Many people explore how to play craps because it’s a highly entertaining but simple game that can produce substantial payouts on lucky rolls of the dice. For beginners, joining the fun and getting a shot at some winnings requires knowledge of the rules and understanding the probabilities in craps.
Before you start playing any online casino games, including craps, it’s best to get a handle on your role in the game and which bets are available. This craps strategy guide explains those aspects of craps plus everything else you need to know to get the dice rolling.
What is Craps?
Craps is one of several physical and online dice games that are common at casinos. It’s usually played with a felt-covered table and one pair of dice.
With craps rules, what you’re essentially doing is trying to predict the result of the next dice throw or the outcomes of multiple rolls. If the dice totals match your prediction, you win the stated payout.
What are the Most Common Craps Terms?
Over the course of a craps game, you’re likely to hear some phrases and words that are used in ways that you aren’t familiar with. Some craps terminology is intuitive, though, so it won’t take long to learn the meaning. A good example is crapping out, which is a term used when a player rolls a losing number (depending on how the bettor wagered) on the Come Out roll.
What is Craps Etiquette?
Craps table etiquette concerns the expectations for bettors during games at a land-based casino or during a live dealer craps game. Most of the expectations concern being courteous and respectful to casino staff and other players. One example is keeping your hands off the table during the roll to guarantee that nothing interferes with the dice.
How Do You Play Craps?
The basic stages of the game are identical whether you’re at a brick-and-mortar casino or trying your luck at online craps.
If you’re new to craps but have played other casino table games, you’ll understand the fundamental process of placing your bet and then awaiting the result. For example, there are substantial differences between the structure of the wagers in craps and baccarat, but the concept of choosing a bet, deciding how much you want to stake, and then watching to see what happens is universal.
Some of the wagers in craps settle on the outcome of two stages: the Come Out roll and the {oint phase.
What is the Come Out Roll?
The Come Out roll is a foundational part of how craps works because it’s the first roll in each new round. The result of this roll settles many bets, including Pass and Don’t Pass bets, and determines how the second phase of the game (also known as the point phase) proceeds by setting the point value. Bettors take turns acting as the “shooter” (the person who throws the dice) during most craps games in physical casinos.
What Happens in the Point Phase?
The point phase is necessary in craps for resolving bets that did not settle on the Come Out roll. A Come Out roll that produces a dice face total of four, five, six, eight, nine, or 10 makes that number the point. The point phase continues until the shooter rolls that number again or a seven.
How Do You Throw the Dice in Craps?
How to throw craps dice is often a primary concern in craps for beginners because the results of bets hinge upon that action. There are a few guidelines, like making sure that both dice hit the back of the table and only using one hand to make the toss.
What are the Dice Combinations in Craps?
When you learn craps, you’ll see that the game uses two six-sided dice. That means there are 36 possible outcomes on each roll, but there are only 11 possible totals from the two dice faces showing after the roll is complete.
Dice Total
Number of Ways to Roll
Possible Combinations
2
One
1,1
3
Two
2,1 or 1,2
4
Three
1,3; 2,2; 3,1
5
Four
1,4; 2,3; 3,2; 4,1
6
Five
1,5; 2,4; 3,3; 4,2; 5,1
7
Six
1,6; 2,5; 3,4; 4,3; 5,2; 6,1
8
Five
2,6; 3,5; 4,4; 5,3; 6,2
9
Four
3,6; 4,5; 5,4; 6,3;
10
Three
4,6; 5,5; 6,4
11
Two
5,6 or 6,5
12
One
6,6
What are the Main Craps Bets?
The standard types of craps bets cover a range of risk levels and degrees of complexity. Some of these bets settle after either the Come Out roll or the point phase.
The house edge for some options like Come and Pass bets can be very friendly to players but the payouts on those wagers are appropriately less lucrative than higher-risk bets. The basic logic behind the most common wagers is that you can bet “against” or “with” the shooter.
What are Pass and Don’t Pass Bets?
