July 29, 2010

The next time you are in the casino stop and listen when you approach the table games. From the craps pit you will probably hear whooping and hollering as you see high-fives and other animated gestures coming from the players. Craps is by far the most exciting game in the casino and the players are not afraid to let their emotions show. The game is fast moving and at times very loud. It is for this reason that craps is probably the most intimidating game to new players. If you feel this way you are not alone. Many players would like to learn how to ply craps but the thought of approaching a craps table scares them.

It was a few years into my casino visits before I decided to find out what this game was all about and learn how to play craps. I knew that a pass line bet in craps with its low house edge of 1.41 percent made it one of the best bets in the casino.

This gave me the incentive to take the plunge and learn how to play craps. It was a decision that I have never regretted. I love playing craps and over the years I have introduced many friends to this exciting game.

Craps is not as confusing as it looks. It actually is an easy game to learn. An understanding of the basics of the game and how to make a passline bet will get you started on your way. You don’t have to be concerned with any other of the craps bets when you begin to play craps. There are about 40 different bets that can be made on a craps layout but most of them like the proposition and hardway bets have terrible odds that you should avoid. To get started playing craps, all you need to understand is the basic passline bet

Passline Bet
A simple passline bet works like this. You place your bet on the passline before a new shooter begins his roll. This is known as the come out roll. If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11 you win. If the shooter rolls a 2, 3 or 12, you lose. If the shooter rolls any other number, that number becomes the point number. The shooter must roll that number again before a seven is rolled. If that happens, you win even money for your passline bet. If a seven is rolled before the point number is rolled again, you lose.

Example
A new shooter rolls the dice for the first time and they land on a 4 and a 2. The total is six, which becomes the "Point." The dealers places a marker that looks like a hockey puck on the number 6 on the craps layout. The shooter must now roll a six before he rolls a 7. If he rolls the six, the passline bet wins and the shooter rolls again. This is a new comeout roll and the same procedure applies as the first time the shooter rolled the dice.

If the shooter rolls a seven before the six the pass line bet loses and the dice are passed to the next shooter.

Odds Bet
Once the point is established the bettor can make an additional bet behind the passline bet. This is known as the "Odds Bet." It is the only bet in the casino that does not have a house edge as it is paid off with true odds.

Most casinos offer double odds, which means you can make a bet twice the size of your pass line bet. If you passline bet is $5 you are allowed to make an odds bet of $10.

The odds bet is paid as following:
If the point is 4 or 10 it pays 2 to 1
If the point is 5 or 9 it pays 3 to 2
If the point is 6 or 8 it pays 6 to 5.

A passline bet is the simplest bet you can make on at the craps table and it will get you on your way to playing this exciting game.