Craps Guide

Objective

Craps is a popular American dice game that is played on a special table with 2 dice. At the beginning of the game the player has to place a pass line bet or don't pass line bet - these are initial bets and they are placed before the shooter establishes the point by rolling the dice. The Pass Line is an even-money bet that wins if the dice land on 7 or 11 on the Come Out Roll (first roll of the dice in a betting round). The bet looses if the dice land on 2, 3 or 12. In case of Don't Pass Line Bets, the player wins if the come out roll shows 2 or 3 and looses if the dice shows 7 or 11, and if the shooter rolls a 12 the bet is a tie.

Types of Bets

Once the point is established, the bettor can place additional bets and they are the following:

Come and Don't Come Bets: Come bet wins if a 7 or 11 are rolled and loses if 2 or 3 is rolled. If a point number is rolled then the stake is moved onto that number and win if the point is rolled before a 7. Don't Come Bets are the complete opposite, a 2 or a 3 is a winner and a 7 or 11 is a loser. If a point is rolled then Don't Come bets win if a 7 is rolled before the point.

Place Bets: Place Win Bet is a bet that a specific number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) will hit before a 7. Place Lose Bet is a  bet a 7 will hit before a specified number.

Field Bets: . If a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12 is rolled you win. A 5, 6, 7 and 8 make you lose.

Odds Bet: This is an additional bet made on a Pass, Don't Pass, Come or Don't Come bet that has already been placed and this bet has no house advantage.

Big 6, Big 8 Bets: The bet wins if a 6 or 8 comes out before a 7 is rolled.

One roll bets: Aces or Boxcars: Wins if a 2 or 12 is thrown. Hardways: A bet that a "double" (for example two 3's) will hit before a 7. Any Craps: Wins if a 2, 3 or 12 is thrown. Any Seven: Wins if a 7 is rolled. Eleven: Wins if a 11 is thrown. Ace Deuce: Wins if a 3 is rolled. Horn Bet: it acts as the bets on 2, 3, 11 and 12 all at once. Wins if one of these numbers is rolled.

Tips

(that can also be considered as a strategy since there is no basic craps strategy like the one in online blackjack):

  1. The best bets with craps odds on the table are Pass, Don't Pass, Come, and Don't Come because they give the house the smallest edge.
  2. During point rolls place the maximum allowed Odds Bets.
  3. Avoid placing The Field Bet, Big 6 or 8, Hard Bets, Craps2 or Craps12 and Any 7 - these bets have the highest house edge.
  4. Use the practice games almost each casino has to familiarize yourself with the craps bets and payouts and with all the buttons and controls on the online craps screen.
  5. Remember about the craps probabilities, out of the possible 36 outcomes in craps, the chances of rolling a 7 are the highest of all (5:1 or 16.67%). The numbers you are least likely to roll are the 2 and the 12, with 1 in 36 chances to roll these numbers (in other words, your odds on rolling these numbers are 35 to 1).