It should be noted that these are basic rules and many casinos, both online and live will have variations of the detailed rules you will read below. Always be sure to check out the "house rules" and the "pay out odds" before you play any given game. Find more Casino Game Rules here.
In craps, players wager money against each other (street craps) or the bank (bank craps) on the outcome of one roll, or of a series of rolls of two dice. Because it requires very little equipment, craps can easily be played in less formal settings, and in such situations side bets are more frequent, with one or several participants covering or "fading" bets against the dice.
Types of Wagers - Line Bets
The shooter is required to make either a Pass Line bet or a Don't Pass (explained below) bet if he wants to shoot. Line bets are based around points.
Pass line : The fundamental bet in craps is the pass line bet, also called the win line in some countries. A pass line bet is won immediately if the come-out roll is a 7 or 11. If the come-out roll is 2, 3 or 12, the bet loses (known as "crapping out"). If the roll is any other value, it establishes a point; if that point is rolled again before a seven, the bet wins. If, with a point established, a seven is rolled before the point is re-rolled, the bet loses ("seven out").
Don't pass : The opposite of the pass line bet is the don't pass bet. The don't pass bet is opposite in that it loses if the come-out roll is 7 or 11 and wins if the come-out roll is 2 or 3. A 12 will draw (this depends on the casino); either way a player cannot lose if 12 is rolled. A draw (the word "BAR," printed on the Craps layout, means "Standoff") on 12 is done to ensure the casino maintains a house edge regardless of whether players are betting pass or don't pass. If a point is established and that point is rolled again, the don't pass bet loses. If a 7 is rolled instead of the point being re-rolled, the don't pass bet wins. There are two very slightly different ways to calculate the odds and house edge of this bet.[3] The table below gives the numbers considering that the game ends in a push when a 12 is rolled, rather than being undetermined. Betting on don't pass is often called "playing the dark side," and it is considered by some players to be in poor taste, or even taboo, because it goes directly against conventional play.
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Pass odds : If a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 is thrown on the come-out roll (i.e., if a point is set), most casinos allow pass line bettors to take odds by placing from one to five times (and at some casinos, up to 100 times) the pass line bet behind the pass line. This additional bet wins if the point is rolled again before a 7 is rolled (the point is made) and pays at the true odds of 2-to-1 if 4 or 10 is the point, 3-to-2 if 5 or 9 is the point, and 6-to-5 if 6 or 8 is the point.
Some casinos offer "3-4-5X Odds," where the maximum allowed odds bet depends on the point (three times if the point is 4 or 10, four times on 5 or 9, and five times on 6 or 8). This rule simplifies the calculation of winnings: a maximum pass odds bet on a 3-4-5X table will always be paid at six times the pass line bet regardless of the point.
As odds bets are paid at true odds, in contrast with the pass line which is always even money, playing pass odds on a minimum pass line bet lessens the house advantage. A maximum odds bet on a minimum pass line bet gives the lowest house edge available in the casino.
Don't pass odds : If a player is playing don't pass instead of pass, they may also lay odds by placing chips behind the don't pass line. If a 7 comes instead of the point coming, the odds pay at true odds of 1-to-2 if 4 or 10 is the point, 2-to-3 if 5 or 9 is the point, 5-to-6 if 6 or 8 is the point.
Come bet : The rules for the come wagers are the same as for the pass line except that they can only be made after the come-out roll. If the roll the come bet is made on is a 7 or 11 it wins, if it is a 2, 3 or 12 it loses, just like a pass bet. If instead the roll is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 then the come bet will be moved by the base dealer onto a box representing that number. If the number is rolled again before a seven, the bet wins. If the seven comes before the number (the come-bet), the bet loses. Odds can also be placed on a come-bet just like a normal pass point; in this case the dealer (not the player) places the odds bet on top of the bet in the box, because of limited space, slightly offset to signify that it is an odds bet and not part of the original come bet.
