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Craps Rules and Terms Explained

Gather around the Craps table, Ladies and Gentlemen, for a round of this popular dice game! The Craps game is hundreds of years old and is said to have initially rooted in the English game of Hazard. While you can play Craps in informal settings with your fellows, you will get much more thrill from casino-based Craps games. Movies and TV shows depict this beloved casino game quite a lot, and still, not everyone knows about the actual Craps rules.

Now, the basic setup of a player (called shooter) rolling two dice and participating players wagering their money on the dice roll outcome seems self-explanatory. That only hints at the fast nature of the game of Craps, though. It does not involve the variety of Craps table rules, the types of bets, the characteristics and the more or less superstitious dos and don’ts of casino Craps. Do you want to find it all out? Then bare with us, and you will know more about Craps games than you initially imagined!

How to play Craps: Casino Rules

The basic Craps rules involve the objective that participating players correctly predict the outcome of the ongoing dice roll. As a rule of thumb, up to 20 players can stand at Craps tables, whereas the virtual version of Craps is naturally played solitary. Similar to the brick-and-mortar casino style, you can join in with multiple co-players in live casino  games, on the other hand.

Generally, players take turns and roll two dice as the “shooter”. The Craps table holds a diversity of betting types marked by the player’s stakes in the form of casino chips. The Craps table layout may always be the same, but table limits can differ much, so keep in mind that it is best to go for the table where limits correlate with your budget. In a real-life  casino scenario, the table crew exists of the following members:

• Boxman: the person that manages chips and supervises the dealers,
• two dealers: siding the boxman and collecting or paying bets to players of their table half,
• stickman: the result announcer of dice rolls and the one moving the dice around the table with his wooden stick.

With online Craps, all of this is replaced by the Random Number Generator (RNG), which takes over the role of all these casino employees.

Rules of Craps in a Nutshell

Whether you play Craps online does not matter in terms of the rules’  specifics. The “shooter” must place the wager on the Pass Line or the Don’t Pass Line. Alternatively, the shooter can make Pass Line bets on both outcomes. So, there already has to be an initial wager before the first dice roll.

After that, the “shooter” rolls the dice called a come-out roll. In land-based casinos, the staff usually requires two dice to hit the backside wall of the Craps table.  Playing Craps online is naturally easier since you don’t need any other momentum than clicking “Roll” via mouse. As soon as the come-out roll has evaluated a result, the right bets win while the wrong bets are losing bets. That depends on the Pass Line bet or Don’t Pass Line bet:

1. If the come-out roll sums up to 2, 3 or 12, any Pass Line bet loses and Don’t Pass bets win.
2. If, on the other hand, the combination of both dice shows 7 or 11, you see a “natural” in front of yourself that makes Pass Line bettors win.

You will have realized that other numbers are missing here. Indeed, the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 are each a so-called point number. These point numbers are part of the second phase of a Craps game.

Rules to Craps: Stage Two

Whenever the come-out roll establishes a point number, no one’s bets lose or win. The croupier (or the virtual Craps game) sets a puck onto the “On” side and places it over the point number on the table layout. It is the premise of the “shooter” to hit this particular point value again. The next roll (and the ones following after if necessary) determines if the “shooter” gets the point again. Or if the person contrarily “sevens out” whenever a seven is rolled.

Every Pass Line bet wins if the “shooter” hits the point value, whereas players who place bets on the Pass Line lose in the opposite case; ergo, if the “shooter” gets a seven. Vice versa, the Don’t Pass Line bettors win if the “shooter” sevens out. That, in turn, leads to the next gambler at the Craps table taking over the position of the “shooter”. Again, this only applies to brick-and-mortar casinos where a clockwise system of swapping positions exists. Online Craps games end the round and reset the status to as before as soon as the round finishes.

Types of Craps Bets

After we have elaborated on the standard procedure of every Craps game, we can take a deeper look into the different bets available. It is best to be aware of the circumstance that outside bets commonly come with better  odds but lower payouts than the betting field in the middle of a Craps table for any betting strategy. These are the bets that you can try your luck with whenever you play Craps:

Pass Line Bet/Don’t Pass Line Bets

We already mentioned those before. (Don’t) Pass Line bets are placed before the come-out roll of the first roll. A Pass bet pays even money of 1:1, and players either win Pass Line bets in case the shooter rolls 7 or 11, or they alternatively win Don’t Pass Line bets with dice values 2 or 3. 12 is a particular case since it results in a “push” where neither winning bets nor losing bets come forth.

Come Bet/Don’t Come Bets

The subsequent betting round starts with a point number in place (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10). That means that active come bets can only occur after the initial come-out roll. They are pretty much the same as (Don’t) Pass Line bets. Any come bet wins if the shooter rolls a “natural” of 7 or 11. “Crapping out” via the numbers 2, 3 or 12 makes a Come bet lose. There is also the Come bet-point which is any other number than the ones mentioned. The Come bet succeeds if the shooter hits the come-point during the next roll. Don’t Come bets, on the contrary, result in a win via the values 2 or 3, while a 12 will push. A player wins only if the shooter sevens out within a point-round of any other number before hitting the come-point.

Odds Bets

This is a complimentary bet to Pass Line/Don’t Pass Line and Come/Don’t Come bets. Accordingly, they are available with the respective pre-existing bets only. As a result of this, you either “lay odds” (Don’t Pass and Don’t Come) or you take odds (Pass Line and Come Bet). An odds bet includes a further wager beyond the initial stake, and it loses or wins precisely the same way as its prerequisite does. The nice thing about them is that they pay out without  house advantage as part of the equation.

Place Bets

A place bet can be placed after the come-out roll. The corresponding numbers are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. You win if the shooter hits your specific number, and you lose if he sevens out before this happens.

