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The game of Craps.
The game of craps is said to be the creation from an Old English game called hazard around the 17th century. Even though the true origins of the game and time line of conception are debated and could even have an earlier history. What is known is the modern American version of the game was introduced in New Orleans by a wealthy land owner, politician, and gambler named Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville. The game was first introduced as crapaud (a French word meaning "toad") later taking the name craps as the interest of the game grew in America.
Craps is a game where players wager money against the player/casino on the outcome of one roll of the dice, or multiple rolls of the dice. There is two sides to betting the game of craps, your either betting for the player throwing the dice or your betting against the player throwing the dice. The game of craps has became a very popular game in many areas around the world, even in less formal settings being the game only requires two dice to be played. Games like craps has also been one of the popular and favorite pass times for the armed forces throughout the years considering all you did need was the two dice to play the game.
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Craps titles and some basic rules.
Box man: is the craps table supervisor who sits between the one stickman and directly behind the thousands of dollars worth of chips that the casino keeps on hand at each craps table.
Dealers: the two dealers at the Craps table are responsible for all the bets made on his half of the table. Whenever you want to make free odds, place, or lay bet in a casino, you should give the money to the dealer at your end of the table and he will make the bet for you.
Floor men: are the supervisors who are responsible for the games in the casino and the employees running them. Floor men spend their time behind the tables watching over the games.
Marker Puck: is the plastic disk, which the dealers use to mark the "Point" on the Craps table. When the puck is turned so that the side inscribed with 'off' is face up, then all free odds bets have no action on the following roll of the dice.
Pit: is the area enclosed by all of the craps tables in a casino. Floor men walk around in the pit and keep an eye on the craps games in progress and the casino employees.
Stickman: is the casino employee who calls out the dice rolls and returns the dice to the shooter. The stickman also is responsible for the placing and paying the proposition bets.
Playing Craps
The basic idea behind Craps is to establish a "point" number and roll that number again before rolling a 7 (craps). Only the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 can be a point number and all other rolls on the dice have special meanings depending on when they are rolled (before or after a point is established).
The casino game of Craps is played with a set of two perfectly balanced dice with each die having six white dots numbered 1 through 6. The game is played by tossing the dice from one of the short ends of the table to the other (make sure that both die hit the opposite side wall of the table). Payoffs are made based on the number combination displayed when the dice come to rest.
The inside walls of the table are covered with a serrated egg-carton like foam, designed to make the dice bounce around to assure randomness. Each throw of the dice is called a "roll". Players take turn rolling the dice, clockwise around the table, and the player rolling at any given time is called the "shooter". When a new shooter is given the dice, his or her first roll is called the ""Come Out"" roll. This begins a new series of rolls by that shooter and lasts for as long as that shooter continues to make winning rolls.
A new game in Craps begins with the ""Come Out"" roll. A "Come Out" roll can be made only when the previous shooter fails to make a winning roll -- more correctly known as "not making the "Point"" or "seven out". A new game then begins with a new shooter. If the current shooter does make his "Point", the dice are returned to him and he then begins the new "Come Out" roll. This is a continuation of that shooter's roll, although technically, the "Come Out" roll identifies a new game about to begin.
As with all table games, you will begin by changing your cash money into gaming chips. In Craps you do this by throwing your money on the table and yelling, "change". If the table is playing well there will be a lot of people crowding around and a lot of noise, so make sure you yell out. Also it is a good idea to wait and ask for change between rolls of the dice.
In Craps, winning or losing depends on a variety of different possible outcomes on any roll of the two dice. The two dice can produce many different number combinations; some can be made several ways, others only one way. For example, two dice can roll the number 6 as follows: 5/1, 4/2, 3/3, 2/4 and 1/5. But the number 2 can only be rolled one way: 1/1.
Numbers such as 6, which can be rolled several ways, don't pay as much as numbers which can be rolled only one way, unless you are betting that the number will be rolled in a specific way, such has 3/3, known as "Hard ways". All winning payoffs are, therefore, determined by the frequency in which any two-dice number combinations can be rolled. Generally, the harder the combination is to roll, the more it will pay, and vice versa.
Although really taking advantage of the many betting options can involve a considerable degree of mastery, in its simplest form, Craps is a game where players bet either that the shooter will make his "Point" or that he or she will not make their "Point". Betting that the shooter will make his/her "Point" is called betting "with the shooter" (also called "betting right") and betting that the shooter will not make his/her "Point" is called "betting against the shooter" (also called "betting wrong").
To bet with the shooter, you must place your bet in an area marked ""Pass Line"", before the new shooter rolls the dice. The so-called "Pass Line" is a strip on the table layout marked by two lines roughly two inches wide and it rims the entire table layout across from the Box Man. To bet against the shooter, you must place your bet in an area marked "Dont Pass". This area is also a strip on the table layout and it rims the table directly above the "Pass Line".
No matter what stage the game is in, whether on the "Come Out" roll, or in progress, you can jump in immediately and place any bets. The only exception to this is the bet called the "Pass Line" bet with odds", which can be made only on the "Come Out" roll. You can, however, bet with the shooter even while the game is in progress by placing a "Pass Line" bet without odds. Placing your chips halfway over one of the two lines framing the "Pass Line" area does this.
Before the new shooter rolls the dice on his or her "Come Out" roll, there are a variety of bets that can be made. The "Pass Line" and Dont Pass Line" bet are the most common bets to make. Once the shooter establishes a "Point", you can then place an additional bet behind your "Pass Line" bet. This is called "taking odds".
