Craps For Beginners

If beginner players want to win at craps, the best tried-and-tested method is to learn the odds, payouts and house edge for all craps bets. Once you know the craps bets with the biggest payouts or best odds of landing on the dice, you can begin deploying betting strategies in a game. Craps rules determine how a typical round of dice shooting happens. Craps rules are easy to learn, though the game has a lot of slang and terminology which might cause issues for beginners. Craps also has a lot of different bets, so a tutorial is needed when learning to play craps.

How to Play Craps

Betting

Craps offers more than forty different bets. The most commonly placed bets include:

  • Pass Line: The pass line bet offers an automatic win or lose scenario. If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11 on the comeout roll, you automatically win. If the comeout roll is a 2, 3 or 12, you automatically lose. Any other number becomes the point. If the shooter rolls the point before rolling a 7, you win. If the shooter rolls a 7 before the point, you lose.
  • Come Bet: The come bet is a variation of the pass line bet that treats the next roll the same as a comeout bet. If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11 on the next roll, you automatically win. If the next roll is a 2, 3 or 12, you automatically lose. Any other number rolls and bet travels to that number. If you roll that number before a 7, you win. If you roll 7 before that number, you lose.
  • Don’t Pass Line: The exact opposite of the pass line bet, the don’t pass line is a bet against the shooter’s ability to roll the point before rolling a 7. In the don’t pass line bet, 2 and 3 become automatic winners, while 7 and 11 become automatic losers on the comeout roll. A roll of 12 pushes. If the shooter rolls a 7 before the point, you win. If the shooter rolls the point before a 7, you lose.
  • Don’t Come Bet: The don’t come bet treats the next roll exactly like the comeout roll, with the terms of the don’t pass line bet in play. On the very next roll, 2 and 3 become automatic winners, while 7 and 11 become automatic losers. A roll of 12 pushes. If the shooter rolls a 7 before the number, you win. If the shooter rolls the number before a 7, you lose.
  • Place Bets: At any time in a shooter’s round, players may bet on an individual number. If the number you select is rolled before a 7, you win. Players can increase, decrease or remove a place bet at any point in a shooter’s round.
  • Field Bet: Similar to place bets, field bets allow the player to wager on a range of numbers. If a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 is rolled, you win. If any other number is rolled, you lose. The field is a one-roll, self-service bet

Note: Island Resort & Casino’s Craps tables offer a wide range of additional bets, including buy bets, hardways, position bets, and more. Available betting options may vary from table to table. Please refer to the table layout for betting options and payout details.

Gameplay

A round of Craps consists of a roll or multiple rolls of dice. The person rolling the dice is known as the shooter. The initial roll, known as the comeout roll, determines much of the direction of the game for that shooter’s turn. If the shooter’s comeout roll equals 7 or 11, players who bet the pass line automatically win. If the comeout roll equals 2, 3 or 12, players who bet the pass line automatically lose. If the comeout roll is any other number, that number becomes the point, or the number the shooter must match in a subsequent roll.

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Once the point is established, the shooter must roll that number before rolling a 7. If the shooter rolls a 7 before the point, their round is over, and the next shooter takes their place.

Players who bet on the previous roll are eligible to become the shooter as the dice move around the table. When it is your turn to be the shooter, you can either take your turn or pass to the next shooter.

Learning how to play craps isn’t as difficult as you might think. People are often steer away from playing the game because they think its too complex, but the only particularly complicated aspect is all the different types of bets that can be placed.

You don’t actually need to learn all of them to start playing and you can just stick to the simplest ones if you like.

You do, however, need to understand how the game is played.

This article will help as we cover everything you need to know to play craps in a live casino or online.

We explain the main objective of the game, the craps table, the betting layout, and the basic rules. We also introduce the different types of bets.

Game Objective in Craps

The main objective in craps is really quite straightforward. Basically you are just betting on the outcome of the roll of two dice.

Craps is pure chance since you can’t affect the outcome in any way, but you do have the choice of several wagers. The majority of these wagers are ultimately based on what combination of dice will be rolled.

The goal in craps is therefore to try to correctly predict which numbers will come up on the next roll. This is, of course, guesswork, but it doesn’t stop the game being a lot of fun.

Craps is played on a specially-designed table that features a betting layout where players can place their wagers. In a live casino, a table would look something like this.

The dice are rolled on the table by one of the participating players, referred to as the shooter. Typically, a new player will become the shooter at the end of each round, although one player may remain as the shooter for several in a row.

Anyone at the table, including the shooter, can make wagers by placing their chips in the appropriate spot on the betting layout.

A craps table requires the attention of several casino employees. You’ll usually find the following people running a table.

The boxman is in charge of the chips at the table. He (or she) will exchange cash into chips for players and swap them for different denominations if required. He’s also responsible for supervising the dealers and generally ensuring that the game runs smoothly.

The stickman is in charge of the dice. He moves them around the table with the use of a stick (hence the name), passing them to the shooter at the start of each roll. He will also announce the outcome of each roll.

A craps table usually features two base dealers, one standing on either side. They are responsible for collecting losing bets and paying out winners. When requested to do so, they can also place certain bets on behalf of players.

The Craps Table (Online Casino)

Craps rules for beginners

The rules of craps are the same regardless of whether you are playing in a live setting or online. However, things are a lot simpler online. There’s no allocated shooter, as technically you are the shooter every time you play.

The diced are rolled automatically when you press the relevant button, and you place your bets by clicking in the appropriate place on the betting layout.

The following is an example of what an online craps table looks like:

Basic Rules

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Each round in craps starts with what is known as the come-out roll. Most casinos will require that the shooter place a bet before making this roll on either the pass line or the don’t pass line.

Craps Rules For Beginners

If the combined value of the two dice on a come-out roll equals 2, 3, or 12, then this is “crapping out” and the round is over. Players will lose pass line bets and win don’t pass bets. If the come-out roll is 7 or 11, the round is also over.

Players win pass line bets and lose don’t pass bets.

If any other value is rolled on the come-out roll i.e. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, then a point is established, equal to the value rolled, and the round continues into the next stage.

The shooter continues to roll with players betting on the outcome of each, until they roll either a 7 or the point value that has been established.

Following a roll of either 7 or the point value, the round is over and a new come-out roll is required. It’s standard practice for the shooter to pass the dice to another player if a round ends with a 7, and to stay as shooter if the round ends with the point value being rolled.

This is essentially all there is to the basic rules of craps. What makes the game more complex are all the different bets that can be placed.

The following is a list of the different wagers you can place when playing craps.

Craps For Beginners Las Vegas

  • Pass Line
  • Don’t Pass
  • Come
  • Don’t Come
  • Pass Line Odds
  • Don’t Pass Odds
  • Come Odds
  • Don’t Come Odds
  • Place Win
  • Place Lose
  • Buy
  • Lay
  • Big 6
  • Big 8
  • Hardways
  • Field
  • Any 7
  • Any 11
  • Any Craps
  • Ace Deuce
  • Aces
  • Boxcar

As you can see, there are numerous different bets in craps. Please don’t let this steer you away from playing the game as you really don’t need to learn them all.

They are pretty simple overall; it just takes a little time to familiarize yourself with each one.

You can read about all these bets in more detail here.

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