History of Craps
The European dice game hazard, which was popular in French taverns throughout the 17th century, is the basis for the American game of craps. Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville, a wealthy politician and gambler, brought both to the United States in the 1800s.
On the gambling boats travelling down the Mississippi River in New Orleans, hazard and craps became highly popular. The booming Las Vegas gambling industry in the 1930s made it much more common. As a result of its popularity among American troops during World War II, craps gained notoriety in post-war Las Vegas. Since then, the game has spread across the Atlantic to the UK and the rest of the world.
Craps is still a popular game at brick-and-mortar casinos, despite the competition from other table games like poker, roulette, and blackjack. It’s the same with online casinos, which provide a variety of online craps games to choose from.
Basic Rules of Craps
In casino craps, bets are placed on the outcome of two dice rolls against the house by one or more players. A specialized craps table is employed in order to accommodate the game. There is a multitude of bets that may be placed on this table, similar to roulette. Instead of cash, chips are used to represent a bet and the dice are rolled in turn by participants.
The ‘shooter’ is the one who tosses the dice. In order to play as “shooter,” a bet must be placed on either the “pass” or “don’t pass” lines. A ‘stickman’ presents the player with a selection of dice, and the player must select two to begin a new round. A natural, craps, or the point are all possible results of the ‘come out’ roll, which is the initial roll of the game.
A natural refers to a come-out roll that scores a 7 or 11 on the first throw. On the pass line, every wager wins, while every bet on the “don’t pass” line is lost. If a player rolls a natural, he is given another chance to roll.
Pass line bets lose and don’t pass line bets win if the come-out roll yields 2, 3, or 12 on the dice. At some UK online casinos, a 12 indicates a draw (push). When a craps player hits a natural, he or she receives another chance to roll the dice.
When a player rolls one of the point numbers in the come out roll, which are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number gets marked as the ‘point’. To win the pass bet, the shooter must roll the same point before rolling a 7.
To summarise, a pass line wager is essentially betting on whether the shooter’s first roll will hit a 7 or an 11. Points can be scored, and this can lead to a payout as well. In the event that a player craps, the pass line wager loses. Pass line bets have a 1.41% house advantage. A ‘don’t pass’ wager is put against the shooter and wins on the opposite of the ‘pass’ win conditions.
Other Craps Bets
Craps is known for having a wide variety of bets you can place in addition to the standard “Pass” and “Don’t Pass” bets. Below, we’ve made a list of some of these bets and how they work.
Come Bets
The sole difference between a come bet and a pass bet is that a come bet may only be placed after the come-out roll has generated a point number. On the other hand, if any of the craps numbers are rolled, then it loses. The come bet is made in the point number box if the player receives a point number on their die. In order for the bet to win, the point number has to be rolled before a 7.
To put it another way, you win if you bet “don’t come” and “tie” on a 12, but you lose if “7” or “11” arrive. Bets are placed in the appropriate boxes when a certain point number is shown. In order to win, a seven must be rolled in the first place.
Place Bets
If the dice land on point numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 before a 7 is thrown, “place bets” can be placed on the outcome. Each time one of these numbers occurs, the bet will pay out. They do not, however, pay according to standard odds. Point numbers 4 or 10 pay out 9:5, numbers 5 or 9 pay out 7:5, and point numbers 6 or 8 pay out 7:6.
Proposition Bets
When the dice are rolled, the stickman offers a wager known as a proposition bet. The stickman has the last say on whether or not to make these wagers, and the odds of winning are 15 to 1. Two-way proposition bets are also available, in which the potential profits are divided between the player and the dealer.
Field Bets
To win a field bet, the player must bet that the shooter will roll a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. This bet is one of the most popular in both land-based and online craps games because of its reasonable chances. Most of the time, the house will pay out 2 to 1 on a 2 or a 12 and even money on a 3, 4, 9, 10, or 100. These pay-out rates provide businesses a 5.56 percent advantage.
Buy/Lay Bets
While the conventional place bet pays out odds, the buy bet pays out genuine odds. The casino uses a 5% commission to offset any possible losses, resulting in a house advantage of 4.76%. Instead of betting on a point number to be rolled first, lay bets wager on the shooter rolling a 7 first. Here, too, a 5-percent commission is in effect.
Big 6/Big 8 Bets
In order for a big six or large eight bet to pay out, the dice must land on either number before a 7 is thrown. Because they only return even money, the house has a 9.09 percent advantage.
Hardway Bets
A hardway bet is a wager on the dice rolling in exact combinations of hard fours (2 x 2), hard sixes (3 x 3), hard eights (4 x 4), and hard tens (5 x 5). If any of the following combinations are rolled before a 7, the bet is successful. The payouts for Hard 4 and Hard 10 is 7 to 1, resulting in a house edge of 11.11%, while Hard 6 and Hard 8 bets pay out 9 to 1 with a house edge of 9.09%.
Any Craps Bets
One roll wagers that the dice will land on 2, 3, or 12 are known as “any craps” bets. It has a house advantage of 11.11 percent and a payoff of 7 to 1.
Any 7 Bets
These bets wager that the dice will land on 7 and pays out 4 to 1 when it wins. Its house edge is 16.67%.
Taking Odds Bets
Once a pass line or come bet has been placed, players can take odds, which is arguably one of the best bets in the game. If the player’s original pass or come bet has been established, he/she may place a second wager to back it up. It has no house advantage and pays out at real odds. As a result, casinos will only allow bets of multiples of the initial investment to be placed. The payout ratios depend on the point numbers, which are as follows:
- 4 or 10 pays out 2:1
- 5 or 9 pays out 3:2
- 6 or 8 pays out 6:5
Laying Odds Bets
For laying odds bets, the shooter must roll a 7 before the point number in order to win. This wager may only be placed if the player has already put a ‘don’t pass’ or ‘don’t come’ wager. Like ‘taking odds’ wagers, the casino restricts betting amounts to a multiple of the initial investment. The payout is the opposite of the taking odds bets, and is as follows:
- 4 or 10 pays out 1:2
- 5 or 9 pays out 2:3
- 6 or 8 pays out 5:6
Terms Used in Craps
To get the most out of a live online craps game, you would want to familiarize yourself with several terms and phrases used in gameplay. We’ve listed some of the most common below:
- Ace – dice with a value of one
- Big Red – when a player rolls a seven
- Bones – another term used for the dice
- Centre Field – rolling a nine
- Cold Table – a losing table
- Come Out Roll – the opening rolls of the dice
- Crap Out – rolling a 2, 3 or 12 during the come-out roll
- Crap Numbers – numbers 2, 3 and 12
- Easy Way – rolling 4, 6, 8 or 10 without landing a double
- Edge – the casino’s statistical advantage
- Fever – rolling a five
- Front Line – a pass line bet
- Hard Number – a pair (e.g. hard ten = two fives)
- Hot Table – a winning table
- Little Joe – rolling a four
- Little Phoebe – rolling a five
- Natural – rolling a seven or eleven on a come-out roll
- Outside Numbers – numbers 4, 5, 9, and 10.
- Place Numbers – numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.
- Point – the value established as part of the come out roll
- Press a Bet – adding onto an existing bet
- Puppy Paws – rolling a ten
- Right Bettor – a player betting on the pass line
- Seven Out – rolling a seven before a point number
- Snake Eyes – rolling a two
- Square Pair – a hard eight (two fours)
- Stickman – the dealer/casino employee who passes the dice and announces the outcome of dice rolls
- Take a break – casino players’ most useful piece of advice
- Toke – tip for the dealer
- Working Bets – bets in place for the next roll
- Wrong Bettor – a player betting on the don’t pass line
