Craps Basics · Craps Dice · Craps Table Layout
To understand the game of Craps in a slow, clear, and precise manner — that anyone will remember forever — each stage of the game will be explained in detail.
The first thing anyone does, while walking up to a Craps table, is look down at the layout. This is the board; the stage; the arena that the game takes place on and should be looked at in detail.
As mentioned earlier.
Craps is a dice game played with two regulation dice. There are 36 possible combinations. The key number in craps is seven. The entire game revolves around rolling or not rolling a seven. Learn to hate seven's. They are the scourge of the game.
The Dice Combinations table. Learn it. Memorize it, know it. More about the Math behind Craps.
Number
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Combination
1-1
1-2, 2-1
1-3, 3-1, 2-2
1-4, 4-1, 2-3, 3-2
1-5, 5-1, 2-4, 4-2, 3-3
1-6, 6-1, 2-5, 5-2, 3-4, 4-3
2-6, 6-2, 3-5, 5-3, 4-4
3-6, 6-3, 4-5, 5-4
4-6, 6-4, 5-5
5-6, 6-5
6-6
Ways To Roll
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Five
Four
Three
Two
One
The game begins to get a little clearer once the math and odds at which the game is played is explained.
The Seven has six possible ways to come up. Yet, there are thirty ways other numbers can come up, so the odds, in general, are very good that a number other than a seven will come up; but remember that the chances of rolling 7 are one in six.
The way combinations work is that in 36 rolls, each combination should come up once. It does not! Never has. And the probability that it will happen is there, but how long does anyone have in thier life to prove such a theory? Plus it never worked for flipping a coin either.
The flaw in those rolling, continuous combination theories is that the COIN or the DICE do not remember what they landed on last time.
So each flip of the coin, each roll of the dice is a brand new roll and the odds and possibilities start from scratch. There is NO continuous possibilities in anything in life. EVEN IRON BYRON, the golf swing machine, does not land the ball in the same spot every time. Wind, ball, maintenance, and so forth. There is no guarantee that it will be fifty fifty no matter how many times you flip a coin.
Bottom line: Each roll is its own separate roll. It is NOT connected to any roll previous or following. EVER! Math is absolute. LIFE is not!
Now that I have explained that, we can now understand the probabilities, the chances, the odds of rolling any number. The Dice Combination table above happens on every roll. LEARN IT, MEMORIZE IT, KNOW IT!
Anyone can walk up to a craps table and join the game at anytime — yes, even when a game is in progress. A player can lay, place, or call a bet; however, certain bets cannot be made at certain times — and certain Casino’s — so for this purpose we will start with a brand new roll called the Come Out roll.
The Come Out roll
STICKMAN “Coming out!”
The come out is the first roll of a new series of rolls. Anyone can tell if it is a come out roll by looking for the small disk called an On/Off Puck above the large numbers. If it is a black disk with white letters that read OFF, then it is a come out roll.
A player wishing to play as the Shooter must bet at least the table minimum on either the Pass Line or the Don’t Pass line — pass and don’t pass are sometimes called Win or Right and Don’t Win or Wrong bets for the outcome of a shooter’s round.
The right to roll the dice is rotated clockwise around the craps table. A player next in turn to become shooter may refuse the dice, but can continue to bet on the shooter’s rolls; the dice then pass to the next player willing to become the shooter. The shooter is then presented with multiple dice (typically five) by the stickman, and must choose two to roll with. The remaining dice are returned to the stickman’s bowl and are not used.
Two, Three, or Twelve
STICKMAN “Crap Dice!”
If the shooter’s come out roll is a 2, 3 or 12, it is called craps. This is where the term craps comes from — these are crap dice. Not the seven!.
The Pass Line loses and the Don’t Pass wins except on the twelve (it is a push). This is an even money win. 1 - 1. Bet a dollar, win a dollar. The shooter is has the option to keep rolling another come out roll or pass the dice to the next shooter.
Seven or Eleven
If the shooter’s come out roll is 7 or 11 is called a Natural. The Pass Line bet wins and the Don’t Pass loses. This is an even money win. 1 - 1. Bet a dollar, win a dollar. The come out roll continues for the shooter.
Four, Five, Six, Eight, Nine, or Ten
If the shooter’s come out roll is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 this number becomes the point and the come out roll is now over. The dealers will turn the On/Off Puck over to the ON side and place it above or on the point number. Now the shooter will continue rolling until either the point or a seven is rolled.
Once the shooter has established a point, the game goes to the next stage. The Come and Don’t Come are “virtual Pass line and Don’t Pass” bets; and can only be made after a point has been established.
Anyone can make a Come bet not just the shooter, nor do you have to have a Pass Line bet.
REMEMBER: The bet on the Pass Line is a bet on the point. Forget about it. Leave it alone.
Seven
STICKMAN “Seven Out. Line away! Pay the come.”
If the shooter rolls a seven (called a seven out), before the point is rolled a second time, the Don’t Pass bet wins and the Come bet, which is an even money win. 1 - 1. Bet a dollar, win a dollar. All other bets lose.
Learn to hate seven's. They are the scourge of the game.
A seven out ends the shooter’s current round. The dice will pass (clockwise) to the next player who wishes to become the new shooter.
Eleven
STICKMAN “Yo Leven! Pay the come.”
If a eleven is rolled, the Come bet wins and the Don’t Come loses. This is an even money win. 1 - 1. Bet a dollar, win a dollar. The Pass Line is not effected; the shooter is still rolling to make the point.
Learn to love eleven's. They are the angels of the game.
Two, Three, or Twelve
STICKMAN “Crap Dice! Take the come. Pay the Don’t!”
The Come loses and the Don’t Come wins except on the twelve; it is a push. This is an even money win. 1 - 1. Bet a dollar, win a dollar. The Pass Line is not effected; the shooter is still rolling to make the point.
Four, Five, Six, Eight, Nine, or Ten — not the point.
The dealer will move the bet to the box of the corresponding number on the craps layout and it becomes the Come Point for that bet. To win this bet, the number must be repeated before a 7 is rolled, just like the point.
When the Come Point is rolled again before a seven the bet wins. This is an even money win. 1 - 1. Bet a dollar, win a dollar. The dealer will place the players original wager along with the winnings in the Come section of the layout on the same spot the player made the original bet, to let the player know it is theirs. If the player does not immediately retrieve the chips, they will be in action on the next roll of the dice as a new come bet. So pay attention to the game. I did mention it is fast paced action.
Point
STICKMAN: “Front Line Winner.”
If the shooter is successful in rolling the point before a seven this is a good thing, a really good thing unless a players is a don’t better. The Don’t Pass loses and the Pass Line bet wins. This is an even money win. 1 - 1. Bet a dollar, win a dollar.
The come bet moves up to the corresponding number the point that just won. The other come points stay where they are. The shooter is still rolling and the next roll is another come out roll
repeat the process from the Come Out roll and that is “the basics of the game of Craps.”