The Ultimate Guide to Playing Craps
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If you walk through any major casino, you can always hear one specific table that is significantly louder and crazier than the rest. Players are yelling and celebrating as the dice bounce across a massive table. This highly intimidating game is known as Craps. To a complete beginner, the betting layout looks like an alien language. The felt is covered in weird text, complex jargon being yelled by the dealers. However, this is actually a massive illusion. Despite its terrifying visual appearance, craps is actually one of the simplest, and best games in the entire casino. By understanding one rule, you can confidently roll the dice.
The Only Bet You Need to Know: The Foundation of Craps
The secret to survive the craps table is to completely ignore 95% of the table. The confusing center sections are designed to steal your money with massive house edges. You only need to focus on one single, massive stripe that borders the felt: the Pass Line bet. Betting on this line is the foundation of craps. At the start of a round, the person rolling the dice (the "Shooter") makes the Come-Out Roll. With your money on the Pass Line, you get paid 1:1 immediately if the Come-Out roll is a 7 or an 11. You instantly lose your bet on a 2, 3, or 12. That is the first step: 7/11 wins, 2/3/12 loses.
Establishing the Point: What Happens on a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10?
But what happens if the Come-Out roll is not a winner or a loser? If the result is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, the Point is established. The dealer takes a white puck and flip it to the "ON" side on top of that number. The rules of the game now completely change. To win your Pass Line bet, the shooter keeps throwing until they hit that exact "Point" number a second time. If they hit the Point, everybody with a Pass Line bet wins. But there is a fatal flaw: if a 7 is rolled before the Point hits, this is called "Sevening Out". You lose your bet, the round is over, and a new shooter takes the dice. The whole table is a group effort praying the shooter hits their Point before rolling a deadly 7.
- The Secret Odds Bet: When the puck is ON, you can place additional chips directly behind your original Pass Line bet. This is known as taking odds and it is literally the only bet in the entire casino that pays true mathematical odds. The casino makes zero profit on this bet.
- The Villain Bet: You can bet that the table will lose. This means you win if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3 on the come-out, or if they Seven Out before hitting their point. It is mathematically slightly better, but nobody will high-five you because you are cheering for everyone else to lose.
- Avoid the Center of the Table: The 'Hardways' and 'Any Seven' bets (like 'Any Craps', 'Hard 8', or 'Snake Eyes') are terrible math traps with huge casino advantages. Do not touch those bets.
Simplifying the Math: How the Pass Line Works
To make your very first trip to the craps table, to guarantee you know what to do, look at this basic chart. It explains the basic rules of the only bet you will ever need to make: the Pass Line.
| Phase of the Game | What the Shooter Rolls | What Happens to Your Pass Line Bet |
|---|---|---|
| The Start | 7 or 11 | Instant Win |
| The Start | Shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 (Crapping Out). | You lose |
| Setting the Point | Any other number | Bet stays on the table |
| The Grind | Shooter rolls the exact Point number again BEFORE rolling a 7. | Table cheers, you win |
| The Grind | The Deadly 7 | Total Loss |
In conclusion, craps is actually incredibly simple. The felt is designed to look incredibly complex and confusing so casual gamblers will guess and lose their money. By stepping up to the table, sticking to the basic rules, avoiding the middle of the table, and ignoring the proposition bets, you are playing the best games in the entire casino industry. Roll the dice, and have the best time Las Vegas has to offer.