Introduction, Odds, and Rules for Craps Fire Bets

Craps shooters are cold at times, hot at others, and on fire at others. The craps fire bet was created for those times when shooters are burning through the points.

If you win the fire bet, you could receive a 999-1 payoff, converting a $1 side bet into a cool $1,000. That's not available in standard craps, where the pass line pays even money and long shots like bets on 2 or 12 pay only 30-1.

This fire bets craps strategy exists for the same reason that Caribbean Stud Poker has a progressive side bet and some blackjack casinos offer the Lucky Ladies side bet. It adds to the excitement for players who enjoy long shots and jackpots.

It is not suitable for everyone. Big payouts require long odds, and the fire bet has the longest odds of all the craps bets.

HOW MUCH IS THE CRAPS FIRE BET?

The fire bet is a wager that the shooter will make at least four different passes before sevening out.

They must be different numbers—the shooter could make four 6s in a row and only count as one.

Craps players are aware that there are six possible point numbers: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Making four of those points pay 24-1, making five of them pay 249-1, and making all six pay 999-1 in the most common fire bet pay table.

HOW TO PLAY THE FIRE CRAPS BET

The fire bet is not available at any offline or online casino. For those who place craps fire bets, here are the rules:

1. On the comeout roll, you begin by placing your chip or chips on the layout and informing the dealer that you want the fire bet.

2. The fire bet is unaffected by comeout wins on 7 or 11 or comeout losses on 2, 3, or 12. In fact, if those are the only outcomes, you may withdraw your wager.

3. Once the shooter scores his first point, the fire bet must remain active until it either wins or loses.

4. If the shooter makes a point, a dealer puts a fire disk on that number. Play then moves on to another comeout.

5. If the shooter then establishes a different point number and makes it, a dealer puts a fire disk on that number, too. The same procedure would follow if the shooter made additional points.

6. When the shooter hits a point that has already been made, no new fire disks are added to the layout. Disks are only added after the first point is made in the fire sequence.

7. If the shooter sevens out with zero, one, two or three fire disk covering made points, then you lose your fire bet.

8. If the shooter sevens out with four or five fire disks on the layout, or if he makes all six points without sevening out, then you're paid according to the pay table.

BET ODDS ON CRAPS FIRE

If you use the fire bets, you will win slightly more than 1% of the time.

There are several pay tables available, but the following are the most commonly used:

• 24-1 on four numbers made

• 249-1 on five numbers and 999-1 on five numbers.

Casinos often list the fire bet as odds-for-1 so that a 1,000-unit payout for six numbers that come up looks nice and even. A 1,000-to-1 payoff is the same as a 999-to-1 payoff. If you bet $1 and the shooter hits six numbers, you will receive your $1 bet back plus $999 in winnings for a total of $1,000.

Calculations are complicated because specific numbers must be produced. If the shooter begins with a 6, he must then make 4, 5, 8, 9, or 10, and another 6 does not help the cause. If he then makes a point 10, he must then make a 4, 5, 8, or 9 because neither 6 nor 10 help, and so on.

As a result, calculations cannot solely focus on the likelihood of making a point. They must include the chance of making a point in a field of numbers that is getting smaller.

Michael Shackelford calculated the shooter's chances of making four different points before settling on 0.88 percent.

Multiply that 0.0088 chance by 24 (the 24-1 payoff) to get 0.211. In essence, four points return 21 cents on every dollar wagered.

There's a 0.164 percent chance of getting five in a row if you multiply 0.00164 by 100. To calculate the payoff, multiply 0.00164 by 249, which equals 0.408, which means that winning with five numbers nets you about 41 cents for every dollar wagered.

Finally, making six in a row has a 0.0162 percent chance, or 0.000162 times 100 in percentage terms. For the payoff, multiply 0.000162 by 999 to get 0.162. You get 16 cents for every dollar wagered if the shooter hits all six numbers.

When all paybacks are added together, the average return for all craps winners is about 78 cents per dollar wagered. There are some rounding errors at work, and the total return is slightly more than 79 cents.

This results in a house edge of just under 21%—20.8 percent to be exact.

One of the more unusual pay tables is one that pays only 10-1 on four numbers and 200-1 on five, but pays a massive 2,000-1 jackpot on six. The house has a 24.9 percent advantage.

Another pays 6-1 on three numbers, then 29-1 on four, 149-1 on five, and a smaller-than-usual jackpot of 299-1 on all six.

In craps, any of those house edges is greater than others, with a 16.67 percent edge on any seven.

Craps players who are content to try to grind out a profit on low house-edge bets like pass plus free odds will avoid the fire bet.

On the other hand, a hot shooter and the fire bet go together like smoke and flames for long-shot players who revel in jackpot chances.