Oct 22, 2018 As a beginner, there are only a few bets you need to know about when learning to play craps. The most common bet on the craps table is the Pass Line bet. It is on the outside of the table and creates a somewhat border around the layout. This bet is saying that the dice are going to 'pass', meaning win. As a beginner, there are only a few bets you need to know about when learning to play craps. The most common bet on the craps table is the Pass Line bet. It is on the outside of the table and creates a somewhat border around the layout. This bet is saying that the dice are going to 'pass', meaning win. Sep 19, 2019 What you see here is the only craps for dummies guide you'll ever need to learn the game. This is an all-in-one Craps for beginners resource where you find the best Craps strategies, the best Craps.
- Dealing Blackjack For Dummies
- Craps For Dummies Strategies
- Dealing Craps For Dummies
- How To Play Craps For Beginners
- Dealing Craps For Dummies Beginners
- Dealing Craps For Dummies Games
Table Of Contents
- Craps rolls are one of the most interesting events that happen on the Casino floor.
- This Craps strategy guide for beginners helps you understand the ins and outs of the pass or come bet.
- Read it before your round begins to understand your chances to win playing online Craps.
Craps is one of the most exciting gambling games since the Middle Age. If you don't know how to play Craps and you haven't played online yet, now it's your chance.
What you see here is the only craps for dummies guide you'll ever need to learn the game.
This is an all-in-one Craps for beginners resource where you find the best Craps strategies, the best Craps Casinos to play online, and all the proposition bets you should avoid.
Also, I added the basics of Craps etiquette because placing one or two winning bets doesn't authorize you to do everything you want or behave like Will Ferrel, Amy Poehler, and Jason Mantzoukas in The House.
Although it's one of the most popular and played games at land-based casinos, the game of craps not one of the top favorites of online players.
Some believe craps is a complicated game with rules and bets that do not fit the speed of online gambling. They get confused by concepts like odds bets, betting on the pass line, comeout roll, snake eyes, and lay odds- and that's why they often skip this table game.
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Play NowHow to Play Craps for Dummies
How to Play Craps for Beginners?
Beginners are often so intimidated by the numbers, the terms, and all the different bets available in a game of craps. Also, complicated tables like the ones you find on Wizard of Odds might push you away from the craps tables and not play the game.
Playing craps is easy. You don't need anything more than a guide for Dummies like this one to move from beginner to expert.
If you don't know how to play craps, make sure you read the part that follows carefully enough to pay attention to all the different elements that compose a game of craps.
When you are done with my Craps for Dummies guide, you are ready to play the game.
Once you pass the learning part, the game is simple. So, let's not beat around the bush and get to the good part – craps rules for dummies, that is.
Learning Craps Rules for Dummies in 3 Minutes or Less
Why three minutes? Because there are three main rules to learn to know how to play craps. This is a guide for dummies - meaning we like to keep things short and simple.
That's why three minutes is more than enough to learn how to play craps.
Craps betting round starts with a come-out roll.
That's the first term beginners need to learn and add to their vocabulary.
The come-out roll is the first roll of the dice or the first one after the previous betting round has finished.
The player who throws the dice is called the 'shooter'.
A game of craps plays as follows: you, 'shooter', take two dice and throw them on the craps table - or press 'roll' button if we are talking about online craps.
Once the number rolled is on your screen, there are three possible outcomes:
1. Natural
Here's when things get really good. A 'Natural' means that the result of your roll is a 7 or an 11. When this happens, you win and get to roll the dice again.
2. Craps
You roll a 2 (also known as the Snake Eyes), 3, or 12. Here's when you lose.
BUT the round is not over, and you get to roll again.
3. Point
You roll a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10.
In a live casino, a dealer would mark your Point (the rolled number) on the table.
In online craps games, there is a small button that appears once the Point is established. It's white and says 'On'.
What you need to do now is to roll the dice once more and hope you'll hit the same number again. It doesn't have to be the same combination of dice as you had before. As long as it's the same sum – you win.
Do you know why the sequence above misses a seven?
The number 7 is not a very lucky one in this case since if you roll a 7, you 'seven out' – you lose and end the betting round.
Once you learn this part by heart, you can move on to the betting options.
That's the fun part. Because that's the one that can make you win a lot.
Playing Craps for Dummies: Betting Rules
If you take a look at the craps table, both online and offline, you can see that it's not only dice and numbers.
Now that you know how to shoot craps and how to evaluate the result of your roll let's have a look at how to bet in a game of craps.
Remember: this is a craps guide for dummies, so I am going to analyze everything looking at a game of craps as a beginner would do.
The layout has a handful of areas for different betting options.
Pass or Don't Pass Bets
First, you can bet either on the 'Pass Line' or the 'Don't Pass Line'.
