The CrapsSheet.xls spreadsheet contains a system for betting craps. It presses bets on losses so that a pass line plus odds payout will cover previous losses; this is a Martingale-like system. The odds bet is adjusted for the winning odds, such that the odds payoff is the same no matter which point is being played. Note well that like all such systems, it will win most of the time, but when you lose, you lose big. And there is no way to avoid the casino edge, so over the long term you are guaranteed to lose; but at least betting craps on the pass line and taking odds is the lowest house edge, so you should lose less on this game long term than anything else in the casino.

The spreadsheet has been set up to print pages that can be attached to 3x5 cards. I glued them to a spiral book of index cards. Nobody in the casino should care that you use the reference or write stuff down because the game has no memory, but you’ll likely get curious looks and questions.

You use the spreadsheet to determine your next bet (pass line or odds), and to determine your net win (if the odds bet wins) or your loss so far (if the odds bet loses or there is no point established and only the pass line wins or loses). The spreadsheet assumes a $10 minimum bet, a $2000 maximum, and at least 3-4-5x odds offered. A comfortable stake is $5000; of course you should establish casino credit so you can get your stake from them instead of your own funds. If your table has different min or max or odds max, you can adjust the spreadsheet.

The first column “Losses” tells you which row to use given the total losses so far (from a previous step). If you won or this is your first bet, of course use the first row with zero losses. Make the pass line bet shown in the “Passline” column.

• If the pass line bet immediately loses (2,3,12), your new total loss is in the “Pass loss” column; look up this amount in the “Losses” column to find the next row to use.
• If the pass line bet immediately wins (7,11), your new total loss is in the “Pass win” column; look up this amount in the “Losses” column to find the next row to use. (If the amount is negative, you have a net win; start all over again at the first row.)
• If a point is established (4,5,6,8,9,10), make the odds bet indicated in the “6 8”, “5 9”, or “4 10” column according to the point.
• If the point is made, your net win amount is in the far right column “Full net win”.
• If the point is lost (7), find your new total loss in the column immediately to the right of the column with the point value. Look up that value in the first column (“Losses”) to find the next row to use. (If the new loss is beyond the last row, you’ve exceeded what you can bet to make up the loss, and you’re busted.)

I maintain a set of chips to keep track of the total win to know when I reached my goal. Because my memory isn’t great, especially under pressure, I usually write down the current losses, and the next possible loss amounts to make sure I’m ready for the next bet.

I usually have a goal of $500, which typically takes 2-3 hours. With all the given factors, my computer simulations show wins about 84% (and busts 16%). You can have a better win percentage with a lower goal amount; and you can lower your worst case bust amount but will bust more often.

Have fun. Tip the dealers often; it’s the right thing to do and they can help you out if you make an obvious mistake or forget a bet. Never forget you can’t win over the long term, and you can have an unusual string of bad luck and lose lots of money. But as long as your luck is normal, you can play for a long time, earn comps, and have a little bit of a high-roller feeling when you ask for a $5000 marker in a game where most people are playing with a bankroll of a few hundred.