Casino Craps: Easy to Learn and Easy to Win

Craps is the fastest - and certainly the loudest - game in the casino. With the big, colorful table, chips flying everywhere and players yelling, it's exiting to watch and exciting to play.

Craps also has the one of the lowest house edges against you of any casino game, but only if you make the right bets. In fact, with one type of bet (which you will soon learn) you play even with the house, meaning that the house has a zero edge. This is the only casino game where this is true.

THE TABLE LAYOUT

The craps table is slightly larger than a standard pool table, with a wood railing that goes around the outside edge. This railing acts as a backboard for the dice to be thrown against and is sponge-lined on the inside with random patterns so that the dice bounce randomly. Most table rails also have grooves on top where you can place your chips.

The table surface is a tight fitting green felt with designs to indicate all the various bets that can be made in craps. It's very confusing for a beginner, but all you really need to concern yourself with right now is the "Pass Line" area and the "Don't Pass" area. These are the only bets you will make in our basic strategy (and for the most part the only bets worth making, period).

BASIC GAME PLAY

Don't let the confusing layout of the craps table intimidate you. The basic game itself is very simple. A new game with a new player (the person shooting the dice) begins when the current player "sevens out", which means he rolls a seven. That ends his turn and a new player is given the dice.

The new player makes either a pass line bet or a don't pass bet (explained below) and then throws the dice, which is called the "comeout roll".

If that first roll is a 7 or 11, this is called "making a pass" and the "pass line" betters win and "don't pass" betters lose. If a 2, 3 or 12 are rolled, this is called "craps" and pass line betters lose, while don't pass line betters win. However, don't pass line betters do not win if the "craps" number is a 12 in Las Vegas or a 2 in Reno and Tahoe. In this case, the bet is push - neither the player nor the house wins. All pass line and don't pass line bets are paid even money.

Barring one of the three "craps" numbers from winning for don't pass line bets is what gives the house it's low edge of 1.4 percent on all line bets. The don't pass bettor has a stand-off with the house when one of these barred numbers is rolled. Otherwise, the don't pass bettor would have a small advantage over the house