Craps Rules

Knowing where to put your money is one of the most important things to learn when learning craps rules; it plays a crucial role in deciding the severity of your losses, or the exent of your winnings. Many of the areas on the craps table are traps easily fallen into. While offering attractive payouts, these bets have very low odds of hitting, making it a rarity to win. One of your own craps rules should be to avoid them. Of course, if 'danger' is your middle name, playing the less common bets might in fact satisfy your gambling style, but will likely lighten your pocket while at it.

The Good Bets…

Here are some bets that will give you the best odds in craps. Stick to these and you're likely to have more money left in your pocket than you're used to after a game of craps.

Pass Line Bet:

Betting on the 'pass line', wagering that the shooter will win. Players that make these bets are often called right bettors. The bet wins if the come-out roll is a 7 or an 11 and loses if it is craps (2, 3, 12). If another number is rolled, it becomes the 'point' for the session, and that point number has to be rolled again before a 7 to win.

Don't Pass Line Bet:

Betting on the 'don't pass line', wagering that the shooter will lose. Players who make these bets are referred to as wrong bettors, although there is nothing truly wrong with what they are doing. These bets are only avoided because of the fact that at a craps table you will be shot nasty looks for betting that the shooter wont make what they are trying to make. In online craps of course, this doesn't matter, and betting against the house can often have a very slight advantage. The bet wins if the come out roll is a 2 or a 3 and loses if it's a 7 or an 11. If the number is a 12, it's a push where nobody wins or loses. If a point is established on the first roll, a 7 must be rolled before the point is repeated to make you a winner. Notice how this is exactly the opposite of the pass line bet.

Betting with Odds:

Placing odds is sort of like backing up your pass, don't pass, come, or don't come bets. It's a way of increasing your payoff and bet without increasing the odds against you. In fact, the more you bet on odds, the lower the house edge gets, because all odds bets are paid back at 'true odds', which is where it derives its name, as opposed to the casinos determined payoff ratios, which are always out of line of what you truly deserve to win. If a casino offers 100x odds, you can lower the house edge to 0.18% - the lowest in the entire casino! Mind you, I've never come across a casino, online or otherwise, which offers 100x odds. When you place a pass line bet, for instance, if the chances of rolling the point before the 7 are decent, backing up the bet with odds will net you significantly more money on a win. The same goes for the other three bets. Analyze the situation first and place odds accordingly. Since an odds bet is one of the best in the casino, there is little point to placing a pass line bet without backing it up with odds. Just remember, you place your pass line bet before the come out roll, but you can only back it up with odds after a point has been set.

Come Bet:

This bet has the same craps rules as the pass line bet, except that it allows you to set your own point after a point for the rest of the table has already been established. After the bet is placed, the first roll is your own personal come point and that point must be rolled before a 7 for you to win. If the first roll is a 7 or an 11 you win; if it's a 2, 3, or 12 you lose. Your chips will be moved to the appropriate area of the table by the dealer, and you can then back up your come bet with odds, decreasing the house edge.

Don't Come Bet:

The same set of rules apply to this bet as to the don't pass bet and opposite of the come bet. After the bet is placed, the first roll is the come point and a 7 must be rolled before that point for you to win. If the first roll is a 2 or 3 you win automatically; if it's a 7 or 11 you lose.

The Bad Bets…

The following bets look good but hide the horrible truth of extremely high house edge. The payoffs are most likely the reason why so many people make the mistake of placing these bets, backing the fact of how important it is to know the rules of a game before playing. People see what appears to be a high payoff, but don't take into account the odds which must be overcome to actually get paid. Here are the 'no-no' bets.

All Proposition Bets:

The craps rules relating to these bets are simple: they're all one-roll bets and can be made at any point in the game. Their outcome is determined on the next roll of the dice, and is independent of the point number.

• Any Seven: wins if a 7 is rolled. Pays 5 to 1.
• Any Craps: wins if a 2 ,3, or 12 is rolled. Pays 8 to 1.
• Ace Deuce: wins if a 3 is rolled. Pays 16 to 1.
• Eleven: wins if an 11 is rolled. Pays 16 to 1.
• Aces or Boxcars: wins if a 2 or 12 is rolled. Pays 30 to 1.

Hardways Bets:

This category of bets includes hard four (two 2s), hard six (two 3s), hard 8 (two 4s), and hard 10 (two 5s). These are not next roll bets, and remain in play until they lose, win, or are taken down by the player. The rule is to roll one of the hard numbers before the 'soft' or 'easy' version of the number is hit, or before a seven is hit. The payout for a hard four or ten is 8 to 1 and 10 to 1 for a hard six or eight.

Big Six or Big Eight Bet:

This bet can be placed at any point during the game and wins if a 6 or an 8 is rolled before a 7. The payout is even money (1 to 1). It is the definition of a sucker bet, because any time you could bet the Big six/eight, you could place the six or eight, win on the same dice toss, but you would be paid more for the place bet. So simply put, never bet this bet, place the six or eight instead.

Field Bets:

This is a one-roll bet where you win if a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, or a 12 is rolled. In case of it being a 2 or a 12, the payout is double or 2 to 1, otherwise it's even money. If any other number is rolled, you lose. This seems like an attractive bet because of how many numbers there are that it could hit on, but since the payout is fairly lousey at even money, the house edge remains too high for the field to qualify as a smart craps bet.

Place Bets:

Any of these bets can only be placed after the point has been determined; only then you can place either the 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or the 10. You win if the number you placed a bet on comes up before a 7; otherwise, you lose. Placing the 6 or 8 is perfectly acceptable, it's the other numbers that you should avoid. Remember, a 4 is not as likely to be hit as a 6, because there are more ways to make a six with two dice than there are to make a four.

Using these craps rules in conjunction with a good strategy can make you a successful craps player. It's critical to approach the game with a knowledgeable background and better yet, some good playing experience. Read on about the craps odds to get the whole picutre. Enjoy!