The Pass Line bet means you bet that the shooter will pass (win) by rolling out a natural or by winning the point before seven-ing out.
The Don't Pass Line corresponds to the opposite bet. In this case, you bet that the shooter will not pass (lose). It can happen if the player shoots to get a 2 or 3, or fails to roll the point again before a 7 shows up its ugly head.
And then there is a 12. If it's rolled now, your bet is a Push – meaning nothing happens. You don't win, but you don't lose either.
You can make these bets only before the point has been established on the table. Once the point has been rolled out and the shooter needs to roll the sum again, you can make a come or don't come bet.
Come or Don't Come Bets
These bets can only be made after the point has been determined.
The Come Bet wins if a natural is rolled out and loses if the craps are.
If the point is rolled out, it becomes the Come-Bet point.
It works just like the Pass line one: if the come-bet point rolls out again before 7 does, you win. If not, it's not your lucky round, pal.
Don't come bet is just like the Don't pass one. You're in luck if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3, not so much if it's a 7 or 11. A 12 here is a push again.
Once the point is made, you should hope for 7 before the shooter rolls out the point again.
Neither Pass nor Come bets can be turned off. You bet and wait until it plays itself out. But you can make additional bets on the come-bet point, too. And those you can withhold or increase at any time.
Proposition Bets in Craps
These are one-roll bets (with one exception, as you can see in the table below) that you can place on any roll.
Bet | Wins if |
---|---|
Any Seven | The shooter rolls a 7 |
Any Craps | The shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 |
Ace Deuce | The shooter rolls a 3 |
Aces | The shooter rolls a 2 |
Boxcars | The shooter rolls a 12 |
Horn | The shooter rolls a 2, 3, 11, or 12 |
The exception I mentioned earlier is called Hard ways. In this case, you win if you roll a 4, 6, 8, or 10 (depends on which one you bet) with the pair of same numbers (2 and 2, 3 and 3, and so on) before any other combination that makes that sum or a 7
Other Possible Bets in a Game of Craps
Place Bets:Once you know the point, you can bet on any number on the table. You win if it's rolled out before a 7, you lose if it isn't.
Field Bets: This type of bet is only active for one dice roll. You win if a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 is rolled. A 5, 6, 7, or 8 makes you lose.
Big 6 and Big 8 bets: If you want to bet that 6 or 8 will be rolled before 7, These are the two bets for you.
These bets only pay 1:1.
Practice Craps Online: Where Beginners Should Play Craps
The best way to learn craps online is to practice craps online.
Now that you know about the different bets and outcomes of a roll, you should be ready to move from asking how to shoot craps to playing craps online.
And if you don't want to risk your cash on real money games until you are 100 per cent sure that you know how to win at craps - that's not a problem.
The best online craps sites for beginners five you the chance to play and practice craps online for free for as long as you need.
You can also use the Casino bonuses you receive on most sites when you sign up but, given the house edge of this game, you should start for free.
The best site to play craps online for free and get a hang of the game is this one.
I suggest you open a free account on this page to find the best Craps tables online and play the game. That's the best way to learn craps if you don't have a brick-and-mortar casino next door to go to.
That's what I did when I first played Craps.
It all will look a lot easier once you practice craps online.
And once you feel that online, free practice has made it perfect, you can move to real money craps games.
The game of craps has really good odds with the house edge of only 1,41%.
Bet | Wins if |
---|---|
Any Seven | The shooter rolls a 7 |
Any Craps | The shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 |
Ace Deuce | The shooter rolls a 3 |
Aces | The shooter rolls a 2 |
Boxcars | The shooter rolls a 12 |
Horn | The shooter rolls a 2, 3, 11, or 12 |
The exception I mentioned earlier is called Hard ways. In this case, you win if you roll a 4, 6, 8, or 10 (depends on which one you bet) with the pair of same numbers (2 and 2, 3 and 3, and so on) before any other combination that makes that sum or a 7
Other Possible Bets in a Game of Craps
Place Bets:Once you know the point, you can bet on any number on the table. You win if it's rolled out before a 7, you lose if it isn't.
Field Bets: This type of bet is only active for one dice roll. You win if a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 is rolled. A 5, 6, 7, or 8 makes you lose.
Big 6 and Big 8 bets: If you want to bet that 6 or 8 will be rolled before 7, These are the two bets for you.
These bets only pay 1:1.
Practice Craps Online: Where Beginners Should Play Craps
The best way to learn craps online is to practice craps online.
Now that you know about the different bets and outcomes of a roll, you should be ready to move from asking how to shoot craps to playing craps online.
And if you don't want to risk your cash on real money games until you are 100 per cent sure that you know how to win at craps - that's not a problem.
The best online craps sites for beginners five you the chance to play and practice craps online for free for as long as you need.
You can also use the Casino bonuses you receive on most sites when you sign up but, given the house edge of this game, you should start for free.
