Craps
Craps is probably the most exciting game you can play in the casino. It can also be the most intimidating if you do not know how to play. Please go to our Craps Rules page to learn how the game is played. One of the more appealing aspects of craps is that, most of the time, every player standing at the table wants the same thing. The want the shooter to keep rolling! This produces some of the most exciting moments in gambling as all players are cheering the shooter on and high-fiving when their number gets rolled.
Craps is also the game that frequently produces huge gains – and losses – in the shortest period of time. The experience can be intense. The rush of a hot table, with all of the players joining going nuts as the shooter continues to roll winning point after winning point is greatest thing that can be experienced in the casino. I know we have all heard the roars and shouts coming from a hot craps table from the other side of the casino as the shooter rolls a winning number.
So, you don’t know how to play. Visit our Craps Rules page. If you do know how to play and are looking for some pointers, check out our Craps Strategies page. Download our Free Craps Game to test your favorite strategy.
Craps is played on a long table with sides on it about a foot high with the ends are slightly curved at the corners. The players stand at three sides of the table, the two ends and one long side. Two casino employees stand on the other side. They are called the dealers. They will place your bets on the appropriate part of the table layout. The will also collect the chips you have bet when you lose and pay you your bet and winnings when you win.
On the other side of the table, in the middle separating players on either side of the table, is the “stick man. He is called the “stick man” man because he uses a long stick with a 90 degree angle at the end of it to retrieve dice after they have been thrown and returns them to the shooter for another throw. The sides on the table at which the players stand have two parallel grooves cut into the top into which you may place your chips. These sides are called the “rail”.
Play begins with a new shooter being offered a number of dice from which to select two to throw. After selecting a pair of dice, the shooter prepares to roll the dice. This is referred to the “come out” roll. You will typically hear the dealers yelling “new shooter coming out!” On the come out roll, the shooter must place a pass line bet. The other players are not obligated to make a pass line bet – only the shooter is required to. If the shooter rolls a seven or eleven all pass line bets are immediate winners! If the shooter rolls a 2, 3 or 12, this is called craps and all pass line bets are losers. In either case, the same person continues to throw the dice.
Should the shooter roll a 4,5,6,8,9 or 10 then puck is turned over to reveal the word on and it is moved to the number rolled. That number is now the point to be made. If the shooter rolls a seven prior to rolling the same number again, all bets are lost. Should the shooter roll the number again without rolling a seven, then the same person will have another come out roll and the sequence is repeated.
After the shooter has established a point, he or she continues to roll until either that same point number or a seven is thrown. In the mean time, the shooter will continue to toss the dice. Players may now make a come bet. The come bet functions very much like the pass line bet. However, after a 4,5,6,8,9 or 10 are thrown, the bet is moved from the come area on the layout to the actual number thrown, whereas the pass line bet always stays where it is. If the shooter throws the same number before rolling a seven you win! Just like the pass line bet. And, if you are lucky, the same shooter will roll many numbers prior to tossing a seven and you will make a lot of money!
And that is the way the game works. A shooter rolls until he sevens out. You hope that he rolls a lot of winning numbers before that happens.