Iron Cross: Is it a foolproof craps strategy?

There’s certainly no other casino game that provides utmost excitement by only using a pair of dice than Craps. This thrill factor is paired with the fact that it’s one of the games with the best odds which is why high-rollers from around the world love to play it.!

However, being a high-roller isn’t just about placing large stakes and playing any game with great odds empty-handed. You need to have a strategy that can help you maximise your winnings. Here’s where the Iron Cross comes in. 

With this technique, you’ll rarely lose as the only thing you’d want to avoid is landing a 7. Keep on reading to find out more about this strategy and how you can incorporate it into your gameplay.!

What is the Iron Cross Strategy?

When playing craps, two of the most important things you need to know are the bets you can make and their respective house edges. Present in every casino game, the house edge determines the casino’s advantage over the players and it sits at the core of the Iron Cross craps strategy.

Also known as Darby’s Field, this strategy is a combination of bets formulated to expose players to the lowest house edge possible. By using this, you can create more winning streaks and at the same time, prevent the casino from garnering money from your winnings.

The premise behind this strategy is simple, you can either break even or earn profit whenever any number rolls except for seven which is also why the strategy is also known as the ‘no seven system’.

This is an amazing advantage as it narrows down the chances of losing and maximises the possibilities of winning! Can you imagine? When any craps number hits on the roll except for 7, you’ll get paid!

The logic behind this strategy lies in the pair of dice itself. By default, 36 different combinations can result from a shoot. Out of these combinations, only 6 will have an outcome of 7 while 30 will say otherwise which means that your odds of winning are maximised.

How to play the Iron Cross Craps system

Iron Cross is one of the easiest Craps strategies to follow as it only requires you to place specific bets on the layout. Then, after covering almost every possible outcome, you’re left with 7 being the only losing roll. The bets that you need to place in this strategy are:

Field bets

Field bets are one of the most common wagers to make in Craps. In this strategy, you’ll be required to wager field bets that cover 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Place bets

Place bets require you to wager on the box numbers namely 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. Here, you’re wagering that the shooter will roll your number before the number 7 appears. However, with the Iron Cross Craps system, you’d only need to wager on numbers 5, 6 and 8.

By covering this many numbers on the layout, you’re pretty much left with 7 as the only digit you’d not want the dice to have. However, don’t be too confident as it can still appear one way or another and when it does, you’ll lose all your bets thus far.

Payout system

Although you’ll wager on a lot of numbers in this strategy, the payout will still vary depending on the number the dice land on. The payout for each of the bets mentioned above goes as follows:

• Field bets - Pays out 1:1, except when 2 and 12 appear as this doubles or triples your reward
• 6 or 8 - Pays out 7:6
• 5 - Pays out 7:5.
  

You may notice that 2 and 12 can payout 2:1 or even 3:1. That’s because the odds of hitting those two with a pair of dice are relatively lower compared to other numbers in the layout.

The biggest advantage of iron cross in craps

High-rollers love this strategy because it lowers the house edge thanks to the number of digits you’ll cover. Successfully doing this strategy lowers the house edge to around 1.14% and if you back 6 and 8, it increases to 1.52%.

The biggest disadvantage of iron cross in craps

The problem with this strategy is that even though you’ll only lose when the dice lands a 7, you still have to consider that this occurrence will happen more often than you think. 

That’s why this strategy is not ideal for long-term betting sessions and is more of a one-off betting option considering how huge the damage will be if the dice inevitably land 7.

Instead, you should use this strategy to generate small winning streaks and know when to stop playing. If you’re looking for a betting system ideal for long-term betting sessions, then you should opt for progressive betting systems.

Moreover, if you play this game long enough while using this strategy, the more the house edge will generate through your winnings. Usually, players use this strategy when they’re capping off the night and they want to head home with all of their winnings. 

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What is Craps and how does it play out?

For you to incorporate these strategies into your gameplay, you must first know how to play Craps properly. Whether you’re a high roller or not, knowing the basic concept will lead you to become a better player. 

Craps is a casino game that centres around a shooter throwing a pair of dice on a board. Your goal is simple: correctly predict what the dice value will be after the shooter rolls the pair and you’ll be paid out respectively. At first glance, it may seem like it’s purely based on luck but at the same time, you can still incorporate action and strategy into your gameplay.

A game of Craps is done through several rounds with each one rotating the role of the shooter to the available players on the table.

To begin the game, all players who want to participate in the round must first make bets on the first roll of the dice referred to as the come-out roll. In this round, players bet on whether the pair of dice will land on a pass bet (7 or 11) or a don’t pass bet (2, 3 or 12).

If the round ends with a dice value of 7 or 11, that will be considered a ‘natural’. On the other hand, an outcome of 2, 3 or 12 will be called ‘craps’.

However, if the outcome of the dice isn’t included in the numbers mentioned above (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10), that number will become the ‘point’ where the next stage of the Craps game will pick up from.

The dealer will then proceed to take a puck that has the word ‘OFF’ or ‘ON’ on either side to signify if a current round is in play where no other players can enter the game. This puck is placed on the point number in the layout and will collect additional bets.

After this, the shooter will roll the dice again and will continue to do so until they land either a 7 or the point number. 

Frequently asked questions about the Iron Cross craps strategy

We’ve compiled a list of the most commonly asked questions players have regarding this strategy and Craps itself and answered them to the best of our ability. This way, you can get a clearer picture of what this is all about and take advantage of it whenever you’re playing a game of Craps.

What are field bets?

Field bets are one of the wagers you need to place to pull off this strategy successfully. It’s a one-roll bet and it requires you to bet that the dice will hit 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 and of course, you’ll get paid when these numbers do appear after the roll.

Are there different house edges in craps?

What makes Craps different from other games is that its house edges differ per bet. See below for the different types of bets in Craps and their respective house edges:

Out of these bets, the most common ones that players use in a game of Craps are the Pass, Odds, Don't Pass, Come Bets, Don't Come Bet, Place Bets and Field.

What are place bets and how do you successfully do them?

Along with the field bets, you’d also need to make place bets when doing the Iron Cross strategy. These are wagers placed on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 which are also called box numbers because they can be seen inside a box when viewed on the layout.

This wager wins only if any of the box numbers appear before a number 7. There are several ways to make this bet and each one poses different odds. This includes:

• Across - Betting on all box numbers
• Inside - Betting on 5, 6, 8 and 9
• Outside - Betting on 4, 5, 9 and 10
• Even - Betting on 4, 6, 8 and 10.
  

Is Craps based on luck?

Although every outcome of the game is indeed based on luck, you can still incorporate different skills in Craps, particularly with knowing how to bet. That’s why it’s important to have a strategy such as the Iron Cross betting system at hand when entering a table.

What other strategies can be used in Craps?

Aside from the Iron Cross, several high rollers opt for the most famous and easiest strategies out there such as the Martingale System or Dice Setting.

Can Craps be played online?

Yes, several online casinos offer Craps. Here at Livecasino.io, you can play an exciting online version of the game developed by Evolution where you can wager using cryptocurrencies!

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Should you use the Iron Cross strategy?

Iron Cross is indeed useful as it can help you generate more small win streaks and have a more fun gameplay experience in the process. However, it doesn’t give you an advantage on the house edge as some players may believe and the more you play and use this strategy, the more money the casino gets from your bets. 

Nevertheless, the Iron Cross strategy is a great way to play craps and it’s better than most strategies out there.

Now that you’ve learned about this useful strategy, it’s time for you to try it out for yourself in one of the exciting Craps games here in Livecasino.io. This won’t only help you have more fun in the process but it can also prevent you from losing more money than you should!