Craps is a top favored and quite exciting casino game that attracts numerous players both in online and offline casinos. Gamers play the game according to defined craps rules on a unique table and utilize two dices. The production of the craps dice follows specific requirements and high standards. Also, the dice need to undergo a periodic checks to ensure there are not any damages and problems. Casinos have exacting rules about the way players handle the dice to avoid damaging them, and dice are substitued with new after eight hours of usage. These stringent measures are in use to prevent impairments that may influence the game.

Craps is a highly exciting game that provokes positive emotions, so it is not implausible to hear shouts and yells if you prefer playing in traditional casinos. The rules of craps can appear somewhat confusing at the beginning, but once gamers get familiar with the basics and get some practice, they will quickly master the game and start playing it skillfully.

Below we have provided a detailed guidance as to the rules for craps and the basics of the game that all players should know. Hopefully, the information will assist you in learning the rules and become more confident at the craps table.

Wizard of Odds Advertising Policy. Any casino with the Wizard seal of approval has been vetted by Wizard management, including the Wizard himself. Most shooters, as well as most of the other craps players at the table, will bet the pass line, as it is the basic wager of craps. The pass line wager is an even money bet that wins if you either roll a total of 7 or 11 on the come-out roll, or if you throw a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 on the come-out roll and repeat that number before you roll a 7.

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The Basic Craps Rules All Gamers should be Aware of

The game follows special craps rules. Each new game has a predefined minimum that players should pay if they are eager to participate. Thus, the shooter, who is one of the players, wagers the selected minimum sum on the Pass Line or the Don’t Pass Line of the craps table. Players often call these wagers win/right bets or don’t win/wrong bets. The stickman who runs the game gives the shooter some dice, which usually reaches five. The player then selects two of the dices to roll and returns the others to the bowl of the stickman where they keep dice that are not in use.

The active craps rules specify that the shooter should throw the dice with one hand and the dices should hit the opposite walls of the table. Sometimes the dice fall off the craps table and then the stickman should check them for damages and puts them back to the table only if there are no troubles with the dice.

Craps tables usually have room for twenty players or so. Each player has a round of shooting, which means a round of throwing the dices. It is attainable to miss a throwing round, and in this case, you can place a wager on another thrower.

There are several various kinds of bets that gamers can make while playing craps. We will discuss these bets below.

The casino crew which is responsible for the craps games include four people: a stickman, a boxman and a couple of dealers. Each of them has a particular function in the games.

Craps Rules

As we have already mentioned, each craps game consists of different rounds. Gamers throw the dices one after the other in a clockwise direction around the table. According to the rules for craps, players can miss a turn to roll the dice, but they are still able to place wagers.

The rules of craps stipulate that each round consists of two stages. Starting a round requires that the gamer who shoots the dices make a single or more Come Out rolls. If the come out throw is 2, 3 or 12, then the round finishes and players lose the Pass Line wagers they have made. However, if the come out roll is 7 or 11, which expert call a natural roll, then players win their Pass Line wagers.

The player who throws the dice proceeds to the Come Out rolls until they throw 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 and the resulted number turns into the so-called Point. As a Point is set, the dealer places the appropriate On button on its number and puts the start of the second of the craps game. Then, in case the player who throws rolls the number of the point, this player wins the wagers on the Pass Line. However, if the shooter throws 7, this roll bears the name Seven-out, and it loses the wagers on the Pass Line. According to the craps rules, this loss signals the finish of the game.

Each new craps game starts with the Come Out roll, which is the initial round of the game. Participants can do this roll only after the previous shooter does not register a winning throw, i.e. does not score the Point or rolls a seven and loses the bets.

The functioning craps rules say that each new game starts with a new shooter. However, in case the shooter has made the Point, then they get back the dices and put the start of a new round, i.e. a new Come Out round. The same shooter continues their roll, but this roll indicates the beginning of a new craps game. What happens in case the shooter does not make their Point? According to the rules for craps, the next participant in the game takes turn to throw the dices and the play continues in the same way as before. As the craps rules stipulate, the next shooter is the player who is sitting on the left-hand side of the previous one. It means that the players take their turns to throw in a clockwise direction.

