It's the
noisiest game in the house and only spectator game in the casino
that's worthy of the name. Next to Blackjack it's got some of
the best player odds in the house and only Roulette has more
betting options for the player. It's the one and only Craps.
Picture your average Poker
game: stone faces, few words, cagey players and cut-throat
action. Craps, god bless it, is the complete opposite. Players
yelling bets, hangers-on pumped on the action, fellow bettors
your companions with the chips flying and the dice right behind
them. It's not just a game, it's the King of Dice.
And while it's true that a
smart player can step in with $100 and with a little luck walk
away minutes later with $10,000, it's also true that there are
more sucker bets than you can shake a stick at. Few games show
you the line between a smart bet and a bad one, inked right on
the felt for all to see. Strategy, opponents, long odds and
smart bets. Craps has it all.
Unfortunately Craps can be
pretty intimidating for the newcomer. There are such a large
number of betting options, special rules and exceptions that
you'll feel as if you'll never get a handle on it. Personally, I
avoided the Craps table for the longest time simply because it
was so noisy and confusing. But hang in there because the
smarter you play the easier it is. The trick is to take it one
step at a time.
Basics
When you are rolling the dice
you are the "shooter". Your first toss in a round of Craps is
called the Come Out roll. If you roll a 7 or 11, you win and the
round is over before it started. If you roll a 2, 3, or 12
that's a Craps and you lose: again, it's over before it started.
Any other number becomes the Point. The purpose of the Come Out
roll is to set the Point, which can be any of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or
10. The Dealer places a puck marked "On" above the Point number
printed on the table.
Objective
The basic objective in Craps is
for the shooter to win by tossing the Point again before he
tosses a 7. That 7 is called Out 7 to differentiate it from the
7 on the Come Out roll. If the Point is tossed, the shooter and
his fellow bettors win and the round is over. If the shooter
tosses Out 7, they lose and the round is over. If the toss is
neither the Point nor Out 7, the round continues and the dice
keep rolling.
Betting and payoff
Here's where life at the Craps
table can get complicated. There are an overwhelming number of
betting options and it'll make you dizzy trying to figure them
all out at once. Like I promised though, it's easy to play
smart. Let's talk about those smart bets first.
Pass bets
The typical -- and simplest --
bet is called a Pass bet. It is placed on the Pass Line before
the Come Out roll. Assuming that the round goes past the Come
Out roll, you're betting on the chance that you'll roll the
Point again before you roll an Out 7. Pass bets win at even
odds, 1:1. Since any Pass bets are typically betting with the
shooter, Pass bettors are said to be betting "right", they're
supporting the shooter in his attempt to win.
To Win: win on the Come Out
roll if the dice show 7 or 11. Win on any subsequent roll if you
roll the Point.
To Lose: lose on the Come Out
roll if the dice are Craps (2, 3, or 12). Lose on any subsequent
roll if it's an Out 7.
Don't Pass bets
A bet placed on the Don't Pass
line is basically the opposite of a Pass bet. Assuming that the
round goes past the Come Out roll, you're betting that the
shooter will roll Out 7 before making the Point. In other words,
you're betting against the shooter, which is why it's called a
"wrong" bet. Rest assured though, there is nothing wrong with
the odds on a Don't Pass bet.
To Win: win on the Come Out
roll if the dice show Craps (2, 3 or 12). Win on any subsequent
roll if it's an Out 7.
To Lose: lose on the Come Out
roll of 7 or 11. Lose on any subsequent roll if it's the Point.
Come/Don't Come bets
Come and Don't Come bets are
basically the same as Pass and Don't Pass except they are placed
while a round is in progress. They are designed for players who
join the game late. The same rules apply: win if the next roll
is 7 or 11, lose if it's Craps. Otherwise the roll becomes the
Come Point.
Odds bets
An Odds bet is a backup bet on
a Pass/Don't Pass/Come/Don't Come bet already on the table.
They're usually limited to two or three times (2x or 3x) the
original bet and pay off at true odds: the payoff truly reflects
the probability of the dice's roll and there's no additional
house edge involved. Unlike original Pass/Don't Pass/Come/Don't
Come bets, unresolved Odds bets can be removed from the table
during play.
Pass Odds and Come Odds pay 2:1
on a roll of 4 or 10, 3:2 on 5's and 9's, and 6:5 on 6's and
8's.
Don't Pass Odds and Don't Come
Odds pay 1:2 on a roll of 4 or 10, 2:3 on 5's and 9's, 5:6 on
6's and 8's.
Other bets
Now for the rest of the table,
the Place Number bets and Proposition bets. Unfortunately the
odds against you here vary from mediocre to terrible which is
why savvy players ignore almost all of them. These bets are
mostly designed for players who either have money burning a hole
in their pocket or feel they have to bet on every little toss of
the dice. The price of such impatience and risk-taking is higher
house edges, sometimes dramatically higher.
A Place Number bet is where you
are betting that a particular number will roll before a 7 does,
or vice versa. These include the Place, Buy, Lay and Lose bets,
the Big 6 and Big 8, and finally the Hard 4, Hard 6, Hard 8 and
Hard 10.
The Proposition bets are where
you bet that the next roll will be a specific number. These
include the 2, 3, 7, 11, and 12 bets, the Any Craps bet, the
Field, Hop and Horn bets.