The best site to play craps online for free and get a hang of the game is this one.
I suggest you open a free account on this page to find the best Craps tables online and play the game. That's the best way to learn craps if you don't have a brick-and-mortar casino next door to go to.
That's what I did when I first played Craps.
It all will look a lot easier once you practice craps online.
And once you feel that online, free practice has made it perfect, you can move to real money craps games.
The game of craps has really good odds with the house edge of only 1,41%.
That beats roulette and even blackjack when it's played with the basic strategy. There're many betting rules to remember at first but they come naturally later on. And they actually make the game even more exciting.
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If that's how you feel too – don't. This craps for dummies guide will teach you how to play craps online.
The game is really not that difficult.
You may have seen gamblers playing craps. You may know you need two dice to play it. All you need to know now is a couple of terms, the basic rules, and a few betting rules.
From the betting side, you could go a long way with one rule. But knowing more guarantees more fun, more excitement, and, naturally, more money. And that's what you aim for, right?
After learning how to play craps for dummies, you'll regret you haven't found this guide earlier. So, let's not waste any more time and get to the point.
Learning Craps for Dummies Terms
First things first. Before starting to learn the rules of craps for dummies, you need to know the terms that players and dealers use in the game.
Playing Craps for Dummies: Shooting and The Shooter
The act of rolling the dice is called shooting. Thus, respectively the player is called the shooter.
During any bet of the game, you place bets on or against the shooter.
In land-based casinos, many players can play craps at the same time, and you can bet on each of them.
Online you bet on the virtual dealer rolling the dice. In some casinos, you're the virtual shooter. So, you bet on yourself. Or against yourself.
Yep, even betting against yourself is possible.
You wouldn't do that in real life. But when playing craps online it can bring you a fortune.
The Come-Out Roll and The Point
The very first roll the shooter makes in the game is called the come-out roll. Also, any other roll in the game is a come-out roll if the shooter hasn't rolled the point yet.
And what is the point, you may ask? If the shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number is the point.
Here it is, the point. Now you can go on making your own puns.
The dealer (or computer software) marks the point on the table with a small, usually white button that says ‘On'.
And the shooter's goal now is to roll it again. It doesn't have to be the same combination. If the point was a 6 out of the dice showing up a 3 and another 3, to make 6 again the shooter can roll 1 and 5, 2 and 4, or 3 and 3.
All combinations work. As long as the shooter rolls the point again before a 7, it's good.
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What's wrong with the 7? Let's see.
The Role of Seven at Craps for Dummies
Rolling a 7 is not bad in itself. If the shooter does it on the come-out roll, s/he wins. A 7 is their friend.
But if s/he rolls it when the point is established and before the point is rolled out again, the shooter sevens out. It's a loss. And a 7 becomes their enemy.
The same goes for an 11. You can call each of these numbers a natural.
Learning Craps for Dummies: The Meaning of Craps in the Game
Craps is more than the name of this game. If the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12, we call the roll craps.
And then the shooter loses.
Of course, friend/enemy win/loss situation is relative even when you're the shooter. The actual winnings depend on your betting. But let's talk about that a bit later.
The Rules of Craps for Dummies
Once the terms are clear, you can move on to the rules.
There are only three rules in craps. Or more precisely, three results of the come-out rolls. Learning them takes only a minute. If you know the terms, that is. Which you do now, right?
Rule | Roll | Result |
---|---|---|
Natural | 7 or 11 | The shooter wins and gets to roll again |
Craps | 2, 3, or 12 | The shooter loses but gets to roll again |
Point | 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 | The dealer marks the point on the table, the shooter gets to roll again. If the point is rolled again before a 7 is, the shooter wins. If a 7 is rolled before, the shooter loses, and the round is over. |
The names of craps rules for dummies (or any craps rules) are equal to the terms describing the sums the shooter rolls. Thus, once you know the terms, it's easy to remember them.
But not everything is so easy. You wouldn't need this guide on how to play craps for dummies if it was.
Looking at the craps table layout can tell you what isn't easy. The betting rules.
Playing Craps for Dummies: The Betting Rules Explained
If you play craps because you like rolling the dice, then craps rules for dummies is all you need to know.
But if you want to win virtual chips or real money, you need to know the betting rules. That's where it gets confusing and craps for dummies guide becomes a necessity.
The Pass Line Bet in the Game of Craps
Do you want an easy game but still to keep the possibility to win? Then the Pass Line Bet is enough to learn right now.
If you bet on the Pass Line, it means you bet that the shooter is going to win.
You can make this bet only before the point is determined. Thus, the shooter winning can come in the form of rolling a natural or winning the point before rolling a 7.
There's an opposite bet, too. Accordingly named the Don't Pass Line Bet. If you bet on the Don't Pass Line, you hope for the shooter to roll a 2 or 3, or to roll a 7 before the point.
