If you walk through any major casino, you will undoubtedly find 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 across a massive table. This chaotic scene is known as Craps. To someone who has never played, the game seems terrifyingly complicated. The felt is covered in weird text, and players are throwing chips everywhere. However, this is actually a massive illusion. Despite its terrifying visual appearance, the core game is incredibly basic, and most profitable games in Vegas. If you just learn the basics, you can confidently roll the dice.
The Core Mechanic: The Foundation of Craps
The only logical way to survive the craps table is to look away from the center of the board. The confusing center sections are designed to steal your money with massive house edges. You only care about one line that wraps around the entire edge of the table: the "Pass Line". Making a Pass Line bet is the foundation of craps. When a new round begins, the person rolling the dice (the "Shooter") rolls the dice for the first time. If you have a bet on the Pass Line, you get paid 1:1 immediately if the dice total 7 or 11. You lose immediately if the Come-Out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (known as "Crapping Out"). That is the first step: Win on 7/11, lose on craps.
Establishing the Point: Chasing the Point
What if they roll a different number? If the result is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number is now the Point. The dealer will take a large plastic puck and flip it to the "ON" side on top of that number. The phase of the game shifts. To win your Pass Line bet, the player keeps rolling until they roll the Point again. If they hit the Point, everybody with a Pass Line bet wins. But there is a fatal flaw: if a 7 is rolled before they hit the Point, the round ends. You lose your bet, the round completely ends, and the next person shoots. The whole table is just players cheering trying to avoid the 7.
The Best Bet in the Casino: When the puck is ON, you can back up your bet. This is known as taking odds and it is the only wager 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. This means you win if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3 on the come-out, or when the shooter sevens out. It has a lower house edge, but the other players will hate you because you are cheering for everyone else to lose. Avoid the Center of the Table: The 'Hardways' and 'Any Seven' bets with the pictures of dice are terrible math traps ranging from 9% to an absolutely brutal 16%. Do not touch those bets.
Craps Basics Cheat Sheet: How the Pass Line Works
To make your very first trip to the craps table, to make things easy, memorize this table. It explains the basic rules of the only bet you will ever need to make: the Pass Line.
The Dice RollThe Dice ResultWin or Lose The StartShooter rolls a 7 or an 11.Instant Win Come-Out Roll2, 3, or 12You lose The Middle PhaseAny other numberThe number becomes the Point. The game moves to the next phase. The Ongoing GameHits the PointTable cheers, you win The Ongoing GameThe Deadly 7You LOSE your bet. The round completely ends. Dice pass to next player.
In conclusion, do not let the loud table intimidate you. The operators create the board to look like a math puzzle so casual gamblers will randomly throw chips on terrible, high-house-edge sucker bets. By simply walking up, placing your chips exclusively on the Pass Line, taking your odds, and playing smart math, you are playing the best game available. Grab the dice, throw them against the back wall, and experience the greatest social gambling experience in the world.