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CRAPS
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FEATURES
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COLUMNS |
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| Hot Bets
Tips from our SportsBook expert
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How to Play: Craps
The glitzy cousin of a gritty back-alley dice game, casino craps is a simple contest gussied up with a bunch of complicated side bets that plays out at a breakneck pace.
First, the simple part: A craps game involves a group of players around a table with each getting a chance as a shooter. As a shooter, your first roll is known as a come-out roll. If you roll 7 or 11 on the come-out, you are said to have rolled a "natural," and you win, or "pass." Conversely, a come-out roll of 2, 3 or 12 (craps) is a loser, and you don't pass.
Any other come-out roll (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) establishes your point, which the dealer will mark on the table with a white disk. If you roll a 5 on your first roll, say, your goal as shooter becomes trying to "make the point" by rolling another 5 before you roll a 7.
Yes, contradictory as is seems, 7 is what you want to roll on the come-out, but it's poison when you're trying to make your point. Rolling any other number besides 7 or your point has no bearing for the shooter--you simply keep rolling the dice until you roll your number and win or roll a 7 ("7-out") and lose. When you 7-out, the dice pass to the next player.
That's the basic game from the shooter's perspective, but in this gregarious game of bones there's as much action as any player wants. We'll highlight a few of the most popular ways to make bets in craps below, but check the "Betting Tips" sidebar for more bets and which wagers offer the best odds.
Craps gives you the option of betting with or against the shooter in several different ways, but the majority of players tend to accentuate the positive. The most common way to bet with the shooter is to place a wager on the Pass line before a come-out roll. If the shooter rolls a natural (7 or 11) or goes on to make a point, you win. If the shooter craps (2, 3, 12), you lose. If the shooter 7s-out once a point has been established, you lose.
On the other hand, you can also put your chips on the Don't Pass line, so that the shooter's loss is your gain (if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3, you win, with 12 being a "push" or draw in this case). And, of course, if the shooter wins, you lose. (The shooter can even bet Don't Pass against himself if he feels Lady Luck has turned against him)
Come to Poppa: the Come bet. This is similar to the Pass bet, but the wager is made after the come-out roll when the shooter is trying to make a point. Simply place your bet in the large area labeled "Come" in the middle of the table. The next number rolled is your number. If it's a 7 or 11, you win. If it's a 2, 3 or 12, you lose. If it's anything else, the dealer will move your chips to the corresponding numbered box--and that number becomes your point (regardless of the shooter's point). If the shooter rolls your number again before he or she 7s-out, you win.
A "positive" negative: the Don't Come bet. As you might guess, this bet is the opposite of the Come bet. You can only place a Don't Come bet if the shooter is trying to make a point. On the first roll after you place your bet, you win if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3 (12 is again a push), and you lose if a 7 or 11 is rolled. Any other number establishes your point. If a 7 comes up on any subsequent roll, the shooter loses, but you win.
As each player can have several overlapping or conflicting wagers going at once, it's easy to see how a 14-foot table with a dozen players working their bets can be action-packed if not downright chaotic.
Which is why a craps table needs a four-person crew: two dealers, a boxman and a stickman. The boxman counts the cash, arranges the banks of chips and oversees the table. Each dealer works half the table, taking losing bets, paying winners and assisting players. The stickman moves the dice to the shooter with a stick, calls out the numbers of the dice rolled and keeps the game moving.
They're always very efficient--about taking your money.
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 When throwing the dice, they must always hit the far end of the table.
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You don't have to be a shooter. Simply decline the dice when offered, and the next person in line gets a shot.
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Any of these things are supposedly bad luck: saying the word "seven," the dice touch your hand when you're not the shooter, changing dice when you are, touching the shooter, playing at a table by yourself.
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Newcomers, especially ladies, will have good luck at first.
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The nickname for 11 is "yo"--so as not to be confused with "7" in a noisy game.
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If a shooter wins on the come-out roll, he must pick up his winnings or the wager will be applied to the next game. The old saying that covers this is: If it lays, it plays.
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Table "propositions," those bets written on the center of the table, are bad bets. For instance, the 5-for-1 on the table proposition "any seven" actually pays 4 to 1. (The casino counts your chip as 1, that's why they say 5 "for" one, not 5 "to" one; they return your chip as one of the 5.)
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