The Martingale betting system is a very old and extremely simple system. It is based on the probability that one won't lose an infinite number of times in a row and is usually applied to even money bets.

Start with a one unit bet. If you win, bet the same amount again. If you lose, double your bet. Each time you lose, double your last lost bet. Eventually, the odds say you will win. When you win you would recover all your lost bets plus one unit profit against your initial wager.

Although infallible in theory, the Martingale system requires a very large large bankroll, has a very low return and is a very risky one because of the maximum bet limits imposed by the casinos.

A Fibonacci progression steps as follows: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc. - where each number is a sum of the previous two numbers. The basic idea is to get two wins in a row.

For each loss, step up one in the progression. For each win, repeat the current bet. If you win again, start the progression over. If you lose, advance one step.

Betting WITH the Dice (with 2X odds)

Start by making a two unit bet (in this case $10 or two $5 chips) on the Pass Line. If you crap-out, make another $10 bet on the Pass Line. If you get a natural (7 or 11), pick up your winnings but leave your original $10 bet. Once a point is established, you would take full double odds on your bet. On a point of 4, 5, 9 or 10, you would put $20 behind your $10 Line Bet (odds for a 4 or 10 pay at 2-1 or $40 in this case, odds for a 5 or 9 pay at 3-2 or $30 in this case). On a point of 6 or 8, you would put $25 behind your Line Bet. Although, technically this is more than double odds on a point of 6 or 8, must Casinos allow you to take odds on these numbers in increments of 5 units since the odds for a 6 or 8 pay at 6-5 (or $30 in this case).

Now make a $10 bet on the Come. Follow the same rules as above being sure to take the full double odds once your Come point is established. Follow this bet with yet another $10 Come bet with full double odds. You now have three numbers working for you (one on the Pass Line and two Come bets).

If you find yourself in the middle of a "Hot Roll" you should take advantage of this by making yet another Come bet. Eventually, you should double your original two unit bet by making a $20 bet on the Come rather than $10. But you should only do this after you are ahead by at least 20 units (in this case $100).

IMPORTANT: Once you finally do seven-out, always start with your original two unit bet on the Pass Line. You are very susceptible to short losing streaks which could wipe you out if you continue to play too aggressively (remember the house always has an advantage).

Many 'smart' craps players (if there is such a thing) never make place bets on the 4, 5, 9 or 10 - they make buy bets instead. A buy bet will give you more bang for your buck - that is, you can decrease the casino's edge.

When you place a bet you do not get the number's "true" odds, unless you buy the bet. If you place the 4 or 10 you get 9:5 odds instead of 2:1, and on the 5 or 9 you get 7:5 instead of 3:2. In order to buy a number, though, the casino requires a 5% commission or "vig". You need to make this extra dollar or two turn from an advantage for the house to an advantage for you.

For example, if you were to place bet $40 on the ten or four you would win $72 at 9:5 odds. However if you were to buy the four or ten for $40, you would pay a $2 vig (5% of $40) and win $80 at 2:1 odds - so you would win more than you would have with a regular place bet.

If you placed $50 on the five or nine you would win $70 (at 7:5) but if you bought the same number you would win $75 (at 3:2).

Now here's a secret - Many casinos will let you buy a bet for the same commission, but at a higher dollar level than 5%.

Lets look at the four and ten. The $2 vig mentioned before (5% of $40) would turn into $3 if you bought the four or ten for $60. However, most casinos will let you buy the four or ten for $50 (instead of $40) and still pay only the $2 vig! Buying the 4 or 10 for $50 will return $100 (at 2:1) instead of $90 (at 9:5).

On the five and nine, you will pay a $3 vig (rounded up from $2.50) on a $50 bet. But you can ask if you can buy the five or nine for $70 and still pay only the $3 vig! Buying the 5 or 9 for $70 will return $105 (at 3:2) instead of $98 (at 7:5).

