The Basic Game of Craps
Craps is an exciting casino game that offers great odds for the player. Don’t
be intimidated by the apparent complexity of the game. It is actually a very
simple game to play. Start by making basic craps bets. As you gain experience
and confidence playing the game, you can make more advanced bets that are more
complex.
Craps is a game that is played on a large table with 2 dice. The player whose
turn it is to roll the dice is called the "shooter". When the game
starts, the first roll is called a "come out" roll. This means that the
player must make a bet on either the Pass or Don’t Pass line. A "Pass"
bet means you think the shooter will win. A "Don’t Pass" bet means you
think the shooter will lose.
Craps Table
There are several ways for the shooter to win or lose a bet. On the come out
roll (remember: that’s the first roll) if the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, he wins!
If he rolls a 2, 3 or 12, he loses. A loss on the come out roll is called "crapping
out". If any other number is rolled, that number becomes the "point".
For a moment, we’ll just concentrate on the basic Pass and Don’t pass bets. If
the shooter wins on his first roll, all betters with a Pass bet collect their
bet, and all betters with a don’t pass bet lose their bet. It’s exactly the
opposite if the shooter craps out on his first roll. All Pass bets lose, and
Don’t Pass bets are paid.
If a point is made, the game continues. The objective of the shooter now
changes. Now the shooters goal is to roll the point number again, before
rolling a 7. So a 7 is a winner on the come out roll, but a loser on any other
roll. If the shooter makes the point before rolling a 7, he is a winner and all
Pass Line bets are paid, and all Don’t Pass Line bets are collected. If the
shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point, the shooter loses, as does all Pass
Line bets, and all Don’t Pass Line bets are winners.
The shooter continues to roll the dice until he either wins or loses. If he
rolls a number other than 7 or the point, there is no action in regard to the
Pass and Don’t Pass bets. There are multiple side bets that can be made that
can be played on these rolls. More about that later.
Pass and Don’t pass bets are paid at even money. The shooter continues to roll
the dice until he "sevens out", or rolls a seven before making the
point. The only caveat is when a 12 is rolled on the come out roll. In this
situation all Pass bets lose, and all Don’t Pass bets push. This is where the
house advantage comes from on Don’t Pass bets. The house edge is just 1.414%
for Pass bets, and 1.404% for Don’t Pass bets.
This process of coming out, then making points is the basic game of Craps.
Armed with just this knowledge, you can play the game of craps and have a very
enjoyable time. However, if there is not enough action in waiting for the
shooter to seven out or make the point, there are numerous side bets that can
be made to make the game more interesting.
Side Bets
Come / Don’t Come
Come and Don’t Come bets allow a player to treat any roll of the dice as a come
out roll. So if there is already a point established, and you are looking for
more action, you can place a Come or Don’t Come bet. This bet works exactly as
a Pass or Don’t Pass bet does on a Come Out roll. The difference is that you
will have your own personal point, which operates separately from the shooters
point. If the shooter rolls a seven, then all Pass and Come bets lose. If the
shooter makes his point before rolling a seven, or making your come point, the
come bets continues to ride until won or lost.
You can make a come out bet on every roll of the dice, except the shooter’s
come out roll. (In which case you would simply make a Pass bet) So you can have
as many points going at one time as you wish. Once the shooter makes a point
for you, your chips are moved to the number representing your point. If you
make additional come out bets resulting in the same point, the chips are simply
stacked and your come bet for that point is increased.
Place Bets
If you don’t like the idea of leaving it to chance to decide what your point is
on a come bet, you can choose your own point. You can pick the number you want
to be your point, and make a "place bet" on it.
Place bets work exactly as a Pass or Come bet does once the point is
established. Only you get to choose the number, and you get paid odds, whereas
a Pass or Come bet only pays even money.
To make it clear why odds are paid on these bets, we’ll talk numbers for a bit.
There are 6 numbers that can be made a point, and therefore 6 place bets
available. Those numbers are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. Statistically speaking,
it’s more difficult to roll a 4 or a 10 than it is a 6 or an 8. So if you place
a bet on the 4, for example, you will be paid better odds since it’s more
difficult to hit.
