How the beloved game of Craps is played

At a Craps table, players take turns rolling two dice. The players around the table may bet on the outcome of the dice thrown by the “shooter” (the player in turn) and all players including the shooter bets against the house.

The shooter must place a bet of at least the Craps table minimum on either on the “pass line” or the “don’t pass” line. Each shooter plays one round, and each round is divided into two sequences called “come out” and “point”.

If the shooter throws (a total sum of) 2, 3 or 12 he “craps out” and the round is finished. All players then lose their pass line bets. If the shooter rolls 7 or 11 players win their pass line bets (even money).

The shooter keeps throwing until his dice show 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 whereas the second phase (the point phase) starts. The dealer now places a button that says “ON” somewhere on the table, and whatever number the shooter gets (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) becomes “the point”. For some reason this is usually when you hear outbursts like “Come on baby, mama needs a new pair of shoes”. At this point a seven usually means no new shoes as a seven will end the round. The pass line bets win if the shooter rolls the same number as the point.

Well worth noticing is also that the shooter and the players around may bet on all single or multi roll outcomes in both rounds, but what bets should you make? Jiggaboo says: “I have been a Dealer, Gambler, Jacker, Con-Artist and a Fool. Mostly today I am just a gambler and a Fool. I don’t Rap and I am not on Crack“.

You might not be as busy as Jiggaboo Jones, but you surely don’t have time to read about bets you shouldn’t make (there are a lot!), so we will just concentrate on the ones you should make. Basically you have four options:

• 1: The come bet. Even money. House edge: 1.414%.
• 2: The don’t come bet. Even money. House edge: 1.402%. Best bet but you should probably be carrying more protection than Jiggaboo Jones if you are going to stick to this bet only throughout the night at a land based casino, since most players will dislike a “negative” bet towards the shooter. No one is going to care when you play online though.
• 3: The pass line bet. Even money. House edge: 1.414%
• 4: The don’t pass bet. Even money. House edge: 1.402%. Best bet but like the don’t come bet you won’t get any girls.

So as a ground rule, I would recommend the come bet and the pass line bet for live casinos and the two others for online casinos. With any bets other than this be aware, you are facing a greater house edge which defeats the whole purpose of this guide.

To read up on the different types of bets you can place in the game of Craps, click here.

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