Table of Contents
Written by
Mike Waters
Edited by
Matthew Scott
What are Crash Games
Let’s start with the obvious: what are crash games? Well, it’s not like there’s a formal definition from a casino authority or an official dictionary entry. Crash games simply appeared on crypto gambling sites and caught on because the concept is ridiculously simple:
- You place a bet.
- The multiplier starts increasing.
- You need to cash out before the game suddenly crashes.
That’s literally the whole thing. There’s a line that goes up on a chart-like screen, and there’s a multiplier that goes up and up and up, until it suddenly crashes down. At some random point, the multiplier drops to zero, and if you didn’t cash out in time… poof. Bet gone.
Fun fact from Australian Gamblers: The crash game format originally came from a Bitcoin gambling game called Bustabit in 2014. Back then, it was just a plain graph with numbers going up, and rumour has it that it was built by IT students as a school project. Casino operators seem to have recognised its potential, and there are now hundreds of similar crash games.
I’ll be perfectly honest here. When I first tried one, I remember thinking: “This is either going to be the quickest win of my life or the dumbest loss I’ve ever had.” Spoiler: it was the second one. In my defence, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, and after I learned the basics, I actually finished the particular session with a small profit.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: how can I be sure that the game isn’t rigged? Well, mainly because many crash games are provably fair, which allows you to verify the validity of the results on the blockchain. If you can choose, always choose a provably fair crash game.
How to Play Crash Games: Step by Step
There are some basics that you need to know about crash games (and I’ll show you everything about them), but they’re really one of the simplest casino formats out there.
The whole idea is that you bet, the multiplier rises, and it’s you who decides when to cash out. If you wait too long, the game will crash. The most important thing here is to remember your part: it’s YOU who decides when to cash out. Here’s how crash games work from start to finish:
You start by choosing how much you want to wager for the upcoming round. Many crash games actually let you place two bets at the same time for even more volatility, but I’ll cover that part later.
For now, what you need to know is that you choose your wager size before the round starts, and it usually ranges from a low value like A$0.20 up to A$100 or even more per round.
Note from Australian Gamblers: Many players do one “sensible” bet that they cash out relatively early, and one risky bet that they cash out at 5x or 10x, depending on their strategy. Expectedly, the safer bet is almost always higher than the risky bet.
When the round begins, the multiplier starts at 1.00x. It immediately starts increasing, like:
1.01x > 1.15x > 1.40x > 2.00x > 3.00x > 6.00x…
You probably get the point. You’re watching this multiplier, and your brain does this weird thing where you try to predict the peak. Trust me, you can’t. Crash games are absolutely random, and no one knows when the crash will occur.
Things like previous rounds or total bets don’t matter – the game is completely random, and every round is independent.
In crash games, you decide when to cash out. If you hit the button, you will cash out the current multiplier, which means you’ll secure your winnings. For example, if you bet A$10 and you cash out at 2.00x, you win A$20.
In most games, there’s an auto cashout option that you can preset, and it will cash out when the multiplier reaches the point you have set, like 2.00x or 2.50x.
I recommend using the auto cashout option because it helps you avoid making emotional decisions – it’s like putting your snacks in the drawer so you don’t eat the whole packet. Let’s face it, if you see the multiplier rising, chances are that you’ll want a higher and higher payout.
If you automatically cash out at 2.50x, you won’t get tempted to chase a bigger multiplier and eventually lose your bet.
Tip from Australian Gamblers: Crash games are designed in a way that the multiplier appears to increase rapidly as it reaches higher values. For example, in the beginning, it rises by 0.10x and 0.20x, but when it reaches the tens and hundreds, it starts moving very quickly. The game isn’t really “speeding up”, it’s just showing bigger jumps because the percentage growth stays the same (around 2% per tick). So, it’s not speeding up to scare you, but it’s how exponential growth works.
The crash is inevitable. At a random moment, the multiplier collapses to zero, and if you haven’t cashed out until that moment, you lose your bet.
Note that a round usually takes no more than 30 seconds, so everything happens really fast. If you’re not quick enough (or have a pre-set auto cash out), you’ll 100% lose your bet.