In most casinos you can bet up to three times the amount of your "Pass Line" bet. This is called "taking full odds". Some casinos offer up to 100 times odds! This simply means that you can bet up to 100 times the amount of your "Pass Line" bet once a "Point" has been established.
Betting the "Don't Pass Line" is the exact opposite of betting the "Pass Line". The "Dont Pass" bet wins if the shooter rolls any craps; 2 or 3 (12 is considered a push; the bet neither wins nor loses, merely stays in limbo till a decision is reached on subsequent rolls) and loses if shooter rolls a 7 or 11.
Once the shooter establishes a "Point" your "Don't Pass" bet stays in action, until the shooter rolls a 7 or makes his/her "Point". Therefore, a "Dont Pass" bet wins if the shooter fails to make his "Point", but loses if the shooter does make the "Point". You can also take odds on a "Dont Pass" bet.
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Craps and some odds.
When the shooter establishes a point on the come-out roll, any player who has made a pass line bet is allowed to "take the odds." A single odds bet is an additional wager, up to the amount of your original wager, that the point number will be repeated before a 7 is rolled.
The odds bet is the best wager you can make in the game of craps, the house has no built-in advantage. Some casinos permit players to make double odds, and even greater odds wagers. The odds bet not only has no house edge associated with it, but also has no official designated space on the craps table. Therefore, to take the odds, you must place the appropriate amount of chips behind your pass line bet in the open area of the craps layout.
The correct payoff for odds bets varies from point number to point number, depending on the odds of a 7 being rolled before a particular point is repeated. The payoff formula is the same whether you take single odds, double odds, or more. Correct odds payoffs are as follows: Points 4 and 10 pay 2-to-1 Points 5 and 9 pay 3-to-2 Points 6 and 8 pay 6-to-5 As an example, suppose you bet $1.00 on the pass line and establish a point of 4 in a casino that offers double odds. You now have the option of taking the odds for an additional $2.00. (You can also wager a lesser amount or choose not to take any odds at all).
If you repeat the point number (4) before rolling a 7, you will get your original $3.00 back, plus an additional $5.00. Of that $5.00, $1.00 will be the even-money payback on your pass line wager, and $4.00 will be the 2-to-1 payoff for a point of 4 on your odds bet of $2.00. If you roll a 7 before repeating your point of 4, you will lose your initial $1.00 wager on the pass line, plus your $2.00 odds bet, for a total loss of $3.00. You are allowed to remove your odds wager from the craps table at any time, as a casino does not object to your taking down a bet that has no house edge.
If you have difficulty at the craps table in determining the proper amount to bet in order to receive the correct odds payoff, remeber to ask one of the dealers for assistance. This will help improve your understanding of the odds per bet.
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Some terms used at the Craps tables.
House edges on bets and payouts.
Bones - A term for Dice
Aces - Betting the next roll will be 2
Craps - Bet that the next roll will be 2, 3, or 12
This bet pays 7:1 House edge of 11.1%.
3 way Craps - Bet in units of 3 one unit on 2
one unit on 3 one unit on 12.
* This is a horn bet without the bet on 11.
Any 7 - Bet that the next roll will be 7
* This bet pays 4:1 House edge of 16.7%.
Backline - Same as Don't Pass Line
Big 6 - Bet that a 6 will be rolled before a 7 comes up
* This bet pays even money house edge of 9.1%.
* A place bet on 6 pays 7:6 but is identical otherwise.
* The place bet is preferred House edge of 1.5%
Big 8 - Bet that an 8 will be rolled before a 7 comes up
* This bet pays even money house edge of 9.1%.
* A place bet on 8 pays 7:6 but is identical otherwise.
* The place bet is preferred House edge of 1.5%
Big Red - Placing a bet on Any Seven
Boxcars - Betting on the 12
Buy - Bet giving the house 5% in order to be paid correct odds for a place bet.
* Buy bets on 4 and 10 allow the player to reduce the house edge from 6.67% to 4% on these bets.
Capped Dice - Crooked dice
Cold Table - When a shooter is not making their Points
Come bet - virtual pass line bet, Bet made after the come out roll
Come out roll - First roll of the dice in a betting round.
* Pass bets win when the come out roll is 7 or 11
while pass bets lose when the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12.
* Don't bets lose when the come out roll is 7 or 11
and don't bets win when the come out roll is 2 or 3
* Don't bets tie when the come out roll is 12 "2 in some casinos,
the bar roll on the layout indicates which roll is treated as a tie.
Craps - The game or the dice.
Crap Out - The numbers 2,3 or 12 on the first roll
Don't come bet - Bet made after the come out roll.
Don't pass bet - Bet that the dice will not pass.
* This bet can be placed before a "come out" roll.
* House edge on these bets is 1.40%
Field bet - Bet that the next roll would be 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12
* Bet pays even money for 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11 pays 2:1 for 2 or 12
* Some casinos pay 3:1 for either the 2 or 12 and some casinos make the
5 instead of the 9 as a field roll.
Hardway - Bet on 4, 6, 8, or 10 that wins only
* Example: hard 8, each die shows a four
Place bet - Bet a particular number 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before a 7
Lay bet - Bet a 7 will be rolled before the number you are placing 4,5,6,8,9, or 10
Right bettor - Player who bets that the dice will pass.
Single odds - An odd bet thats as large as the original pass/come bet
Snake Eyes - Betting on the number 2.
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