 5 payouts and in increments of $6 for 7 to 6 payouts.

One last thing to remember about place bets is that they will stay on the board after a betting round has ended (in off status) and will go live once again when the point has been established. You must ask the dealer to remove it for you, or manually do so when playing on the Web. Of all the box numbers, the 6 and 8 offer the best odds with only a 1.52% House Edge. This is a good bet to make in addition to free odds on the passline.