Hop into Action: A Comprehensive Guide to Craps Hop Bets

• Similar to call bets in roulette, hop bets in craps let you announce your upcoming wager for the dealer to hear it.

• This bet involves you guessing the individual values of both dice.

• If you want to wager on a 3 and a 2, you'd ask the dealer for a 3-2 on the hop.

Two Main Types of Hop Bets in Craps

There are two main types of craps hop bets called easy and hard. Easy hops involve bets with different dice numbers, such as 3 and 2, or 4 and 5. Hard hops are bets that are based on both dice landing on the same numbers, such as 2 and 2 or 5 and 5.

While there are two ways to win easy hop bets, there's only one way to win a hard hop. As a result, while the payout for a successful easy hop bet is 15:1, winning hard craps hop bets pay 30:1.

Craps Hop Bets on Totals

It's possible to place a hop bet on the total value of the two dice rather than their individual numbers. Telling the dealer that you would like to bet on eight hopping, or on the hop, would mean that you'd win with a result of 6 and 2, 2 and 6, 4 and 4, 3 and 5, and 5 and 3.

Since total hop bets have better odds of winning, they provide lower payouts. The exact payout depends on the number of possible distinct outcomes. An eight on the hop bet has three distinct outcomes. In this case, landing a 6 and 2 or a 2 and 6 is considered to be the same outcome.

A £3 wager would be split equally across all three possible hop bets. If the winning result is a 4 and 4, the payout would be equal to a hard hop bet, 30:1. Similarly, if the winning result is either a 6 and 2 or a 5 and 3, the payout would be equal to an easy hop, 15:1. However, since the wager was split across three possible outcomes, the payout is based on a £1 wager.

The Odds of Hop Bets

Every easy craps hop bet has two ways to win and 34 ways to lose. This means that the odds are 34/2 or 17/1. Hard hop bets can only win in one way and lose in 35 ways. Their odds are, therefore, 35/1.

In addition to understanding the odds of easy and hard hop bets, you should also be aware of the house edge. Without going into complex equations, these are approximately 11.11% for easy hops and 13.89% for hard hops.

Are Craps Hop Bets a Good Idea?

That really depends. As with many card and table games, the better the payout, the lower the odds. If you're looking for the best odds of winning, you'll probably be better off placing pass, don't pass, come, or don't come wagers as these have lower house edges that range between 1.36% and 1.41%.

Craps hop bets are generally better suited to players that are happy for a riskier proposition that has the potential of higher payouts. Low-risk bets, such as pass and come pay even money, so it'll require a lot of wins to get the same 15:1 or 30:1 payouts of easy and hard hop bets respectively.

You should treat hop bets in craps like optional side bets in casino table games, such as blackjack. These bets are a great way to enhance your player experience but you shouldn't wager on them on every round as doing so could exhaust your bankroll sooner than you wish.

How Can I Place a Hop Bet in Craps?

You won't find a hop bet section on any craps table and this is why the bet is sometimes treated like a secret among seasoned players. This type of bet isn't usually available on online craps tables, though some live tables may offer it.

At a land-based casino, you'd place your chips on the layout and announce your hop bet to the dealer. You'd say something like "3-2 on the hop" or "4-5 hopping". After the roll, you'd receive the corresponding payout if you win, but you'd lose your chips if your bet was lost.

While you can place craps hop bets before any roll, it's customary to do so on the come out roll. There's usually a brief moment in each game before the stickman pushes the dice to the shooter. This is the moment when you can place a hop bet as once the shooter has the dice, no further bets are allowed.

Key Takeaways

• There are two types of craps hop bets called easy and hard. Easy hop bets involve two different dice numbers while hard hop bets involve the same dice number appearing on both dice.
• Easy hop bets pay out 15:1 while hard hop bets pay out 30:1. Total hop bets are split across all distinct easy and hard hop bet combinations.
• Due to their low odds of success, craps hop bets have a higher risk than others and should only be used occasionally.
• Players need to announce their hop bets in traditional crap tables. It's very hard to find these bets in online casino games.
• You should always practise responsible gambling whilst playing craps and placing hop bets or any other type of wager. You should never gamble funds that you can't afford to lose.