How To Play Craps: A Beginner's Guide
If you walk through any major casino, you can always hear one game that is completely chaotic and more energetic than any other game in the building. People are screaming, high-fiving strangers, and cheering as the dice bounce down the length of a massive, incredibly confusing green felt table. This loud, complex game is the game of Craps. To an absolute novice, the betting layout looks like an alien language. There are confusing boxes and numbers, complex jargon being yelled by the dealers. But this is a huge misconception. Despite its terrifying visual appearance, the core game is incredibly basic, and most mathematically player-friendly games in the entire casino. If you just learn the basics, you can play craps like a seasoned professional.
The Core Mechanic: The Come-Out Roll
The secret for a beginner to learn how to play craps is to ignore all the crazy bets in the middle. All those fancy boxes and strange words are designed to steal your money with massive house edges. You only need to look at the long line that wraps around the entire edge of the table: the famous Pass Line. Betting on this line is how you play the game. At the start of a round, the person rolling the dice (the "Shooter") makes their very first throw, which is called the "Come-Out Roll". If you bet the Pass Line, you get paid 1:1 immediately if the Come-Out roll is a 7 or an 11. Your bet is taken away if the Come-Out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (known as "Crapping Out"). It is truly that simple: 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3, or 12 loses.
Establishing the Point: What Happens on a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10?
But what happens if the Come-Out roll is not a winner or a loser? If the dice land on a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that specific number officially becomes "The Point". The dealer will take a large plastic puck and moves it on top of that number. The goal now changes. To secure a win, the shooter must roll the dice again and again until they hit that exact "Point" number a second time. When the Point rolls, the table cheers and wins. However, there is a catch: if the shooter rolls a 7 before they hit the Point, the round ends. All Pass Line bets are swept away, the round completely ends, and a new shooter takes the dice. The whole table is basically just a massive group of people praying the shooter hits their Point before rolling a deadly 7.
The Secret Odds Bet: Once a Point is established, you can place an 'Odds' bet behind your chips. This is known as taking odds and it is literally the only bet in the entire casino that has a house edge of exactly 0.00%. The casino makes zero profit on this bet.
Betting the Dark Side: You can bet that the table will lose. You win when others lose, or when the shooter sevens out. It is technically a smarter bet, but you will be the most hated person at the table because you are betting with the house.
Avoid the Center of the Table: All the bets in the middle of the table with the huge payouts are sucker bets ranging from 9% to an absolutely brutal 16%. Never, ever place a chip in the center of the craps table.
Simplifying the Math: The Only Rules You Need
To make your very first trip to the craps table, as easy and stress-free as possible, review the simple cheat sheet below. It explains the basic rules of the only bet you will ever need to make: how to play the Pass Line.
The Dice RollWhat the Shooter RollsWhat Happens to Your Pass Line Bet
Come-Out Roll7 or 11Instant Win
The Start2, 3, or 12You lose
Setting the PointAny other numberBet stays on the table
Trying to Hit the PointShooter rolls the exact Point number again BEFORE rolling a 7.Table cheers, you win
The Ongoing GameShooter rolls a 7 BEFORE hitting the Point number.Table groans, you lose
Ultimately, craps is actually incredibly simple. The felt is designed to confuse beginners so that amateur players will make bad bets. By stepping up to the table, sticking to the basic rules, backing it up with maximum True Odds, and playing smart math, you are playing one of the smartest, most mathematically sound games in the entire casino industry. Grab the dice, throw them against the back wall, and have the best casino experience Las Vegas has to offer.