 Overview
Craps can be an intimidating game
for the beginner. The table seems to have about a
hundred different kinds of bets. Critical to the understanding
of craps is that it is a game of rounds. The first
roll in a round is called the come out roll. Sometimes
the outcome of a round will be determined on the come
out roll. In particular a 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12 on the
come out roll immediately ends a round. If any other
total is rolled (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) that number
is called the point. The dealer will place a white
puck on an area of the table to designate what the
point is, in case you forget. If a point is rolled
the dice will be rolled continuously until the same
point is rolled again or a 7.
CRAPS
GAME PLAY
How to Play
To play the game of Craps, place
your bets by placing chips on the Craps table.
Click the casino chip icons to add chips to your hand.
Click the chips in your hand to remove them.
To place a bet, click on the region of the table for
the type of bet you wish to place. The chips
in your hand will be placed on the table. Green areas
indicate bets that can be placed (added to); conversely,
red areas indicate bets that cannot be made.
To remove a bet from the table, right click on the
bet. The amount of chips in your hand will be
removed from the stack on the table.
When you have finished placing bets on the table,
click the Roll button to start the dice rolling.
After the dice come to a rest, losing bets are removed
from the table, and winning bets are paid. For winning
bets, the original bet amount is returned after the
winnings are paid out. Also, any bets that tie (push)
are returned.
If you wish to make the same bets again for the next
roll, press the Repeat Bet button and all of your
previous bets will be placed again (those that can
be validly placed).
All bets have to be made prior to rolling the dice.
CRAPS BETS
The Pass Line
The pass line is the most fundamental
bet in craps, almost every player at the table bets
on it. The house edge on the pass line is only 1.41%,
which is not bad compared to most other bets on the
table and other games in the casino.
The pass line is an even money bet. You start by placing
your bet on the pass line area on the table on a come
out roll. If the come out roll is a 7 or 11 you win,
which is also called a “natural”. If the
come out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (craps) you lose. If
any point is rolled on the come out roll if the point
is rolled again before a 7 you win. If a 7 comes before
the point you lose. That is all there is to it. Once
you understand the pass line bet you are ready to
play craps. You may want to practice using fun money
a few times before playing for real money.
Buying the Odds
Have you ever wanted a bet with
no house edge? Craps offers just such a bet, as long
as you bet on the pass line first. Once a point has
been thrown you may bet up to some multiple, usually
2 times, your pass line bet on the 'odds.' The odds
are simply an additional wager that the point will
be rolled before a 7. Because the probability of the
point being rolled first is less than 50% you win
more than you bet if it happens. Specifically if the
point is a 6 or 8 the odds pay 6:5, if the point is
a 5 or 9 the odds pay 3:2, and if the point is a 4
or 10 the odds pay 2:1.
The multiple you may bet on the odds is usually twice
the pass line bet for points of 4,5,9, and 10, and
two and a half times the pass line bet on the 6 and
8. The reason you may bet more on a point of 6 or
8 is so that you can place a $5 odds bet on top of
a $2 pass line bet. A $4 odds bet on a 6 or 8 would
win $4.80. A $5 odds bet on the 6 or 8 wins an even
$6.
| Point |
Odds |
Bet |
Win |
Total Winnings |
| 4
or 10 |
2:1 |
$10 |
$20 |
$30 |
| 5
or 9 |
3:2 |
$10 |
$15 |
$25 |
| 6
or 8 |
5:6 |
$10 |
$12 |
$22 |
The table below shows the house
edge when you combine the pass line and odds:
| Combined house
edge on the pass line and buying odds |
| 1X
odds |
0.848% |
| 2X
odds |
0.606% |
| Full
double odds |
0.572% |
| 3X
odds |
0.471% |
Don’t Pass
The don't pass is almost the opposite
of the pass line bet. If the come out roll is a 2
or 3 then you win, a 7 or 11 you lose. A 12 is a push.
Otherwise the dice are rolled over and over until
either the point or a 7 is rolled. If the 7 comes
before the point you win.
A person betting on the don't pass is not the wager
of choice by many players, since this bet is betting
against the shooter. This is also called a "wrong"
bettor and is usually winning when everyone else is
losing, and vice versa.
The house edge on the don't pass bet is 1.364%.
Laying the Odds
This is the opposite of buying
odds, in other words betting that a 7 will be rolled
before the point.
If the point is a 4 or 10 the don't odds pay 1:2.
If the point is a 5 or 9 the don't odds pay 2:3.
If the point is a 6 or 8 the don't odds pay 5:6.
Come
Have you ever become bored waiting
for a point to be thrown and didn't want to waste
your money on the sucker bets to guarantee a money
flow on every throw? If so then try the come bet.
