How to cover your craps cracks
How to cover your craps cracks
It could be argued that craps represents something of the unsung hero when it comes to casino games, as the other games on offer at these establishments – such as roulette, blackjack, baccarat and poker – tend to grab more of the attention when it comes to pop culture areas like films. However craps remains a very popular game among casino enthusiasts, due its fast moving nature and the big variety of bets that it offers. The majority of craps tables in modern casinos are double layout ones, with the supervisory boxman on one side and the stickman on the other pushing the dice and controlling the game tempo.
Craps can seem like rather a daunting proposition for those who are new to casino games – largely because of the noisy, fast pace of the game and the large betting choice. What it is important to remember though is that, of all of those numerous betting options, most can be disregarded. In fact, there are really only two types of bet you need to understand to start playing craps – with the pass bet being one. This is the bet that the majority of players make in craps, and essentially it means that when the first dice roll by a new shooter – referred to as the ‘come out roll’ – produces an 11 or 7 score those who placed pass bets win, while if it produces 12, 2 or 3, they lose. If it produces 10, 9, 8, 6, 5 or 4, another roll is required until either the point is rolled once more or the shooter scores a 7. Should the former happen, pass bettors win, if it is the latter, they lose. The other key craps bet is the odds bet, which has the big advantage of providing no edge for the house and this kind of placed behind pass line bets, as a side bet on the point being rolled ahead of a 7.
Of course there are many more types of bets that you can make in craps – including the likes of don’t pass, come, don’t come, place and field bets, and you will eventually wish to learn all about these if you are serious about the game. However, while you are still a casual player, you will need to avoid some of the glaring errors that many new players make – with one key one being not understanding the house edge. Different types of bets have different percentages of house edge, and you want the ones with the lowest. This means ignoring completely bets like the High-Low, the Fire Bet, Hop bets, the Field, the Any 7, the Hardways, the Whirl and the Horn, as all of these stack the odds in favour of the casino – some giving the house a 25 percent edge. It is bets like Odds – no house edge at all – Don’t Come, Don’t Pass, Come and Pass Line (Insert 4 here) bets that you should stick to as the house edge here averages around 1.4 percent. Thus the single biggest mistake you can make in craps is overcomplicating things but should you need a checklist of things not to do in craps check out 888casinos blog post about craps mistakes as it should give you an idea of what not to do when playing.
This has hopefully provided you with a starting point for winning at craps, and remembering that only a handful of bets will really pay is the key.