Here is a table showing the payoffs for each number, the odds of winning that
bet, and the subsequent house advantage on that bet. There is one additional
column that indicates the betting increment for that number. Since the bets are
paid in fractional odds, you will want to bet in multiples of the betting
increment to be sure you aren’t getting shorted by rounding down the payoffs
due to odd amounts.
| 4, 10 |
9 to 5 |
2 to 1 |
6.6% |
$5 |
| 5, 9 |
7 to 5 |
3 to 2 |
4% |
$5 |
| 6, 8 |
7 to 6 |
6 to 5 |
1.515% |
$6 |
Buy Bets
Buy bets are exactly the same as Place Bets, except the payoff method is
different. You pay the casino 5% in order to make the bet. But then the payout
is at true odds.
Since the house edge is 6.6% for 4 and 10, but less than 5% on 5, 6, 8 and 9,
you will only want to make a buy bet, if it is offered, on 4 and 10. So if you
make a $5 buy bet on the 4 and win, you will be paid $9.50, as opposed to the
$9 you would have made on a place bet.
Big 6/Big 8
In the corner of the craps table, you’ll see a “Big 6” and a “Big 8”. These
allow a player to make 6 or 8 the point for them by placing a bet in one of
these spots. This operates exactly like a place bet on the 6 or 8. Only the
“Big” bets pay even money rather than the true odds of 6 to 5. This is a house
advantage of 9.09%.
This is a bad bet, a sucker’s bet. If you want to play the 6 or 8, place
the bet and reduce the house advantage to 1.515%.
Free Odds
Free odds (often referred to as just “odds”) bets are the best bets going in a
casino. As the name suggests, this is a free bet. This means the casino pays
you at true mathematical odds and takes no profit whatsoever from it.
A free odds bet is made after a Pass, Don’t Pass, Come or Don’t Come bet has
been made, and a point has been set. You make your free odds bet behind the
original pass/come bet. Then if you win your pass/come bet, your free odds bet
is paid off at the true mathematical odds for that point.
For example, let’s say you have a $10 Pass Line bet. The shooter rolls a 4. You
then put down an additional $10 free odds bet. Now when you win that bet you
will be paid even money on the Pass Line bet ($10), and $20 on the free odds
bet (since the odds of winning with a point of 4 is 50%, for a true payoff of 2
to 1). So you have won $30 on a $20 bet. In this situation the house edge is
reduced beyond the original 1.414% to 0.85%! Making Craps a true players game!
If free odds are offered, you should always take advantage of it. Free odds are
common in casinos in competitive areas, such as Las Vegas. Some casinos even
allow free odds bets in excess of the original Pass Line bet. If free odds bets
are allowed, you should put the maximum allowable amount down to decrease the
house advantage as much as possible.
When odds are offered, the house advantage on the Pass Line bets is reduced
even further. Single odds reduces the house advantage to 0.85%! Double odds
reduce it even further to 0.61% Some Las Vegas casinos even offer 100x odds! In
these casinos the house only has a 0.02% edge over the player!
Field Bets
All the bets so far have been on the basic game of craps. That is betting on
winning or losing a come out roll, or subsequently making or missing a point.
There are additional bets called Field Bets that can be made on the outcome of
a single roll of the dice.
On the craps table, there is a large section labeled “Field” that has the
numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12. The numbers 2 and 12 will often have circles
around them, and the words “Pays Double” or “Pays Triple”. When making a field
bet you are betting that one of the numbers in the “field” will come up on the
next roll of the dice. If one of those numbers comes up, you win your bet. If
not, you lose your bet. Your bet will be paid at even money, unless a 2 or 12
comes up and the casino is paying double or triple on those numbers.
There are 16 combinations out of 36 that can produce winning field numbers.
That’s a 44.4% chance. With a 2 to 1 payout (if Double or Triple odds are not
offered on 2 or 12), that results in a house advantage of 5.5%.
Proposition Bets
There are a number of bets that can also be made on the outcome of a single
roll. They are placed in the area near the center of the table. Following are
the most common proposition bets:
Any Craps
You can place a bet that the next roll of the dice will produce “craps” (a 2, 3
or 12). The payout is 7 to 1, and the true odds are 8 to 1. This is a house
advantage of 11.1%.
Any Seven
You are betting that the next roll of the dice will be a 7. The payout is 4 to
1, with true odds of 5 to1 and a house advantage of 16.67%.
