Rules for Playing Craps

Craps is an exciting, fast-paced dice game where players can place several of the best bets in the casino; yet new players are apt to shy away from the craps table because of the confusing number of different bets. The strategy to becoming a good craps player is to:
1. Learn the different bets on the craps table (Lesson 1).
2. Learn the good bets from the bad bets (Lesson 2).
3. Start with a basic beginner strategy (Lesson 3).


The Different Craps Bets

Pass Line A pass line bet is a bet placed before the come out roll (i.e. the first roll of the dice in a new craps round). A wager on the pass line wins immediately if the come out roll is 7 or 11 (naturals), and loses if the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12 (craps numbers). If any other number (4,5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) is rolled, that number becomes "the point." If the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7, your pass line bet wins. If the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again, your pass line bet loses.

Don't Pass Line A don't pass line bet is essentially the reverse of a pass line bet, and is also placed before the come out roll. If the shooter rolls 3 or 12 on the come out roll, a don't pass line bet wins immediately. If, however, the come out roll is 7 or 11, don't pass line bets lose. If the come out roll is 2, a don't pass line bet is returned to the player in a push. If the come out roll is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes the point. Once the point has been established, don't pass line bets win if the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again. If the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7, don't pass line bets lose.

Come A come bet is placed before any roll of the dice, once a point has been established by the come out roll. Come bets win immediately if the shooter's next roll is 7 or 11, and lose if the roll is 2, 3, or 12. If the shooter rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes "the come point." If the shooter rolls the come point again before rolling a 7, the come bet wins.

Don't Come A don't come bet is essentially the opposite of a come bet. Don't come bets win immediately when the shooter's next roll is 3 or 12, and lose if the roll is 7 or 11. If the shooter rolls a 2, the bet will be returned to the player in a push. After the come point is established, don't come bets win if 7 is rolled and lose if the come point is rolled.

Odds An odds bet is a "back up" bet on an original pass line, don't pass line, come, or don't come bet. Gold Club allows odds bets of three times your original bets.

Field A field bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Big Six and Big Eight A big six bet is a bet that 6 will be rolled before 7. Likewise, a big eight bet is a bet that 8 will be rolled before 7.

Place Win A place win bet is a bet that either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before a seven.

Place Lose A place lose bet is a bet that 7 will be rolled before either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10.

Buy A buy bet is a bet that either 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before 7. A vigorish (vig.) of 5% is charged when placing the buy bet.

Lay A lay bet is a bet that 7 will be rolled before 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10. A 5% vig. is charged when placing the lay bet.

Any 7 An "any 7" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 7.

Any 11 An "any 11" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 11.

Any Craps An "any craps" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 2, 3, or 12.

Horn A horn bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 11, or 12.

Hardway A hardway bet is a bet that the shooter will roll either a 4, 6, 8, or 10 as doubles (2+2, 3+3, 4+4, or 5+5) before rolling a 7. Rolling a number by doubles is said to be rolling the number "the hard way."


The Good from the Bad Bets

The variety of different bets that entice players at the craps table can be confusing. However, the way to come out a craps winner is to stick to bets with low house advantages. These bets have a maximum casino advantage of 1.4%, and are therefore "good bets:"

• pass line
• don't pass line
• come
• don't come
• odds
• place win 6 or 8

As the chart below reveals, the casino advantage varies for all the different types of bets. Your best bet is taking odds on your pass line, don't pass line, come, and don't come bets.

The Bet The Payoff Odds Casino Advantage:

Basic Beginner Strategies

Start on the Pass Line

• A good beginner strategy is to start with a minimum pass line bet, backed by single odds.
• If the bets win, place a new pass line bet with double odds. Keep the amount of your original pass line bet (flat bet) the same, but increase the odds bet.
• If those bets win, go for triple odds.
• Don't increase your minimum flat bet on the pass line until you are winning. Then only increase it by 50% of your previous wager. If you lose, go back to the minimum flat bet.
• Add a Come Bet: When you are comfortable playing the pass line, you can add a minimum come bet with single odds. If you win, double and then triple your come odds.
• Don't increase your minimum come bet (flat bet) until you are winning. Then only increase it by 50% of your previous wager. If you lose, go back to the minimum bet.
• Don't Pass Line and Don't Come Bets: When you have gained experience by placing pass line and come bets, you can try don't pass line and don't come bets with odds.
• Use the same betting strategy: wager the minimum bet with steadily increasing odds. After a win, you can increase your next flat bet by 50%. After a loss, you can wager a minimum flat bet.
• Taking Odds vs. Laying Odds: You "take" odds on a pass line or come bet, but "lay" odds on a don't pass line or don't come bet. Laying odds on don't bets means that you have to wager more to win less since don't betters have an advantage once the point has been established.
• Place Win on 6 or 8: Although the house advantage is relatively low on this bet, you should really only consider it when you are winning your pass line (or don't pass line) and come (or don't come) bets with odds, and the number 6 or 8 is not already covered by your bets.