Craps: Rules and Learn how to Play Craps to Win

The Game

CRAPS IN HISTORY

Role-playing and simulation games have introduced dice in non-cubic shapes, but the traditional spotted cube has endured the test of time. In fact, dice are credited by many historians as the oldest gambling device invented by man.

In the spiritual books of India, there is a story, thousands of years old, about a cousin cheatings his relations out of their kingdom in a crooked game of dice. This is probably the oldest reference to this game.

It is known that the ancient Eqyptians played dice, and the game of backgammon in the middle East is probably a decendant of their dice system. "Casting Lots" in the Bible, and Viking Runestones are some historical examples of dice-type activities. In Greek mythology, the Gods are shown playing dice to decide Man's fate, so we're in great company when we shoot craps in the casino!

WESTERN VS ASIAN DICE

I will assume that every gamester knows that the opposite faces of traditional dice total to seven (1-6, 2-5, 3-4). But did you also know that there are two ways that the spots can be arranged on the cubes, so that you have right and left handed dice. One arrangement is the mirror image of the other.

All Western dice are now made with he same handedness; if you place a die on the table with the one spot face up and turn it until the two spot is toward your left, the three will be to the right.

Now get some Japanese, Chinese and Korean dice. The first thing that you will notice about Asian dice is that the one spot is very big and it is painted red. Chinese and Korean dice also paint the four spot red. Japanese dice are handed in the same direction as Western dice, but Chinese dice are not. Western dice put the two spot on opposite corners of the face, Asian dice stack the pair of spots on each other along the middle axis of the face. Asian dice are also usually smaller and are very often used in sets of three, instead of in pairs.

CROOKED DICE

The first principle of cheating is that you don't have to win all the time; you just want to win most of the time. Loaded dice have weights inside them which favor the dice landing on the side with the weights.

To prevent this, modern dice are made from clear plastic that will allow you to see that they are made of uniform material. To get around this, modern crooks use clear weights or add the weights (which can be lighter or heavier than the dice material) to the solid colored spots. Another trick is to use dice that are not perfect cubes, so that they will tend to land on the largest face; these are called "shapes" for obvious reasons.

Ever wonder why you see people in crap games in the movies blowing on the dice before they shoot them? Another method for cheating is to paint the dice with a clear sticky substance which is activated by the moisture in your breath. Since you can see only three faces of a die at one time, you will find crooked dice called "horses" (before you ask, I have no idea where that name comes from) which are not spotted correctly. This means that certain combinations are impossible to throw, and other totals are more likely than they should be.

TYPES OF CLASSIC DICE GAMES

Dice games can be classified as:
1) Total games: The winner is determined by the total of the spots he shoots. A simple highest throw is such a game.

2) Combination games: Certain rolls have special scores before the game begins. These scores may or may not be related to their totals. Poker dice is an example of this family. While dice with playing cards faces (A, K, Q, J, 10, 9) are often used, the game can be played with regular dice.

3) Point games: The shooter determines a winning or losing throw for himself by rolling the dice. Craps is the best-known game in this family.

4) Compound games: The game is a mixture of two or three of the above principles.

THE GAME OF CRAPS

At first glance the game of craps looks a little intimidating because of all the various bets you can make but actually the game itself is very simple, so first let me explain the game without any reference to the betting.

Everyone at the craps table gets a turn to roll the dice, but you don't have to roll if you don't want to. The dice are passed around the table clockwise and if it's your turn to roll you simply take two dice and roll them to the opposite end of the table. This is your first roll of the dice, which is also called the "come-out" roll. If you roll a 7 or 11 that's called a "natural" and you win, plus you get to roll again. If you roll a 2, 3 or 12 those are all called "craps" and you lose, but you still get to roll again.

The only other possible numbers you can roll are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 and if one of those numbers shows up, then that number becomes your "point" and the object of the game is to roll that number again before you roll a 7.

