Craps, we love craps. There’s just something so “Vegas flashy” about the game. We think it’s because once you get rolling in this game you feel like a Texas millionaire single-handedly taking out the casino’s payroll.
There’s only one problem, the game is more complicated than it looks. TV and film just shows us dudes rolling sevens all day and getting handed tons of cash. But there’s more to it than that, and if you want to be that Texas millionaire you need to know the basics.
Here are some quick tips:
The “Pass Line” is the Key to Basic Craps
In Craps, players bet against the casino on the result of one roll, or a series of rolls of two dice. What can make the game confusing is that there are tons of different types of bets and the outcome of your wager is not always decided on your first roll.
The easiest bet to learn in the game is the “Pass Line” and the “Don’t Pass Line.”
To start a round a player must bet on one of these “lines”. Once you choose which you want to bet on you can roll the dice for the first round (known as the “Come Out Roll”).
If the come out roll is a 2, 3 or 12 it’s called “Craps” and the round ends with players losing their pass line bets. However, if you were smart enough to bet the “Don’t Pass Line” you’ll actually win. A come out roll of 7 or 11 is called a “natural,” resulting in a win for pass line bets (and a loss for don’t pass bets). This is the style about a million movies like to use.
But things change if you don’t roll any of the numbers above. If numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 are rolled on the come out, this number becomes the “Point” and the first round is now over. In this situation players need to roll the point number again for the pass line to win (obviously this ends up a loss for those who bet on the don’t pass line).
Here’s the rub that “Ocean’s 11” never told you about. If the shooter rolls a seven in this situation the ‘don’t pass’ line wins while the pass line loses.