Tag: Craps
If you have come across massive yelling, shouting, and excitement around the Craps table in a casino and wondered what’s that all about, then here’s a brief introduction to the game of craps.
Craps is a derived United States version of Western European game Hazard. It’s basically a dice game involving a pair of dice where the players make wagers on the outcome of a roll or a series of rolls.
Categorically, there are two versions of the game. In the case of street craps, players bet against each other. A more refined version is the table craps where multiple players bet against a dealer – which is the case when it comes to the casinos.
How Craps Work?
The game involves placing a layout on a table which displays various bets. Players place their bets on an appropriately-marked section on the layout and then take turns rolling the pair of dice.
Casino craps are played in rounds. Each round has two phases: Come Out and Point. The dealer button is turned ‘Off’ during the ‘Come Out’ phase and ‘ON’ during the ‘Point’ phase to signify the progress of the game. In its most basic form, there are two betting options for the players – ‘Pass’ and ‘Don’t Pass’ lines. The player who is rolling the dice is known as the ‘shooter’.
A combined “Come Out” score of 2, 3 and 12 is called ‘crapping out’ and that goes to the losing cause if the player is betting on the ‘Pass’ line. On the other hand, if the player is betting on ‘No Pass’ line and comes out with 2, 3 or 12, he wins the bet.
A score of 7 or 11 is considered ‘natural’, resulting in a win for ‘Pass’ line bets and loss for ‘No Pass’ line bets. That marks the end of ‘Come Out’ phase and ‘Point’ phase begins with another roll of dice by the same shooter.
The shooter continues to roll the dice until he scores one of the other possible outcomes – 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. That number becomes the ‘Point’ and then the shooter is required to roll that point number again to win his ‘Pass’ line bet. On the other hand, if the shooter rolls a 7, the ‘Pass’ line loses and the round ends.
Besides ‘Pass’ and ‘No Pass’ line bets, there are other types of bets such as ‘Come’ and ‘Don’t Come’ bets, Odds on Pass/No Pass line bets, Place bets, and Field bets. ‘Pass’ and ‘Don’t Pass’ line bets can be placed as long as a ‘Point’ has not been established. ‘Come’ or ‘Don’t Come’ bets are placed after the establishment of a ‘Point’. Other types of bets can be made at any time.