SENSIBLE GAMBLER'S CRAPS RULES

This is designed to inform you of a playing strategy that will reduce the House advantage to about 1% or less.

Familiarise yourself with the following bets: Pass Line, Come, Don’t Pass, Don’t Come, and Place. Nearly all casinos offer a free gaming guide that will explain these bets.

Watch a game in operation until you know the procedures for throwing the dice, making bets and collecting payoffs. Ask a dealer if in doubt about any aspect of the game.

Most people are “Right” bettors, making Pass Line and Come bets and hoping that the shooter will make several points before rolling a 7. Pass Line and Come bets have a house advantage of 1.41%, which can reduce the House edge to a low of 0.18%.

Pass Line and Come (as well as Don’t Pass and Don’t Come discussed below) are all paid off at even money, but the odds bet is paid off according to true mathematical odds.

The odds ratio (the ways of rolling a 7 compared to the ways of rolling some other number) is:

- 6:3 (2:1) on the 4 or 10
- 6:4 (3:2) on the 5 or 9
- 6:5 on the 6 or 8

Example: If you bet £5 on the Pass Line and the Point is either 4 or 10 you could now take £5 single odds. If the Point is made, you would win £5 on your Pass Line bet and £10 (2:1) on your odds bet. If you took double odds (£10 as an odds bet), you would win £5 on your Pass Line bet and £20 on your odds bet.

Begin by betting the Pass Line and “taking” the odds. When you are comfortable with the Pass Line bet with odds add a Come bet and “take” the odds.

If winning, make another Come bet and “take” the odds.

You now have three bets working – Pass Line bet with odds and two Come bets with odds. Remember your numbers, keep track of your payoffs and retrieve your money promptly.

You might want to occasionally Place the 6 &/or 8. In this case you would put $6 or 6 chips (or any increment of 6) in the Come area and tell the dealer to “Place the 8” (assuming that the 8 is not already your Pass Line Point or Come number). If the 8 is made before a 7, you would be paid off at the ration of 7:6 on the Place bet. This bet has a house advantage of 1.52%.

At times you might prefer to be a “Wrong” bettor, betting that the shooter will not make many points. Bet Don’t Pass and Don’t Come and “Lay” the odds. In this case, you have to “Lay” the larger number (or increments thereof) in the odds ratio to receive the smaller payoff. Don’t Pass & Don’t Come bets have a House advantage of 1.40% which can be reduced to .69% by “Laying” single odds and .46% by “Laying” double odds. The edge is only .12% at 10 times odds.

Craps is played with two dice. Poker chips are used to place bets.

The Shooter and the Come Out Roll

The player rolling the dice is called the shooter. The "come out" roll is the shooter's first roll.

2 Bets Before the Come Out Roll

The Pass Line is an even money bet. When you make a "pass line" bet, you are betting the shooter WILL be successful. The results for the "pass line" "come out" rolls are as follows...

For example, if the shooter's "Come Out" roll is an eight that will become the "point", the shooter continues to roll until an eight or seven is rolled. A roll of eight wins, a roll of seven loses, called a "seven-out". All intervening rolls are irrelevant to the "Pass Line" bet. Once either the seven or point has been rolled, the next roll becomes the new come out roll.

The Don't Pass Line is an even money bet. When you make a "don't pass line" bet, you are betting that the shooter WILL NOT be successful. The opposite of a "pass line" bet except rolling a 12 ties (a "push"), when you make a "don't pass" bet, if the come out roll is:

You win after the first roll if the shooter rolls a seven before making his point. However, you lose if the shooter successfully make his point. For example, if the shooter's "Come Out" roll is an eight, the shooter continues to roll until an eight or seven is rolled. A roll of eight loses, a roll of seven wins. All intervening rolls are irrelevant to the "don't pass line" bet.

Once either the seven or point has been rolled, the next roll becomes the new "Come Out" roll.