Here’s a quick example:
- You bet A$5.
- You watch the multiplier rise and rise, and it reaches 3.20x.
- You hesitate because you want just a little more.
- The multiplier crashes at 3.26x, and you lose your bet.
Now, you might be wondering: how far can the multiplier go? Well, that depends on the particular game. However, most crash games are either up to 1,000x or 10,000x.
From my experience, I’d say that only 1 in 20 rounds gets to a multiplier of 10x or over, let alone these really high multipliers of 1,000x or 10,000x, so you should set your expectations accordingly.
RTP & Volatility of Crash Games
Crash games typically have an RTP ranging from 96% to 99%, which aligns with the majority of pokies and table games. However, the RTP in these games works differently. It’s actually tied to the game’s volatility, and it’s you who sets the volatility.
These games are unique because they can be some of the lowest and highest volatility casino games, depending on how you play.
Here’s the maths behind a typical crash game: let’s say that it has an RTP of 96.96%, which means that there’s a 7.65% chance of the game crashing with a multiplier less than 1.05x.
So, 765 times out of 10,000 times, the game will crash below 1.05x on average. If you were to play 10,000 games and wager A$1 on each game and cash out at 1.05x, you would, theoretically, win 9.235 times.
9,235*0.05 = A$461.75
However, it means that you will, on average, lose 765*A$1 = A$765.
Let’s subtract our profit from our losses: 765 – 461.75 = A$303.25 in net loss.
The higher the game’s RTP, the lower your ‘average net’ loss will be, but this is only in theory. I explained how RTP in crash games works because it’s directly tied to the volatility of the game, and how you can control it.
Controlling the Volatility in Crash Games
Even though the house edge is still there (about 3.03% in my previous example), crash games give you something pokies don’t: you control the volatility. In a pokie, the volatility is baked into the math. If a game is labelled high volatility, you can’t change that, so your only choice is the bet size.
Crash games are completely different. You get to decide what type of game you want to play: the “safer”, low volatility approach when you cash out early, or the “riskier”, high-volatility approach when you get bigger wins more rarely.
This is the primary reason why players love crash games. Everyone ends up developing their own strategy, and for better or for worse, your results are directly tied to your decisions.
However, as I demonstrated in the example above, if you try to play it too conservatively and stretch out small wins indefinitely, the house edge will slowly erode your bankroll. You can’t just leech tiny 1.05x wins forever and expect to beat the math.
The idea is that if you want to play crash games over the long term, you need to develop your own strategy that balances smaller and bigger cashouts. As simple and as unpredictable as they are, cash games do reward players who think ahead. You don’t control the result, but you do control the risk, and that’s the appeal of these games.
Tips for Playing Crash Games
A massive disclaimer here: crash games, like all casino games, are chance-based games, so there’s no guaranteed way to win. No strategy ensures you’ll play “safely” or without losing, because that’s not how these games work.
I’ll share some tips for playing crash games based on my personal experience with these games.
Pick a Cashout Range Before Each Round Starts
You’re probably thinking: Mike, how can I pick a cashout range before the round starts? What if the multiplier goes 2,000x? That’s the point. If you decide on your exit multiplier, you don’t care what happens with the multiplier. You only care for your own cashout exit.
I’ve found that for most players, somewhere between 1.50x and 2.50x works best. Anything below that and the house edge will slowly eat your bankroll, but anything above that, and you’re getting into the ‘very risky’ category.
Consider Two Bets at Once
Most crash games let you play two bets in the same round. This is an example of how I would use it:
- Bet 1: Medium amount of around A$10 and safe, with cashout around 1.50x up to 2.00x
- Bet 2: Tiny amount, like A$1, and aim for something bigger
Obviously, this is still a risky strategy, but the idea is to keep it steady while still allowing yourself to chase some bigger multipliers.
Do Not Chase Big Multipliers Every Round
Let’s be honest – you’re playing crash games for fun, which means that you’ll occasionally want to chase 10x or 20x multipliers. Admittedly, it can be a lot of fun, but I believe you should only use high multipliers occasionally or as a second bet with a very low wager.
