Learn to Play Craps
The Shooter
The shooter is picked out of the group of players mainly because of two reasons: S/He is the first in line at the table when it opens for business, or s/he is the first on the lineup formed by those players wishing to throw the dice. Players simply have to wait their turn.
Depending on his/er experience at the Craps table, the shooter will eventually adopt a system or strategy s/he believes will affect the overall outcome of a dice roll. Many players study this game and practice various styles, including the best ways to pick up the dice, set their numbers, hold them in their hand, take up a stance and roll them so they bounce just right. The serious shooter concentrates on his/er throwing technique and on the speed, curve and falling precision of the dice themselves. All of these actions become crucial to the shooter who is determined to improve his/er chances for a favorable outcome.
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The Betting
Some Craps players assume a relaxed, approachable manner; some appear earnest or animated; others seem almost mechanical. It is not difficult, however, to spot the player who is using some of the common betting systems. Some of these systems include Sure Fire, Three Point Molly, Can't Lose, Anything But Seven, Right Betting, Wrong Betting, 68 Play and many more. Many confirmed Craps experts swear by these playing systems. The newer Craps player, naturally, will want to pick up one of the many books on the subject.
Although capitalizing on the many existing betting options can involve a certain degree of mastery, Craps in its simplest form is a game where players wager in either of two ways: on the shooter scoring his number or on the shooter not scoring his number.
Whenever a player bets on the shooter scoring his/er Point, s/he is said to be wagering the right way. The latter is called ?The player is with the shooter.? Whenever a player bets on the shooter not scoring his Point, s/he is said to be betting the wrong way. This is also called ?The player is against the shooter.? The other players also have the option of betting among themselves on whether the shooter will win or lose in the next series of throws, or whether certain numbers or combinations will appear or not.
The shooter, or any player who wishes to bet on the shooter as a winner, should always place his/er bet on the area marked with the words ?Pass,? ?Line,? or ?Win,? depending on the layout. Anyone betting against the shooter places his/er bet in the area marked with ?Don't Pass.? Anyone wishing to wager on a special option, such as ?Craps,? in which the player bets that the numbers two, three or twelve will or will not be thrown, should always place his/er bet on the appropriate layout area. Such bets are called proposition bets.
It is important to keep in mind that the house always keeps a mathematical advantage of about 1.4 percent on most bets, and an even higher percentage on certain layouts and bets.
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The Come Out Roll
Once all betting has ceased, the shooter begins each new game in Craps with his ?Come Out roll.? If the shooter throws a seven or eleven (a natural) on his/er first roll, s/he wins; if s/he throws a two, three, or twelve (craps) on the first roll, s/he loses.
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The Point and the Puck
If the shooter's first roll is either a four, five, six, eight, nine, or ten, that number becomes his Point. At that time, the dealer will place a disk, called ?Puck,? on the Shooter's Point number marked on the table layout. The Puck is a disk very much like a hockey puck, white on one side and black on the other. Dealers commonly use it to clearly identify the shooter's Point.
Once a shooter establishes his Point, the dealer moves the Puck to the Point number on the layout and turns its white side up. Turning the white side up over a Point indicates the game is in progress and that the box number is the Point. Having the black side up means a new ?Come Out roll? is about to take place.
The Puck stays on the Point until the shooter either makes it or sevens out. If the player fails to make his/er Point, the dealer will slide the Puck into the ?Don't Come? bar-12 area and turn its black side up. Few experienced players ever take notice of the Puck, since it is used only for tracking the game.
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Making the Point
Once s/he has made his/er Point, the player will continue shooting the dice until rolling the same number again, that is, until making his/er Point and winning, or throwing a seven (seven out), or crapsing out (rolling a two, three, or twelve), in which case s/he will lose both the dice and his/er bet. Side bets may be laid for or against the shooter, either before s/he makes a Point, while s/he is coming out, or after s/he has made his Point and decides to continue betting and rolling.
After each dice roll, bets are settled. If the shooter wins, s/he may keep the dice and put up his/er next bet. If s/he declines to shoot again, s/he must pass the dice to the player on his/er immediate left, who then becomes the new shooter. The new shooter places his/er bet, tosses the dice in his/er ?Come Out roll? and the game continues in the same manner.
When any new shooter makes a Point, the dice are given to him/er again to have another Come Out roll. Even though the new Come Out roll would be the continuation of the shooter's turn at throwing, it also introduces the beginning of a new game.
Let's review this briefly. Before the shooter rolls the dice on his Come Out roll, there are some bet choices that can be made. The ?Pass Line? and ?Don't Pass? bets are the most common ones. If the player wishes to bet in favor of the shooter, s/he must place his/er chips in the area on the layout marked as ?Pass Line.? Betting on the ?Don't Pass Line? means exactly the opposite of betting on the Pass Line. When betting against the shooter, the player must place his/er chips in the area on the layout marked as ?Don't Pass.?
If the shooter rolls a seven or an eleven on his/er Come Out roll, s/he wins his/er bet, the ?Pass Line? bet wins, and the ?Don't Pass bet? loses. If s/he rolls a two, three, or twelve (Craps), the Pass Line bet loses, and the Don't Pass bet wins. This is also referred to as ?Rolling Craps.?
If the shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, s/he is said to have established his/er Point. In order for the shooter to win, s/he must roll his/er established Point before s/he rolls a seven.
Once the shooter establishes a Point, the players can then place additional bets behind their Pass Line bets. This is called Taking Odds. In most casinos, players can bet up to three times the amount of their Pass Line original bets. This is called Taking Full Odds. Some casinos offer up to 100 times the odds. This simply means that players may bet up to 100 times the amount of a Pass Line bet once the Point has been established.
Players may also bet in favor of the shooter while the game is in progress. They can do that by placing a Pass Line bet without odds. To do so, a player simply places his/er chips halfway over either of the two lines framing the Pass Line area. Any Pass Line bet with odds (full odds, or taking odds) may only be made during the Come Out roll.
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Strategies On Gamesmanship
The following suggestions can really improve game results.
Any newer Craps player determined to win at the Craps table should go to his/er nearest library or book store and pick up a copy of anything referring to Craps strategies and/or systems.
A player should always select a casino and a Craps table where s/he is clearly offered the best odds and playing conditions.
S/He should always choose a table where the dealers look friendly.
Prior to taking the dice, the player should always consider the house rules that apply to that specific game, particularly when they include or exclude certain bets.
The player should also be aware of the minimum and maximum bet limits at that table. S/He must surrender the dice when necessary, especially if they have gone cold on him.
In other words, whether the player is a highly experienced gambler, a fun-loving, go-for-broke risk-taker, or someone who simply enjoys high adrenaline entertainment, s/he should not forget that the main purpose behind all games is to have fun. It should not be an escape from reality or a compulsive habit. Craps happens to be more fun to play than other games since it moves at a fairly brisk pace between the throws of the dice and the payoffs.
The player who seeks to win at Craps and to have a fun experience at the same time, will always make sure to pick the most suitable casino for him/er, where s/he is totally comfortable with its atmosphere and surroundings and feels secure, considering house odds and rules.
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