Craps is basically a dice game whose main idea is to make wagers predicting the roll’s outcome. Evidently, the gamblers compete against each other while making their wagers. Basically, there are several types of this game: street craps and casino craps, also known as table craps.
Below you can see the table presenting different craps dice game options.
| Type |
Description |
| Las Vegas Craps |
Talking about land-based gambling houses, this dice game type is especially popular in Nevada casinos. It has won global popularity as soon as the game was introduced in online casinos. In order to play craps online, there needs to be a special layout on the table on which gamblers can place bets against the house. While playing craps, the dice have to be thrown over a string or a wire that is usually stretched at the height of about 5 centimeters over the table. In this game type, the lowest house edge is 1.4%. |
| Crapless craps or Bastard Craps |
This is the simplest version of the original game. It’s usually played as a private online game. The main difference from the original version of this game lies in the shooter’s being more privileged in terms of the percentage of the house edge, which is 5.38% that is approximately three times higher compared to Las Vegas Craps. In addition, before a 7 is thrown, there’s a chance for a player to bet on 2, 11, 3, or 12. What’s more, the craps odds for 2 and 12 is 11:2, while the house edge is 7.143%. In contrast, the odds for 3 and 11 is 11:4, while the house edge is 6.25%. |
| New York Craps |
This type of craps table game is popular only in the USA, mostly in the Eastern coast evidently including New York, which is the city the game type was named after. There’s evidence that the game originated in the UK, Yugoslavia, and the Bahamas. It used to be played in the casinos of the mentioned countries, yet nowadays it’s quite an American or rather New York dice game. What’s particular about this game type is that it has a bigger house edge compared to |
Rules
So, how to play craps at casino? Check the our rules of craps for dummies below.
First, you need to place a bet. Only a shooter (the one who rolls the dice) must bet before the first roll. If you wanna be the shooter, bet either on Don’t Pass Bar or Pass Line. Mind that the shooter passes the dice clockwise, so you’ll eventually take you turn based on your position regarding the shooter. There’s also an option to avoid being a shooter. In this case you don’t really have to place the bet, yet you can do this, of course. An alternative option in this case is to wait for the Come Out roll and place your bet only afterwards.
The dealer has an assistant called the Stickman, who is responsible for pushing approximately five dice toward the player. You can use only one hand, it’s recommended to pick up 2. Then, you’re supposed to hit the dice. It should be really hard to let it hit the opposite wall of the playing table. The purpose of Come Out roll is to set a Point different from 2, 3, 7, 11 or 12.
If you bet on the pass line and the come out roll’s outcome before establishing a Point is either a 7 or 11, then you win. If you bet on the pass line and the come out roll’s outcome before establishing a Point is 2, 3, or 12, then you lose.
The established point can be of the following number range: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. Once it has been established, there should be placed a plastic disc on a certain box on the table. At this very moment of the game, players are allowed to bet whether you can roll the point another time or you roll a 7 first.
Those who didn’t bet before the Come Out roll can’t bet neither on a Pass Line nor Don’t Pass. however, they are allowed to place a bet either on a Come or Don’t Come. For a come bet, the rules are the same as for the Pass Line. in such a way, If you bet on come and the come out roll’s outcome before establishing a Point is either a 7 or 11, then you win. If you bet on come and the come out roll’s outcome before establishing a Point is 2, 3, or 12, then you lose.
For a don’t come bet, there are absolutely the same rules as for don’t pass. There’s an exception though. If there’s a 7 or an 11 on the next roll, you lose. In contrast, if the roll is a 2 or a 3, you win. There can also be a tie in case you bet on the don’t come and there comes a 12.
Basically, these are the main craps rules for dummies showing how to play this interesting dice game
History
From the historical perspective, craps root from a European dice game called ‘Hazard’. Hazard is believed to be an English game since it was first mentioned in Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer written in the 14th century. There’s a supposition that hazard could have been originated as long ago as in the period of the Crusades. So, this game is quite old, huh?
Hazard was played with two dice. It was extremely popular in Europe in the period between the 17th and 18th centuries. Gamblers of that time really enjoyed playing craps for free (just for fun) as well as for real money! Most of all, it was extremely popular in London, specifically at the Crockford’s Club.
It must be admitted that Hazard rules were too complicated that’s why there were still not so many enthusiasts who would be eager to go beyond the surface and learn all those complicated rules. Basically, craps developed from that hazard dice game in the 19th century when the rules were substantially simplified.
In 1807, a reinvented dice game, which would be soon known as craps, was first played in New Orleans owing to the young rich gambler Bernard Mandeville de Marigny whose parents were colonial Louisiana landowners. It was him who simplified the rules, so basically it’s Bernard Mandeville who invented craps.
In hazard, the main number is chosen by the dice shooter who could decide between the numbers from five to nine. Bernard de Marigny decided to simplify this rule. In such a way, he decided that the only main number can be a seven, which is truly the optimal choice recognized by all the hazard gamblers. That’s basically the answer to the question “how do you play craps now?”.
While de Marigny’s social class did not play neither hazard nor this newly invented dice game, he decided to introduce it to the American lower class. It was extremely popular especially among fieldhands and deckhands. Quite soon, it had become widespread in all the areas along the Mississippi River. Being so happy because of the game success, Bernard Mandeville decided to call one of the streets in his real estate in New Orleans after craps.
You might wonder what’s up with the name of this game, how it emerged, right? Well, it all comes from hazard. There’s a joint epithet for 2 and 3, which are the constant numbers wagering on which leads to an instant loss in case you bet on the stage called ‘pass’. That epithet is crabs. Doesn’t it sound similar to craps, huh? Why they call it craps then? Well, that’s a good question. You might be really disappointed with the simplicity of the answer. The game is called craps because that’s the way Louisiana people pronounce crabs.
During the entire century after the invention of this cool dice game, casinos used unfair dice abusing the game and the gambler. Fortunately, in 1907 there was introduced the way how to fix such a burning problem. John H. Winn, who was a dice maker from Philadelphia, suggested a completely new table layout that would feature Pass and Don’t Pass bets. This layout is still used by modern gambling houses.
The peak of craps’ popularity is dated back to the second world war time. During all those years, young Americans from different social classes were brought into the military. Because soldiers really loved playing street craps, after the war, this very casino game became the most dominant in Las Vegas casinos.
Nowadays, because of really easy rules for craps, it’s the most popular game in North America, while craps online has become quite a famous gambling option in different international casino whose top list you can see right below the intro section of this expert article.