It is like the pass line bet but may be made at any
time. Like the pass line bet you might also put money
on the odds if a point is thrown on the first roll
after the come bet is placed and has a house edge
of 1.41%.
There is a nuance to the come bet the player should
know about. If a point is thrown and there are still
active come bets on the table waiting for a different
point then special rules apply for the following come
out roll. The come out roll will still apply to active
come bets but it will not apply to their respective
odds bets. In the event a come bet is resolved on
a come out roll then the odds bet will be returned.
A good strategy for the player who likes constant
action is to have a new bet on either the pass line
or come on every throw, and to always take the maximum
allowable odds.
This bet is one of the more exciting bets to make
in Craps. A lot of players use this bet to get
more numbers working for them at the same time, six
in all.
Don’t Come
What the don't pass is to the pass,
the don't come is to the come. If the shooter
rolls a 2 or 3, you win. A 12 constitutes a
tie. You lose on 7 or 11. Any other number
is the “come point”. You win if
a seven is rolled before the come point and lose if
the come point is rolled before a 7 is rolled.
The Place Number Bets
In craps the 4,5,6,8,9, and 10
are known as the "place numbers." For the
player who must have money on some or all of them
immediately they may make certain bets to cover any
place number(s) they desire. These bets work just
like the odds but pay worse odds, with the exception
of the "hard way" bets, which are described
below. Like odds bets on top of come or don't come
bets,place number bets are on during a come out roll.
These bets can be removed at any time.
There is a high price for impatience in craps in the
form of a higher house edge. To further exploit the
impatient or ignorant player there can be two or three
different bets on the exact same thing, and they will
all pay different odds. You might think players would
only bet on the option with the best odds but you
would be quite wrong, it is routine to see players
throwing their money away on the higher house edge
versions of the same bet. For example the place bet
on 6, the buy bet on 6, and the big 6 all are betting
that a 6 will be rolled before a 7 but pay 7:6, 24:21,
and 1:1 respectively, for house edges of 1.52%, 4.76%,
and 9.09%. Specific descriptions of the various bets
are below.
Big 6: A bet that a 6 will be rolled before a 7. Pays
even money, house edge of 9.09%.
Big 8: same as the Big 6 only that an 8 will be rolled
before a 7.
Buy Bets: This is essentially the same as the place
bet, only with a different payoff. The player may
"buy" any of the points (4, 5, 6, 8, 9,
and 10), which means to bet that the number will be
rolled before a 7. When making a buy bet you must
pay a 4% commission and your bet will pay fair odds
if it wins. Fair odds are 2:1 on the 4 and 10, 3:2
on the 5 and 9, and 6:5 on the 6 and 8. Another way
to look at it is that the buy bet pays 48:25 on the
4 and 10, 36:25 on the 5 and 9, and 144:125 on the
6 and 8. The pay out on all bets will be rounded down
to the nearest quarter. The house edge on all buy
bets is 4.76%.
Hard Ways: There are four different hard way bets.
For example a hard 4 bet is betting that a pair of
twos will be rolled before a 7 or any other way to
roll a total of 4. This is called "the hard way"
because it is harder to roll two twos than a one and
a three. Likewise you can bet on a hard 6, 8, or 10,
each of which is a bet that the hard way of rolling
the given number will occur before a 7 or any "easy"
way.
The casino pays 7:1 on a hard 4 or 10 with a house
edge of 11.11%.
The casino pays 9:1 on a hard 6 or 8 with a house
edge of 9.09%.
Lay Bets: The lay bet is the opposite of the buy bet
and the same as the place bet to lose but with different
paybacks. The lay bets may be placed on the 4, 5,
6, 8, 9, or 10. The bet itself is that a 7 will be
rolled before the number you choose. Because the 7
is the most likely number to be rolled you will wager
more than you can win. The player must pay a 4% commission
on the possible winnings and the fair odds are paid
on the bet itself. Fair odds are 1:2 on the 4 and
10, 2:3 on the 5 and 9, and 5:6 on the 4 and 8. Another
way to look at it is that lay bet pays 12:25 on the
4 and 10, 16:25 on the 5 and 9, and 12:15 on the 6
and 8. The house edge on the 4 and 10 is 2.44%, on
the 5 and 9 it is 3.23%, and on the 6 and 8 it is
4.00%. Note that the house edge on the lay bet is
lower than the place bet to lose on the 4 and 10 only,
if you want to make a lay bet on the 5, 6, 8, or 9
you would be advised to make a place to lose instead.
Place Bets: This is very similar to laying odds. You
may bet on a 4,5,6,8,9, or 10. If the number you bet
on is rolled before a 7 then you win according to
payoff schedule below. Unlike laying odds you don't
need to have a pass line bet, you don't have to bet
on the point, but there is a house edge.