The way the players throw the dice is also set by the existing craps rules. There is a particular division on the craps table, and the players roll the dice across the table, which consists of three different areas – a center zone and two side zones around it. The two side zones practically mirror each other and include the following elements: Don’t Pass and Pass Line bets, Odds bet, Don’t Come and Come bets, Field bets, and Place bets. The central piece features the Proposition bets.

Craps rules say that Pass bets win if the Come out rolls registers 7 or 11, and these bets are losing if the Come out roll stops at 2, 3 or 12. The craps rules for the Don’t bets is the another way round – they lose if the Come out roll comes at 7 or 11, and they win in case the roll is 2 or 3. If the Come out roll is 12, the Don’t bets become a tie. Some casinos call it a tie when the Bar roll is on the layout.

If new players are eager to join the game and to start playing craps, they should go to the table and check whether the button of the dealer is On or Off. When the button is off, this means that the game has reached the Come out round and new players cannot enter the game. Following the crap rules, if the button is On, the game is in the Point round, and gamers can place Pass Line wagers, and new players can join the play. The casino accepts both single and multi-throw proposition bets.

The rules of craps say that there should be sometime between the dice throws and dealers utilize these breaks to pay cash for the winning wagers and to collect money from the losing ones. There is a stickman whose job is to monitor the advancement of the game and to select the appropriate moment to place the dice at the disposal of the shooter. When the shooter takes the dice and prepares to throw, players cannot place wagers anymore.

Types of Bets for Playing Craps

As you have noticed so far, the rules for craps define different kinds of bets that players use during the craps games. Each bet has its specifics and gamers perform it during individual rounds of the play. Let us list and explain these bets, in short, to further clarify the rules of craps.

Pass Line Bet

According to the craps rules, this is the essential bet for the game. The shooter places it to win a point number. In case the initial roll is 7 or 11, the throw wins. The shooter loses if the roll is 2, 2 or 12 and the rules call this roll craping out. The player should roll any other number besides the mentioned ones to get the point. After that, the player throws until they roll a 7, which gives them the win. However, in case the thrower rolls seven before getting the point, they lose the game, and experts have named this roll a seven-out.

The Pass Line Bet wins if the shooter rolls 7 or 11 with their initial throw of the dice. In the case of a winning Pass Line bet, the game pays out even cash.

What are the odds for this bet? Immediately after the shooter rolls a point players can place additional wagers. Each registered point has different odds and brings a various amount of payout. Thus, 4 and ten pay at 2:1 odds; 5 or 8 pays out at 3:2, while 6 or 8 provide a payment at 6:5. The dice should roll the point once again before getting 7 to become victorious.

Come Bet

Almost the same craps rules apply for this bet as for the previous one with a slight difference. Here players can place the wager in discussion after the game has already determined the point on the pass line. When the participants perform a Come Out roll, they put the Come Bet directly on the pass line. As soon as the player places their wager, the initial roll after that defines the come point. The current craps rules say the player wins if the roll comes at 7 or 11 and loses if they reach 2, 3 or 12. Rolling any other number gives you the win but only in case the shooter repeats the come point before they roll 7. You lose immediately if the first roll hits 7.

The Come Bet consists of two rounds and it is very much alike the Pass Line Bet. However, here the player places the bet on the initial point number, which comes from the next roll of the shooter. The round of the table is of no importance for this bet. If the shooter throws 7 or 11 in the opening round, the bet directly wins. On the contrary, the craps rules say the wager loses if the shooter rolls 2, 3 or 12. However, in case the shooter rolls any other number except for the listed ones, the dealer places the Come Bet in a Box bearing the number of the point registered by the shooter. These particular numbers become the Come Bet point, and the player can add other odds to the wager at this stage of the game. According to the rules for craps the dealer should put the new odds over the original Come Bet but they put them a little sideways so that players can distinguish between the initial bet and the added odds.

