If you walk through any major casino, you can always hear one game that is completely chaotic and more energetic than any other game in the building. People are screaming, high-fiving strangers, and cheering as the dice bounce down the length of a massive, incredibly confusing green felt table. This chaotic scene is called Craps. To someone who has never played, the craps table looks like an impossible mathematical nightmare. There are confusing boxes and numbers, and the dealers are shouting slang. Yet, this is completely false. While it looks complex, the core game is incredibly basic, and most mathematically player-friendly games on the floor. If you just learn the basics, you can confidently roll the dice.
The Pass Line Bet: The Foundation of Craps
The only logical way to survive the craps table is to look away from the center of the board. The confusing center sections are designed to steal your money with massive house edges. You only need to look at the long line that wraps around the entire edge of the table: the "Pass Line". Betting on this line is how you play the game. When a new round begins, the person rolling the dice (the "Shooter") rolls the dice for the first time. If you bet the Pass Line, you get paid 1:1 immediately if the dice total 7 or 11. Your bet is taken away if the Come-Out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (known as "Crapping Out"). That is the first step: 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3, or 12 loses.
The Second Phase of the Game: Chasing the Point
What if they roll a different number? If the dice land on a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, the Point is established. The dealer takes a white puck and moves it onto the corresponding box. The goal now changes. To win the money, the shooter keeps throwing until they hit that exact "Point" number a second time. If the Point hits, you win. Here is the danger: if the shooter rolls a 7 before the Point hits, the round ends. Every single Pass Line bet instantly loses, the round completely ends, and the dice are passed to the next player at the table. The entire excitement is basically just a massive group of people praying the shooter hits their Point before rolling a deadly 7.
The Best Bet in the Casino: Once a Point is established, you can place additional chips directly behind your original Pass Line bet. This is called "Taking Odds," and it is literally the only bet in the entire casino that has a house edge of exactly 0.00%. The house has no advantage here. Betting the Dark Side: You can bet that the table will lose. You win when others lose, or when the shooter sevens out. It is mathematically slightly better, but nobody will high-five you because you are betting with the house. Avoid the Center of the Table: All the bets in the middle of the table with the huge payouts have astronomical house edges with huge casino advantages. Do not touch those bets.
The Rules at a Glance: The Only Rules You Need
To simplify the game, to make things easy, review the simple cheat sheet below. It explains the basic rules of the only bet you will ever need to make: the Pass Line.
The Dice RollWhat the Shooter RollsThe Result The Come-Out Roll (First Roll)A NaturalYou instantly WIN even money. The round resets. Come-Out RollShooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 (Crapping Out).Instant Loss Establishing the PointShooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10.Bet stays on the table Trying to Hit the PointShooter rolls the exact Point number again BEFORE rolling a 7.You WIN your Pass Line bet (and any Odds bets). Round resets. The Ongoing GameRolls a 7 (Seven Out)You LOSE your bet. The round completely ends. Dice pass to next player.
To wrap it up, do not let the loud table intimidate you. The operators create the board to look incredibly complex and confusing specifically so uneducated tourists will make bad bets. By stepping up to the table, betting only on the Pass Line, taking your odds, and ignoring the proposition bets, you are playing one of the smartest, most mathematically sound games in the entire casino industry. Roll the dice, and have the best casino experience in the world.