How to Play Craps: A Beginner’s Guide

If you walk through any major casino, you will immediately notice a table that is much louder and more crowded than blackjack or roulette. People are screaming, high-fiving strangers, and cheering while someone rolls the dice across a massive table. This highly intimidating game is the game of Craps. To an absolute novice, the game seems terrifyingly complicated. The felt is covered in weird text, complex jargon being yelled by the dealers. But this is a huge misconception. Despite its terrifying visual appearance, craps is actually one of the simplest, and most profitable games in Vegas. If you can ignore the noise and learn one single bet, you can confidently roll the dice.

The Only Bet You Need to Know: How the Game Starts

The only logical way to survive the craps table is to completely ignore 95% of the table. The confusing center sections are designed to steal your money designed specifically to drain your bankroll. You only need to focus on one single, massive stripe that borders the felt: the Pass Line bet. Betting on this line is the fundamental core of the entire game. At the start of a round, the person rolling the dice (the “Shooter”) makes their very first throw, which is called the “Come-Out Roll”. If you bet the Pass Line, you win instantly if the Come-Out roll is a 7 or an 11. You instantly lose your bet on a 2, 3, or 12. The math is that basic: 7/11 wins, 2/3/12 loses.

Establishing the Point: The Goal of the Shooter

But what about the other numbers? If the result is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number is now the Point. The dealer will take a large plastic puck and places it directly onto that specific number on the table layout. The goal now changes. To secure a win, the shooter must roll the dice again and again until they roll the Point again. If the Point hits, you win. But there is a fatal flaw: if the shooter rolls a 7 before they hit the Point, this is called “Sevening Out”. You lose your bet, the game resets, and the dice are passed to the next player at the table. The whole table is basically just a massive group of people hoping the Point hits before the 7.

• The Best Bet in the Casino: Once a Point is established, you can place additional chips directly behind your original Pass Line bet. This is called “Taking Odds,” and it is the only wager that pays true mathematical odds. The casino makes zero profit on this bet.
• Don’t Pass Line: You can bet that the table will lose. You win when others lose, or if the shooter fails. It is technically a smarter bet, but you will be the most hated person at the table because you are betting with the house.
• Avoid the Center of the Table: The ‘Hardways’ and ‘Any Seven’ bets with the huge payouts are sucker bets that will drain your cash. Avoid them completely.

The Rules at a Glance: The Only Rules You Need

To make your very first trip to the craps table, as easy and stress-free as possible, review the simple cheat sheet below. It summarizes the absolute core mechanics of the only bet you will ever need to make: the Pass Line.

In conclusion, do not let the loud table intimidate you. The casino purposefully designs the table layout to look like a math puzzle so that amateur players will randomly throw chips on terrible, high-house-edge sucker bets. When you arrive, betting only on the Pass Line, taking your odds, and ignoring the proposition bets, you are playing a nearly even game games in the entire casino industry. Join the fun, and experience the greatest time in the world.