Pass bets are bets that the shooter will roll a seven or an 11 on the Come Out roll and are known as betting “with” the shooter. Don’t Pass bets are wagers “against” the shooter and depend on the Come Out roll resulting in a two or a three. If a 12 lands, it’s a push (tie).
If the Come Out roll establishes a point, Pass bets win when the point number is rolled again during the point phase and the Don’t Pass bet wins if a 7 is rolled before the point number if rolled again during the point phase.
Come and Don’t Come Bets
The point phase is essential to how come bets work because a point must be established before you can place a Come or Don’t Come bet. Come bets work like a Pass bet, and Don’t Come bets function like a Don’t Pass bet, in terms of what happens if the next roll produces a total of two, three, seven, 11, or 12. If the next roll produces any other total, that number becomes the new point for the bettor’s Come or Don’t Come bet.
What is the Odds Bet in Craps?
An odds bet in craps is a side bet that you can put behind a Come, Don’t Come, Don’t Pass, or Pass bet. The exact probability and potential payout depend on the table rules and whether your main bet is against or with the shooter. The odds bet is a factor when many people are choosing a dice game because it’s one of the few wagers that carries no house edge.
What Are Proposition Bets?
Proposition bets have developed over the history of dice games like craps to increase variety in wagering options and introduce higher-stakes plays. Most prop bets in craps resolve on a single roll but come with significantly higher house edge factors than Come or Pass wagers. For example, an Any Seven bet usually pays out 4 to 1 but carries a house edge of 16.67% compared to a Pass bet’s house edge of 1.41%.
How Do Craps Odds and Payouts Work?
Odds in casino dice games like craps are formed upon the probability of the necessary outcomes and the house edge that the casino builds into the rules. The standard expectation that players should have is that the more lucrative a payout for a bet is, the less likely that bet is to hit.
Bet
House Edge*
Payout*
Ace-Deuce
11.11%
15 to 1
Any 7
16.67%
4 to 1
Any Craps
11.11%
7 to 1
Big 6
9.09%
1 to 1
Big 8
9.09%
1 to 1
Boxcars
13.89%
30 to 1
Come
1.41%
1 to 1
Don’t Come
1.36%
1 to 1
Don’t Pass
1.36%
1 to 1
Pass
1.41%
1 to 1
Snake Eyes
13.89%
30 to 1
Yo
11.11%
15 to 1
*= in games with standard rules. Alterations to rules can alter house edge statistics and payouts.
What is the Best Craps Strategy for Beginners?
Online craps is good for beginners because it offers several betting options with low house edge factors that can accommodate a series of wagers with a conservative bankroll. That can help novice players build their experience if they stick to the even-money bets like Come and Pass wagers.
As you master craps odds and strategies, you’ll learn that any bet at any given point is entirely up to chance.
What Mistakes Should Beginners Avoid?
Many of the most common beginner craps mistakes involve discounting the house edge in proposition bets. It’s easy to see the bigger payouts and forget the higher chance of losing those bets. Another error can be not incorporating odds bets into your bankroll, as they’re rare chances to get true odds on casino games.
How Do You Play Craps With a Small Bankroll?
An important consideration is that your odds are the same regardless of how much you’re betting when you play craps. Your best path with a small bankroll is to place bets with the best odds, use casino bankroll management to avoid overspending, and aim to try and build your bankroll over time (if luck is on your side).
How Does Advanced Craps Strategy Differ?
As you gain experience in craps, you’ll become more familiar with the dice probabilities and the array of wagering options. Command of this information can put you in a position to diversify your plays.
Incorporating less common bets can keep your craps sessions interesting. However, it’s still important to understand the risks you’re taking and have realistic expectations.
What is Hedging in Craps?
Hedging your bet in craps is essentially “backing up” one wager by placing another that covers alternate outcomes. For example, you might pair an Any Craps bet with a Pass bet. It’s crucial to keep in mind that while hedging may limit your losses, it also elevates your stake.
Does Craps Dice Setting Work?
