How to Play Bubble Craps: Rules, Strategies, and Tips

Today, we’re going to take a look at this electronic variation of the standard craps game. The game is called Shoot to Win Craps and has been given the nickname ‘Bubble Craps’ by the players based on the way the game is presented.

[source: aruzegaming.com]

As you can see, the two dice are contained in a clear plastic bubble in the middle of 8 gaming positions.

It is manufactured by Las Vegas-based Aruze Gaming, a relatively new, smaller slot machine manufacturer. 

Another version of the game is manufactured by Slovenian company Interblock.

Once you have finished reading this guide, you will know how to play bubble craps, how the machine is similar to a regular craps game, how it differs, and if there are any strategies that may be more effective than those you might employ on a live craps game. 

What is Bubble Craps?

Bubble Craps is an electronic version of the traditional craps game and has two actual dice within a large plastic bubble surrounded by 8 player positions.

The only difference between the dice is that the Shoot to Win dice are red, and the Interblock dice are white.

The dice are extra-large – probably about a foot square, with rounded corners and edges.  They are ‘rolled’ by the floor of the bubble bouncing them, and then they settle once the moving bubble floor comes to a stop.

Each player position has a video touch screen that the player uses to make their bets.

All the usual craps bets are available to the player but be aware that early versions of the ‘Shoot to Win’ game had a timed countdown between rolls, and you may run out of time if you’re trying to make a series of complex bets between rolls.

The later versions of the ‘Shoot to Win’ game, and the Interblock version of the game, offer the player a large button to push to roll the dice. 

It’s much more efficient and user-friendly.

How to Play Bubble Craps

If you’re a beginner, my suggestion is to play the Pass Line, and then place the 6 and 8.

That will get you started, and you will quickly begin to see how the game works.

These are some of the bets with the lowest House Advantage in the casino and are very popular with many regular players.

Bubble Craps Strategy

Using the same strategy as a regular live game is the way to go. 

I watched several YouTube videos of guys playing Bubble Craps, and all of them were throwing money away on hopping bets, Big Red, the hardways and craps bets, and so on.

Several of the players would make bets that hedged their bets – so using ‘the Arnold’ system as an example, placing a Pass Line bet, then a 4x Don’t Come bet, then matching the Pass Line bet in the Come.

The net effect of that is to have the House Advantage work against you in more places, sometimes in direct opposition to another bet you may have.

Here’s my recommendation:

Play the ‘Three Point Molly’.

This is a classic craps strategy, and consists of a Pass Line bet, with odds, and then two Come Bets, also with odds.

Start with small bets on the Come, and single odds.  As you win, increase the bets slowly to maximize your chances to win.

Once you have the three bets in action, you temporarily stop betting.  If one of the Come bets hits, it will be taken out of the box number, and you will once again have a Come bet in play.

The reason the Three Point Molly is so successful is because it means that you have more ways to win than to lose.

There are 6 ways to make a 7.

When you have your Pass Line and two Come bets in action, the worst-case scenario is you have a bet on the 4, a bet on the 10, and a bet on the 5 or 9. 

Which means there are 10 ways for you to win, and only 6 ways to lose.

The best-case scenario is you have your three bets in place on the 6, 8 and 5 or 9.  Now you have 14 ways to win, and only 6 ways to lose,

Go to the Three Point Molly guide to see a short video on how to play it properly.

In addition to your Pass Line bet, bet $5 each on the non-point numbers ($6 each on the 6 and/or 8), and a $5 Come bet.  

As the numbers hit, use the place bet winnings to put correct single odds on the Come bet that was just moved onto the number. 

Then take the place bet down and use it to replace the $5 Come bet.

On a live game, it’s easy to tell the dealer what you want. Simply say, ‘Take me down with odds, and $5 Coming’.

On a Bubble Craps game, you must touch the correct betting space to make that happen.

It’s really simple once you look at the layout.

Now you have a strong Come bet game to play, financed in part by the box number winnings.  

This is a standard routine bet, so don’t be bashful.

And with 5 numbers covered, the worst-case scenario is that you have 19 ways to win, and only 6 to lose.  Best case is you have 21 ways to win, and only 6 to lose.

One of the good things about the Bubble Craps machine is the computer lets you know how many rolls have passed without some of the numbers hitting. 

For example, one YouTube video of the Interblock game I watched showed me that the Hard 10 had not hit for 135 rolls.

There is only one way to make a Hard 10, so it should show up approximately once every 36 rolls. 

Of course, that buys into the Gambler’s Fallacy, that the Hard 10 is due, which is simply not true.  The Hard 10 has the same chance of hitting every roll and is never ‘due’, no matter what rolls have come before.  Dice are inanimate objects and have no memory, so every roll has the same odds, but it does make you think, ‘Hmmmm, maybe I should bet the Hard 10 now’.

Expert’s Advice

If you’re a craps beginner, there is no better way to learn the game than to read the Best Bets in Craps guide and then play Bubble Craps. The game is laid out on the touchscreen for you, and the article tells you the best bets to make.

After only a few minutes, you will quickly get familiar with the game and how it’s played.

Here are the pros of why I decided to put the Bubble Craps game on my casino floor:

• The game is a good option to have when the casino is slow.  It’s always open and doesn’t require any additional staff to help the players.
• It offers a $1 minimum bet, which is a great place for a beginner to start learning the game.
• A $1 craps game with live dealers is an expensive payroll proposition for a casino to run, because the $1 minimum doesn’t allow the table to generate enough revenue to cover the payroll expenses.
• We would not open our first live craps table until 10am or even 11am, but some of our guests would be up and about by 7am, having breakfast and looking for a place to play.
• Of all the live casino table games, craps is the most intimidating for a beginner. On the Bubble Craps game, the beginner can get his feet wet without feeling any pressure from the other players or the dealers.
• In addition to that, a beginner can watch the action, make any bets that he wants to try, and then follow what happens to the bets he makes, all for a small outlay.

And a final thought on the Bubble Craps game. 

It may be that you don’t care about earning comp points, or free play, or entries into drawings and so on. 

But you may want to check how the Bubble Craps game rewards you for your play.

If it’s listed as a slot machine in the casino’s player tracking system (and it might be), it will generate a lower theoretical win for you than a typical craps game. 

If you’re playing for high stakes, it’s worth checking that out.

Conclusion

There you have it – Bubble Craps.

It is a fun game to play, with a similar vibe to the ‘Claw Machine’ that offers soft toys as prizes.  It’s almost like a fairground feel, and it’s fun.

I was surprised at how good the video touchscreens were – they really made it very simple to play the game, especially if you don’t try to learn everything all at once. I preferred the Interblock game.  

• The Interblock touchscreen interface was much more user-friendly than the Aruze screen.
• It was more intuitive and clearer – unlike the Aruze screen which was a mish-mash of color and bet placement.
• Every bet was accessible, with the most common bets easy to find, and the ‘game-state specific bets’, like the Pass Line and Come Bet odds, were offered at the correct time.
• There is a reason the Interblock game became the game of choice for most casinos, simply because the video screen interface is more user-friendly.   

Focus on the Pass Line, the Pass Line odds, the Come, buying the 4 and 10 and placing the 6 and 8, and you will be an expert in no time.

Steer well clear of the hardways, hop bets and the craps bets – the House Advantage on those bets is really strongly against you.

And have fun – once you get comfortable with the game, you may find it more your style to play in a game with live dealers and players. 

There is (almost) nothing that is more fun than walking into a hot roll on a busy craps game. 

It’s exciting, a lot of fun and a simply exhilarating experience.

And Good Luck.