Craps Rules and Strategies - Learn How
to Play Craps
Rules and
Strategies for Craps
Perhaps you
shied away from playing craps because the game looks so daunting. True,
at first glance, a craps table layout looks quite confusing. There are a
variety of bets that you can make, and everything seems so complicated.
Actually the basic game is quite simple and easy to learn.
Craps
involves rolling a pair of dice. The player who rolls the dice is known
as the "shooter". When two dice are rolled, any number between 2 and 12
can come up. Some numbers appear more often than others. For example
there are six different ways to roll a 7, but only one way to roll a 2
or a 12. The number 7 has a better than 16% chance of coming up on each
roll, whereas there is less than 3% chance of rolling a 2 or 12.
Probabilities for other numbers are as follows: 6s and 8s under 14%, 5s
and 9s nearly 11%, 4s and 10s almost 8%, 3s and 11s slightly less than
6%.
As you can
see 7 is the most frequently rolled number, that’s why the game revolves
mostly around that number. The number 7 wins only if it comes up on the
come-out roll. If it’ is rolled while the shooter is trying to repeat
his point number, the 7 loses, but the point number wins. More about
that in a moment.
Craps table
layouts at online casinos usually show only one half of the table. In a
live casino the second half is exactly the same, making it a bigger
table so that more players can join in and place bets.
When a new
shooter rolls the dice the first time it’s called the "come-out" roll.
Supposing the shooter rolls a 7, then a 5, that means the 5 becomes the
point. The shooter continues to roll the dice until his point number (in
this case 5) repeats or he "sevens-out" (rolls another 7). When either
of these things happen, that particular round of play is over. A new
shooter makes a new come-out roll.
The game is
tracked using a plastic marker. This marker is black on one side, and
white on the other. When the marker is turned black side up, it
indicates that the shooter is making a come-out roll. After the shooter
makes his point, the marker is flipped over, with the white side up, and
placed on the number that corresponds to the point.
While this
is going on, you can place your first bet. On the table layout you’ll
see two lines, one marked "pass", the other "don’t pass". For now we’ll
concentrate on the more popular of the two, which is "pass". Pass and
don’t pass bets are basically direct opposites of each other but carry
about the same odds,
To place
your bet, simply put your wager somewhere on the pass line. If the
number rolled on the come-out is 7 or 11 you win and are paid 1:1. You
would then bet on a new come-out roll. If the dice thrown total 2, 3 or
12 (a "crap"), you lose your bet. If the total is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10,
that number becomes the "point".
Let's say
you have made a pass line bet and a point of 5 has been established. You
may now bet an amount equal to your pass line wager by placing it behind
your pass line bet, but outside the pass-line strip. This means an "odds
bet" on 5. If 7 turns up before 5, you lose both bets. If 5 is thrown
before 7, you win both bets.
The odds bet
is the best bet you can make in a casino because the house has
absolutely no edge. The casino will pay you true odds. For example, if
you’ve bet pass line with odds and the point is 10, you will receive a
2-1 payment on your odds bet. The amount you win depends on what the
point is, and how difficult it is to roll that point number. (See the
percentages in an earlier paragraph.) On points of 4 or 10 the pay-off
is 2 to 1, on points of 5 and 9 it's 3 to 2 and on points of 6 or 8 you
get 6 to 5.
Now you know
the most favorable and most popular bets you can make in Craps. The
casino edge on a pass line with odds bet is less than 1%. There are many
other types of bets, most of which have too great a house advantage. For
now stick to what you’ve learned here. You will get to know about the
"sucker" bets soon enough.
How To Win At
Craps:
Here is my
formula for winning at craps: Set your perimeters. Decide in advance how
much of a bankroll you're willing to risk and how big a win you'd be
happy with.
Personally,
my aim is to win an amount equal to what I start with. If I buy-in for
$50, I will quit when I've doubled my stake or lost it. With my
objectives clearly defined, I can not get into a situation I might
sorely regret later. Whether the session ends positive or negative, I
take an extended break before trying again.
In craps, as
in most other games, if you want to win big money, you have to risk big
money. There is probably no way around this fact. But, as a smart
gambler you don't make large bets with the money you brought to the
table. Keep your wagers small until you can bet back what was the
casinos money -- your winnings.
Start
cautiously, wager no more than the minimum unit required. When you win,
bet two units. Win again, risk three units. If you win a third time, bet
five units. Then stay at that level until you lose. Revert back to the
table-minimum after a loss. This assures that you risk only your
winnings in pursuit of larger gains, while making your own, original
bankroll last as long as possible.
Don’t risk
more than your predetermined stake. Conversely, once you've reached what
you set out to win, cash in and pat yourself on the back for being so
smart!
Good Luck!
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