How to Play Craps

Overview

Craps is a very popular table game available at all online and land-based casinos. At a land-based casino, as many as four staff members work at the table and as many as twenty players can play at the same table. At an online casino, there is no need for a live dealer, but some online casinos allow you to play at group tables so that you can experience playing with several other players.

How it Works

In craps, the main action of the game is rolling dice with the hopes of getting certain results. The person rolling the dice is known as the "shooter." The first roll is the come out roll. If this roll is 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12, the round is over.

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If the roll is any other number, the number becomes the "point" and the round continues until the shooter either rolls the point again or rolls a 7.

Most Common Bet Types

Winning depends on your bet, and there are many different bets which pay at a variety of different odds.

The most common bets are Pass Line and Don't Pass Line bets. Pass Line bets win under two circumstances. If the come out roll is 7 or 11, the bet automatically wins.

If the come out roll, rolls a point, and the shooter subsequently rolls the point before rolling a seven, the Pass Line bet wins.

If the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12, anyone who has bet on the Pass Line loses automatically.

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Likewise, if a point is rolled on the come out roll, but the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again, the Pass Line Bet is lost.

The Don't Pass Line bet is basically the opposite, except that the 12 is usually a tie rather than a win.

Sometimes, instead of 12 being a tie, 2 is a tie. This doesn't change the odds and varies from casino to casino.

To summarize, 2 or 3 is a winning come out roll for a Don't Pass Line bet, while 12 is a tie. 7 or 11 is a loss. If a point is rolled, and not re-rolled before a 7, it is a win. If the point is re-rolled before a 7, the Don't Pass Line bet loses.

You can also choose to make a Come Bet. The bet is identical to the Pass Line bet, except it can be made at any point after the come out roll. The next roll functions as a new come out roll. Likewise, you can make a Don't Come bet, which functions like a Don't Pass Line bet.

Additional Types of Bets

There is another type of bet called a Place bet. With a Place bet, you essentially determine your own point regardless of what came out on the come out roll. Unlike a Pass Line or Come bet, you can remove your Place bet whenever you choose.

A Field bet is a single-roll wager. If the roll comes out 2-4 or 9-12, the Field bet wins.

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If 5-8 are rolled, the Field bet loses.

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Like a Place bet, you can also bet Big Six or Big Eight. This is a poor bet, because it is just like a Place bet, but pays less well.

Hardway bets are a bet that a number will be rolled as a double before it is rolled in another manner. For example, a Hardway bet on an 8 is a wager that 4-4 will be rolled before 6-2 or 5-3. These bets are left on the table even if a new come out roll is rolled, and are only removed after the number has been rolled.