Because of the come bet, if the shooter makes their point, a player can find themselves in the situation where they have a come bet (possibly with odds on it) and the next roll is a come-out roll. In this situation odds bets on the come wagers are presumed to be not working for the come-out roll. That means that if the shooter rolls a 7 on the come-out roll, any players with active come bets waiting for a come-point lose their initial wager but will have their odds money returned to them. If the come-point is rolled the odds do not win but the come bet does and the odds are returned. The player can tell the dealer that they want their odds working, such that if the shooter rolls a number that matches the come point, the odds bet will win along with the come bet, and if a seven is rolled both lose.
Don't come : There is also a don't come box which is the opposite of a come bet in that the player is betting that craps will come on the next roll instead of 7 or 11, or that if a come point is made, that value won't be rolled again before a 7. It pays just as don't pass and also has odds in the same way.
Types of Wagers - Multi Roll Bets
These are bets that may not be settled on the first roll and may need any number of subsequent rolls before an outcome is determined.
Hard way : A bet that the shooter will throw a 4, 6, 8 or 10 the "hard way", before he throws a seven or the corresponding "easy way". A hard way is when both dice show identical values, also known as "doubles," so 2-2 is hard way 4.
Easy way : Opposite of hard way is a bet that the shooter will throw a specific easy way (either 4, 6, 8 or 10), before he throws a seven. An easy way is a value that does not have two dice identical, so 3 1 is easy way 4. These are rarely available as bets except by placing on a point number (which pays off on easy or hard rolls of that number).
Big 6 and Big 8 : These wagers are usually avoided by experienced craps players since they pay even money (1:1) while a player can bet on the same proposition (that the number will be rolled before a 7) by making place/buy bets on the 6 or the 8, which pay more (6:5). Some casinos do not even offer the Big 6 & 8. The bets are located in the corners behind the pass line, and bets may be placed directly by players.
Place and buy : Players can buy or place any point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) except for the current point by placing their wager in the come area and telling the dealer, "place the 6" or "buy the 8". Both place and buy bets are bets that the number bet on will be rolled before a 7 is rolled. Place bets are paid at odds worse than the true odds, while buy bets are paid at true odds, but a 5% commission is charged. Traditionally, the buy bet commission is paid no matter what, but in recent years a number of casinos have changed their policy to charge the commission only when the buy bet wins. Some casinos charge the commission as a one-time fee to buy the number; payouts are then always at true odds. Most casinos usually charge only $1 for a $25 green-chip bet (4% commission), or $2 for $50 (two green chips), reducing the house advantage a bit more. Where commission is charged only on wins, the commission is often deducted from the winning payoff--a winning $25 buy bet on the 10 would pay $49, for instance. The house edges stated in the table assume the commission is charged on all bets. They are reduced by at least a factor of two if commission is charged on winning bets only.
Lay : A lay bet is the opposite of a buy/place bet, where a player bets on a 7 to roll before the number that is laid. The lay bets pay true odds, but a 5% commission is charged. In some casinos the commission is only charged if the bet wins. Like the buy bet the commission is adjusted to suit the betting unit such that fraction of a dollar payouts are not needed.
Most multi-roll bets are similar to the Come bet above in that the round may be won by the shooter making point before the outcome of the bet is decided. As with the Come bet, these bets are considered "not working" until the next point is established, unless the player calls the bet as "working." Casino rules vary on this; some of these bets may not be callable, while others may be considered "working" during the come-out. If the number placed, bought or laid becomes the new point as the result of a come-out, the bet is usually refunded, or can be moved to another number for free.
Types of Wagers - Player Bets Fire Bet : Before the shooter begins, some casinos will allow a bet known as a fire bet to be placed. A fire bet is a bet of between 1-5 dollars (the Rio in Las Vegas allows up to $10) in the hopes that the next shooter will have a hot streak of setting and getting many points of different values. As different individual points are made by the shooter, they will be marked on the craps layout with a fire symbol. The first three points will not pay out on the fire bet, but the fourth, fifth and sixth will pay out at increasing odds. The fourth point pays at 25-1 (a maximum of $125 for a $5 bet), the fifth point pays at 250-1 (a maximum of $1,250 for a $5 bet) and the 6th point pays at 1,000-1 (a maximum of $5,000 for a $5 bet). Note that the points must all be different numbers for them to count towards the fire bet. For example, a shooter who successfully hits a point of 10 twice will only garner credit for the first one on the fire bet. ...top
Source material on Craps taken from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
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