Basic craps terminology: Shooter: the current dice thrower. Come-out roll: The shooter's first roll. Pass: If the shooter wins his game, by any means, he is said to "Pass". Don't Pass: The term used if the shooter loses. The following illustration depicts the left half of a craps table. The bets to the bottom right, therefore, are referred to as the center bets, as they are actually in the center of a full sized table.

To bet with the shooter, you must place your bet in an area marked ""Pass Line", before the new shooter rolls the dice. The so-called "Pass Line" is a strip on the table layout marked by two lines roughly two inches wide and it rims the entire table layout across from the Box Man. To bet against the shooter, you must place your bet in an area marked "Don’t Pass". This area is a strip on the table layout and it rims the table directly above the "Pass Line".No matter what stage the game is in, whether on the "Come Out" roll, or in progress, you can jump in immediately and place any bets. The only exception to this is the bet called the "Pass Line" bet with odds", which can be made only on the "Come Out" roll. You can, however, bet with the shooter even while the game is in progress by placing a "Pass Line" bet without odds. Placing your chips halfway over one of the two lines framing the "Pass Line" area does this.

Craps is one of the most exciting table games played in online casinos today. It is one of the few truly social games played in modern casino, and one of the few played with dice. While the game's apparent complexity and odd jargon may, at first, be intimidating you will find the game of Craps to be enjoyable and rewarding. Objective The object of Craps is to predict the outcome of a roll of the dice. Playing the Game Playing Craps can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it. There are an extensive array of betting options available but the player only needs to understand a few of them to play the game, have fun and win. Craps is a game of dice. The player is betting on which numbers the next roll of the dice will produce (or won't produce.) In its simplest form the player (called the shooter) will place a bet on the Pass line (or on the Don't Pass Line) and try to roll a seven or an eleven. If the shooter succeeds the bet will pay even money and the shooter can make another bet. This first roll is called the 'Come Out' roll. Should the player fail to roll a seven or eleven then a 'point' is established on the number of the value of the dice rolled. Once a point is established the shooter's object is to roll the same number again before the next seven is rolled. If a seven is rolled the shooter looses his bet. Once a point has been established the shooter can not remove his bet from the table. While the shooter is trying to make the point he can add extra bets to the table. Types of Bets The Pass BetThis is a bet that the shooter will throw a 7 or 11 on the come-out roll or, alternatively, that the shooter will make the point before the next 7 is rolled. The Don't Pass BetThis is the opposite of the pass bet. This bet is placed against the shooter and wins if Craps (2, 3 or 12) is thrown on the come-out roll or if the shooter fails to make the point. If a 12 is thrown, the bet ties. The Come BetThis bet is similar to the pass bet but cannot be made on the come-out roll. Traditionally the Come and Don't Come bets are available to allow players just joining the table to take part in the action immediately, instead of having to wait for the shooter to make or miss the point! The Don't Come BetAgain, this bet is similar to the 'Don't Pass' bet, but can not be made on the come-out roll. Odds BetThis is an additional bet made on a Pass, Don't Pass, Come or Don't Come bet that has already been placed. 'Odds' bets can only be made once the point has been established. The advantage of an Odds bet is that it is paid out at the correct odds. Win BetThis bet can be made on the following numbers: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. It is a bet that the relevant number will be rolled BEFORE a seven is rolled. Lose BetThis bet can be made on the following numbers: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. It is a bet that a seven will be rolled BEFORE the relevant number comes up. Field BetThis is a bet on the outcome of the next throw. It pays even money if a 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 are rolled and pays 2 to 1 if a 2 or 12 are rolled. Hardways BetThis bet can be made on a 4, 6, 8 or 10. It is a bet that the relevant number will be rolled in its double form (i.e. 2 dice showing 4 would be HARDWAY 8) BEFORE a seven AND before that number is rolled in any other combination. Any SevenThis is a bet on the outcome of the next throw. It pays 5 for 1 (4 to 1) if a seven is rolled in the next throw. Any CrapsThis is a bet on the outcome of the next throw. It pays 8 for 1 (7 to 1) if a 2, 3 or 12 is rolled in the next throw. Craps TwoThis is a bet on the outcome of the next throw. It pays 30 to 1 if a 2 is rolled in the next throw. Craps TwelveThis is a bet on the outcome of the next throw. It pays 30 to 1 if a 12 is rolled in the next throw. Craps ThreeThis is a bet on the outcome of the next throw. It pays 15 to 1 if a 3 is rolled in the next throw. ElevenThis is a bet on the outcome of the next throw. It pays 15 to 1 if an 11 is rolled in the next throw. HornThis is a single roll bet on any Craps (2, 3 or 12) and 11. Odds are paid out accordingly. Big 6 and Big 8These are a bet that the appropriate number (6 or 8) will be rolled before the next seven. It pays even money. You can play Craps either for fun