If a 7 shows up before your "point" number does then you lose and the dice move on to the next shooter. If your "point" number shows up before a 7 does, then you have made a "pass." You then win your bet and you get to roll again. That's all there is to the game of craps.

A Typical Las Vegas Craps Table (Layout)

BETTING POSSIBILITIES

Now that you know how to play the game, let's find out about the different kinds of bets you can make. Two of the best bets you'll find on the craps table are in the areas marked "Pass" and "Don't Pass". When you bet on the "pass" line you're betting that the shooter will win. To make a pass line bet you put your bet right in front of you on the pass line. Pass line bets are paid even-money and the house edge on a pass line bet is 1.41%.

You can also bet on the "Don't Pass" line in which case you're betting that the shooter will lose. To make a don't pass bet you put your bet in front of you in the "Don't Pass" area. Don't pass bets are also paid even-money and the house edge on them is 1.40%. In reality, the odds are always 1.41% against the shooter and in favor of the "Don't Pass" bettor by that same amount.

Of course, if you're a "Don't Pass" bettor the casinos don't want to give you a bet where you have an edge so they have a rule in effect on "Don't Pass" bets where on the come out roll if the shooter throws a 12, you don't win. You don't lose either, the bet is just considered a "push," or tie, and nothing happens.

In some casinos they may make 2 instead of 12 the number that's a push. Just look on the Don't Pass line and you'll you see the word "bar" and then the number that the casino considers a push. In our illustration it says bar 12, so in this casino your bet on the don't pass line will be a push if the come-out roll is a 12. This rule is what gives the casino its advantage on don't pass bets and it doesn't matter whether the casino bars the 2 or 12 the result is the same 1.40% advantage for the house.

PASS LINE BETTING

All right, let's say you put $10 on the pass line and you roll the dice. If you roll 7 or 11 you win $10 and if you roll 2, 3 or 12 you lose $10. So, what happens if you roll any of the other numbers? Well, as I said before, that number becomes your point and you have to roll that number again before you roll a 7 in order to win your pass line bet. Once your point is established the dealer at each end of the table will move a marker into the box that corresponds to your point number to let everyone at the table know what your point is. The marker that's used has two different sides. One side is black with the word "off" and the other side is white with the word "on." Before any point is established the marker is kept in the Don't Come box with the black side facing up until you roll a point number and then the dealer turns it over to the white side and moves it inside the box that contains your point number.

For example let's say your come-out roll is a 4. The dealer simply turns the marker over to the white side that says "on" and places it in the 4 box. This let's everyone know that 4 is your point and that you will continue to roll the dice, no matter how long it takes, until you roll a 4, which will make you a winner, or a 7, which will make you a loser. Now, keep in mind that once your point is established you can't remove your pass line bet until you either win, by throwing your point, or lose, by rolling a 7. The reason for this is that on the come out roll the pass line bettor has the advantage because there are 8 ways to win (by rolling a 7 or 11) and only 4 ways to lose (by rolling a 2, 3 or 12). If a point number is rolled, no matter what number it is, there are then more ways to lose than to win and that's why the bet can't be removed.

If you were allowed to remove your bet everyone would just wait for the come-out roll and if they didn't win they would take their bet back which would give them a big advantage over the house and, as you know, casinos don't like that, so that's why you can't remove your bet. As previously noted, the pass line is one of the best bets you'll find, but there is a way to make it even better because once your point number is established the casino will allow you to make another bet that will be paid off at the true odds. This is a very good bet to make because the casino has no advantage on this bet. In this instance, since your point was 4, the true odds are 2-to-1 and that' s what your bet will be paid off at: $2 for every $1 you bet, This is called an "odds bet," "taking the free odds" or "betting behind the line" and to make this bet you simply put your chips directly behind your pass line bet. There is a limit to how much you're allowed to bet and for many years most casinos allowed a maximum of 2 times the amount of your pass line bet.