If you have been reading carefully, you may have noticed that 12 is missing. While it makes the shooter lose, for the bettor on the Don't Pass Line, it's a push – no winning and no loss.
These are the simplest and the best bets – the house edge on the Pass Line is only 1,41%. If you play other casino games, such as blackjack or roulette, you realize it's a pretty decent one.
Thus, you can learn Pass Line Bet and ignore all the other bets.
But if you want to learn more and increase your winnings, keep on reading.
The Come Bet in the Game of Craps
Craps For Dummies Strategies
Knowing the Pass Line Bet, this one comes easily. No pun intended.
The Come Bet is the same as the Pass Line Bet. BUT you can make it only after the shooter establishes the point.
Thus, you win with a 7 or an 11 rolled, lose with a 2, 3, or 12. The Come Bet can have its own point which the shooter can establish and roll within the same betting round.
Imagine this.
You bet on the Pass Line. The shooter rolls a 6. A 6 becomes the point of the betting round.
When it's marked on the table, you can make the Come Bet.
The next roll brings a 9. The original betting round continues, so does the Come Bet. But the Come Bet now has an additional point – 9.
Dealing Craps For Dummies
If a 6 rolls before a 7, you win the Pass Line Bet. The betting round is over but the Come Bet is not. It continues until the shooter rolls a 9 or 7. A 9 would bring you a win while a 7 - a loss.
Though, if a 7 rolls even before a 6, you lose both bets.
The Don't Come Bet works the same, but the other way round. You lose if the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, you win ifs a 2 or 3 is rolled, a 12 is a push just like in the Don't Pass Line Bet. Once you know the point, you don't want it rolling out before a 7 does.
Proposition Bets in the Game of Craps Online
The Pass Line/Don't Pass Line and the Come/Don't Come bets last until they play out themselves. But you can also make one-roll bets. These work only for one roll, but you can make them any time during the game.
When you play craps offline, there can be even more proposition bets (and different payouts). But online casinos usually stick to these:
Bet | Wins if | Payout online |
---|---|---|
Any Craps | 2, 3, or 12 is rolled | 7:1 |
(Any) Seven | 7 is rolled | 4:1 |
Craps and Eleven | 2, 3, 11, or 12 is rolled | 7:1 on 2, 3, or 12; 15:1 on 11 |
Aces (aka Snake Eyes) | 2 is rolled | 30:1 |
Ace-Deuce (aka Three Caps) | 3 is rolled | 15:1 |
Yo-leven | 11 rolled | 15:1 |
Boxcars | 12 is rolled | 30:1 |
Horn | 2, 3, 11 or 12 is rolled | 27:4 on 2 or 12; 12:4 on 3 or 11 |
There is one more proposition bet that usually lasts longer than one roll.
It's called the Hard Ways. Once you bet on a Hard Way, you win if a 4, 6, 8, or 10 is rolled with a pair of the same numbers, depending on which one of these you bet on:
- 2 and 2 (common payout online 7:1),
- 3 and 3 (common payout online 9:1),
- 4 and 4 (common payout online 9:1),
- 5 and 5 (common payout online 7:1).
All the above-mentioned bets are more than enough to know for a beginner. Sometimes they are also enough for an advanced player to bet on.
But this craps for dummies guide wouldn't be complete without explaining a couple more of bets.
Field Bets in the Game of Craps Online
How To Play Craps For Beginners
The Field Bet is also a one-roll bet. The place to make your Field Bets is under the Come Bet zone. You win this bet if the shooter rolls a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12.
When playing craps online, a 2 usually pays 2:1, a 12 – 3:1, while other Field Bet outcomes pay 1:1.
Place Bets in the Game of Craps Online
Once craps round has a point, you can make Place (aka Buy) Bets. For example, if the point is 6, you can bet on a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. You win if your number rolls out before a 7 does.
Like with many other bets in craps, you can also predict and bet on the opposite outcome. These bets are called the Lay Bets. Once the shooter establishes the point, you can bet against it or any other number in the Place Bets zone. You win if a 7 rolls out before that number does.
The Place Bets zone is on the top part of the craps table online. If you place your chips above the number, you bet that it won't roll before a 7. If you place below the number – you bet that it will.
Big 6 and Big 8 Bets in the Game of Craps Online
The Big 6 and the Big 8 are the least popular bets because the payout is always 1:1. Thus, you won't find it on many online craps tables. But when you do, you can see it in the bottom corner of the table.
The Big 6 and 8 bets are simple. When you place your chips there, you hope to see a 6 or 8 rolled before a 7 is.
Congrats – Now You Can Play Craps Online
These are all craps rules for dummies you need to know to start playing craps online. It might seem like a lot, but it's not. Read them once again carefully.
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