Dice Kingdom

How to Play Craps

Craps, used to be known as crabs, is a dice game mostly played at casinos. It is believed to be derived from an Old English game called "hazard". The players wager their money against the casino, depending on the result of rolling two dice once or more.

Other than the casinos, craps can also be played in non-formal settings, where side bets are more than welcomed. This invites several participants to wager against the dice. The game is said to be a very popular past-time among soldiers.

The Basic Rule

To start the game, the first player rolls the dice. This player is called a "shooter" and the the first roll of a new round is called a "come-out roll". As with all rounds of the game, players take turns in rolling the two dice. All bets on the same roll, regardless of who is rolling. The bets are based on the combined total value of the dice, or on specific combinations as agreed on by the participants.

Rules for Different Bets

Having numerous participants, means a lot of bets. Corresponding rules for two of these craps wagers are briefly explained below:

Pass Line wager: The basic of the bets is the so-called "pass line" wager. It is the best liked choice by most players. Here, the bettors win with whenever a 7 or 11 is rolled. On the other hand, the values 2, 3, or 12 rolled mean loses. This lost is called "craps". Any other number rolled is called the point. Bettors can still win when a point is set. That is if the point is rolled again. But if a 7 is rolled first, an event called "seven-out", the bettors lose. The shooter shall continue to roll even on a "crap" result until a seven-out occurs. At this point, the turn of rolling dice passes to the next shooter for a new come-out roll.

Don't Pass Bet: Opposite the pass line bet, is the "don't pass" bet. This bet wins whenever a roll results to a 2 or 3. It loses on a roll of 7 or 11. But on a roll resulting to 12 it is tied. It can also come to a point round when any other number is rolled wins. Opposite the pass line bettors who are called right bettors, players who bet here are called wrong bettors. This is due to the reason the a pass line bet is more popularly chosen by players instead of the don't pass bet.

Standard Security Rules

Dice shall be played by only one hand thrown at the farthest wall at the end of the table. They cannot be thrown higher than the eye level of the dealers. In the case that the dice slip out of the table, they are replaced by the casino dealers.