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How Craps Is Played

In a land based casino the game of craps begins with the come-out-roll. The dice are offered to players in a clockwise direction around the table. The player who chooses to roll the dice is called the shooter. The shooter selects a pair of dice and tosses towards the wall at the end of the table in an effort to bounce the dice off of the wall at the end of the table.

Just like in the online equivalent there are a multitude of bets.

The Pass Line bet works with the come out roll. On a come out roll 7 or 11 wins 2,3, or 12 (craps) loses. Any other number becomes the point. To win a Pass Line bet the point value must be thrown again before a 7 is rolled. If a 7 rolls before the point, the Pass Line loses and the dice are offered to the next shooter. A Pass Line wager is a contract bet, it cannot be reduced or removed, once the point is established, until it wins.

The Don't Pass Line is the opposite of the Pass line. On the come out roll 7 or 11 loses, 2 or 3 wins and 12 is a push. Any other number becomes the point. If a 7 rolls before the point is rolled, you win the Don't Pass Line. If the point is repeated, prior to a 7, the wager loses. Don't Pass wagers, once the point is established may be reduced or removed but may not be placed or increased.

A Come Bet is made on any roll subsequent to the come out roll. The Come rules are the same as the Pass Line rules. The only exception is the dealer moves the wager to a box that corresponds to the number that was rolled. Come bets work on the come-out-roll; odds are off unless otherwise stated.

Don't come bets are the same as Don't Pass only again the wager is moved by the dealer to a corresponding box behind the number rolled. Don't come bets, and the odds, work on the come-out-roll unless stated otherwise.

Place bets are a wager that a specified number (4,5,6,8,9,10) will be rolled before a 7 rolls. The pay is is usually 7 to 6 on the number 6 and 8, 7 to 5 on the numbers 5 and 9, 9 to five on the four and ten. To make a place bet place your chips on the betting line at the top of the board on the relevant number. Place bets stay active until a 7 rolls out or until the player removes them. Place bets are not available on the come out bet unless otherwise stated.

Field bets are a one roll bet that may be made at any time. Two pays double, 12 pays triple, 3, 4 , 9, 10 and 11 pay even money. Any other number loses. The wager is placed and removed by the player.

Big 6 and Big 8 bet may be made at any time. If the number bet rolls before a 7, the wager is paid even money. This wager is placed and removed by the player. If a 6 or 8 is rolled before the 7 the wager is paid even money.

The 20X odds wager is made as an addition to the Pass or Don't Pass, Come or Don't Come bets. Pass line odds are set directly behind the original Pass Line bet by the player. Come and Don't come odds are set in place by the dealer at the request of the player. These wagers are paid according to the true odds of the dice, Point Come, Don't Come or Don't Pass Number, Pass Odds Line odds 4 and 10 pay 2 to 1, 1 to 2, 5 and 9 pays 3 to 2, 2 to 3 and 8 pays 6 to 5, 5 to 6. The Pass/Come odds (bet less to win more). Bet to win up to 20 times the original wager, up to a maximum specified at the table.

Proposition bets are located in the centre of the Crap game and are booked by the stickperson. The following Proposition Bets are one-roll bets.

A horn bet is a wager on 2, 3, 11 and 12 (may be bet individually). 2 and 12 pay 30 to 1 and 3 and 11 pay 15 to 1.

Any Craps is a wager that includes 2, 3 and 12. The pay-off is 7 to 1.

Craps/Eleven Split - any crap pays 3 times the bet a eleven pays 7 times the bet.

Hardways are wagers that a number will roll the Hardway (as a pair) before it rolls easy (other than a pair), or before a 7 rolls. 4 and 10 pay 7 to 1 and 6 to 8 pay 9 to 1. Hardways may be bet at any time. They work on the come-out-roll unless otherwise stated.

Remember all bets have to be made before the player rolls the dice.

Playing Craps Online

When playing craps online stick to line bets (Pass, Don't Pass, Come, and Don't Come) and take the maximum allowed odds. That will cut down on the house odds as much as possible. All other bets carry much higher house edges, especially the proposition bets.

The more a player can bet on the odds, the lower the overall house edge regardless of whether they are at an online or real casino.

The best odds offered for Pass and Come bets are from Boss Media software where players take 3 times the odds after any point. The following table shows the house edges and odds offered.

Realtime Gaming allows full double odds, in other words 2.5x odds on points 6 and 8 and 2x on all others. It seems they started getting the rule correct but forgot to follow it up on the other numbers.

In craps the players should be able to lay odds relative to the amount that they can win. For example if the casino normally allows 2x the odds and the point is a 4, the player should be able to lay 4x the Don't Pass bet on the odds. In this example taking odds on a 4 pays 1 to 2, for winnings of 2x the Don't Pass bet.

The only major software brand to get this rule correct is Unified Gaming. After the odds are calculated there is a tie between Boss Media and Unified Gaming for the best software for the Don't Pass/Don't Come bettor. The following table shows the specifics.

Another nice thing about Boss Media is it only charges 5% commission on Buy and Lay bets if the player wins. This cuts down the house edge especially on the following Buy bets.

Boss Media therefore wins the prize for best online craps.

To make any money from craps you need to use Progression and Regression. Start of with a bet 2x the table minimum and then fall back the table minimum if you lose or increase your bet if you win. If you bet minimum all the time you will always lose more money than you win. Also never let your winnings ride. A bankroll big enough for 25 to 30 games is needed to protect against inevitable cold losing streaks.