I treat them as I treat the lottery: I play one ticket once a week, and that’s it. If you don’t want to place two bets at once, you can play 9 steady rounds with a cashout plan of 2.00x, and one round for a bigger multiplier.
Walk Away When You Hit Your Target
Crash games are very, very fast. Wins are fast, but losses can be even faster. That’s why I always suggest to players to set a target and walk away as soon as they hit it. For example, if you’re starting out with A$1,000, you can set a target of A$1,500, and the moment you reach your target, you should stop playing and do something else.
Types of Crash Games
There aren’t many different types of crash games because they all follow the same basic idea. Built on the same concept – the multiplier climbs and you decide when to cash out. Developers have used this formula and re-skinned it into different styles to diversify themselves, but generally speaking, all crash games play largely the same.
This is the original, or the ‘purest’ version of Crash. There are no fancy animations or anything like that, just a rising line and a multiplier that goes up until it crashes.
They’re the most “mathematical” type of crash game because they’re all about the multiplier. Some good examples of graph-style crash games are 1000x BUSTA by Relax Gaming and the original Bustabit.
This is the version most players know. In these ‘animated’ crash games, the multiplier rises as an object ascends, like a plane, a rocket, an astronaut, a golf ball, a football, etc.
They’re more popular because they look more modern, and many of them include features like chat, leaderboard, and two-bet options. Some popular examples include Aviator by Spribe, JetX by SmartSoft, and Spaceman by Pragmatic Play.
Some studios have released crash games with added features like random multipliers, special rounds, volatility levels, or collectible boosters. These games are not very common, but they do exist if you want to mix it up, and some popular crash games with bonus features include Crash X and Skyward by GamePlay Interactive.
These hybrids use the crash-game “don’t get caught before the crash” mechanic, but instead of watching a multiplier climb, you play a mini game. In this mini game, the character or object progresses through stages (each stage is a potential cash-out point), so you decide whether to cash out or to continue.
This is a relatively new genre that we only started to see at casinos in 2025, and some popular examples are Chicken Crash and CricketX.
Verdict: Should You Play Crash Games?
Crash games are fun because they put you in control of the decision. You decide when to cash out. You decide how much you want to bet and whether you’ll play high or low volatility.
Like any casino game, crash games have a built-in house edge, and there’s no cashout timing or strategy that can change that. While you can try using some progressive strategies like Oscar’s Grind or Fibonacci, the pace of the game won’t really allow you to calculate the size of your bets, and you’ll likely end up frustrated.
My advice is to play with a plan. Crash games are very fast-paced, and they can be a genuinely enjoyable break from the usual pokies or table games, but only as long as you stick to your target. Although they look chaotic, they’re the opposite: they reward discipline and punish greed.
Set a clear goal, play with a reasonable cashout multiplier of around 1.50x to 2.50x, don’t get frustrated when the game decides to ‘crash’ just a millisecond before you were intending to cash out, and you’ll be fine.
FAQ
Absolutely not, you cannot predict the crash in crash games. There’s no way to predict when the crash will happen, and there’s no software that can do that. In most crash games, every round uses a provably fair RNG system, which means the crash point of the current round has been predetermined and written on the blockchain, and previous rounds don’t influence it. Even if the last three rounds crashed early, it doesn’t mean the next one will go high, and vice versa.
No, they can’t. Licensed casinos have their games regularly tested for fairness and randomness by third-party organisations, and many crash games actually use a provably fair system where the crash point is determined before the round starts.
The crash multiplier is indeed random, but mathematically, high multipliers have a very low probability. That’s how these games have been designed, so the higher it climbs, the more likely it is to crash.
Not always. Many casinos exclude crash games (and other instant-win and arcade-style games) from wagering or limit their contribution to a lower percentage than pokies. However, I suggest you check the T&Cs of the particular bonus to see if crash games do or don’t contribute towards the wagering.
The minimum cashout is usually 1.01x, meaning that you cash out instantly for a tiny profit. However, sometimes the game crashes at 1x, so there’s no way to ‘guarantee profit’. The maximum multipliers depend on the game, but they’re usually 1,000x or 10,000x.
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