What Exactly Is a Craps Hop Bet?

Craps bets such as pass and don't pass, come and don't come, place numbers, the field, hardways, and one-roll propositions are all advertised right on the live casino table felt.

Craps, on the other hand, is similar to an American fast-food restaurant with a secret menu, ways of combining standard ingredients that aren't listed on the big board but are known to customers and employees alike.

Hop bets are a popular option on the craps menu. There is no room on the layout to depict them. You must be aware that they are available in order to make them.

WHAT EXACTLY IS A HOP BET?

A hop bet is used when you want to bet that the next roll will bring two specific numbers on the dice.

If you want to bet that the next roll will be a 6 on one die and a 4 on the other, you ask the dealer for 6-4 on the hop, also known as 6-4 hopping.

Hop bets are classified into two types: easy hops and hard hops.

When you bet the dice will land on two different numbers, it's an easy hop. Combinations like 4-3, 5-2, 6-3, or 3-2 all would be simple hops.

It's a long shot if both numbers are the same. Hard hops include 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2, and 1-1.

The difference is that on any of the easy hops, there are two ways to win and only one way to win on a hard hop.

If you place a 6-4 hopping bet, you will win if the first die is a 6 and the second die is a 4, as well as if the second die is a 6 and the first die is a 4.

If you place a 4-4 hopping bet, both dice must land on 4. There is only one roll.

The payoffs reflect the fact that you're twice as likely to win with an easy hop. Hard hops pay 30-1 and easy hops pay 15-1.

TOTAL HOPS

If you want to bet the total of the two dice as a one-roll bet, give it to the dealer and tell him it's on the hop. Then you get all the combinations that result in that total.

If you tell the dealer you want 10 hopping, you'll win on 6-4, 4-6, and 5-5. You would win 9 hopping on 6-3, 3-6, 5-4, and 4-5.

Because there are more possibilities, payoffs are affected. If you bet on 10 hopping, it's the same as betting half on 6-4 hopping and half on 5-5.

Assume you wagered $2 on 10 hopping. That's the same as a $1 bet on 6-4 and a $1 bet on 5-5. So, if the roll is 6-4, you'll be paid 30-1 on $1, with the house keeping the other $1. If the roll is 5-5, you will be paid 15-1 on $1 and the house will keep the other $1.

So it affects other hop totals. An 8 hopping consists of three bets: easy hops on 6-2 and 5-3, and a hard hop on 4-4. On any winner, you are paid for that portion of the total wager, while the house keeps the portion that corresponds to the other possibilities.

WHEN AND HOW TO PLACE HOP BETS

You can't just put your chips down and make a hop bet like you can with pass, don't pass, come, don't come, and the field. The dealer must be aware of your actions.

You place chips on the layout and tell the dealer what you want: 5-3 hopping or 4-2 on the hop.

If you win the next roll, the dealer will pay you, and the house will keep your chips if you lose.

Hop bets can be placed before any roll, but they are rarely placed on the comeout roll.

Before the stickman pushes the dice to the shooter for the next roll, novices will notice a period for betting. You can't make any more bets once the shooter has the dice. However, until the dice are thrown, you can place your chips on the layout and ask the dealer for your hop.

PERCENTAGES AND ODDS

There are 36 possible outcomes from two dice rolls, with one way to get 2 or 12, two ways to get 3 or 11, three ways to get 4 or 10, four ways to get 5 or 9, five ways to get 6 or 10, and six ways to get 7.

Two of those rolls are winners with simple hops. There are 34 ways to lose and only two ways to win. In terms of odds against winning, that is 34-2, or 17-1.

When it comes to hard hops, each hard hop wager has only one potential winner and 35 losers. The odds of winning are 35-1.

When it comes to the house edge, we must consider not only the chances of winning, but also the payoffs.

Easy hops pay 15-1 versus the true odds of 17-1.

You would win twice if you bet $1 on each of the 36 rolls and each number came up once. You would keep the $1 wager and receive $15 in winnings for each win.

When you add the two $15 wins and the two $1 bets you keep, you have $32 of the $36 you wagered at the end of the trial. The rest is kept by the house.

Divide the $4 kept by the house by your $36 in wagers to get 0.1111. When you multiply the house edge by 100, you get 11.11 percent.

The payoff on hard hops is 30-1. You win once every 36 rolls, keeping a $1 wager and claiming $30 in winnings for a total of $31. The house retains $5.

You bet 0.1389% if you divide $5 by $36. The house edge on hard hops is 13.89 percent when multiplied by 100.

BETTING STRATEGY HOP

Craps players looking for the lowest house edge would avoid hops bets like the plague.

There are far better wagers available. Pass and come have house edges of 1.41 perent, while don't pass and don't come have house edges of 1.36 perent. With careful use of free odds, all could be reduced to less than 1%.

Bets on 6 and 8 are worth 1.52 percent. All place bets, buy bets, and bets in which the bettor does not lay the point numbers have lower edges than the 11.11 percent on easy hops and the 13.89 percent on hard hops.

The hops are comparable to the one-roll propositions at the center table. The house edge on easy hops is lower than the 16.67 percent on any 7 and the same as the one-roll any craps bet, where you're betting on the next roll being a 2, 3, or 12.

So, what kind of bettor makes use of hops bets?

Hops are mostly used by players who want to make a large profit on a single bet. Pass, come, don't pass, and don't come; pay the same amount. Place bets on 6 and 8 pay out at 7-6 odds.

The best bets, those that give you the best chance of long-term success, do not produce large wins in a single shot.

Hop bets are popular among hurried players and others looking for a quick strike.

Alternatively, players who stick to the best bets overall will occasionally try to spice up their games during winning sessions by incorporating low probability, high yield bets like hops. A pass and come player who is ahead may try to boost his bankroll quickly with small hop bets.

Hops, on the other hand, are not part of any strategy designed to give you the best chance of making money over time.

SUMMARY

Hop bets are one-roll bets on the dice landing on the two numbers you specify. They pay 15-1 if the two numbers you call are different, or 30-1 if they are the same.

House edges of 11.11 percent on easy hops and 13.89 percent on hard hops are too high to profit from a steady stream of hops bets. Too much exposure to such edges will eat away at your bankroll.

If you enjoy chasing long shots with big payouts on infrequent wins, the hops could be part of your game. However, keep your bets low, put more money into bets with lower house edges, and understand that players who cut the house edge to the bone skip the hops entirely.