Field Bets

Players betting single roll bets can wager on the numbers on the proper segment of the Craps table called Field. They win if the player rolls 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 and lose if the result is 5, 6, 7 or 8.  Payouts depend on the chosen number.

The Best Online Casinos to Play Craps Online

If you want to fully enjoy the different betting limits of Craps tables and have the winning roll in mind, we can recommend the following licensed  online casinos for this purpose:

• Caxino
• Betsson
• Crazy Fox Casino
• Spin Samurai
• PlayOJO
• Vulkan Vegas
• GGBet Casino
• Rizk
• Just Spin Casino
• Casiplay Casino

Craps Glossary: The Most Important Terms

There are very distinctive expressions and slang phrases that you can stumble upon, not just for the roll of the dice but pretty much all-around Craps games. And we don’t solely refer to “Baby needs a new pair of shoes!” with which the shooter expresses the desire of the roll to be successful. There is much more as part of a Craps game vocabulary that you should know if you play Craps.

• Ace Deuce is also known as Three Craps, a roll of 3 where one dice shows 1 and the other one 2.
• Big Red: the magic number seven appears as the value of the roll.
• Box Numbers: another wording for a point number such as 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.
• Cold Table: a Craps table where pretty much any bet loses.
• Crap Out: losing the betting round upon come-out roll result of 2, 3 or 12.
• Easy Way: an even number of 4, 6, 8 or 10 with any combination other than doubles.
• Fever Five: a roll of five.
• George: a player who tips the table staff well.
• Hard Way: 4, 6, 8 or 10 as a combination of a pair of the same number.
• Hi-Lo: one-roll bets on 2 or 12.
• Hi-Lo-Yo: one dice roll for 2, 11 or 12.
• Horn Bet: a combined bet of 2, 3, 11, and 12.
• Inside Numbers: the place bets on 5, 6, 8, 9.
• Little Joe: the point number 4 as a result of a roll.
• Little Phoebe: another terminology for a roll of five.
• Mechanic: the shooter uses “controlled shooting”, ergo tosses dice on a minimum rotational level. Mainly, this involves rolling the dice and only barely hitting the wall.
• Natural: roll the dice and hit 7 or 11 on the come-out roll.
• Off-puck: no bet point is yet existent. Also if a bet is on the table but not part of the Craps game.
• Parley: taking winning bets and using them for the next bet as much as the table limits allow.
• Proposition Bets: a one-roll bet valid for everything but hardways.
• Snake Eyes: a roll of two which is alternatively called “Snickies” or “loose deuce”.
• Seven: according to superstition, it is a sign of bad luck if you call out the number seven while standing at the Craps table. So, please don’t do it. Even the dealers try their best to use alternative wording.
• True Odds: bet wins with a house edge of 0%.
• Working Bet: bets on the Craps table are in play and not yet won or lost.
• Yo-leven: a roll of eleven.

And while you might think that you don’t need any of this terminology if you play craps online, we still consider it worthwhile to let you know. After all, Craps games have a  long history, and the vocabulary that comes with them is genuinely exciting and unique.

Tricks for Craps Strategies

We are not going to dwell on a comprehensive Craps strategy. That is something we are dealing with  elsewhere. As of now, it is more our goal to give you some hints on what is best to prepare for playing Craps.

Play Online Craps games for Free

Even though you have the same rules for playing craps online and joining the Craps table in person, you should still take your chance to try Craps demos. There will be no previous shooter since you are the only player at virtual Craps tables. But that also gives you the freedom to test Craps games without anyone else distracting you from the entertainment. From Pass Line bet down to Odds bets and place bets you can indulge in uncomplicated gaming sessions. And at the same time, you can get the hang of it before you  wager real cash in online casinos!

Check the Odds

Craps is a  table game that comes with a lower comparative house advantage than even the lowest house edges (think of  Blackjack). Generally speaking, you face a house edge of 1,41% (and less). Therefore, it is good to know with which Return to Player (RTP) you are dealing. Additionally, certain Craps bets such as Pass Line bet, Come bet, and Place bets are better choices relating to their enhanced true odds. Their lower payouts (often 1:1) are not as impressive as single-roll bets, where payouts reach 30:1. But, keep in mind that the house edge for the latter is dramatically higher.

Claim Welcome Bonuses

You ought to benefit from  welcome bonuses in the best online casinos out there (we mentioned a few of those). Unfortunately, the game of craps is commonly reduced to a meagre impact on wagering requirements. In some cases, you can be happy if a 5% contribution is granted. Naturally, this comes from online craps games being a tendentially player-friendly category of casino games. Nonetheless, it can never do you harm if you redeem a welcome bonus and try to make the most of it!

The Bottom Line

Playing Craps is an activity that has excited many generations of gamblers. With the bets waiting, the game of craps attracts new players continuously due to its low house edge and its fast gameplay. This article has covered the basics of rules applying to a Craps table. We talked about the two stages of a Craps game, with the “shooter” opening the come-out roll and going over to the point betting round. Here, we talked a lot about the different kinds of bets available in online Craps and land-based Craps.

More importantly, we made an effort to establish a Craps glossary. After all, you don’t just roll the dice while you and others place a bet. Whereas in online Craps, you will not hear the traditional slang; there is a lot of (superstitious) invocation at the real-life Craps table. If there is a “George” with you at the table, that does not mean George Clooney is right beside you. And “Little Phoebe” is not the little sister of Phoebe Buffay from “Friends”.

Overall, it is valuable to get the meaning behind these expressions with the game of Craps despite playing online. At  GuruCasinoBonus, the Craps table is already waiting for your wager across different Craps game demos. You are warmly invited to give it a shoot with our recommended online casinos. Much fun!

Craps Rules FAQ