Craps Board Explained
- Craps as stated is not as Intimidating as it looks, if you learn the basics plays and the odds you have already learned about 85% of the game. Dealers are always happy to help you if you tell them your a new player.
- Craps – It’s the name of the game, and it’s also the name for the numbers 2, 3, and 12. Pass Line – Drop your chips on the pass line and you’re betting that the dice will pass (or win). Don’t Pass Bar – Throw your chips on this section of the Craps table layout and you’re betting that a seven will be rolled before a point ends.
- Craps is quite fun and entertaining casino game of chance frequently played by gamblers at online, offline as well as on mobile casino apps. The game is simple to play and with a bit of luck you can earn some nice cash. However, if you are new to the game it might be a bit complicated to understand the rules.
- 12 - Boxcars Bet - Midnight - Cornrows Boxcars, also known as Midnight, Cornrows or Twelve Craps, is a bet where players wager on the shooter rolling a 12. This consists of a six on each dice. The way the dots are arranged on the dice, it looks like a rectangular box (like a box car) or rows of corn, which is how some of the names originated.
HOW CRAPLESS CRAPS IS PLAYED. Crapless Craps is played exactly like traditional craps, with the difference that when a 2, 3, 11, or 12 is rolled on the come out, the dealers will now mark the point of 2, 3, 11, or 12. Witness the board, with the 2, 3, 11, and 12 as the ‘box’ numbers From the Stratosphere footage.
If you want to learn to play craps, you should start by learning how the craps table works.
It might seem intimidating at first, but it’s less complicated than you think.
And smarts craps players ignore most of the table, anyway.
This post explains in detail for beginners what they need to know about placing bets on the craps table.
The Basics of the Craps Table
In casinos, craps is played at a table, usually one covered in green felt. The bets available are labeled on the felt. The table is also the playing surface for the game – you roll the dice on the same table where you place your bets.
Most of the best US casinos use a long table for craps – it’s 12 feet long, but it’s kind of rectangular. You’ll find smaller craps tables sometimes, but most casinos use the 12 feet long table because it accommodates more players – up to 16 people can play craps comfortably at a 12 feet long table.
The rail around the table is padded because a lot of people get tired of standing and want something to lean on. Craps isn’t like blackjack; you don’t sit on a stool at the craps table.
Each player has a rack where he can put his chips while he plays. That’s located next to the padded railing.
The green felt is considered the bed of the craps table, and it has (almost) all the bets available stenciled on it.
Also, the craps table isn’t really a flat table – it’s more like a big, rectangular bowl. This prevents the dice from rolling onto the ground. The walls inside the table are padded with rubber pyramids, which serve to further randomize the rolls of the dice.
If you’re the shooter, you’re required to roll the dice all the way to the pyramids on the other side of the table.
How the Bets Are Laid Out on a Craps Table
If you’ve never played before, you’ll think craps is too complicated because of all the different bets available on the layout.
But it’s easier than you think.
You can think of the table as having a side section and a center section. (Really, there are 2 side sections – one on either end of the craps table. They’re identical, though.)
You’ll see blocks with numbers and words in them in each section. Those are the bets you can place.
You should avoid the bets in the center section, which are the bets that the stickman will encourage you to make. I’ll explain the center section later, but for now, I want to focus on the section where you’ll be making the most bets if you’re a smart player.
The self-service bets – the bets you’re allowed to place for yourself – include the following bets:
- Pass
- Don’t Pass
- Come
- Don’t Come
- Field
- Big 6
- Big 8
These are the most basic bets in craps, and they have the lowest house edge – although Big 6 and Big 8 are the worst in this batch. (On some tables, those aren’t even in the self-service area at all.)
When one of these bets wins, the dealer puts your winnings on the table next to your bet. If you leave that money on the table, it goes back into action.
The other area in the side section is the dealer’s area. Here, you need to get the dealer to place your bet for you. This area includes the point boxes:
- 4
- 5
- Six
- 8
- Nine
- 10
You’ll notice that I spelled out 6 and 9. That’s how they’ll appear on the table so that players don’t get confused about which is which.
When a shooter sets a point, the dealer puts a puck in the appropriate box to signify the point for that game. These spots serve a 2nd purpose, too – you can ask the dealer to place Buy, Lay, and Place bets for you in those spots.