3 or 11
You are making a bet that the next roll will be a 3 or 11. The payout is 15 to
1 (14 to 1 at some casinos). Since the true odds are 17 to 1, the house has a
11.1% edge.
2 or 12
A bet that 2 or 12 will be the next roll. Payout is 30 to 1 (29 to 1 at some
casinos). With true odds of 35 to 1 the house has a 11.1% advantage.
C-E (Craps-Eleven)
The C and E circles on the table represent Craps and Eleven bets. The craps bet
pays 7 to 1, and the 11 bet pays 15 to 1.
Hardway Bets
When a number is rolled, and the point total of the roll is even, the result is
either “hard” or “soft”. A hard roll means that the dice are paired up. A soft
roll means it is two dice of different denominations. For example, a hard 10 is
two 5’s.
You can make hardway proposition bets. When making this bet you are saying that
the next number of that denomination will be a pair, and that it will come up
before a seven is rolled. The bet rides until that number is shaken. If it
comes up hard, you win. If it comes up soft, you lose.
Hard 4 and 10 pay 7 to 1. The true odds are 8 to 1, meaning a house edge of
11.11%.
Hard 6 and 8 pay 9 to 1, with true odds of 10 to 1. This means the house has a
9.09% advantage over the player.
Strategy
Playing the Pass/Don’t Pass line is the most basic element of Craps. And it is
also some of the best odds. Remember, the house advantage is these bets is
approximately 1.4%, and with single odds is reduced to 0.85%. There are no
decisions to be made on these bets, so you can’t hurt yourself with bad
decisions. It’s down to lady luck at this point, so just sit back and enjoy the
action! It doesn’t take a whole lot of luck to come out ahead on these bets
because the house advantage is so slight.
The best thing you can do to increase your chances of winning in Craps, is to
take the maximum amount of free odds offered. Since there is no house advantage
on these bets, you just need to come out slightly ahead of the odds in order to
make a profit.
Of course, it’s understandable that waiting for a single point to be made or
missed might not bring the most excitement. So placing additional bets is a
good way to get into more action.
If you are looking for more action, the best ways to do it are Come Bets and
Place Bets. Come Bets have the same odds as Pass Line bets, so you can make a
Come Bet and have multiple points going at once. When a table is really rolling
this can get to be quite exciting. You stand a chance to win with multiple
outcomes on each roll.
Place bets can also be a good way to increase action, and yet still maintain as
little of a house edge as possible. Since 6 and 8 come up as the most likely
points to be made, and these bets also happen to have the lowest house edge
(about 1.5%), they can be very good bets to be made as well. And they pay
better than even money.
A lot of players like to take the opposite side number as the point. For
example if 10 is the point, the odds are exactly the same as making a 4. So
they will make a place bet on the 4. This is just a matter of preference,
however. There is no statistical advantage to doing this. Just bet on the
numbers that you feel most comfortable with.
While it can be fun and exciting to get on a winning streak and collect
winnings on nearly every roll, it can also be dangerous to have many
simultaneous bets going. Remember the most common roll with two dice is a 7.
Once a single 7 is rolled, all your Pass, Come and Place bets are losers. Try
not to spread yourself too thin. Always give yourself a chance to keep playing.
If you do get on a winning streak, you can press your bets and put down more
bets.
It’s definitely a good idea to stay away from the sucker bets. Never bet on the
Big 6 or Big 8. Always make a place bet instead.
Also, the field bets have a larger house edge than Pass, Come and Place bets.
The proposition bets have very severe house advantages. They should only be
played sparingly. They are really more of a novelty than anything. There is no
advantage to the player for making these bets. It may be exciting to have an
opportunity to win 8, 15 or 30 times your bet. But remember the odds of hitting
these bets are slim, and the payoffs are less favorable than the standard craps
bets.
In conclusion, Craps is an extremely enjoyable game. It can be intimidating to
the novice player because of the complex looking table, and the apparent speed
of the game. Learn to walk before you run. Play Pass Line bets until you’re
comfortable. Once you feel at ease at the table, you can begin to make more
bets. Just remember, play smart! When you play Craps well, the house has a very
small advantage over you. Making it one of the best player friendly games in
the casino!
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