Part two: Picking your game

By Josh Zach

Walking through a casino floor is exciting. The lights of the slots stimulate the brain, sending electric signals to your financial lobe. The financial lobe is very different than the frontal lobe of the brain which carries the common sense you possess. Your financial lobe, when you enter a casino, is duped into thinking you can parlay what money you have into riches. Generally that will not happen, especially if you donπt know how to play a game. Dropping $50 on black and crossing your fingers is foolish. Education is the key in any walk of life. Would you let an insurance salesman perform brain surgery on your mother? Of course not. Would you let someone who knows nothing about poker play your money? Probably not. So, why should you trust yourself to play your own money if you, yourself, donπt know diddly about what youπre doing? I bring up this point because one of the most exciting games on the casino floor, and one which carries some of the best odds around, is craps. However, craps is a very intimidating game for someone who has no idea what theyπre doing. There are many ways in which to place a bet on a craps table which may deter you from playing the game. However, craps is not all that difficult and here you will learn the basics you need to know how to roll the dice.

Looking at the felt of a craps table is mesmerizing. Itπs a cornucopia of words, numbers, and odds. There are also more casino employees conducting a craps table than any other table on the floor. This may also add to that deep feeling of intimidation. These four people all have specific jobs. Two of them are the dealers who each monitor the action at the opposite ends of the table. They are responsible for all the bets placed at their respective ends. At the middle of the table is a person called the Boxman. This person oversees the game, monitors all the action, and keeps a watchful eye out for mechanics (cheaters). The fourth and final employee at the table is the Stickman, who handles the dice on the table and passes them to players.

The game begins with the stickman who shuttles the dice to the shooter. The shooter then tosses what is called the ≥Come Out≤ roll. If a 7 or 11 are rolled on the come out, this is called a natural, the game is over and the bettors win the amount placed on the ≥pass line≤. Bets placed on the ≥donπt pass line≤ lose.

The object of the come out roll is to establish a ≥point.≤ A point is established when a 4, 5, 6, 8, or 10 is rolled. The shooter must roll the established point another time before rolling a 7, or crapping out. For each roll in a game subsequent to the come-out roll: If the roll is the point, the game is over. Bets on the ≥pass line≤ win 1:1, while bets on the ≥donπt pass line≤ lose. If the roll is 7, the game is over and bets on the ≥pass line≤ lose. However, bets on the ≥donπt pass line≤ win 1:1 and the shooterπs turn is over. Otherwise, the game continues and the shooter rolls again.

Finally, if the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll, this is craps. Bets on the ≥pass line≤ lose. Bets on the ≥donπt pass line≤ win unless the ≥donπt pass line≤ says ≥Bar≤ and the roll is the indicated value, in which case the bet pushes and the shooterπs turn is over. During a game, bets on the pass line cannot be removed. Bets can, however, be increased. Bets on the donπt pass line may be decreased or removed, but not increased.

Lastly, to help on where to put your money down on the felt, here is a list of rounded odds that most casinos will offer: Betting on one roll to make 7 pays 4 to 1. Betting on 11 is another one-roll bet. It pays around 14 to 1, but it carries an enormous house edge and I donπt recommend it. Place bets (dropping chips on a specific number on the felt): The 4 and 10 pay 9:5 with a slight house edge, 5 and 9 pay 7:5 with roughly the same odds as 4 and 10, and 6 and 8 pay 7:6.

A Hard Way bet can be made on the 4, 6, 8 and 10. Payoff is 9:1 on the 6 or 8, and 7:1 on the 4 or 10. The house edge is about 9 percent and 11 percent, respectively. This is another bad bet.

Come and Donπt Come bets are even money bet with the exact same house percentages of 1.414 percent and 1.402 percent, as the pass line bets. The Pass Line Pays even money (house edge is small, about 1.4 percent); one of the best bets on the table. The Donπt Pass line pays even money with slightly better odds than pass line bet odds.

The Field is a one-roll bet that pays even money or 2:1 on 2 or 12. House edge is about 5.5 percent. You can also place a bet on Any Craps. This is a one-roll bet. If a 2, 3 or 12 hits, youπll get 7:1 odds. House edge is heavy which makes this a bad bet. Big 6 & 8: Player bets in boxes marked as such as receives even money instead of 6:5 true odds. House has a 9 percent edge. And finally, there is the Horn Bet, and Iπm not even going to discuss it because itπs the worst possible bet on the table and learning it will do you no good.

This is a lot of information and math to absorb. When playing craps I personally stick to the Come and Donπt Come bets. They have the best odds, and if youπre just learning the game, itπs safest place on the table to put your money. But of course, safe doesnπt always win.