Come and Don’t Come are still self-service bets, but the odds bet for those must be handled by the dealer. The dealer uses the chips you bet on Come or Don’t Come to mark the number in those numbered boxes, and they put the odds bet next to the appropriate number, too.
The Center Section Is for Prop Bets, Which You Should NEVER Make
You’ll notice that the stickman, who’s running the center section of the craps table, acts like a carnival barker or one of those loud pitchmen you sometimes run into at a flea market. That’s because his job is to sell the worst bets on the craps table to the players.
The reason these are the worst bets on the table is because the house edge for ALL these bets is insanely high.
The house edge is a statistically expected loss that you’ll see over the long run with a specific kind of bet.
The pass line bet has a house edge of 1.41%, which is relatively low for a casino game. In fact, it’s one of the best bets in the casino.
But the house edge on the bets in the center of the table is 9% or higher.
Nonetheless, here you can place bets in this section if you want to.
To do so, you toss your chips to the center of the table to the stickman and announce what bet you want to place. Try to use some skill and deftness when you do this – you don’t want to knock someone else’s chips over, for example.
When you win one of these proposition bets, the chips are paid directly to you rather than just being placed on the table next to your original bet.
Examples of Proposition Bets and Their House Edge
The hard way bets are bets on totals like 4, 6, 8, or 10.
But they only pay off if the shooter rolls that total “the hard way.”
This means that a total of 4 must be a pair of deuces, a 6 must be a roll with of both 3s, an 8 must consist of a couple of 4s, and a 10 must be made up of 5s.
The payout for a hard 6 or hard 8 is 9 to 1, and the payout for a hard 4 or 10 is 7 to 1.
The house edge for the hard 6 or hard 8 bet is 9.09%.
The house edge for the hard 4 or hard 10 bet is 11.11%.
I often suggest that many gambling writers make too much of a fuss about the house edge on casino games, but this is one instance where it’s a big deal.
You’re looking at a statistical advantage for the casino that’s 10 times as great on one bet over the other bet.
You should pay attention to that, for sure.
Just skip the proposition bets.
You’ll have just as much fun at the craps table, you’ll probably stay in action longer, and you’ll have a better chance of going home from the craps table a winner.
How to Get Used to the Craps Layout
The best way to get used to the game of craps is to play at an online casino, like those recommended on this site. All the casinos listed here offer free-to-play versions of their casino games. You play for “play-money” chips.
The big advantage of doing this is that you’re not risking any real money when you’re playing these free craps games.
It’s much better to learn without risking money if you can.
Conclusion
You need to know how the craps table and its layout work if you want to stand a chance at winning when shooting dice.
The best way to do that is to practice on a free game after reading through this quick tutorial.
The most important advice I offer in this post, though, is to stay away from those bets in the middle of the table. The house edge is just too high on those.
Craps Board Explained Math
Finding the Craps table at any casino is easy—it’s always the rowdiest table around. For the most part, everyone wins together and loses together, creating comradery between Craps players. The fast-paced nature of the Craps game can be intimidating at first, but with a bit of guidance, you should be able to nail down the basic Craps casino rules and start playing the casino tables of a Craps game online.
The goal of Craps is to place bets and then roll the dice, with hope that the play outcome will match what’s needed to win your play bets. Typically, the casino Craps players around the play table take turns being the dice shooter. But when you play online, casino Craps games are structured a bit differently, making you the shooter every single time, so there’s no waiting around the Craps table for what’s arguably the best part of the game.
As for the real money bets, there are plenty of different ones to choose from, and some are more popular than others. We’ll explain how to place basic Craps bets and which ones are the easiest to start with. By the end, you’ll be familiar with the most common casino Craps real money bets and be ready to play online Craps like a pro.
Craps Board Explained
How to Place Bets and Roll the Dice
In online casino Craps games, some money play bets need to be placed at the start of the Craps game round, while others can be wagered throughout the Craps game round. The ones that need to be placed at the start of the round include the Pass and Don’t Pass Lines (more on these shortly). Other play bets, like the Come and Don’t Come bets, become accessible only if a Point is established. And finally, one-roll bets like proposition bets, are available at any time, as they’re simply a wager on what the following roll will be.
