How Does Craps Work

• Understanding Craps
• Craps Table Explained
• Craps Table Layout Explained

Rules and how to play Craps: The basics. Casino Craps (or Bank Craps), a dice game, is one of the most exciting casino games. It is common to hear yelling and shouting at a craps table. It is played on a. If an Any Craps appears (i.e., a 12, 3, or 2), then you win $3.50 because the payoff is 7:1 (i.e., $0.50 multiplied by 7 = $3.50). But the other half of the $1 chip is on the 'E,' which in this case is a loser because an 11 didn't appear. So, the stickman must subtract $0.50 from the $3.50 that you won for Any Craps.

Introduction

According to the constitution of the state of California, dice alone may not determine the outcome in craps. So what the casinos usually do is use some combination of dice and playing cards, or playing cards alone, to simulate the roll of two dice. My craps appendix 6 goes into detail about how several different casinos do it.

1. Place Bets in Craps Game. These bets are somewhat simple. There are actually two different types of place bets. One is called place bet to win and the other is place bet to lose. Essentially, these are bets that may be wagered at any time during the round. The numbers that can be wagered on are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.
2. To match the shooter's bet is to come up with the same amount of 'money,' in support of the opposite outcome. If you've anted up, you can throw in to match, or you can wait and bet on the side. Say the shooter makes a $10 pass bet. The other players must cumulatively come up with $10, but betting crap.
3. Shoot to Win Craps is a player-initiated craps game that recreates all the different bets of the traditional live table game. The game's user display and Help screen are easy to understand and operate. Dice are in a 'bubble' in the center of the unit. The bubble's floor vibrates for a few seconds causing the dice to gently shake and bounce.

Most California casinos have some method of using cards and dice to represent a roll. For example, six cards (the ace to six) may be placed in a random order and the dice determine which cards are flipped over to represent the roll. However, two casinos, the Viejas and San Manuel, use a shoe of only aces to sixes and select two of them to represent a roll of the dice. At the Viejas they refer to this method of playing as Play Craps. At the San Manuel it is just craps.

At the San Manuel I was told they use 312 cards. There is quite a bit of debate about how many cards they use at Viejas. The game owner claims they use six packs of 54 cards, for a total of 6×54=324 cards. However, Discount Gambling claims they use five packs of 44 cards each, for a total of 5×44=264 cards. Whenever I'm at Viejas, I always bother everybody about how many cards they use, and nobody can ever give me a straight answer to the question.

What makes the number of cards important is the effect of removal. Whatever the first card dealt is, there is less than a 1 in 6 chance of the second one matching it. With dice, there is a 1/6=16.667% chance of getting a pair. With 324 cards it is (53/323)=16.409%. With 264 cards it is 43/263=16.350%.

I'm going to present the math both ways, with 324 cards and 264 cards. You'll have to determine yourself how many they actually use.

324-Card Shoe

Probabilities in Play Craps

The next table shows the house edge for most bets under both the Viejas rules and a standard game with dice.

Probabilities in Play Craps

What stands out in the table above is that laying odds on points of 4, 6, 8, and 10 show the house edge in negative. In other words, the player has an advantage! Of course, you have to make a negative expectation don't pass bet first. The Viejas generously allows the player to lay up to 10X odds, up to a maximum win of $1,000. If the player laid the maximum odds on points of 4, 6, 8, and 10, then the overall house edge between the don't pass and laying odds would be 0.016%. If the player laid full odds on all points, then the overall house edge would be 0.011%.

264-Card Shoe

Probabilities in Play Craps

The next table shows the house edge for most bets under both the Viejas rules and a standard game with dice.

Probabilities in Play Craps

What stands out in the table above is that laying odds on points of 4, 6, 8, and 10 show the house edge in negative. In other words, the player has an advantage! Of course, you have to make a negative expectation don't pass bet first. Order little caesars online. The Viejas generously allows the player to lay up to 10X odds, up to a maximum win of $1,000. If the player laid the maximum odds on points of 4, 6, 8, and 10, then the overall PLAYER edge between the don't pass and laying odds would be 0.022%.

Those figures are based on every 'throw' coming from two random cards out of the 264-card shoe. However, the game uses a continuous shuffler. The way these shufflers work is with shelves. Any new cards coming in cannot be put into the top shelf, where new cards are dealt from. So, unless a new shelf is reached, there is a deeper penetration than just two cards. It is fairly obvious that even a slight penetration will work in the favor of the don't pass bet. The same cards used to get a point on the come out roll may not be available to be drawn again until a new shelf is hit, making it disproportionately likely to throw a seven instead, resulting in a win.

