Are hardway bets ever worth it in craps?
No. The hard 6 and 8 cost several times what the place bets on the same numbers do, and the hard 4 and 10 are worse still.
House edge: hard 6 or 8 9.09%; hard 4 or 10 11.11%. Placing the 6 or 8 instead costs 1.52%.
The hardways next to the place bets
| Bet | Pays | Wins | House edge | Per roll | Rolls to decide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard 4 | 7:1 | 11.11% | 11.11% | 2.78% | 4.00 |
| Hard 6 | 9:1 | 9.09% | 9.09% | 2.78% | 3.27 |
| Place 4 | 9:5 | 33.33% | 6.67% | 1.67% | 4.00 |
| Place 6 | 7:6 | 45.45% | 1.52% | 0.46% | 3.27 |
House edge: the average loss as a share of the bet, per bet decided. Per roll spreads it over the rolls the bet takes to win or lose, counting only rolls where it is working.
Why
A hardway wins only if the number rolls as a pair (3-3 for hard 6) before a 7 or the same number the easy way. There is one hard way against ten losing combinations for the 6 and 8, and one against eight for the 4 and 10. The 9 to 1 and 7 to 1 payouts fall short of those odds. The big payouts are fun, but they come at a high price on every roll.