A place bet on 4 or 10 pays 9:5 with a house edge
of 6.67%, you bet $10, win $18
A place bet on 5 or 9 pays 7:5 with a house edge of
4.00%, you bet $10, win 14
A place bet on 6 or 8 pays 7:6 with a house edge of
only 1.52%, you bet $12, win $14
When a place bet wins, you are paid your winnings
and your original bet is returned. You may take back
an active place bet at any time.
The table below is a summary of the various place
number bets for quick comparison
| Point |
Odds |
Bet |
Win |
| Big
6 |
6
before 7 |
1:1 |
9.09% |
| Big
8 |
8
before 7 |
1:1 |
9.09% |
| Buy
(4) |
4
before 7 |
48:25 |
4.76% |
| Buy
(5) |
5
before 7 |
36:25 |
4.76% |
| Buy
(6) |
6
before 7 |
144:125 |
4.76% |
| Buy
(8) |
8
before 7 |
144:125 |
4.76% |
| Buy
(9) |
9
before 7 |
36:25 |
4.76% |
| Buy
(10) |
10
before 7 |
48:25 |
4.76% |
| Hard
4 |
Hard
4 before 7 or easy 4 |
7:1 |
11.11% |
| Hard
6 |
Hard
6 before 7 or easy 6 |
9:1 |
9.09% |
| Hard
8 |
Hard
8 before 7 or easy 8 |
9:1 |
9.09% |
| Hard
10 |
Hard
10 before 7 or easy 10 |
7:1 |
11.11% |
| Lay
(4) |
7
before 4 |
12:25 |
2.44% |
| Lay
(5) |
7
before 5 |
16:25 |
3.23% |
| Lay
(6) |
7
before 6 |
12:15 |
4.00% |
| Lay
(8) |
7
before 8 |
12:15 |
4.00% |
| Lay
(9) |
7
before 9 |
16:25 |
3.23% |
| Lay
(10) |
7
before 10 |
12:25 |
2.44% |
| Place
(4) |
4
before 7 |
9:5 |
6.67% |
| Place
(5) |
5
before 7 |
7:5 |
4.00% |
| Place
(6) |
6
before 7 |
7:6 |
1.52% |
| Place
to (8) |
8
before 7 |
7:6 |
1.52% |
| Place
to (9) |
9
before 7 |
7:5 |
4.00% |
| Place
to (10) |
10
before 7 |
9:5 |
6.67% |
Field
Bet
A field bet is a one-roll bet.
If the shooter rolls a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12, you
win even money with the exception of 2 which pays
2:1 or 12, which pays either 2:1 or3:1. Please
see below for more explanation on field bets under
Proposition Bets.
The Proposition Bets
Proposition bets either win or
lose on the next throw. In general these have the
highest house edge of all the craps bets and for the
player with any sense are to be avoided completely.
Specific descriptions of the various bets are below.
Craps 2: A bet that a 2 will be thrown on the next
roll. Pays 30:1. House edge 13.89%.
Craps 3: A bet that a 3 will be thrown on the next
roll. Pays 15:1. House edge 11.11%.
7: A bet that a 7 will be thrown on the next roll.
Pays 4:1. House edge 16.67%.
11: A bet that an 11 will be thrown on the next roll.
Pays 15:1. House edge 11.11%.
Craps 12: A bet that a 12 will be thrown on the next
roll. Pays 30:1. House edge 13.89%.
Any Craps: A bet that the next roll will be a 2, 3,
or 12. Pays 7:1. House edge 11.11%.
Field Bet: This is a one time bet that the next roll
will be a 2,3,4,9,10,11, or 12. The 3,4,9,10, and
11 pay even money. The 2 pays 2:1. The 12 usually
pays 3:1 but some tight casinos only pay 2:1. If the
12 pays 2:1 the house edge is 5.56%, if the 12 pays
3:1 the house edge is 2.78%. On the surface this seems
like a great bet because 7 numbers win and only 4
lose. However the 4 that lose are much more likely
to be rolled.
CRAPS INTERFACE
Roll
Clicking
on the Roll button after placing a bet starts a new
round.
Repeat
Clicking on the Repeat button will
repeat all the bets made on the previous round that
can be validly placed now.
Clear
Clicking on the Clear button removes
all the bets on the table that can be removed.
Most bets can be removed, added to, or deducted from
at any time. Exceptions would be the pass and come bets,
and you cannot exceed the maximum bet on the odds.
Table Min/Max
Look here to find the minimum and
maximum total of the bets allowed.
Bet Regions
When
moving the cursor over the bet regions a yellow “tag”
will appear that gives the name of the bet, the current
amount placed for that bet, and the minimum and maximum
amounts that can be placed on that bet.
If a green highlight appears in a region, that indicates
this bet can be added to (changed). If a red highlight
appears, this bet cannot be increased (but sometimes
can be removed).
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