Craps
Craps, which was previously known as Crabs, is a casino disc game. Craps is actually a simplification of the Old English game Hazard. Players wager money against the casino on the outcome of one roll, or of a series of rolls of two dice.
Craps - Overview
Craps, which was previously known as Crabs, is a casino disc game. Craps is actually a simplification of the Old English game Hazard. Players wager money against the casino on the outcome of one roll, or of a series of rolls of two dice.
Craps can also be played in less formal settings and is said to be popular among soldiers. In those scenarios, side bets are more frequent. Furthermore, one or several participants will cover or fade bets against the dice.
The Basics
Turns are taken rolling 2 dice. All players then bet on the same roll, regardless of who is rolling. The player the dice is called the Shooter. The first roll of a new round is called the come out roll. All bets are based on the total of both dice together, or on the specific combination of the roll.
There are many types of bets, but the most fundamental is the “pass line” wager, which nearly all players make. On a come out roll, the pass line bettors win when either a 7 or 11 is rolled. A2, 3, or 12 loses and is called Craps. When any other number (4,5,6,7,8,10) is rolled, it is called the Point. Once a point has been set, the pass line bettor wins if the point is rolled again, and loses if a 7 is rolled first. A shooter will to continue to roll until seven-out, at which point the dice pass to the next shooter for a new come out roll.
The opposite of a pass line bet is the "don't pass" bet, which wins on a come-out roll of 2 or 3, loses on 7 or 11, ties on 12, and goes to the point round when any other number is rolled. (In some casinos the 2 is barred and in such cases the 2 will tie but the 12 will win). In the point round the don't pass bet wins if a 7 is rolled and loses if the point is rolled. People who bet on the don't pass are called wrong bettors, while those who bet on the pass are called right bettors, only because most craps players make the pass line bet instead of the don't pass bet.
A casino craps table is run by four casino employees: a boxman who guards the chips, supervises the dealers and handles coloring out players; two base dealers who stand to either side of the boxman and collect and pay bets; and a stickman who stands directly across the table from the boxman and announces the results of each roll and then collects the dice with an elongated wooden stick. He is also in charge of managing the bets made on the center of the table (hardways, yo, horn, etc).
A new shooter, who must bet the table minimum on either the pass line or the don't pass line to play, is presented five dice by the stickman and picks two.
Etiquette
Certain unwritten rules of etiquette exist while playing craps other then the actual rules of the game. Many consider these guidelines as important as the actual rules themselves. New players should familiarize themselves with them before approaching a craps table.
Ins and Outs
In casino craps, the players place their bets and the casino bank "covers" them. In addition to covering every player's bet, the casino-banked craps game offers many other types of proposition bets. These bets, along with the basic "pass" and "don't pass" bets, will be explained.
There are four people actively running the game. The boxman, who sits behind the middle of the table, is the boss. He keeps a constant watch over the game. The two dealers on each side of him pay off the winners and "rake" in the losers' chips. Each dealer handles all the players on his side. The table is divided by the center box of proposition bets and also by the stickman, who stands on the players' side of the table.
The stickman controls the action of the dice and the pace of the game. After seeing all bets are down, the stickman pushes a few sets of dice to the shooter. That players selects a pair of dice and is ready to roll them across the table so that they hit the wall at the opposite end. If, on the first roll, you make a 7 or 11, you've rolled a "natural" and you win. What you win is the equivalent amount of chips you have bet on the pass line.
Types of Bets
Before the shooter begins, some casinos will allow a bet knows as a fire bet to be placed. A fire bet is a bet for between 1-5 dollars in the hopes that the next shooter will have a hot streak. As points are made, they will be marked on the craps layout with a fire symbol. The first three points will not pay out on the fire bet, but the fourth, fifth, and sixth will pay out at increasing odds. The fourth point pays 25-1, the fifth point pays 250 -1, and the 6th point pays 1000-1. Note that all points must all be different number for them to count towards the fire bet. A shooter who successfully hits a point of 10 twice, will only garner credit for the first on the fire bet.
The fundamental bet in Craps, is the pass line bet. This is where someone bets that the dice will pass (roll point number before rolling a 7). A pass line bet is also won if the come-out roll is a 7 or 11. The following discussion assumes that the shooter, as is usually the case, is betting on the pass line.
There are a total of 36 possible combinations, this on the come-out roll there are 8 ways to win, 4 ways to lose and 24 ways to make a point.
The odds of making the point are the ration of the number of ways to make a 7 to the number of ways to make the point. For example, there are five ways to make a 6 or an 8, so the odds of making a point of 6 or 8 are 6-5. Therefore an odds bet of $5 on 6 or 8 pays $6. In general, due to proximity with even odds, the pass line and odds bets are two of the best wagers one can make in casino gambling.
Proposition Bets
Proposition bets are generally located in the middle of a craps table, and often pay off at high odds but with a significantly higher house advantage.
One roll bets that the shooter will make an 11, or "yo" (pays 15-1, actual odds 17-1); 3, or "ace-deuce" (15-1, actual 17-1); 2, or "snake eyes" (30-1, actual 35-1); and 12, "box cars" or "midnight" (30-1, actual 35-1). A "hi-lo" is a combination bet on 2 or 12, paying 15-1 (actual odds 17-1); the stickman places this bet on the line dividing the 2 and 12 bets.
Bets that a shooter will make a hardway number such as 4-4 (before throwing a 7 or an 8 the easy way such as 6-2 or 5-3). The hard 4 (2-2) and hard 10 (5-5) pay off at 7-1 odds (actual odds 8-1), and the hard 6 (3-3) and hard 8 (4-4) pay off at 9-1 odds (actual odds 10-1).