If the shooter is winning, the dice are not passed on. The dice are only passed to the next player if the shooter sevens-out (rolls a seven) or decides not to continue rolling. In the Internet version of craps, the player loses if there is a seven-out and can end the game at any time provided there are no bets placed.

Pass Line and Don't Pass Line bets are made on the shooter's "Come Out" roll. All other bets are placed after the come out, once a "point" has been determined, and work independent of the "pass line" and "don't pass" bets.

1) The Come Bet
Made any time after the initial "Come Out" roll when a shooter has a point to make, you win on the first roll of the come bet with a natural (7, 11) and lose on craps (2, 3, 12). Any other number that comes up is a come point. You win on a come bet if this number is rolled again before a 7.

2) The Don't Come Bet
Opposite of the come bet, except the 12 is a tie. Made any time after the initial "Come Out" roll when a shooter has a point to make, you lose on the first roll of the don't come bet with a natural (7, 11) and win on craps (2, 3). Any other number that comes up is a come point. You lose on a don't come bet if this number is rolled again before a 7.

3) Odds Bet
You can accompany your Pass Line, Come, Don't Pass, or Don't Come bet with an additional bet called an "odds bet". Once point has been established, the odds bet is popular because it pays "true odds" on your bet. True odds are based on comparing the chance of your number being rolled before the 7, are paid out accordingly. To illustrate, using the True Odds Chart, you can see that the 7's chance of coming up is twice that of the 4. When you place an odds bet on the four, it will pay 2 to 1, the true odds.

An odds bet on the "pass line" and the "come" is called "taking odds". The payouts on taking odds are:

An odds bet on the "don't pass" and the "don't come" is called "laying odds". The payouts on laying odds are:

4) Place Bet
Betting a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 will be rolled before a 7. This is similar to Come bets except unlike an Odds Bet, you do not have to place a bet in the Come or Pass Line bet first.

Because of the payout ratios above, Place bets on the 4, 5, 9, or 10 should be made in multiples of 5, and bets on 6 or 8 should be made in multiples of 6 because payouts are rounded down to the nearest dollar. To make a place bet, click on the space marked "place bets" below the desired number square.

5) Lay Bet
Betting a 7 will be rolled before a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 is rolled. The Lay bet pays true odds less a 5% commission fee or "vig", rounded down to the nearest dollar. You can make a lay bet without making a "don't pass" or "don't come" bet first. To make a lay bet, click on the space marked "lay bets" above the desired number square.

When a player is dealt two cards with equal values, they have the option of "splitting" them into two separate hands. In order to "split", the initial bet has to be matched. Each hand is then played separately. If the player splits two Aces, only one more card is dealt to each hand. A hand can only be split once.

6) Buy Bet
Betting a four, five, six, eight, nine or ten will be rolled before a seven, opposite of the Lay bet. The Buy bet pays true odds less a 5% commission fee or "vig", rounded down to the nearest dollar. You can make a Buy bet without making a "pass line" or "come" bet first. To make a buy bet, click on the desired number square.

7) Big 6 and Big 8
Betting a six or an eight will be rolled before a seven. This area is located near the corner with a big 6 and 8. It is similar to a Place bet on the six or eight except you get paid even money.

A one roll bet that the next roll will be a two, three, four, nine, ten, eleven or twelve. A roll of two and twelve pays double or 2 to 1. A roll of three, four, nine, ten and eleven pays even money.

In addition to the 8 different bets described above, you can also place Proposition Bets, located on the right side of the Internet craps table. To make a proposition bet, click on the desired square.

When both dice come up with the same number, i.e. two 2's, it's called the "hard way". The only numbers considered hard ways are 4, 6, 8, and 10. The 2 and 12 are not considered Hard Ways because the only way to make them is with a double (1+1, 6+6).

The following are the Hard Ways bets you can make:

A one roll bet that the next roll will be a two, three, four, nine, ten, eleven or twelve. A roll of two and twelve pays double or 2 to 1. A roll of three, four, nine, ten and eleven pays even money.