Craps looks like a very complicated game, and indeed it can be. But, as you will shortly find out, it can also be a game as simple as you want to make it.

The casino game of Craps is played with a set of two perfectly balanced dice, red in color, each die with six faces numbered 1 through 6 by means of white dots. The game is played by tossing both dice from one of the short ends of the table to the other, making sure that both dice hit the opposite side wall of the table; payoffs are made based on the number combination displayed when the dice come to rest. The inside walls of the table are covered with a kind of serrated egg-carton foam, designed to make the dice bounce around to assure randomness. Each throw of the dice is called a "roll". Players take turn rolling the dice, clockwise around the table, and the player rolling at any given time is called the "shooter". When a new shooter is given the dice, his or her first roll is called the "come out" roll. This begins a new series of rolls by that shooter, and lasts for as long as that shooter continues to make winning rolls.

A new game in Craps begins with the come out roll. A come out roll can be made only if, either, the table is empty and a new player, or players, just walk up, or, if the game is already in progress, when the previous shooter fails to make a winning roll -- more correctly known as "not making the point", or "seven out". A new game then begins with a new shooter. If the current shooter does make his point, the dice are returned to him and he then begins the new come out roll. This is a continuation of that shooter's roll, although, technically, the come out roll identifies a new game about to begin.

When the shooter fails to make his or her point, the dice are then offered to the next player for a new come out roll, and the game continues in the same manner. The new shooter will be the person directly next to the left of the previous shooter. This person could be you right away, or not, depending which position around the table the dice are in when you come into the game.

On the come out roll, the pass line bet wins if the shooter rolls a 7 or an 11. The bet loses automatically if the shooter rolls 2, 3 or 12. This is known as "rolling craps". If the shooter rolls either 4 5 6 8 9 or 10, winning your bet now depends on whether the shooter will roll this same number again before rolling any 7. Rolling any of these numbers on the come out roll is called "establishing the point". Any number so rolled is thereafter referred to as the "point". Establishing a point is an event that happens as the immediate result of the come out roll, unless that come out roll results in 1, 11, 2, 3 or 12, in which case more rolls must be made until a point is established.

It now becomes important to mention a device that looks like a hockey puck, called "the puck". It is white on one side and black on the other, and is used by the dealers to identify the point. Once the point is established by the shooter, the dealer will move this puck to that point number and turn it the white side up. The puck stays on this point until the shooter either makes his point, or until he sevens out. When this happens the puck is moved to the don't come bar 12 area, and turned black side up. The significance of this device is only in tracking the game. White side up over a point indicates the game is in progress and that this box number is the point. Black side up means a new come out roll is about to take place.

As with all table games, you begin by changing your cash money into gaIning chips. In Craps you do this by throwing your money on the table and yelling "change". If the table is playing well there will be a lot of people crowding around and a lot of noise, so make sure you yell out. Also it is a good idea to wait and ask for change between rolls of the dice.

In Craps, winning or losing depends on a variety of different possible outcomes on any roll of the two dice, and on which of these possibilities you bet. The two dice can produce many different number combinations; some can be made several ways, others only one way. For example, the number 6 can be rolled by two dice as follows: 5/1, 4/2, 3/3, 2/4 and 1/5. But the number 2 can only be rolled one way: 1/1. Numbers such as 6, which can be rolled several ways, don't pay as much as numbers which can be rolled only one way, unless you are betting that the number will be rolled in a specific way, such has 3/3, known as Hardways. All winning payoffs are, therefore, determined by the frequency in which any two-dice number combinations can be rolled. Generally, the harder the combination is to roll, the more it will pay, and vice versa.

Although really taking advantage of the many betting options can involve a considerable ciegree of mastery, in its simplest form Craps is a game where players bet, either, that the shooter will make winning rolls, or that he or she will not make winning rolls. Betting that the shooter will make winning rolls is called betting "with the shooter" [ also called "betting right" J, and betting that the shooter will not make winning rolls is called "betting against the shooter" [ also called "betting wrong" ].

To bet with the shooter, you place your bet in an area marked "pass line", and this is known as making a "line bet". The so-called pass line is a strip on the table layout marked by two lines roughly two inches wide and it rims the entire table layout across from the Box Man. To bet against the shooter, you peace your bet in an area marked "don't pass". This area is also a strip on the table layout, and it rims the table directly above the pass line.

No matter what stage the game is in, whether on the come out roll, or in progress, you can jump in immediately and place any bets.

The only exception to this is the bet called the "pass line bet with odds", which can be made only on the come out roll. You can, however, bet with the shooter even while the game is in progress, by placing a pass line bet without odds. This is done by placing your garning chips half-way over one of the two lines framing the pass line area.

Before the new shooter rolls the dice on his or her come out roll, there are a variety of bets that can be made. The easiest and most common bets to make are the above-mentioned pass line and don't pass line bet. But after a point is established by the shooter, you can then place an additional bet behind your pass line bet. This is called "taking odds".

In most casinos you can bet up to double the amount of your pass line bet. This is called "taking full odds". Some casinos offer up to 10-times odds, and this simply means that you can bet up to 10 times the amount of your pass line bet once a point is established.

Betting the don't pass line is the exact opposite of betting the pass line. If you do this on the come out roll, your don't pass bet wins if the shooter rolls any craps -- 2 or 3 [ties on 12] -- and loses automatically on any 1 and 11. Tieing on 12 simply means that there is no decision -- your don't pass bet neither wins nor loses, merely stays in limbo till a decision is reached on subsequent rolls.

If the shooter establishes a point, your don't pass bet stays in action, but to win your bet the shooter must roll a 7 before making his point. Therefore, a don't pass bet wins if the shooter fails to make his point, but loses if the shooter does make the point. You can also take odds on a don't pass bet.

A don't pass bet is not a bad bet, but I will not recommend it for the casual player since it requires a solid grasp of odds mathematics as well as considerable game acumen. Betting with the shooter is a far easier method to grasp in a short time, and offers many more advantages. For the remainder of this chapter, therefore, I will confine all play and bet suggestions to the right way bets.

Once the shooter establishes a point, a whole range of betting options open up in addition to all the bets available on the come out roll.

These sections were written by Victor Royer
www.vegas.com

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