Is craps really as complicated as it looks? Well, yes and no. And yes. Also no.
The truth is that nearly even roll of the dice brings with it new and different wagering possibilities; on the other hand, after just a start time playing, the rhythm of the game takes over and desirable bets become instinctively obvious. The basics work something like the following.
• Betting begins with the “Come-out Roll,” the first dice roll in a sequence. At this time, you may bet “Pass” or “Don’t Pass.” Pass wins on a roll of 7 or 11, while Don’t Pass wins on a 2 or 3 and pushes on 12.
• Should the dice roller, or “shooter,” hit a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, this number becomes the “point.” The “Pass” bet now becomes a bet that the shooter will duplicate a roll of the point before he/she rolls a 7. If the point is rolled again, the “Pass” bettors collect a win. If the shooter “craps out” with a 7, the “Don’t Pass” bettors win.
After the come-out roll, some bets include:
• The “Come” bet. On this bet, a 7 or 11 roll is a winner; 2, 3, or 12 loses. On all other rolls, the Come bet is moved into another box with the Point and now the player is playing the point number. The “Don’t Come” bet is the reverse in that a 7 must be rolled before the Point for the player to win.
• Single number bets include the opportunity to bet on a roll of 2, 3, 11 (sometimes marked “Yo”) or 12. A “Hi-Lo” bet wins on a roll of 2 or 12. An “Any Craps” or “Three-Way” bet wins on 2, 3 or 12. “Any Seven” pretty much speaks for itself (though its alternative name, “Big Red,” doesn’t exactly); how do you like the archetypical lucky number?
• “The Field” pays if 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 shows on the following roll.
• “On the Hop” requires the player to guess the outcome of each die roll; choose two numbers to make this bet. Wins pay 15/1 to 30/1.
• The “Hard Way” bet is a wager that the shooter will throw double 2s, 3s, 4s or 5s before rolling a 7. The “Easy Way” bets that the shooter will throw a non-doubles roll of 4, 6, 8, or 10 before a 7. Similarly, “Big 6” and “Big 8” wagers say that the shooter rolls a 6 or 8, respectively, prior to another 7.
Craps strategy: Know the game, know the bets
Craps is certainly the most social game in the casino and minute for minute may well be the most exciting game in the house. Generally, though, the seminal gambling game is all about surfing the waves of fate – gamblers appropriately “roll with” a hot shooter as the money on table and cheering increases.
With many luck-based games, strategy consists mainly of attempting to minimize losses in hopes of eventually landing that exploitable win. This holds for craps, and our first easy tip is simply “Know the bets.” Basically, you want to be putting the majority (if not all) bets on Pass/Don’t Pass; Come/Don’t Come; Buy 4; Place 6; Place 8; and Buy 10. Other bets available on the table will lose up to 12 times more frequently than these six wagering opportunities. If you want to play any other bets at the roulette table, proportion those bets appropriately, i.e. if you’re regularly playing $20 on the Come, betting on 2 or 12 is worth a risk of (maybe) $1.
Also key and often forgotten by those caught up in the thrill of the game is that *each roll is independent of the last.* In other words, rolling, say, a nine on a given turn has absolutely no effect on the next roll whatsoever: The probability of rolling a nine stays at 11.1% this time, next time, and forever as long as the laws of probability remain the same in our universe.
This further implies another tip: Limit your spending on a given roll and a win beyond your bankroll should probably not be allowed to reenter the roulette table. Put it away and play another day!