Craps

Craps is one of those games that is usually accompanied by a lot of shouting of unfamiliar terms such as snake eyes or boxcar by excited people in a land based casino mainly due to the fact that it is a dice game where you do not have to be throwing the dice to participate and place your bets on the outcome and the tables also tend to be quite large enabling a lot of people to participate simultaneously. The two ends of the table are identical so in an online casino you will only see one half but all possible bets are still there. Craps gambling has evolved over the years and is believed to possibly date back as far as the Crusades where it was probably known as Hazard although the dice played with in those days will have been quite different from today. The craps gambling table of today looks quite complicated but it is possible to play without a table at all as long as the players involved now what bets are being placed; in fact original games of craps will have been played on the streets. How the game got from its European origins to the USA is unknown but it did and has subsequently become one of the favourite games in American casinos. Online casino gambling has enabled many more players to become acquainted with the game and without doubt the less frenzied environment of your own home is a better place to learn the game than in a casino but you still need to know the rules to gain maximum enjoyment from this wild and fast moving game.

How to gamble on Craps

The simple bets or gambling options in a craps game are known as the “Pass Line” bet and the “Don’t Pass Line” bet both of which will be marked on the table; these are nearly identical opposite bets but not quite. Following any pass line bets the two dice are rolled and depending upon the outcome the game either goes further or it doesn’t. If the two dice rolled add up to 7 or 11 a pass line bet wins immediately and a don’t pass line bet loses; if on the other hand the two dice add up to 2 or 3 the reverse is true and the don’t pass line bet wins but the pass line bet loses. Throwing a 2 incidentally is only possible by throwing a 1 on each dice and this is what is known as “snake eyes”. If the two dice add up to 12 or in other words two sixes a pass line bet loses but a don’t pass line bets is a push and you get your money back. Throwing 2, 3 or 12 is known as craps. The only other possible outcomes of the two dice are 4,5,6,8,9, and 10 and throwing any of these numbers means more throwing needs to be done to determine the outcome of the pass and don’t pass bets. At this point it is possible for you to place other bets which we shall cover later. Whichever of those numbers that was thrown with the first two dice is now known as the “point” and the thrower will continue to throw the dice until either a repeat of the point is thrown or alternatively a 7 is thrown. If the point is thrown first the pass line bet wins and the don’t pass line loses and the other way around if a seven is thrown first.

After a “point” is established which is either 4,5,6,8,9 or 10 other bets are possible the first of which is the “come” bet which is the same a pass line bet. As with the pass line bet it will win if the next throw produces a 7 or an 11 and loses if the next throw produces 2,3 or 12. Along similar lines there is an area to bet called the “don’t come” and this is the same as a don’t pass bet which wins if the throw is 2 or 3 and is a push if the next throw is 12. If on the other hand the next throw produces 4,5,6,8,9 or 10 then we have again a point established but this time it is known as the “come point”.

Play proceeds with the dice being thrown again until either the “come point” or a 7 is thrown just the same as with the original point. As before, the establishing of a “come point” opens up extra betting possibilities such as betting on a specific number coming up or a pair or several other possibilities that will be shown on the table. This type of betting is really getting into the hardcore of craps betting and unless you know what you are doing it is not necessary. Pass Line/ don’t pass bets and come/don’t come bets will cover most of your needs and keeps it a lot simpler. The pass line/ don’t pass line bets and the come/don’t come bets stay in place until they are won or lost which can take several rolls as they require a repeat of a number or a 7 to decide the outcome; other bets are valid for one roll only. An exception to this is the big 6 or big 8 bets which are decided by subsequent rolls and which comes up first; the six the eight or again the 7.

Craps sounds very complicated and indeed it can be but by sticking to the bets above you can get a lot of enjoyment and it simplifies the game quite a bit. If you like the noise of a live table then go to the casino but your online casino is a great place to learn the game and of course you always play free craps while you are learning. Most good online casinos will also explain the rules and the various bets but the only way to really learn is to play; so keep your bets low to start with and go from there. Have fun playing craps.