Game Play To play the game of Craps, place your bets by placing chips on the Craps table. Click the casino chip icons to add chips to your hand. Click the chips in your hand to remove them. To place a bet, click on the region of the table for the type of bet you wish to place. The chips in your hand will be placed on the table. Green areas indicate bets that can be placed (added to); conversely, red areas indicate bets that cannot be made. To remove a bet from the table, right click on the bet. The amount of chips in your hand will be removed from the stack on the table. When you have finished placing bets on the table, click the Roll button to start the dice rolling. After the dice come to a rest, losing bets are removed from the table, and winning bets are paid. For winning bets, the original bet amount is returned after the winnings are paid out. Also, any bets that tie (push) are returned. If you wish to make the same bets again for the next roll, press the Repeat Bet button and all of your previous bets will be placed again (those that can be validly placed) All bets have to be made prior to rolling the dice. Craps Bets The Pass Line: The pass line is the most fundamental bet in craps, almost every player at the table bets on it. The house edge on the pass line is only 1.41%, which is not bad compared to most other bets on the table and other games in the casino. The pass line is an even money bet. You start by placing your bet on the pass line area on the table on a come out roll. If the come out roll is a 7 or 11 you win, which is called a “natural”. If the come out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (craps) you lose. If any point is rolled on the come out roll if the point is rolled again before a 7 you win. If a 7 comes before the point you lose. That is all there is to it. Once you understand the pass line bet you are ready to play craps. You may want to practice using fun money a few times before playing for real money. Buying the Odds: Have you ever wanted a bet with no house edge? Craps offers just such a bet, as long as you bet on the pass line first. Once a point has been thrown you may bet up to some multiple, usually 2 times, your pass line bet on the 'odds.' The odds are simply an additional wager that the point will be rolled before a 7. Because the probability of the point being rolled first is less than 50% you win more than you bet if it happens. Specifically if the point is a 6 or 8 the odds pay 6:5, if the point is a 5 or 9 the odds pay 3:2, and if the point is a 4 or 10 the odds pay 2:1. The multiple you may bet on the odds is usually twice the pass line bet for points of 4, 5, 9, and 10, and two and a half times the pass line bet on the 6 and 8. The reason you may bet more on a point of 6 or 8 is so that you can place a $5 odds bet on top of a $2 pass line bet. A $4 odds bet on a 6 or 8 would win $4.80. A $5 odds bet on the 6 or 8 wins an even $6. Don’t Pass: The don't pass is almost the opposite of the pass line bet. If the come out roll is a 2 or 3 then you win, a 7 or 11 you lose. A 12 is a push. Otherwise the dice are rolled over and over until either the point or a 7 is rolled. If the 7 comes before the point you win. A person betting on the don't pass is not the wager of choice by many players, since this bet is betting against the shooter. This is called a "wrong" bettor and is usually winning when everyone else is losing, and vice versa. The house edge on the don't pass bet is 1.364%. Laying the Odds: This is the opposite of buying odds, in other words betting that a 7 will be rolled before the point. If the point is a 4 or 10 the don't odds pay 1:2. If the point is a 5 or 9 the don't odds pay 2:3. If the point is a 6 or 8 the don't odds pay 5:6. Come: Have you ever become bored waiting for a point to be thrown and didn't want to waste your money on the sucker bets to guarantee a money flow on every throw? If so then try the come bet. It is like the pass line bet but may be made at any time. Like the pass line bet you might put money on the odds if a point is thrown on the first roll after the come bet is placed and has a house edge of 1.41%. There is a nuance to the come bet the player should know about. If a point is thrown and there are still active come bets on the table waiting for a different point then special rules apply for the following come out roll. The come out roll will still apply to active come bets but it will not apply to their respective odds bets. In the event a come bet is resolved on a come out roll then the odds bet will be returned. A good strategy for the player who likes constant action is to have a new bet on either the pass line or come on every throw, and to always take the maximum allowable odds. This bet is one of the more exciting bets to make in Craps. A lot of players use this bet to get more numbers working for them at the same time, six in all. Don’t Come: What the don't pass is to the pass, the don't come is to the come. If the shooter rolls a 2 or 3, you win. A 12 constitutes a tie. You lose on 7 or 11. Any other number is the “come point”. You win if a seven is rolled before the come point and lose if the come point is rolled before a 7 is rolled. The Place Number Bets: In craps the 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are known as the "place numbers." For the player who must have money on some or all of them immediately they may make certain bets to cover any place number(s) they desire.bets work just like the odds but pay worse odds, with the exception of the "hard way" bets, which are described below. Like odds bets on top of come or don't come bets, place number bets are on during a come out roll.bets can be removed at any time. There is a high price for impatience in craps in the form of a higher house edge. To further exploit the impatient or ignorant player there can be two or three different bets on the exact same thing, and they will all pay different odds. You might think players would only bet on the option with the best odds but you would be quite wrong, it is routine to see players throwing their money away on the higher house edge versions of the same bet. For example the place bet on 6, the buy bet on 6, and the big 6 all are betting that a 6 will be rolled before a 7 but pay 7:6, 24:21, and 1:1 respectively, for house edges of 1.52%, 4.76%, and 9.09%. Specific