Craps 101

Lesson 1:             Table Etiquette and a Basic Understanding of the Law

It is important that I start you off with table etiquette so that way when you first walk up to a craps table you can do as the baller you truly are as opposed to some ignorant punk kid.  To start that off I will approach it in the following scenario: you walk up to a crowded table with handful of cash.

You notice a crowded craps table that is loud and cheerful.  You pull $$$ out of your wallet and walk up to the craps table.  If the shooter is about to throw the dice then wait until after he does and then place your money on the craps table and ask for chips.  Do NOT attempt to hand your money to the dealer as that is ILLEGAL!!! (Crazy - i know but its the truth).  Take your chips and immediately put them in one of the grooves on the table in front of you.  These grooves are useful at holding your chips so your hands and pockets don't have to.  You then place your bets.

Useful Ideas:

1)  If drinking alcohol, which is almost always free, always tip the help

2)  If drinking alcohol or any other beverage do not do so over the table.  Also if you want to place your drink somewhere, place in underneath the craps table which will have a spot for it.  Craps has been around for a really long time - the table manufacturers and the casinos know what they are doing.

3)  Don't forget to tip the craps dealers - happy craps dealers will look out for you!  

4) Always bet your tips and state your intentions - it gets the dealers involved which makes them happy.

Craps Number Odds:

What are we looking at?  This chart is color coordinated with yellow representing the possible #'s that can be thrown.  The green and blue each represent the actual number on the dice.  We immediately see that 2 and 12 are the hardest numbers to hit.  They are followed by 3 and 11, 4 and 10, 5 and 9, 6 and 8. The number 7 is the easiest number to roll which is why the initial roll on the pass line (Lesson 2) and also why the house uses it to clear the table.  These odds on the numbers will be important so showing the odds for the many bets possible in the game of craps.  By the way - 2 dice with 6 sides = 36 possible outcomes.  So the odds of rolling a 2 and 12 = 1/36, 3 and 11 = 1/18, etc ...

Lesson 2:             Pass Line and Taking Odds

This is the biggest and simplest bet in the game of Craps.  Craps as we all know is a dice game.  It also has one the best odds against the house in the casino.  The first roll of the dice by the shooter is known as the “Come Out”. For this first roll and first roll only the winning #s are 7 and 11.  The losing #s are 2,3, and 12.  If a 2, 3, or 12 is rolled the shooter “crapped out”. 

So on the come out roll a # is rolled that is not a 2, 3, 7, 11, or a 12  – that leaves 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10.  

Now the object of the game is roll the number rolled on the come out bet before a 7 is rolled.  Notice that 2, 3, 11, and 12 have lost their significance as far as the pass line is concerned.  If the # rolled on the come out comes out before a 7 then it’s a winning bet and is paid out immediately.  A “Seven Out” is when a 7 is rolled before the # on the come out is much more than a losing bet.  It is apocalyptic in the sense that the entire table is cleared of bets (meaning the house takes everything on the table (except the Don’t pass line – lesson 2) and the game starts over with a new shooter. 

Example:

Come out roll: 5 - reroll

2^nd roll: 4 – reroll

3^rd roll: 12 – reroll

4^th roll: 5 Win – payout and new come out roll

Come out roll: 2 craps – new bets – same shooter

Come out roll: 6 – reroll

2^nd roll: 3 – reroll

3^rd roll: 7 – Seven Out – table cleared – new shooter

Lesson 2:             Don’t Pass Line and Laying Odds

Lesson 3:            The Come

Lesson 4:            Place Bets & Odds

Lesson 5:            The Hard Ways, C & E