Nowadays, however, many casinos offer 5 times odds and some casinos are even allowing up to 100 times odds. In Las Vegas, Binion's Horseshoe, Stratosphere and Sam's Town are some of the casinos that offer 100 times odds, and you can find 1oo times odds in many of the casinos in Mississippi, Shreveport, Reno, Atlantic City, and on the Indian Reservations as well. Because the casino has no advantage on these bets you are effectively lowering the house edge on your total pass line bet by taking advantage of these free odds bets. For example, the normal house edge on a pass line bet is 1.41% but if you also make a single odds bet along with your pass line bet you will lower the house edge on your total pass line bets to .85%. If the casino offers double odds then the edge on your bets is lowered to .61% With triple odds the edge is lowered to .47% and if you were to play in a casino that allowed 10 times odds the edge would be lowered to only.18% which means that, statistically speaking, over time, that casino would only make $ .18 out of every $100 you bet on that table. As you can see, the more the casino allows you to bet behind the line, the more it lowers their edge, so it's always a good idea to take advantage of this bet.

By the way, free odds bets, unlike regular pass line bets, can be removed or reduced, at any time. All right, let's make our free odds bet on our point number of 4 by putting $20 behind the line. Then we continue to roll until we either roll a 4 or a 7. If a 4 came up we would get even money on the pass line bet, plus 2-to-1 on the free odds bet, for a total win of $50. But, if we rolled a 7, we would lose both the pass line bet and the free odds bet for a total loss of $30.

DON'T PASS BETTING

We've spent all this time talking about pass line betting, so what about don't pass betting? Well, everything applied to pass line betting works pretty much just the opposite for don't pass betting. If you put $10 on don't pass you would win on the come out roll if the shooter rolled a 2 or 3, you would tie if the shooter rolled a 12, and you would lose if the shooter rolled a 7 or 11. If any other number comes up then that becomes the shooter's point number and if he rolls a 7 before he rolls that same point number, you will win. If he rolls his point number before he rolls a 7, you will lose.

Don't pass bettors are also allowed to make free odds bets to back up their original bets; however, because the odds are in their favor they must lay odds rather than take odds. This means that if the point is 4 or 10, the don't pass bettor must lay 2-to-l, or bet $10 to win $5, on 5 or 9 he must lay 3-to-2, or bet $6 to win S4; and on 6 or 8 he must lay 6-to-5, or bet $6 to win $5. By taking advantage of these free odds bets the casino advantage is slightly lowered on the total don't pass bets to .68% with single odds; .46% with double odds; .34% with triple odds and .12% with 10 times odds. If you want to you can remove, or reduce the amount of your free odds, bet at any time.

To make a free odds bet on don't pass you should place your odds bet right next to your original bet and then put a chip on top to connect the two bets. Keep in mind that when you make a free odds bet on don't pass the casino will allow you to make your bet based on the payoff, rather than the original amount of your don't pass bet. In other words, if the casino offered double odds, the point was 4 and you had $10 on don't pass, you would be allowed to bet $40 because you would only win $20 which was double the amount of your original $10 bet. Since you have to put out more money than you'll be getting back, laying odds is not very popular at the craps table and you'll find that the vast majority of craps players would rather bet with the shooter and take the odds. Statistically speaking, it makes no difference whether you are laying or taking the odds because they both have a zero advantage for the house.

One last point about don't pass betting is that once the point is established, the casino will allow you to remove your don't pass bet if you want to - but don't do it! As noted before, on the come out roll the pass 1ine bettor has the advantage because there are 8 rolls that can win and only 4 that can lose, but once the point is established, there are more ways the shooter can lose than win, so at that point the don't pass bettor has the advantage and it would be foolish to remove your bet.

COME AND DON'T COME BETS

Now, let's take a look at the area marked come and don't come. Since you already know how to bet pass and don't pass, you should easily understand come and don't come because they're the exact same bets as pass and don't pass, except for the fact that you bet them after the point has already been established. Let's say that the shooter's point is 6 and you make a come bet by putting a $5 chip anywhere in the come box. Well, that's just like making a pass line bet, except that the shooter's next roll becomes the come-out roll for your bet. If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, you win. If a 2, 3, or 12 are rolled you lose, and if anything else comes up then that becomes your point and the shooter must roll that number again before rolling a 7 in order for you to win.