descriptions of the various bets are below. Big 6: A bet that a 6 will be rolled before a 7. Pays even money, house edge of 9.09%. Big 8: same as the Big 6 only that an 8 will be rolled before a 7. Buy Bets: This is essentially the same as the place bet, only with a different payoff. The player may "buy" any of the points (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10), which means to bet that the number will be rolled before a 7. When making a buy bet, you must pay a 4% commission and your bet will pay fair odds if it wins. Fair odds are 2:1 on the 4 and 10, 3:2 on the 5 and 9, and 6:5 on the 6 and 8. Another way to look at it is that the buy bet pays 48:25 on the 4 and 10, 36:25 on the 5 and 9, and 144:125 on the 6 and 8. The pay out on all bets will be rounded down to the nearest quarter. The house edge on all buy bets is 4.76%. Hard Ways: There are four different hard way bets. For example a hard 4 bet is betting that a pair of twos will be rolled before a 7 or any other way to roll a total of 4. This is called "the hard way" because it is harder to roll two twos than a one and a three. Likewise you can bet on a hard 6, 8, or 10, each of which is a bet that the hard way of rolling the given number will occur before a 7 or any "easy" way. The casino pays 7:1 on a hard 4 or 10 with a house edge of 11.11%. The casino pays 9:1 on a hard 6 or 8 with a house edge of 9.09%. Lay Bets: The lay bet is the opposite of the buy bet and the same as the place bet to lose but with different paybacks. The lay bets may be placed on the 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. The bet itself is that a 7 will be rolled before the number you choose. Because the 7 is the most likely number to be rolled you will wager more than you can win. The player must pay a 4% commission on the possible winnings and the fair odds are paid on the bet itself. Fair odds are 1:2 on the 4 and 10, 2:3 on the 5 and 9, and 5:6 on the 4 and 8. Another way to look at it is that lay bet pays 12:25 on the 4 and 10, 16:25 on the 5 and 9, and 12:15 on the 6 and 8. The house edge on the 4 and 10 is 2.44%, on the 5 and 9 it is 3.23%, and on the 6 and 8 it is 4.00%. Note that the house edge on the lay bet is lower than the place bet to lose on the 4 and 10 only, if you want to make a lay bet on the 5, 6, 8, or 9 you would be advised to make a place to lose instead. Place Bets: This is very similar to laying odds. You may bet on a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. If the number you bet on is rolled before a 7 then you win according to payoff schedule below. Unlike laying odds you don't need to have a pass line bet, you don't have to bet on the point, but there is a house edge. A place bet on 4 or 10 pays 9:5 with a house edge of 6.67%, you bet $10, win $18 A place bet on 5 or 9 pays 7:5 with a house edge of 4.00%, you bet $10, win 14 A place bet on 6 or 8 pays 7:6 with a house edge of only 1.52%, you bet $12, win $14 When a place bet wins, you are paid your winnings and your original bet is returned. You may take back an active place bet at any time. Field Bet: A field bet is a one-roll bet. If the shooter rolls a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12, you win even money with the exception of 2 which pays 2:1 or 12, which pays either 2:1 or 3:1. Please see below for more explanation on field bets under Proposition Bets. The Proposition Bets: Proposition bets either win or lose on the next throw. In general these have the highest house edge of all the craps bets and for the player with any sense are to be avoided completely. Specific descriptions of the various bets are below. Craps 2: A bet that a 2 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 30:1. House edge 13.89%. Craps 3: A bet that a 3 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 15:1. House edge 11.11%. 7: A bet that a 7 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 4:1. House edge 16.67%. 11: A bet that an 11 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 15:1. House edge 11.11%. Craps 12: A bet that a 12 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 30:1. House edge 13.89%. Any Craps: A bet that the next roll will be a 2, 3, or 12. Pays 7:1. House edge 11.11%. Field Bet: This is a one time bet that the next roll will be a 2,3,4,9,10,11, or 12. The 3,4,9,10, and 11 pay even money. The 2 pays 2:1. The 12 usually pays 3:1 but some tight casinos only pay 2:1. If the 12 pays 2:1 the house edge is 5.56%, if the 12 pays 3:1 the house edge is 2.78%. On the surface this seems like a great bet because 7 numbers win and only 4 lose. However the 4 that lose are much more likely to be rolled.

The game of craps is the most popular dice game in the United States at the moment there are a few different theories about its origin. Dice games can be traced back to the roman times with shaved pigs knuckles being used as the dice. Craps however was based on the game hazard, which was popular in the 17th and 18th century in England. The name craps is believed to have derived from the English crabs which was the name for the throw of aces or ace-deuce. The game moved over to the United States when the French moved to New Orleans and the French pronounced the game craps and in there version of the game the player throws against the house and not another player like the English version of the game. The game was very popular on the Mississippi river boats and it was a simplified version of modern day craps that was spread about the United States. There are two modern day versions of craps played today. Street craps has more in common with the riverboat game than Bank craps and it is so named as it can be played on the street. A shooter establishes a point, then tries to make that point. Bettors either bet with the shooter or against the shooter. Someone must cover the bet for the shooter in order for the game to progress. Bank craps is the form played in the casinos and has a more complicated form of betting with the house covering the bets.