If you’re reading this section, chances are you’re wondering, “How do you play craps?” Of course, the short answer – the one you’ll find at most online-gambling sites – is “You chuck a pair of dice around a gaming table.” But here at AceHoyle.com we realize the worth of giving our readers a full explanation. After all, it’s your money. Why shouldn’t you have a complete understanding of how to play craps before “laying it all on the line”?
Many casino games start with the 52-card deck, but craps breaks the mold by doing away with cards altogether. Instead, the action at a craps table is focused entirely on two dice. With the exception of some very specific rules of etiquette, there are very few craps rules that deal specifically with the dice. Instead, the rules of craps tend to focus on craps bets; learning craps entails understanding craps bets inside and out, so make sure you understand your options before playing your first live game.
How to Play Craps
Stand at any craps table for at least one round and you'll pick up on how to play craps pretty quickly. At the head of the table is the player with the dice, or “shooter.” At the other end is a casino employee who oversees the table, called the “boxman.” Another casino employee, the “stickman,” usually flanks the boxman, and bettors and observers ring the rest of the table. The shooter rolls the dice over a green felt table, across a line at the opposite end. The total value of the two dice determines who wins. In fact, the game’s premise couldn’t be simpler. It’s its layout that gums up the works; with so many different craps bets to choose from, it’s next to impossible to learn craps without making at least a few mistakes.
But since the dice part of the equation is so straightforward, we'll begin explaining the rules of craps there. Obviously with a pair of six-sided dice you have plenty of possible outcomes. On any given roll, the dice will show a value somewhere between 2 and 12. Depending on which craps bets you choose, you could be cheering for a set of numbers or for one number in particular. To start the round the shooter selects two dice from a collection of four to six (typically five). His first roll is called the “come out” roll and it sets the “point.” The point is the number that the shooter will then try to roll again.
Of course, the first thing you have to understand when learning craps is that the round doesn't always make it that far. If the come out roll results in a total of 2, 3, or 12 the round automatically ends with Don't Pass bettors (see below) receiving an instant win on a roll of 2 or 3. If the come out roll is a 7 or 11 then the round also ends with Pass bettors receiving the win. Any other number becomes the point. In order for Pass bettors to win, the shooter must hit the point again before rolling a 7. Don't Pass bettors are hoping for the opposite; that the shooter will hit 7 before the point.
Basic Craps Bets
No other element of craps rules is nearly as important as the game’s betting structure. And truly learning craps entails learning what each bet means and what its odds are. If you’ve read the above sections and are still wondering, “How do you play craps?” you can rest easy knowing all will be revealed below; because understanding craps bets is so essential to learning how to play craps we’ve made explaining them the real meat of our “Craps Rules” section.
So what's all this talk about “Pass” and “Don't Pass”? These are the two most basic craps bets, and it’s necessary you understand what they are if you want to learn craps. Placed before each round begins, Pass bets predict that the shooter will roll a 7 or 11 on the come out roll or that he will hit the point before the 7 after the come out roll. Don't Pass bets predict the opposite: The shooter will roll a 2 or 3 in the come out or won’t roll the point before he rolls a 7.
Most other craps rules are actually very similar to the Pass/Don't Pass wagers. A “Come” bet is basically a Pass bet repeated in the second part of the round. Players again hope for a 7 or 11 and, failing this, a second “Come” point is established. Alternatively, “Don't Come” bettors want a second roll of a 2 or 3 and only win if a 7 is hit before the Come point. It is important to note that Pass/Line and Come/Don't Come craps bets usually have different points.
When most people learn craps, Come/Don’t Come and Pass/Don’t Pass bets, called “line bets,” are about as far as they get. But here at AceHoyle.com we urge you to learn all the rules of craps – not just the easy ones. How else, after all, can you expect to learn how to play craps?
As far as the remaining bets go, the rules of craps are pretty straightforward: Besides the line bets, you’ll notice several other propositions on your average craps table. These are called “single-roll” bets because, well, they only apply to a single roll of the dice. Because single-roll bets have worse odds than line bets most players avoid them. But, as we said, learning craps rules entails answering the question “How do you play craps?” to its fullest, so we’ve whipped up a little chart explaining the name of each bet and how it works.
Single-Roll Craps Bets
Yo (“11”) – Bettor wins on an 11. Payout: 15:1; real odds: 17:1; House edge: 11.11 percent.
3 (“Ace-Deuce”) – Bettor wins on a 3. Payout: 15:1; real odds: 17:1; House edge: 11.11 percent.
2 (craps aces): Bettor wins on a 2. Payout: 30:1; real odds: 35:1; House edge: 13.89 percent.
12 – Bettor wins on a 12. Payout: 30:1; real odds: 35:1; House edge: 13.89 percent.
2 or 12 (“Hi-Lo”) – Bettor wins on either a 2 or 12. Payout: 15:1; real odds: 17:1; House edge: 11.11 percent.
Craps – Bettor wins on a 2, 3 or 12. Payout: 7:1; real odds: 8:1; House edge: 11.11 percent.
C & E (“Craps and Eleven”) – Bettor splits his bet, placing half on Craps and half on Yo. One of these bets will always lose, while the other may or may not win. Payout: 3:1 on Craps, 7:1 on Yo; real odds: 5:1; House edge: 11.11 percent.
Any Seven (“Big Red”) - Bettor wins on any 7. Payout: 4:1; real odds: 5:1; House edge: 16.67 percent.
Field – This bet has the lowest House edge of all single-roll craps bets. The bettor wins on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. Payouts for the Field bet vary from casino to casino, but the bet’s real odds are always the same: 5:4. Typically, the House edge is between 5.56 percent and 2.78 percent.
A Word to the Wise about Craps Bets
As you can see, learning craps rules is invaluable because otherwise a player might totally miss the fact that single-roll bets have a higher vigorish than line bets. You should, however, also keep in mind as you learn craps that single-roll bets pay out at a much higher rate than line bets. No matter which you choose, there will always be a House edge. So it often makes more sense to go for a big payoff, even if the odds of winning it are slim to none.
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