The brilliant new site discountgambling.net analyzes the effect of the shuffler and calculates a player advantage of 1.8% per don't pass line bet made. He goes on to introduce a card counting strategy to increase the advantage even more. Even if you don't live anywhere near San Diego, this site merits a visit. He has great material on Mississippi Stud and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em too.

Other Number of Decks

I have a report that the Choctaw casino in Oklahoma plays craps using eight decks of cards, using the aces to sixes only. I hear that they deal six face down and the player chooses two of them to represent a roll of the dice.

In an attempt to answer such a game for various number of decks, I present the following table, that shows the house edge of the majority of bets by number of decks used.

House Edge in Card Craps by Number of Decks

Types of Craps Bets

What stands out in the table above is that laying odds on points of 4, 6, 8, and 10 show the house edge in negative. In other words, the player has an advantage! Of course, you have to make a negative expectation don't pass bet first. Order little caesars online. The Viejas generously allows the player to lay up to 10X odds, up to a maximum win of $1,000. If the player laid the maximum odds on points of 4, 6, 8, and 10, then the overall PLAYER edge between the don't pass and laying odds would be 0.022%.

Those figures are based on every 'throw' coming from two random cards out of the 264-card shoe. However, the game uses a continuous shuffler. The way these shufflers work is with shelves. Any new cards coming in cannot be put into the top shelf, where new cards are dealt from. So, unless a new shelf is reached, there is a deeper penetration than just two cards. It is fairly obvious that even a slight penetration will work in the favor of the don't pass bet. The same cards used to get a point on the come out roll may not be available to be drawn again until a new shelf is hit, making it disproportionately likely to throw a seven instead, resulting in a win.

The brilliant new site discountgambling.net analyzes the effect of the shuffler and calculates a player advantage of 1.8% per don't pass line bet made. He goes on to introduce a card counting strategy to increase the advantage even more. Even if you don't live anywhere near San Diego, this site merits a visit. He has great material on Mississippi Stud and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em too.

Other Number of Decks

I have a report that the Choctaw casino in Oklahoma plays craps using eight decks of cards, using the aces to sixes only. I hear that they deal six face down and the player chooses two of them to represent a roll of the dice.

In an attempt to answer such a game for various number of decks, I present the following table, that shows the house edge of the majority of bets by number of decks used.

House Edge in Card Craps by Number of Decks

Types of Craps Bets

The come bet works much like the pass line bet and it is one of the most popular wagers on the table with some of the best odds and lowest house edge. The only difference between the come bet and the pass line bet is that you are wagering on the come bet only after a point has been established. The rules are still the same as the regular pass line bet.

Basically, you can wait until the shooter has established a point. The shooter will have rolled a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 and established a point. Once this has happened, you can place a come bet. When you have wagered, the shooter will keep rolling. You will lose if a 2, 3 or 12 is rolled and win if a 7 or 11 is rolled.

Any come bet is almost like an individual pass line bet on every roll. For example, if you roll anything other than 2, 3, 12 or 7, 11 or the original point, you will land on some other number which could be thought of as a 'secondary' point. Your chips will then be moved up to that other number you rolled and you can actually keep making come bets which can establish to other 'secondary' point numbers. The shooter must roll these same point numbers in order to win.

Understanding Craps

Also, if the shooter rolls the original point number (where the puck is displayed as on), the round ends, but your come bets still remain and players can make pass line bets again as well. The player will lose all of their come bets once the shooter rolls a seven. How to win baccarat for sure.

This bet pays even odds or 1:1 and the actual odds are 251:244, which leaves a small house edge of 1.41%. In fact, this is exactly the same odds as the pass line bet, which is expected. I displayed a photo of the bet below for illustration. First, the shooter throws the come out roll, which ended up being 8. The number 8 became established as the point and players could then make come bets. I made a come bet of $88. I would lose that bet if the shooter rolls a 2, 3 or 12 and win if they roll a 7 or 11. Also, if the dealer throws a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, then my chips would move up to one of those numbers and the shooter would have to throw that number again for me to win. I could also make an additional come bet at any time on any roll as long as a point is established.

Craps Table Explained

In addition to the come bet, players have the option to place a come odds bet as well, which has a 0% or no house edge! This is the same as the free pass odds wager.

Craps Table Layout Explained