Another secret involves splitting your buy bets. For example, some casinos will let you buy both the four and ten for $25 each and still only charge the $2 vig! This way, if both the four and ten hits, you'll win $100 instead of $90. And, some casinos will only collect the vig if you win. These methods are not normal procedures, so you have to ask before you make your bets.

Buy bets are almost always more profitable than place bets, except for the six and eight. If you don't know how much to bet, just ask the dealer, and he'll be glad to help.

So, the next time you consider a place bet on the 4, 5, 9 or 10, try buying the number instead. You'll win more, and every single dollar counts - especially if it ends up in your pocket rather than the casino's.

A point must be established before come bets can be made. Once the shooter has a point you can place your chips in the come bar and wait for the next roll. That roll will be the come-out roll for your come bet and the rules are identical to those regarding come-out rolls for pass line wagers. If a 7 or 11 is rolled on the first throw after your come bet is placed you win. Conversely, if a 2, 3, or 12 (craps) are rolled come bets are losers.

Remember that these bets are basically taking place within the shooter’s pass/don’t pass point chase. If the shooter rolls a 7 all pass line wagers lose, yet new come bets placed before that roll are winners. As well, although a come bet may crap out, that loss has no affect on pass/don’t pass wagers.

If the dice on your come bet land “in the box” (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) you will have established a come-point. In order to win the come-point number must be rolled before any 7 is rolled.

Don’t come bets work under the exact same pretenses as don’t pass wagers. They are placed after the shooter establishes a point and follow the same rules as don’t pass wagers (2 or 3 on first roll is winner, 7 is a loss, and 12 is a push).

Both come and don’t come bets have odds available behind the line when a come-point is established. These odds wagers work exactly as if you were buying odds on pass/don’t pass wagers.

The Three Point Molly Strategy utilizes a combination of pass and come wagers. The idea behind is two have three points working for you at the same time, while protecting pass line wagers when making the come bets. Here’s how it works:

• Place a pass line wager.
• If a point is established bet odds behind the line on your pass line wager (bet the max if feasible for your bankroll) AND place a come wager in the equal amount to your pass line wager.
• If the next roll lands in the box back up your come bet with odds AND place another come wager before the next throw.
• Don’t’ have more than two active come bets when using this system.
• Every time a come wager wins wager a new come bet.
• Continue this pattern until the shooter makes his point or rolls a seven.
  

By playing this way you potentially have three box numbers working for you and every time you are making a new come bet you are insuring your pass line wager against a 7 at the same time! Betting odds behind the line is not necessary but it is the only way to bring the odds the most into your favor. Remember that this is a strategy, not a magical formula for winning. No method will ever supercede the innate house edge in craps, you can only reduce the risk through intelligent play.

The Labouchere system is also known as the 'Cancellation' system. There are several variations, but in its simplest form, you write down a series or a set of numbers, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The series can be any length and does not have to be sequential. The choice of a particular series depends on the type of game you want to apply it to and the odds of the bet.

Each number represents the amount in units or chips to bet. You bet the first and last of these numbers. In the example above, that would be 1 and 6, totaling 7 units.

When you win, cross off those two numbers and bet the next two outside numbers. In the case of our example, 2 and 5. If you win again you bet on the next two remaining numbers 3 and 4, and if you win that too, you would have made a 'coup' or completed one game. Then restart the system.

If you lose, add that one number to the end of the series. Say you lost your first bet of 7 units (1+6). Then you add number 7 to the end of the series to look like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and your next bet would equal 8 units (1+7). If you won the first bet but lost the second 2 and 5, then the series of numbers would look like this: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7.

If you work it out, you will see that when the series is completed or when you make a 'coup', there is always a profit. The negative side of this system is that you could end up betting large sums of money even if your initial bet is small.

This involves betting against the shooter, and then hedging whatever point comes up so that you win if the point is hit or the player sevens out! Here's how it works:

Make a $30 Don't Pass bet along with a $1 Pass bet.