No matter which of these you’re pursuing, the process is the same: Simply drop chips on the bets outlined on the table and click or tap “ROLL” to roll the dice.
Getting Started with Craps
A casino game round of Craps begins with what’s known as the come-out roll. This initial roll can lead to another round, or can conclude right away—it depends on the play outcome. Rolling a 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12 concludes the round with a win, loss or tie, depending on which play bets you placed. If any other number is rolled, you progress to the Point Round, with the number rolled becoming the “Point.” When a Point is established, you must roll the dice over and over until you either re-roll the Point number, or roll a 7. The Point round opens up the casino game table for more play bets.
The Easiest Bets to Place in Craps
Craps Board Explained Rules
You could get away with only ever playing the Pass Line and Don’t Pass bets in casino Craps and still have a lot of fun. For that reason, we’ll start with them in our online casino explanation of the different kinds of play bets available to Craps players.
Pass Bet
Pass Line betting is a good way to start learning the Craps game because it's the most basic bet you can make in Craps. Simply choose how much you want to play bet, and place the casino bet on the Pass Line located near the bottom of the board. Now let the first Craps round begin.
To start things off, you have the aforementioned come-out roll, and all that's involved is firing the play dice. If a 7 or 11 is rolled, the Pass Line bets win. If you roll a 2, 3 or 12, then that's a loss. If the number rolled is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 (you'll see these play numbers displayed near the top of the board), then the number becomes the shooter's Point. In this play event, you'll see a white chip that says 'ON' get placed on the Point number on the board to make it easier to remember. The shooter will then continue to roll the dice, hoping to re-roll the Point number because that's a win for all Pass Line bets. The Craps game turn ends when either the Point or a 7 is rolled with the dice.
Don't Pass Bet
The opposite of the Pass bet is the Don't Pass bet. If the come-out roll is a 2 or 3, you get paid real money. A 12 is a push, and a 7 or 11 is a loss.
If you've placed a Don't Pass bet, and the shooter has rolled a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, which becomes the shooter's Point – then you're hoping that a 7 is rolled before the Point number is re-rolled; this results in a real money payout for all Don't Pass bets.
Come
When you place a Come bet, you’re essentially starting a mini round with a secondary come-out roll. The Come bet, which is very similar to the Pass Line bet, becomes available during the Point round. Upon placing it, the very next roll will be like a come-out roll in that it will pay if you land a 7 or 11, and lose if you land a 2, 3, or 12. All other outcomes establish the Come Point. In the Come Point Round, you must land the Come Point number as opposed to rolling a 7.
Don’t Come
The Don’t Come is available once a Point has been established. It follows the same rules as the Don’t Pass Line bet, but exists within its own mini round. After you place a Don’t Come bet, the following roll becomes a second come-out roll as far as that Don’t Come bet is concerned. If you roll a 2 or 3, you win. If you roll a 7 or 11, you lose. A 12 is a tie. Other outcomes establish a Come Point. To win in the Come Point Round, you must roll a 7 as opposed to re-rolling the Point number.
Other Simple Craps Bets
The field is a simple way to add more real money bets to your Craps betting portfolio.
Field Bet
Craps Board Explained Meaning
Above the Pass Line on the Craps board, you'll see the Field bar with the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12. You'll also see the words “double” over the 2, and “triple” over the 12. If you place your bet on the field bar, then you'll get paid out at 1:1 if 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 is rolled, and you'll be paid double your bet if a 2 is rolled and triple if a 12 is rolled.
How to Place Multiple Bets at Once
There are a couple of real money bets that complement each other on the Craps casino table. For example, the odds bets are designed to bolster the Pass Line and Don’t Pass bets. In order to get both of the bets on the board, you first place the Pass and Don’t Pass bets, and then, if a Point is established, you can put money on the Odds, which win and lose alongside their primary bet, but pay out at a better rate.
Craps Board Explained Practice
These Craps bets scratch the surface of Craps, but there are many more casino bets that you can experiment with once you get your feet wet in Ignition's online casino. Try playing a few practice rounds with the Pass Line and Don’t Pass Line to get a feel for the Craps casino game, and once you feel comfortable, you can begin to branch out and try different bets with real money. Soon enough, you'll go from learning the casino game to teaching others how to play Craps.