The basics
Craps is probably one of the most exciting, fun
and social casino games. You almost always hear
yelling and shouting from the craps tables. It's
played on a purpose-built table and played with
two dice. The dice are made in accordance with strict
standards and are inspected on a routine basis for
any damage. It is in fact fairly standard practice
to change the dice about once every eight hours,
and most casinos have fairly strict rules on how
players can handle the dice.
According to the Casino rules the player is only
allowed to handle the dice with one hand when throwing
the dice and they have to hit the walls on the opposite
end of the table. If either one or both dice are
thrown off the table, then they have to be inspected
(usually by the 'stickman') before they are returned
to the table
A craps table can host as many as 20 players, who
will take turns at 'shooting' the dice / throwing
the dice down the table. For those who think that
throwing the dice is a bit too much like exercise
they can instead just place a bet on the thrower.
There are quite a few types of bet that can be made,
explained later on. The casino crew at a Caps table
consists of two dealers, a 'boxman' and as mentioned
earlier a 'stickman'.
Each new game in Craps is started with the first
roll of the dice which is referred to as the 'Come
Out' roll - this signifies the start of the betting
round. The 'Come Out' roll can only be performed
after the previous 'shooter',(Player who rolls the
dice), is unable to make a winning roll, in other
words, is unable to achieve the 'Point' or 'seven
out'.
However if the Player/'Shooter' makes the 'Point'
then the dice are returned and a new 'Come Out'
roll is rolled. This carries on that particular
shooter's roll although technically every 'Come
Out' signals the start of a new game.
Eventually the shooter will fail to make the specified
'Point', at this point the dice are offered to the
next player on the Craps table for a new Come Out
roll to be rolled. The new shooter is the player
standing to the left of the previous shooter and
so it continues in a clockwise fashion with players
coming and going over time.
The shooter rolls the dice across the craps table
layout. The layout is itself divided into three
separate areas comprising two side areas separated
by a centre one. Each of the side areas is a mirror
reflection of the other and is made up of the following:
Pass and Come and Don't Come bets, Don't Pass line
bets, Place bets, Odds bet and Field bets. The centre
area is shared between the side areas and holds
all the Proposition bets.
A Pass bet will win when the 'come out' roll is
either a 7 or 11, and loose when a 2, 3, or 12 are
rolled. The 'Don't bet' will win with a 2 or 3 and
lose on 7 or 11 being rolled. A tie occurs for 'Don't
bets' if a 12, or occasionally a 2, is rolled on
the 'come out'. The 'Bar' roll on the layout will
indicate which roll is treated as a tie by the casino.
Below is the full list of various bets which can
be made in craps.
Pass Line Bet - Wins if the first
roll is a natural (7, 11) and loses if it's craps
(2, 3, 12). If a point is rolled (either 4, 5, 6,
8, 9, 10) then the same point has to be repeated
before a 7 is rolled in order to win. If however
a 7 is rolled before the point then you lose.
Odds on Pass Line Bet - If a point
is rolled then you are allowed to make an additional
bet with the following odds. A point of 6 or 8 pays
6:5; 5 or 9 pays 3:2 and 4 or 10 will pay you 2:1.
However you will only win if the point is rolled
again before the next 7 is rolled.
Come Bet - This follows the same
rules as the Pass Line bet. The difference is that
you can only make this bet after the point on the
pass line has been determined. After your bet is
placed the first dice roll will determine the come
point. You will win if it is a natural (7, 11) and
lose if it is craps (2, 3, 12). Any other rolls
will win if the come point is repeated before a
7 is rolled. However if a 7 is rolled first then
you lose.
Odds on Come Bet - These are the
same odds as for the 'Pass Line' bet except you
take the odds on the Come bet not on the Pass Line
bet.
Don't Pass Line Bet - This is
basically the opposite of the 'Pass Line' bet. If
the first roll of the dice is a 2 or a 3 then you
win and a natural (7, 11) will lose. A roll of 12,
or sometimes 2, results in a push or tie with the
casino. If the dice roll is a point (4, 5, 6, 8,
9, 10) then a 7 has to be rolled before another
point to give you a win, otherwise if a point is
rolled before the next 7 you loose.
Don't Come Bet - Similarly this
is the opposite of the 'Come Bet'. After a come
point has been set then you will win on 2 or 3 and
lose on 7 or 11. A 12, sometimes 2, results in a
tie, other dice rolls will give you a win only if
a 7 is rolled before the come point is rolled again.
Place Bets - This bet can only
be placed after the point has been set. You are
then allowed to bet on a dice roll of either 4,
5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. You then win if the number you
bet on comes up before a 7, otherwise you lose.
The payoffs on Place Bets are as follows; 6 or 8
pays 7:6; 5 or 9 pays 7:5; and 4 or 10 will pay
9:5. This bet can be cancelled at anytime you want
to.
Field Bets - As opposed to the
bets mentioned up to now these bets are made for
one dice roll only. If a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11or 12
comes up then you win. However a 5, 6, 7 or 8 make
you lose. The payoffs for Field Bets are as follows;
12 pays 3:1 whilst 2 pays double (2:1) . All other
winning dice rolls pay out evens (1:1).
Big Six, Big Eight Bets - This
bet can be placed on any roll of dice and wins if
respectively a 6 or 8 are rolled before a 7. Big
Six and Big Eight pay out evens (1:1).
Proposition Bets - Similarly these
bets can be made at any time and, apart from for
the hardways bet, they are all one roll bets:
