Rules Of Craps

The rules of craps are numerous and can seem confusing to a newcomer. Craps is one of the most exciting games in a casino with all the players surrounding the table cheering. When a newcomer joins the excitement, it is important to understand the betting system or he will walk away from the table broke.

1. Rules for Placing Bets Rules state all bets must be on the craps table before the rolling of the dice for that turn. Players cannot reach onto the craps table and remove bets. The craps dealers will push the money to the players to remove winning bets.
2. Rolling the Dice The stickperson offers five dice to a player who then chooses two of them to throw. Rules state the thrower cannot remove the dice from the craps playing table. If either die rolls off the table, the throw is invalid.
3. Pass Line Bets Before the come-out roll, a player places his bet on the pass line. The first roll determines what the pass line bet becomes. If the first roll is a seven or eleven, all players win even money on the pass line bets. If the first roll is a two, three or twelve, the players lose the pass line bets. Any other number rolled sets the number that must reoccur to win even money for the pass line bet. If a seven comes up before the pass line number occurs again, the players lose the pass line bets. Any other number does not affect the pass line bet. After the come-out roll, players cannot make Pass line bets.
4. Don’t Pass Bets In craps, a don’t pass bet is when a player bets the table will lose the round. The don’t pass bet wins when a two or three occurs on the come out roll or a seven is rolled after the come out roll, but before the pass line number repeats. Rules state a don’t pass bet pays even money.
5. Come Bets A craps bet placed on the come bet varies depending on what dice roll occurs immediately after the bet is made. If a seven or eleven comes out, come bets pay even money. In a two, three or twelve occurs, come bets lose. Any other number will move the come bet to that specific number. The number must occur again before a seven occurs to win even money.
6. Place Bet to Win Players can bet on any specific number on the craps table and wins if that number occurs before a seven occurs. The odds on these bets vary depending on the difficulty of the throw. Four and ten pays nine-to-five odds. Five, six, eight and nine pay seven-to-five odds.
7. Additional Odds In craps, players may place odds on any bet they already placed in the pass, don’t pass and place to win sections. Rules state the payout is two-to-one for pass line and don’t pass bets. Come bets pay based on the actual number the bet lands in. On a bet of four or ten, odds pay two-to-one. On bets of five or nine, odds pay three-to-two. On bets of six or eight, odds pay six-to-five.
8. Hard Bets Other bets on the table offer very high odds, but the chances of hitting them are unlikely. In craps, hard bets offer a chance to win if both die lands on the same number (two-two). These bets pay off from seven-to-one to nine-to-one odds. These bets are lost if the dice rolls the total number without being “hard.” An example is a hard eight is two fours, so a six and two rolled will lose the bet. Other bets on the table are “Any Seven,” “Any Craps,” “Craps Eleven” and “Horn Bets.”