The Iron Cross Betting System

The Iron Cross is a craps betting system that's made a lot of noise in the gambling world. The basis of the system is that it places specific bets so that you win as long as the dice show anything but 7. No matter what else happens, you win the bet.

To place an Iron Cross bet all you have to do is bet on the numbers 5, 6, and 8, and also place a field bet. With those four bets in place, you'll win every time unless the dice land on 7.

This sounds like a great, bet but the Iron Cross shares one thing in common with all the other craps betting systems out there: it doesn’t work. Sure, it works in the sense that you do win most rolls, but it doesn't provide you with any advantage over the house.

Why it Doesn't Work

The problem with the Iron Cross system is that when it wins, it wins small and when it loses, it loses big. When you win bets, you don't get a whole lot of money back because you are hedging your bets against each other. On the flip side when you lose with a 7, you lose all your bets.

In the beginning this looks like a good system because the odds are that you'll avoid hitting a 7 right off the bat. But when you do hit that 7, you'll be back to square one minus a little money. It's a constant uphill battle with the Iron Cross betting system.

What's even more interesting is that if you calculate the house advantage when using the Iron Cross system, it comes out to 3.78%. When you compare the house advantage of the Iron Cross system to some of the other normal craps bets like the Pass Line Bet, you'll see you're actually making it worse on yourself by using the system. (Learn more about craps bets at our Craps Guide)

You'll always want to remember that now matter how great a craps betting system sounds, there's always a catch. The mathematics of the game give the casino an inherent advantage that can't be beaten by any system. There's no skill involved and no choices you can make to change the outcome. Craps is a fun game to gamble on, but don't ever go in thinking you're guaranteed to win anything.

With all that out of the way, there's nothing wrong with using the Iron Cross betting system as long as you don't go in with any expectations. The system causes you to win on 30 out of every 36 rolls of the dice. So if you don't mind giving up a little bit an edge for more frequent wins, go in there and have some fun! A lot can happen in the short term at a casino.