In this example if the shooter rolled a 4 the dealer would move your $5 come bet up into the center of the 4 box and it would stay there until either a 4 was rolled, which would make you a winner, or a 7 was rolled which would make you a loser. The house edge on a come bet is the same 1.41% as on a pass line bet. You are allowed free odds on your come bet and you make that bet by giving your chips to the dealer and telling him you want to take the odds. The dealer will then place those chips slightly off center on top of your come bet to show that it's a free odds bet. By the way, if you win, the dealer will put your winnings back in the come bet area so be sure to pick them up off the table or else it will be considered a new come bet.

One other point to note here is that when you make a come bet your bet is always working on every roll, even a come-out roll. However, when you take the odds on your come bets they are never working on the come-out roll. That may sound a little confusing, but here's what it means. In our example the shooter's initial point was 6 and then we made a $5 come bet. The shooter then rolled a 4 which became the point for our come bet. The dealer then moved our $5 come bet to the middle of the 4 box at the top of the table. We then gave $10 to the dealer and said we wanted to take the odds on the 4. On the next roll the shooter rolls a 6 which means he made a pass by rolling his original point number. The next roll will then become the COME AND DON'T COME BETS

You are allowed free odds on your come bet and you make that bet by giving your chips to the dealer and telling him you want to take the odds. The dealer will then place those chips slightly off center on top of your come bet to show that it's a free odds bet. By the way, if you win, the dealer will put your winnings back in the come bet area so be sure to pick them up off the table or else it will be considered a new come bet. One other point to note here is that when you make a come bet your bet is always working on every roll, even a come-out roll. However, when you take the odds on your come bets they are never working on the come-out roll.

That may sound a little confusing, but here's what it means. In our example the shooter's initial point was 6 and then we made a $5 come bet. The shooter then rolled a 4 which became the point for our come bet. The dealer then moved our $5 come bet to the middle of the 4 box at the top of the table. We then gave $10 to the dealer and said we wanted to take the odds on the 4. On the next roll the shooter rolls a 6 which means he made a pass by rolling his original point number. The next roll will then become the shooter's come-out roll and the odds bet on our 4 will not be working. If the shooter rolls a 7 the pass line bettors will win and we will lose our $5 come bet because he rolled a 7 before rolling a 4. The dealer will then return our $10 odds bet because it wasn't working on the come-out roll. Now, if you want to, you can request that your odds bet be working on the come-out roll by telling the dealer. Then he'll put a marker on top of your bet to show that your odds bet is in effect on the come-out roll. Naturally, don't come betting is the same as don't pass betting, except again for the fact that the bet isn't made until after the point is established.

In this case let's say the point is 5 and you make a don't come bet by placing a $5 chip in the don't come box. Well, once again, that's just like making a don't pass bet, except that the shooter's next roll becomes the come-out roll for your bet. If the shooter rolls a 2 or 3, you win. If a 7 or 11 is rolled, you lose. If a 12 is rolled it's a standoff, and if anything else comes up that number becomes your point and the shooter must seven-out, or roll a 7, before rolling that point number again in order for you to win. In this example if the shooter rolled a 10 the dealer would move your $5 don't come bet into the upper part of the 10 box and it would stay there until either a 7 was rolled, which would make you a winner, or a 10 was rolled which would make you a loser. The house edge on a don't come bet is the same 1.40% as on a don't pass bet.

You can make a free odds bet on your don't come bet by giving your chips to the dealer and telling him you want to lay the odds. The dealer will then place those chips next to and on top of your don't come bet to show that it's a free odds bet. The final point to note here is that don't come bets, as well as the free odds bets on them, are always working - even on the come-out roll.