Craps Rules - How to play Casino Craps and Online Craps the Smart Way

About Craps

Craps is a very interesting dice game that is offered by self-respecting gambling houses and online casinos. While the game itself is simple it provides the player with a rather complicated selection of bets. It is the liveliest gambling game on the casino floor. Craps tables are always crowded in any casino. About the only way to play alone is to play online craps in online casinos.

The Dice

Craps rules specify that the game is played with two dice. Online craps simulates the dice perfectly, using a random number generator, made especially for online casinos to emulate a die roll. Both dice are rolled simultaneously. Outcomes of 2, 3, 7, 11 and 12 have special meanings. Outcomes of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 are called the place. The player that rolls dice in craps rules is called a shooter.

7 is the single most important roll outcome in craps. A number of bets in craps say that a particular combination will or will not be rolled out before 7 is rolled; in this case, they win, otherwise they lose.

A roll is called hard when both dice roll out the same values. A roll is called soft when the values are different. For example, 3 and 3 will make hard 6, 4 and 2 will make a soft six. 2, 3 or 12 rolls are called craps.

The Come Out and the Pass Line

The most basic bets in craps rules are the pass line bet and the don't pass line bet. Online craps rules requires that you make these bets by clicking on a chip and dropping it on one of the lines.When the "pass line" bet wins, the "don't pass line" bet loses and vice versa. The pass line/don't pass line bets pay out even money, that is the winning bet returns to the wager along with the win that is equal to the amount of the bet.

The game proceeds as follows:

You make pass line/don't pass line bets .
The player makes an initial roll - the come out roll.
If the come out roll hits 7 or 11, the pass line bet wins and the don't pass line bet loses.
If 2 or 3 is rolled instead, the don't pass line bet wins and the pass line bet loses.
If 12 is rolled out, the pass line bet loses and the don't pass line is pushed: 12 is considered a tie and the don't pass line bets return to the player.
If the player rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 then the roll outcome is called "the point".
A white puck labeled "ON" is placed above the number in the betting table that became the point.

Chasing the Point

You can now back up your pass/don't pass line bet with so called free odds bets. Free odds bets are supplemental bets. You can only extend your previous pass/don't pass line bet. This is explained later under "Other craps bets."

When the point is established, the pass line bets can only be won if the shooter rolls the point again before rolling 7. If the shooter rolls out 7, the pass line bet loses and the don't pass line bet wins. The shooter keeps rolling the dice until either 7 or the point is hit ("shooting for the point"). Players can make other bets between the rolls, which are detailed later. Once the point or craps comes up, the round is over, and the dice go to a new player.

That's the basic craps rules that are the same in any Las Vegas casinos or online casinos. Unlike other casino games, craps rules have no variations by region or casino house. The complexity of craps rules are just all those betting types. Most of them are to be avoided. because the advantage to the house is really high with anything besides the pass / no pass bets and come / don't come bets. Even though it seems to be very complicated at first sight we recommend you play our free online craps to get used to the game. We are assured that you will enjoy it.

Other Craps Bets

Big six and big eight bets are located in the bottom left corner of the betting table.

You can use this square to bet on six or eight being rolled before 7.
The big bets are even. Unresolved bets may be removed.

The field bets are located just above the don't pass line bet bar.

They represent the roll outcomes for 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
Notice that 2 and 12 are marked as "double" on the table: if 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 is rolled you win even money.
If 2 or 12 is rolled you win double money. If 5, 6, 7 or 8 is rolled you lose.

The come/don't come bet essentially repeat the pass line/don't pass line bets that can be played after the point is set.

Individual come/don't come bets have their own points that are called come points.
After the point is established, a player can bet on the come/don't come bets.
The next roll will determine the come point or victory/loss for this bet: 7 or 11 will make the come point win (and don't come bet lose).
Just like with pass/don't pass bets, 2 or 3 will make the come point lose and don't come bet win. If 12 is rolled the come bet loses and the don't come bet is pushed.
Other rolls will set the come point for this particular bet and the chips will be moved into the come bar with the appropriate number.
When the come point is set, rolling out the come point makes the come bet win and rolling out 7 makes the come point lose.
The don't come bet will win if 7 is rolled and lose if the don't come point is rolled.

The place bet is a bet that 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 will be rolled before 7.

Numbers 6 and 8 pay out 7 to 6, 5 and 9 pay out 7 to 5, 4 and 10 pay out 9 to 5.
A place bet to win says that the number will be rolled before seven.
A place bet to lose says that seven will be rolled before the number.
Numbers 6 and 8 pay out 4 to 5, 5 and 9 pay out 5 to 8, 4 and 10 pay out 5 to 11.

The buy bets is a bet that a field number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) will be rolled before 7.

Craps rules say the buy/lay bets are charged with 5% vigorish, or commssion.
The vigorish will be returned to the player if the bet is lost or removed.
The winnings are paid out at the true odds: 6 to 5 on numbers 6 and 8, 3 to 2 on numbers 5 and 9, and 2 to 1 on numbers 4 and 10.
The buy bets are inactive during the comeout roll and can be removed if unresolved.

The lay bets are the exact reverse of the buy bets; they say that the given field number will not be rolled out before 7.

The winnings are also paid out at true odds: 5 to 6 on numbers 6 and 8, 2 to 3 on numbers 5 and 9, and 1 to 2 on numbers 4 and 10.

Hardway bets are a single roll bets that the given number will be rolled hard before seven; that is, 4, 6, 8 or 10 will be rolled out in 2 and 2, 3 and 3, 4 and 4, 5 and 5 respectively.

The hardway bets, according to craps rules, are not considered during the comeout roll.
Unresolved hardway bets can be removed. In online casinos, you may forget to take it off. Don't.
Hardway pays out as follows; hard 4 and hard 10 are 7 to 1, hard 6 and hard 8 are 9 to 1.

Proposition bets can be found in the middle of the betting table. Like the hardways they are single roll bets.

An any seven bet is a bet that the next roll will be 7. You win 4 to 1 if it is.
Any eleven bet is the same for 11 and the payout is 15 to 1.
Any crap bet says that during the next roll a crap number will roll out (that is, 2, 3 or 12). If it does, you win 7 to 1.
Horn bet says that the next roll will amount in 2, 3, 11 or 12. 3 and 11 pay 15 to 1, 2 and 12 pay 30 to 1.

Most of these exotic bets are a bad idea, due to the nasty house edge to casinos and online casinos. A good suggestion is to sit an play online craps enough times for free, and make these kinds of bets, and you'll quickly see what's wrong with them. But don't do it with real money. Learn the craps rules for free by playing in online casinos.