The Horn 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. Most players do a "Horn High" bet which involves betting an additional $1 on one of the 4 choices, with the most frequent being a $5 "horn high yo" bet (which means $2 on the 11, $1 each on 2, 3 & 12).
A hop bet is a bet on any combination of the dice on the next roll. For example, hard 8 on the hop pays 30-1 (actual odds 35-1) if two fours appear on the dice on the next roll only. "Easy" combinations may also be bet, such as a 3-5 or 2-6, paying off at 15-1 odds (actual odds 17-1). On most craps tables, hop bets do not have a designated space on the layout; instead, they are kept in front of the boxman, often with a "hop" marker placed on top of the chips.
Craps is a bet that the shooter will roll 2, 3 or 12 on the next roll. The true odds are 8-1 and the casino pays 7-1.
C & E is actually two bets. A player is betting one unit on craps and another unit on 11. One of the two bets will always lose, and the other will pay off as above.
Any Seven is a bet that the shooter will roll a seven on the next roll. The true odds are 5-1 and the casino pays 4-1. This bet is also nicknamed "Big Red," since the "7" on its betting space on the layout is usually large and red.
A whirl or world bet is a five-unit bet that is a combination of a horn and any-seven bet. The bet is effectively a push if a 7 rolls, since the 4-1 payoff on the any-seven bet is offset by the other four losing bets.
The field bet is a wager that one of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 will appear on the next roll of the dice. This bet pays 2-1 on the 2 or 12 and even money on the others; many casinos will instead pay 3-1 on the 2 or 12. The house advantage is slightly more than 5%, reduced to 2.7% when the 2 or 12 pays 3-1. This bet is located in a box between the don't pass line and the come box. Unlike the other proposition bets which are handled by the dealers or stickman, the field bet is placed directly by the player.
The Big 6 and Big 8 wagers are considered by craps players as sucker bets because they pay even money while a player can bet on the same proposition (a 6 will be rolled before a 7) by placing the 6 or the 8, which pays 7-6 (true odds are 6-5). Veteran craps players avoid these bets, and some casinos (particularly those in Atlantic City) do not even offer them. These are located in the corners behind the pass line, and bets are placed directly by players
Most of these bets are very costly and disadvantageous to the player, because the house percentage on these bets can be 11.1% and up. Knowledgeable craps players often restrict their action to either the pass line or don't pass line with full odds. More aggressive players can also bet on the Come/Don't Come with full odds which is statistically identical to the pass/don't pass bet
Place, buy, and lay bets
Players can place or buy individual numbers (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) by placing their wager in the come area and telling the dealer, "place the 6" or "buy the 8". Both are bets that the number will be rolled before a 7. Place bets are paid at odds slightly worse than true odds for the 6 or 8, but significantly worse for the 4, 5, 9 or 10.
Buying the number results in a payoff at the true odds, but requires a 5% commission to be paid to the casino. Traditionally, the buy bet commission is paid no matter what, but in recent years a number of casinos have changed their policy to charge the commission only when the buy bet wins. This change significantly reduces the house advantage, especially on the 4 and 10, where the effective advantage is reduced by two-thirds because the bet wins one third of the time; this reduces the house advantage to 1.67%, making the buy-4 or buy-10 one of the game's better bets. This policy is in effect at most casinos in Mississippi, and an increasing number in Las Vegas.
The commission is paid at the rate of a $1 chip for every $20 wagered, but casinos usually charge only $1 for a $25 green-chip bet, or $2 for $50 (two green chips), reducing the house advantage a bit more. Where commission is charged only on wins, the commission is sometimes deducted from the winning payoff — a winning $25 buy bet on the 10 would pay $49, for instance.
A lay bet is the opposite of a buy bet, where a player bets on a 7 to roll before the number that is "laid." Bets are made in increments of $24 when laying the 6 or 8, $30 when laying the 5 or 9, and $40 when laying the 4 or 10; a $1 commission is charged upfront for each of these increments. Again, the tradition is to charge this commission win or lose, but casinos may opt to charge it only when the bet wins; this is less of an advantage for the player, since the bet wins more often than it loses. Most lay bets are on the 4 or 10
Example of Basic play
Let's say you put $10 on the pass line. On your come-out roll you get an 11, so you win $10. The game now starts over, with a new come-out roll. You keep $10 on the pass line for this round. You roll a 9, which becomes the point. You decide to bet $10 on the come line before your next roll.
On your next roll you get a 6, which is now the point you need to hit in order to win your $10 come bet. Your next roll is a 9, which is the point you needed to hit to win your pass line bet, meaning you just won another $10. You bet $10 on the pass line again, and your new come-out roll is a 7. You win $10 for your pass line bet, but lost the $10 you had previously bet on the come line.
Optimal Betting
One subtlety of craps is the variety in the house advantage on the many bets available on the craps layout. Of course the house always has an advantage on every bet, the house can win the player's money many, many times faster if a player makes certain bets. For example:
A player betting the pass line or come line at $10 per bet, 50 bets per hour, will lose on average $141 over 20 hours of gambling on a gaming trip.
A player placing the 4 and 10 at the same rates will lose on average $667 over the same period.
A player betting the "any seven" bet at the same rate will lose on average $1,667 over the same period.
The house percentage advantage is an indication of the expected loss per total amount bet. Note that the total bet amount also drives expected loss, so betting the table minimum will give the slowest rate of average loss. While odds bets lower the house percentage, they do so by increasing the total amount bet. Thus, given a fixed minimum pass line bet, the decision whether to make the odds bet or not does not affect the average dollar loss per game. It does, however, increase the variance, which improves the chance (though still under 50/50) that the player will be net ahead after a finite amount of play, as well as increasing the chance of larger losses or larger wins.
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