Craps Rules
In a live casino setting, craps can be intimidating for new players because the game is often surrounded by crowds of excited, shouting people. As a result, most people today learn how to play craps on the computer first. The computer allows you to play craps at your own pace so that you don’t have to worry about looking uninformed.
In all actuality, craps is a pretty simple game to learn. The most basic bet is called the “pass line bet” and you’ll get the hang of it right away. After you get the basics down, there are quite a few other craps bets you can make to add even more variety to the game. In any case, if you read the rules here and give it a try at an online craps table, you’ll soon be able to walk into any live casino in the world and head straight to the craps table without a worry.
How to Play Craps
One player at a time takes turns acting as the “shooter” at the table. This person throws the dice and all the people at the table place bets on the outcome. Bets are made by placing casino chips in the corresponding areas on the craps layout.
The first time a shooter throws the dice, it’s called the “come out roll.” The game is then played according to the following outcomes:
- If the come out roll is a 2, 3 or 12, it’s called “craps” and the round ends. Anyone with a pass line bet automatically loses.
- If the come out roll is a 7 or 11, it’s called a “natural” and anyone with a pass line bet automatically wins.
- All other numbers (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10) establish a point.
Once a point is established, the same shooter continues throwing until that same point is rolled again or a 7 is rolled. If the point is rolled again before a 7 is rolled, all pass line bets win. If a 7 is rolled first, it’s called a “seven-out” and the pass line bets lose. The same shooter continues throwing until he sevens-out.
If you stick with the pass line bet, that’s all you need to know to play craps. There are still many other bets you can make, which you can read about here:
Craps Etiquette
It sometimes feels like craps has more unwritten rules than official rules. For whatever reason, craps is steeped in tradition so you should probably check out this article about craps etiquette if you’re planning on playing craps in a live setting. When you’re playing online, there’s no need to worry about etiquette.
Craps Tips
Even though there’s no way to overcome the house advantage in craps, there are still plenty of things you can do to reduce the advantage to a minimum. If you follow these online craps tips, you’ll be able to play longer on the same money and increase your chances of walking away a winner.
- Stick with the “pass line bets” and “don’t pass line bets” because those have the lowest house advantage. The “come bets” and “don’t come bets” are also very reasonable.
- Don’t waste your time with craps betting systems. They don’t work and just cause you to lose even more money than you would have otherwise.
- Set a stop-loss limit and a time limit. No matter which one you reach first, stop when you reach it. There’s always tomorrow.
- Keep your bets small in relation to your bankroll. This will aid you during the occasional bad streak that we all get sometimes.