What Is Craps?
Craps is a dice game where players make wagers on the outcome of the roll of a pair of dice or a series of rolls. Players may wager money against each other or against the person throwing the dice, also known as the shooter. The game of Craps is the perfect online table game for players that enjoy a balance between pure challenge and skill and casino games that offer a lot of action. The average speed at a busy blackjack table is an average of 60 hands per hour but Craps beats that! The average speed at a craps table is 100 hands per hour, making it officially the fastest-paced game for players that love a good rush of adrenalin.
For beginners who’ve never played Craps before, spend a little time watching the table action, play in fun and free mode or download a free app and play via your mobile device. Play online Craps for free while you practice your skills and when you’re ready to play at a real money casino, you can easily do so by registering at one of our reviewed and recommended online casinos.
How To Play Craps
Playing Craps at an online casino offers hours of fun and entertainment. The rules are relatively simple and although Craps offers a hundred ways to bet, if you’re not a seasoned player, it’s best to stick to the simplest bets. The Shooter, or the player with the dice, throw the dice. If the initial roll is a 7 or 11, known as a ‘Natural’, anyone at the table who’s wagered on the ‘Pass Line’ bet wins instantly and those who’ve bet with a ‘Don’t Pass’ bet, loses.
If however, the first roll results in a 2, 3 or 12, then anyone who bet on the ‘Don’t Pass Line’ wins or, in the case of a 12, has their wager pushed. If the result is any other number, this becomes the ‘point’. The shooter continues to roll hoping to get the point again before a 7 is rolled.
The craps table is filled with diagrams showing the spaces for the types of bets and at the centre is where ‘Hardways’ and ‘One Roll’ bets can be placed. At either end of the table are identical sections for the ‘Pass Line’, ‘Come’, ‘Place’, ‘Field’, and other bets.
At Live Dealer casinos, you’ll find at least four casino workers at a craps table at all times, the Boxperson oversees everything while he sits at the centre of the table. He’s responsible for exchanging the chips into cash and for ensuring the game runs smoothly. The Stickman is in charge of the dice which he moves around the table with a stick and passes them onto the shooter at the start of each roll. A craps table features two Base Dealers, one standing on either side of the table, and their job is to collect losing bets and payout winners. The two base dealers can also place certain bets on behalf of players.
How To Place Your Bets
When you begin playing craps for the first time, don’t focus too deeply on all the different types of bets, just stick to the simplest ones. The objective in craps is really quite straightforward, bet on the outcome of the roll of two dice and if you can correctly predict what combination of the two will be rolled, you win. There are various bets you can make with Craps:
The Pass Line
A single line that curves around the table, The ‘Pass Line’ is the closest line to the players. Pass line bets are the simplest bets that can be made. The player’s bets that the dice will roll a 7 or 11 as the first number or alternatively the player can also make a ‘Don’t Pass’ bet on the numbers 2,3 or 12.
Come Bets
Considered the best place to start for new players, ‘come bets’ are similar to ‘pass line’ bets but you place them after the roll. This allows new players to seamlessly bet on a game that’s already in progress. The winnings pay even money.
Proposition Bets
These types of bets are made between the Stickman and the Boxman in the centre of the table right alongside the 2 ‘field’ sections. Players can wager on a specific role and can also place 2 ‘hard-way bets’. For example, if a 10 comes up as two 5’s before a 7 is rolled.
Field Bets
Bets are made right next to the ‘come’ areas and are clearly marked as ‘field’. In this section of the Craps table you can bet on the numbers shown, for example, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, or 12 and although it might seem the odds are on the player’s side, but statistically, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are more likely to be rolled.
Big 6 and Big 8 Bets
The bets are made on the corner sections of the Craps table of either a 6 or an 8 that will come up before the 7.
Tips and Tricks
- If you’re a new player to the casino game of Craps, it makes sense to keep things simple and avoid taking proposition bets, in other words, wagering on the results of the next roll. These types of bets add excitement to the game but are not as lucrative as the house edge raises up to 13.98%.
- Newbies should also avoid taking Big 6 and Big 8 bets as these types of wagers suggest that 6 or 8 will be rolled before 7. When you compare these types of bets to place bets, have a much worse payout, 7:6 and 1:1 respectively.
- Don’t chase your losses and keep the house edge in your favour. Remember that if you lose, it’s more than likely that you’ll lose more before you bounce back.
- A great tip is to bet against the dice. With ‘Pass Line’ bets, the hope is that either 7 or 11 will be the first number, go with 1.41% house edge. With ‘Don’t Pass’ bets, the hope is that the result is 2, 3, or 12, go with 1.36% house edge. The 0.05% difference doesn’t seem much but as with most things, it matters in the long run.
Few people know that Craps is one of the oldest table games and possibly the most exciting game in the casino. It can be played on desktop or on the go via your mobile device and even for the casual casino gamer, a game of Craps is a must! Register at one of our recommended online casinos today and throw the dice!