How to Play Craps




Craps

Casino Craps (or Bank Craps), a dice game, is one of the most exciting casino games. It is common to hear yelling and shouting at a craps table. It is played on a purpose-built table and two dice are used. The dice are made after very strict standards and are routinely inspected for any damage. As a matter of course, the dice are replaced with new ones after about eight hours of use, and casinos have implemented rules in the way a player handles them.

To begin, the Shooter (one of the players) must bet at least the table minimum on either the Pass Line or the Don't Pass Line (sometimes called 'win' or 'right' bets and 'don’t win' or 'wrong' bets). The shooter is presented two to roll with. The shooter must handle the dice with one hand only when throwing and the dice must hit the walls on the opposite end of the table. In the event that one or both dice are thrown off the table, they must be inspected (usually by the stickman) before putting them back into play. Several types of bets can be made on the table action.

The game is played in rounds, with the right to roll the dice by each player moving clockwise around the craps table at the end of each round. A player may choose not to roll but can continue to bet. Each round has two phases: Come Out and Point. To start a round, the shooter makes one or more Come Out rolls. A Come Out roll of 2, 3 or 12 (called Craps, the shooter is said to 'crap out') ends the round with players losing their Pass Line bets. A Come Out roll of 7 or 11 (a Natural) results in a win for Pass Line bets. The shooter continues to make Come Out rolls until he rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, which number becomes the Point. The dealer then moves an On button to the point number signifying the second phase of the round. If the shooter rolls the point number, the result is a win for bets on the Pass Line. If the shooter rolls a seven (a Seven-out), the pass line loses and the round ends. The first roll of the dice in a betting round is the Come Out roll - a new game in Craps begins with the Come Out roll. A Come Out roll can be made only when the previous shooter fails to make a winning roll, that is, fails to make the Point or makes a Seven-out (rolls a seven).

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 - so the game moves in a clockwise fashion around the craps table.