Craps dice setting refers to the position of the dice in the shooter’s hand before the throw. This is mostly a matter of personal comfort. Research has shown that dice settings do not have a significant impact on the result of a given dice toss.
Using a Craps Odds Calculator
When it comes to figuring dice probability, you can do it the manual way, mapping out every possible combination of the dice and then identifying the winning combinations versus the losing combos. However, there are multiple online resources that calculate craps odds for any possible bet you can place in standard versions of the game. They can be invaluable resources when you’re playing online, as you can refer to them often.
What Types of Craps Games Can You Play?
Online casinos provide bettors with creative takes on craps in addition to traditional tables. Players can find titles with slight rule tweaks and strong deviations from the standard game in a variety of formats.
What is Crapless Craps?
In crapless craps, Come Out rolls that result in any number other than seven establish those numbers as the point. That means Pass bets win on a seven during this phase of the game.
What is Live Dealer Craps?
Live dealer craps allows you to play virtually at a physical craps table with tangible dice and a human croupier administering the game. You can wager on the game as if you were physically in the studio and watch the results in real time through the online casino app or website.
How Does Bubble Craps Work?
Bubble Craps eliminates any effect of dice setting or throwing motions by putting the dice inside of a plastic bubble and rolling the dice with the aid of a machine. Some players prefer this type of craps because they feel it makes the dice rolls truly random.
Other Craps Games at rk55 Casino
rk55 offers a strong selection of live and online dice games that enrich the excitement for fans of craps.
Craps The Matrix
Craps The Matrix is a game that brings its own twist on a futuristic aesthetic to craps. This variant keeps the base craps game rules but adds a new way to bet, spelling out letters in “MATRIX” by betting on letters associated with specific numbers.
First Person Craps
First Person Craps is an immersive experience while still playing solo. First Person Craps uses computer-generated imagery for various dice rolls to create a realistic experience built on random number generators (RNGs).
Craps Live
Craps Live is a live casino game at rk55 where you can play craps with live croupiers streamed to your computer. Craps by Evolution lets you chat with other players and see how they bet, playing in real time.
How Does Craps Compare to Other Dice Games?
Craps isn’t the only dice game that is common at casinos, as players often evaluate their choices. For example, they might consider craps vs. Sic Bo. These choices are mostly a matter of taste as most of the games accommodate a range of gambling budgets and risk tolerances.
Compared to other dice games, craps can have a stronger selection of ways to bet and allow players to bet on a series of dice rolls instead of one roll at a time. However, the greatest commonality between all these games is that the luck of the roll is the ultimate decider.
Playing Craps at rk55 Casino
rk55 Casino not only offers many ways to play craps but strongly encourages each bettor to become comfortable with setting time and money gambling limits for their craps sessions. Maximizing your enjoyment of those sessions then just depends on sticking to those limits and seeing how the dice land.
To enhance the experience, rk55 offers craps players exclusive promotions. Players who register for rk55 can take advantage of perks like bonus plays.
Craps FAQs
Are the Odds in Live Dealer Craps and Online Craps the Same?
Rule changes and casino house rules can alter the payouts for bets in craps games, but in general, whether you play a live dealer version or a random-number-generator-based (RNG-based) version of craps online will not affect the payouts of similar bets. Live dealer craps may be more difficult for novice players to learn, though, because RNG games allow inexperienced bettors to move at their own pace.
Can You Practice Playing Craps?
Yes, and practicing is one of the most essential beginner craps tips. Free play games exist online and some people who normally play live dealer games or visit physical casinos use low-stakes RNG-based online games as practice sessions.
Is There a Winning Craps Betting System?
There are numerous examples of a solid mathematical craps strategy, but there are no systems that can completely eliminate the house edge in bets. The construction of dice and random number generators ensures that it’s impossible to reliably predict the outcomes of throws.
What are Craps Dice Made Of?
Typically, plastics make up what casino dice are made of. Casinos work with manufacturers who have highly guarded patents for their materials and processes that ensure random results and game integrity.
