What Are the Most Important Craps Rules?

Craps is a casino table game where players are given a pair of dice and asked to roll winners. The layout and design of a craps table are unique – it features Pass Line, Don’t Pass Bar, Come, Don’t Come Bar, Place Bets, Field Bets, Hardways and One Roll Bets. Combined, this makes for an overwhelming selection of betting options. A first-time craps player needs to have a basic understanding of each of these bets, and the options available to players at the table. Despite all these betting selections, craps is essentially an easy game to play. Better yet, it has one of the lowest house edges in the casino, and within a couple of minutes, you’ll be shooting craps like a pro.

In craps, there is one craps shooter at a time. Players are often found 2 to 3 people deep at a busy craps table, placing bets amid a cacophony of excitement. Contrary to popular belief, the game’s rules aren’t impossible to learn, and they are certainly not difficult to understand. Scores of players can bet with the craps shooter or against the craps shooter – as they please. There are only two numbers you need to worry about in craps – the number that forms with the dice and the number you bet on. You will generate wins when you correctly forecast the outcomes of craps rolls. Since only 2 x 6-sided dice are used, there are a limited number of possibilities to form specific totals, as listed below:

Craps Total Combinations of Numbers How Many Ways to Roll Number
2 1 & 1 1
3 1 &2, 2 &1 2
4 1 & 3, 3 & 1, 2 & 2, 3
5 1 & 4, 4 &1, 2 & 3,
3 & 2,
4
6 1 & 5, 5 & 1, 4 & 2,
2 & 4, 3 & 3,
5
7 1 & 6, 6 & 1, 2 & 5,
5 & 2, 4 & 3, 3 & 4,
6
8 2 & 6, 6 & 2, 4 & 4,
5 & 3, 3 & 5,
5
9 6 & 3, 3 & 6, 4 & 5,
5 & 4
4
10 4 & 6, 6 & 4, 5 & 5 3
11 6 & 5, 5 & 6, 2
12 6 & 6, 1

 

The above chart is an important visual aid in determining how many combinations (ways to roll) you have available for specific craps totals. Clearly, the number 7 has the most combinations available and, because of this, has lower attendant odds. Numbers with the lowest possible outcome possibilities include 2 and 12 – there is only one way for each of these dice outcomes to result. A pair of 1s is known as snake eyes in craps, and a pair of 6s is known as boxcars. One of the most important rules of craps is allocating a budget for your gaming sessions. While the precise number will vary from one person to the next, you should generally have enough of a bankroll (based on the wagering amount per roll) to support 50 rolls of the dice. If each dice roll is $5, you should have a $250 bankroll. If each dice roll is $10, you should have a $500 bankroll.

Kindly consult the Casinofy guide on how to play craps for further information about specific bets and how to get started. This craps rules guide is intended as a practical framework for playing the game. In anticipation of your craps gaming sessions, pick a craps table that meets your bankroll requirements and playing preferences. You begin by placing a bet on one of two options:

Pass Line – This is the most basic bet in craps and you’re betting on the craps shooter to win. With this bet selection, a roll of 7 or 11 instantly wins, but a roll of 2, 3, or 12 instantly loses.

Don’t Pass Line – The Don’t Pass Line bet is played against the dice. It is also known as betting wrong. Instead of wanting a 7 or 11 on the come-out roll, you really want the craps shooter to roll 2, 3, 12. Note that this is the polar opposite of what you would want with a Pass Line Bet. Now, if the craps shooter doesn’t roll 7 or 11, but instead rolls a number, that number then becomes the point. Instead of wanting the crapshooter to roll the point number, you want the shooter not to roll the point number.

Who Stands Where at The Craps Table?

Craps rules dictate where players stand and where dealers stand. Fortunately, none of this matters when you play craps online. At bricks and mortar casinos, there is personnel adorn life craps tables. These typically include a pair of dealers – one on each side of the layout of the table, the stickman (the person who wields the long stick to take chips off the table and pass the dice to players), and the boxman. This person represents the casino at the craps table, and they rule the action as it happens, when it happens. As a player, you can pretty much populate any section of the craps table, provided it is not occupied by someone else.

Once everybody is positioned accordingly, the action gets underway. Everyone at the craps table gets a chance to be the shooter. It can take some time, but patience is a virtue. The first bet that a shooter makes is a pass line bet – either a Pass or Don’t Pass Bet. Next up, the craps shooter rolls the dice and must bounce them off the opposite wall. The initial roll is known as the Come out Roll. If the craps shooter rolls 2, 3, 12, that’s an instant loss. Anyone who bet on the Don’t Pass Line are winners. Anyone who bet on the Pass Line bets are losers. The shooter wins with a total of 7 or 11. On this type of dice roll, the Pass Line Bets will win and the Don’t Pass Bets will lose.

Now, it is likely that the Come out Roll will be one of the following numbers – 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. These numbers will then determine the point number. If you look carefully at the craps table, you will see a ‘disk’ or a ‘puck’ which is placed on the new point number. Once this number has been established, the players at the craps table can place bets on those numbers. There are many other bets available to players, including Odds Bets – side bets only after the Pass Bet / Don’t Pass Bet, Come Bet / Don’t Come Bet has already been made. There are also Proposition Bets available to craps players – these are single roll bets. Here are some of the payouts you can expect on prop bets:

Bet Payout
Ace Deuce 15:1 with a 3 roll
Big Red 4:10 with a 7 roll
Any Craps 7:1 on a 2, 3, or 12 roll
Two Craps 30:1 on a 2 roll
Boxcars 30:1 on a 12 roll
Eleven 15:1 on an 11 roll
Craps or 11 7:1 on 2,3, or 12 and 15:1 on a
roll of 11
Horn Bets Bets on 2, 3, 11,12 on the next roll,
bets split between numbers. 15:1 odds on 3 and 11, and 30:1 odds on 2 and 12.
Horn High Same as above with a high number
Whirl Bet Any Big Red bet + Horn Bet for 5
bet selection with a 4:1 payout on 7 and same payouts on other numbers as
Horn bets.

 

That’s it! Craps rules made easy for everyone. Feel free to read the Casinofy guide on how to play craps for a refresher on this adrenaline-loaded casino game.

Author : Brett Chatz

A Worldwide leading content writer for casinofy.com, Brett brings a decade of expertise in the online casino realm to his articles. Merging a deep understanding of industry trends with his writing prowess, he delivers insightful and engaging content.

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