How To Bet In Craps

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Let's look at a simple scenario to see how the flat and Free Odds bets work together. Following a 7-out to end the game, the stickman prepares to push the dice to the next shooter. You make a $10 flat Pass Line bet by putting two red $5 chips in the Pass Line directly in front of you.

The long, curving section along the edge of the table closest to where the players stand is called the Pass Line.

'Pass Line' Bets

The most basic craps bet is the Pass Line bet. When you place a Pass Line bet, you're betting with the dice. In other words, you're betting that the either a 7 or an 11 will be the first number rolled (called the 'come out' roll). If this happens, you double your money right away. If a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 is rolled, this establishes a 'point.' When a point is set, you want that number to be rolled again, before a 7 is rolled (when the shooter 'sevens out'). If the shooter rolls the point before he rolls a 7, you double your money.

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  1. Any craps is a poor bet with an 11.1 percent house edge. Pass is a great bet with a 1.41 percent house edge, and players actually have an advantage on the comeout. The house makes its money after a point is established. Trying to cover the weakness in a great bet by making a poor bet is a big mistake in craps.
  2. With Craps, the only Player who must place a bet prior to the first roll of the game is the Shooter (or person who wants to roll the dice). To become eligible to become a Shooter, place a bet on the Pass Line or Don't Pass Bar.

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If the number rolled on the come out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (called Craps), you lose. If, after a point is established, a 7 is rolled before the point number is rolled again, you also lose.

Craps Bet Odds

'Don't Pass' Bets

Placing a Pass Line bet is betting with the dice, and placing a Don't Pass bet is betting against the dice. Pass Line bets are also said to be 'betting right,' while Don't Pass bets are said to be 'betting wrong.' (Not that either is any better or worse a bet than the other -- this is just craps jargon.) Don't Pass bets are just the opposite of Pass Line bets. Rather than hoping for a 7 or an 11 on the come out roll, you're hoping for a 2, 3, or 12 (the losing roll of Pass Line bets). A 2, 3, or 12 will double your money on a come out roll if you've placed a Don't Pass bet. When a point is established, rather than hoping that the point number will be rolled again before the 7 shows up, you're hoping that the point won't be rolled again before the 7 shows up -- if the 7 comes first, you win.

How to place a free odds bet in craps

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  1. Any craps is a poor bet with an 11.1 percent house edge. Pass is a great bet with a 1.41 percent house edge, and players actually have an advantage on the comeout. The house makes its money after a point is established. Trying to cover the weakness in a great bet by making a poor bet is a big mistake in craps.
  2. With Craps, the only Player who must place a bet prior to the first roll of the game is the Shooter (or person who wants to roll the dice). To become eligible to become a Shooter, place a bet on the Pass Line or Don't Pass Bar.

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If the number rolled on the come out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (called Craps), you lose. If, after a point is established, a 7 is rolled before the point number is rolled again, you also lose.

Craps Bet Odds

'Don't Pass' Bets

Placing a Pass Line bet is betting with the dice, and placing a Don't Pass bet is betting against the dice. Pass Line bets are also said to be 'betting right,' while Don't Pass bets are said to be 'betting wrong.' (Not that either is any better or worse a bet than the other -- this is just craps jargon.) Don't Pass bets are just the opposite of Pass Line bets. Rather than hoping for a 7 or an 11 on the come out roll, you're hoping for a 2, 3, or 12 (the losing roll of Pass Line bets). A 2, 3, or 12 will double your money on a come out roll if you've placed a Don't Pass bet. When a point is established, rather than hoping that the point number will be rolled again before the 7 shows up, you're hoping that the point won't be rolled again before the 7 shows up -- if the 7 comes first, you win.

Since craps is a game of chance, you need to understand why you have a greater or lesser chance of rolling different numbers. Because you're rolling two dice, your chances of rolling a specific number in craps are determined by the number of die combinations that can add up to that number. For example, 2 can only be rolled with two 1s, but 4 can be rolled with either a 1 and a 3 or two 2s. That means you have twice the chance of rolling a 3 as you do a 2. Because the 7 has the greatest number of combinations (six), it is the number that has the potential to come up most often, which is why 7 is the magic number in craps.

There are 36 possible number combinations in craps. Here is a chart showing the possible combinations for each number using two die.

How To Place A Come Bet In Craps

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From the chart, you can see that the most likely number you'll roll is a 7, followed by the 6 and the 8, then 5 and 9, then 4 and 10, then 3 and 11, and finally (and least likely) the 2 and the 12. This means you'll roll a 7 once out of every six rolls, a 6 or an 8 once out of every 7 to 8 rolls, and so on. Silver oak casino mobile login.

Odds for Each Number

By looking at the possible combinations, the 'true odds' for each number can be established. Knowing the odds in craps is good so you have a feel for the likelihood of one number being rolled before another one (e.g., is the 4 going to be rolled before the 7?).

House Edge

Now, true odds are not what the casino pays you unless you're also betting 'free odds' on top of your main bet. Best numbers to pick on roulette. Free odds, which is an additional wager you place with your original line bet, pay true odds so the casino's edge is reduced. (We'll talk more about free odds in Strategies the Winners Use.)

How To Make A Place Bet In Craps

To better explain how the casino edge works, let's take the example of flipping a coin. You have a 50/50 chance of the coin landing on heads, and a 50/50 chance of it landing on tails. If that were a bet on which you were being paid true odds, you would be paid even money. The casino, however, has to have an edge in order to make a profit on the game. So, the payoff for any given bet is less than what true mathematical odds would dictate. For example, on a bet that had true odds of 1:1, you would think that if you bet $1 and win, you would be paid $1 in winnings. But in a casino, depending on the bet, you might only be paid $.96. The difference between the true odds and what they pay you is how they make money -- it's called casino odds.

Best Way To Play Craps And Win

Another way to better understand casino odds versus true odds is to look at the definition of the casino (or house) edge. WizardOfOdds.com defines it as, 'The ratio of the average loss to the initial bet,' going on to explain that it's based on the original wager rather than the average wager so that players can have an idea of how much they are going to lose when they place a bet. For example, by knowing that the casino has a 1.41 percent edge in craps, you can know that you'll be losing 14.1 cents for every $10 bet.

How To Place A Free Odds Bet In Craps

For charts of odds for all types of bets, visit the Wizard of Odds.com.

On the next page, we'll talk about types of craps bets, their odds and what the casino pays for each.





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