If a point is made, you now place one of the following bets (depending on what point was placed)

If the point is a 4 or 10, you will place a $20 Free Odds bet behind your $1 Pass bet.

If the point is a 5 or 9, you will place a $24 Free Odds bet behind your $1 Pass bet.

If the point is 6 or 8, you will place a $27 Free Odds bet behind your $1 Pass bet.

From this point on, you have no chance of losing.

Now lets look at this system mathematically to show you how it works:

On the come out roll.....If you roll a 2 or 3, you win $29

You lose $29 on a seven or eleven.

If you throw a 12, you lose $1

From this point on....you can't lose

Now if the point is 4 or 10, you win $11 if you throw another 4 or 10, or $9 if you throw a seven!

If the point is 5 or 9, you win $7 if you throw another 5 or 9, or $5 if you throw a seven!

If the point is 6 or 8, you win $1 if you throw another 6 or 8, and $2 if you throw a seven!

So you can see that by playing this system, there is no possible way to lose after the come out roll.

A variation involves placing the same numbers BEFORE the come out roll, along with a pass line bet to protect you from the seven. You also make a "3-way" craps bet, which is a one roll bet for the numbers 2, 3 and 12. If you bet $3 ($1 each) the payoff is 30:1 ($30) on the two and twelve, and 15:1 ($15) on the three.

So you'll bet $3 3-way craps, along with $40 on the pass line. Place $5 on the four, five, nine and ten, and $6 each on the six and eight. Be sure to request that all of your bets be "ON" for the come out roll. This way, the seven will not hurt you. Here's what happens when each number hits -

4 or 10 - win $6 (+$9 place - $3 3-way)

5 or 9 - win $4 (+$7 place - $3 3-way)

6 or 8 - win $4 (+7 place - $3 3-way)

7 - win $5 (+$40 pass - $32 place - $3 3-way)

11- win $37 (+$40 pass - $3 3-way)

2 or 12 - lose $10 ($30 3-way - $40 pass)

3 - lose $25 ( + $15 3-way - $40 pass )

Another slight variation of this play is to make a $35 pass line bet instead of $40. This way the seven will give you a push, but you'll only lose $5 (instead of $10) on the 2/12 or $20 (instead of $25) on the 3.

What this does is shift the primary burden of losing from the seven (at 6:1 odds) to the three (at 12:1 odds). In the first mentioned "sure-fire" system, if you lost on the seven, you would lose $32. In this variation, if you lose on the 3, you're out only $25.

Objective: To make a profit on one hit

In this strategy, you wait until the shooter has made his/her point before placing your bets. After the Point is made you will place two units or $12.00 on both the 6 and 8. After one hit, you will ask the Dealer to come down one unit on both the 6 & 8.

Results: You now have a $2.00 profit and can no longer get hurt by the Seven. In addition, you now have $12.00 working for you. After another hit, bring down all bets and wait for the roller to make his/her point or 7 out, then start the process over.

On two hits your net profit is: $21.00. Now depending on how confident you are, you can come down after the first hit profiting $14.00 or keep betting on the 6 & 8. If you prefer to keep your bets riding make sure that both the 6 & 8 are covered.

Note: There are ten combined ways to make a 6 and 8 and six combined ways for a seven.

Objective: To make a profit on one hit

In this strategy, you wait until the shooter has made his/her point before placing your bets. After the Point is made you will place two units or $12.00 on both the 6 and 8. After one hit, you will ask the Dealer to come down one unit on both the 6 & 8.

Results: You now have a $2.00 profit and can no longer get hurt by the Seven. In addition, you now have $12.00 working for you. After another hit, bring down all bets and wait for the roller to make his/her point or 7 out, then start the process over.

On two hits your net profit is: $21.00. Now depending on how confident you are, you can come down after the first hit profiting $14.00 or keep betting on the 6 & 8. If you prefer to keep your bets riding make sure that both the 6 & 8 are covered.

Note: There are ten combined ways to make a 6 and 8 and six combined ways for a seven.