Craps betting

Craps
In case you've never seen Craps before it might seem pretty intimidating. To the beginners eye, when having a first look at the craps table and it's layout it might seem overwhelmingly complex. It would probably be even more overwhelming if you would whitness the game for the first time in a real life casino. Dozens of players at the table, all yelling and excited. Would probably all seem a little nuts from a distance.... But no worries, we’ve all been there and it is a much easier game that it seems.  
Lots of crap bets are needlessly complex, and even foolish since they just don’t offer any good odds. Here at casinoinfo we will provide you with a guide to smartly make your bets at a crap table. Here we go: 

Craps as we know (or will get to know once you've finished reading this article) is a descendant of a few games coming from ancient Egypt (actually, you can see the “Theban dices” at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin). It moved across the ocean down to the Mississippi River steamboats in the 1800`s. Ever since it has become one of the most exciting games in all casinos. On top of that it also has great odds compared to other casino games!

How to play craps
First, let’s take a look to the craps` table layout



For starters, one player will be chosen as the “shooter”; he must bet at least the table minimum on either the “pass line” or the “don’t pass line” (pass and don’t pass are sometimes called “Win” or "Right" and &ldquoon’t Win” or "Wrong" bets for the outcome of a shooter’s round). The right to roll the dice is rotated clockwise around the craps table. A player next in turn to become shooter may refuse the dice, but can continue to bet on the shooter's rolls; the dice then pass to the next player willing to become the shooter. The shooter is then presented with multiple dice (typically five) by the stickman, and must choose two to roll with. The shooter then must make a “come out roll” trying to establish a reference point. If it comes out a 2, 3 or 12, it is called “craps” (the shooter is said to "crap out") and the round ends with players loosing their pass line bets and players who bet on don’t pass line winning in 2 and 3 and getting a tie with 12. If it comes out a 7 or 11 is called a “natural” and all bets in pass line wins and all ones in don’t pass line lose.
If the shooter rolls any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10), this number becomes the “pass line” point and the come-out roll is now over. The dealers will move an "On" button to the point number which identifies the point number (either a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) to all players at the table. Now he will roll again, his goal is to roll the pass-line point number before rolling a 7. If he rolls this point number before a 7 all “pass line” bets win. If he rolls a 7 (called a "seven-out") all at the pass line bets lose and the round ends. A new shooter will be chosen with the dice being passed clockwise to the next player who wishes to become the new shooter.

Different types of wagers in craps

Pass line bet: This is the main bet in the game. Players make their bets and the dice are rolled. If craps are shown (2, 3 or 12), then all players lose their bet (this is known as “crap out&rdquo if it comes out a natural (7 or 11) all players who bet on pass line win. If a pass line point is established and shooter hits this point before the seven, then all players win, otherwise, they all lose. Payoff when winning is 1:1

Don’t pass line bet: This is almost the opposite of a pass line bet. You bet on the shooter to hit craps in which case you win with 2 and 3 and tie with 12. Another way to win is here is when a pass line point is established and the shooter hits a 7 before repeating this pass line point. If the shooter hits a natural or hits the pass line point before the seven, you lose your bet. You will find out that some players consider this kind of bet as “playing the dark side” and some of them even consider it poor taste or taboo since this is basically acting against standard play.

Pass odds: If a pass point is set, you can bet if the pass point will be rolled before the 7. Some casinos allow players to place a bet taking odds from one to five times the pass line bet. It is placed behind the pass line in the table. This extra bet wins when the point is rolled before a 7. An interesting thing about this kind of bet is that the payoff is the same as the actual odds of hitting the number: 2:1 when the point is 4 or 10, 3:2 when it is 5 or 9 and 6:5 when it is 6 or 8 (please take into account that for example number 8 is easier rolled then number 10 as it is possible in more combinations with the dice so higher chance so therefore differend payoff).

Don’t pass odds: This is when the player is betting that the pass line will not be reached. You win the bet when a 7 comes out before the pass point does. Again, the payoff is at the actual odds; 1:2 if the point is 4 or 10, 2:3 if it is 5 or 9 and 5:6 if it is 8.

Come bet: This works just like a pass line bet and only differs in that it is placed after the come out.

Don’t come bet: This works just like a don’t pass line bet and only differs in that the wager is placed after the come out.

Single rolls bet
These bets are bets on only one dice roll. They include: 2 (snake eyes or Aces), 3, 11 (yo), 12 (boxcars or midnight), 2 or 12 (Hi-Lo), Any craps (three way), C & E (you bet half on craps and half on yo, any seven (also named Big red), field (wager that one of the numbers 2,3,4,9,10,11 or 12 will come out on the next roll), The Horn (This is a bet that involves betting on 1 unit each for 2, 3, 11 and 12 at the same time for the next roll. The bet is actually four separate bets, and pays off depending on which number is actually rolled, minus three units for the other three losing bets. Many players, in order to eliminate the confusion of tossing four chips to the center of the table or having change made while bets are being placed, will make a five-unit Horn High bet, which is a four-way bet with the extra unit going to one specific number. For example, if you toss a $5 chip into the center and say "horn high yo," you are placing four $1 bets on each of the horn numbers and the extra dollar will go on the yo (11).), whirl or world (combination of horn and any seven, if a seven comes out the money your win is equal to the money you lose on the horn portion of the bet) and On the hop (a single roll bet on any specific combination of the two dice) and On the Hop (This is a single roll bet on any particular combination of the two dice on the next roll. For example, if you bet on "5 and 1" on the hop, you are betting that the next roll will have a 5 on one die and a 1 on the other die. The bet pays 15:1 (just like a bet on 3 or 11) except for doubles (i.e. 3 and 3 on the hop) which pay 30:1 (just like a bet on 12, which is the same as 6 and 6 on the hop). The true odds are 17:1 and 35:1, resulting in a house edge of 11.11% and 13.89% respectively. When presented, hop bets are located at the center of the craps layout with the other proposition bets. If hop bets are not on the craps layout, they still may be bet on by players.)

Multiple rolls bets
These are bets that may need any number of rolls before an outcome is determined. If a point is made by the shooter before the outcome of this bet is decided, this bet will be considered as not working in the next come out roll until de next point is established, unless the player says it is. If a not working point becomes the new point in the come out, then the bet is refunded and/or placed in another number free of charge.

Hard way: You bet on the shooter throwing 4, 6, 8 or 10 with the two dice show the same value, and before a 7 is thrown.  So if it comes out a double 4 before a 7 was hit, this is called the hard way 8.

Easy way: This is the opposite of hard way. It is not very common to find a casino where this bet is available. If not you can bet on a point number which will payoff either the easy or hard way of that number.

We'll give you more extended info about this soon. It's best to first start with the basics
We strongly recommend to start by betting the easy way until you get it.

Good luck,

CASINOINFO team