Then the craps rules allow the game to proceed to the second round and here the bet will win in case the shooter throws the Come Bet before rolling 7. On the contrary, rolling 7 before the Come Bet means that wager loses.

Typically, the Come Bet is in play during the Come Out roll, but the dealer waits for indication coming from the player to consider the odds are working.

Due to the craps rules and the Come Bet, it often happens so that players have a Come Bet and the next roll is a Come Out one. In this case, the odd on wagers on the come bet does not function during the Come Out roll. Thus, if the shooter throws 7, the players who have placed Come bets on the come point lose the amount of the original wager but they get back the cash for the odds. In case the shooter rolls the come point, the odds are not winning, but the Come Bet wins, and the players get back the odds. The rules of craps allow players to inform the dealer whether their odds are functional and when. Such a situation can happen when the shooter throws a number which equals the come point and then the odds on the wager, and the Come bets win. However, in the event the shooter throws 7, then both the odds and the Come Bet will lose.

The odds on this wager are analogous to the odds on the Pass Line Bet. The single dissimilarity is that players can take odds not on the Pass Line bet but the Come Bet.

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Don’t Pass Line Bet

As the name indicates, this bet is contrary to the Pass Line one, meaning that the player loses if the dice reach 7 or 11, and the player wins in case the roll is 2 or 2. The rules for craps stipulate that rolling 12 means the player has a tie with the casino. Throwing any other number gets the point, and the player wins if the shooter rolls 7 before throwing the point. However, if the shooter rolls the point once again before they throw 7, the player loses the game.

Don’t Come Bet

This type of craps bet is opposite of the Come Bet. First, the shooter establishes the come point. Then, the player wins if the roll is 2 or 3, and they lose if the throw is 7 or 11. Rolling 12 creates a tie. The craps rules allow the player to secure a win in other rolls if the shooter throws 7 before the number.

Place Bet

This particular bet becomes functional after the play fixes the point. The rules of craps allow the player to place wagers on rolling 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. Your wager will win if the shooter throws the number you have betted on before they roll 7. If it happens the other way round, your bet loses. The amount of payouts here depends on the number you have placed a wager on, meaning there are different odds for the various numbers. Thus, rolling 4 or 10 pays at 9:5; the payoff for 5 or 9 is 7:5 and you get 7:6 payoff for 6 or 8. Players can cancel their bets at any time of the game.

Field Bet

According to the craps rules field bets are valid only on a single roll of the dice. Your wager wins if the shooter throws 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. Your bet loses when the shooter rolls 5, 6, 7 or 8. The wager has different payoffs for the different numbers. If the thrower rolls 2, the casino will double your bet, and in case the shooter throws 12, the player gets 3:1 payment. Other numbers pay off even.

Big Six and Big Eight Bets

The craps rules allow players to place these wagers on any rolls. The bets win in case the shooter rolls 6 or 8 prior to rolling 7, and the payouts for them are even.

Proposition Bets

Players can place these wager at any time of the game, and they are valid for a single roll except hardways. Any craps – the bet wins if the shooter throws 2, 3 or 12. The payout is 8:1. Any seven – the wager is winning if the shooter rolls 7. The payout is 5:1. Eleven – the wager wins if the shooter rolls 11 and the payout is 16:1. Ace deuce – the bet is winning in case the shooter throws 2 and the payout is again 16:1. Aces or boxcars – the wager wins if the shooter throws 2 or 12. The payout here is 30:1.

Horn Bet

Craps Basics

This type of craps bet functions as wagers on 2, 3, 11 and 12. The bets win if the shooter rolls these previously mentioned numbers. The rest three bets lose. The payouts depend on the particular number that the shooter rolls.

Wagers on Hardways

The rules of craps say that if the shooter throws hard, then the bet wins. Throwing hard means to roll a sum of these pairs: 1-1, 3-3, 4-4. The wager loses if the shooter rolls easy and throws 7. The payouts are the following: Hard 4 and 10 get payments at 8:1, while the pay for hard 6 and 8 is 10:1. The house advantage typically ranges between 2 and 17 percent.

Introduction

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Craps Game Basics

Written by: Michael Shackleford