If you walk through any major casino, you will undoubtedly find one specific table that is significantly louder and more crowded than blackjack or roulette. People are screaming, high-fiving strangers, and cheering while someone rolls the dice down the length of a massive, incredibly confusing green felt table. This loud, complex game is called Craps. To a complete beginner, the betting layout looks like an alien language. There are dozens of different betting sections, and players are throwing chips everywhere. However, this is actually a massive illusion. Despite its terrifying visual appearance, the core game is incredibly basic, and most mathematically player-friendly games in the entire casino. By understanding one rule, you can join the fun.
The Pass Line Bet: The Come-Out Roll
The only logical way to start playing this game is to look away from the center of the board. All those fancy boxes and strange words are mathematically terrible "sucker bets" with massive house edges. You only care about one line that borders the felt: the "Pass Line". Betting on this line is the fundamental core of the entire game. When a new round begins, the shooter makes their very first throw, which is called the "Come-Out Roll". If you have a bet on the Pass Line, you instantly win even money if the Come-Out roll is a 7 or an 11. You instantly lose your bet if the Come-Out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (known as "Crapping Out"). That is the first step: Win on 7/11, lose on craps.
The Ongoing Game: Chasing the Point
But what happens if the Come-Out roll is not a winner or a loser? If the shooter rolls any other number a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number is now the Point. The dealer takes a white puck and places it on top of that number. The goal now changes. To win your Pass Line bet, the shooter keeps throwing until they hit that exact "Point" number a second time. If the Point hits, you win. However, there is a catch: if a 7 appears before they hit the Point, this is called "Sevening Out". Every single Pass Line bet instantly loses, the game resets, and the next person shoots. The entire excitement is a group effort trying to avoid the 7.
The Best Bet in the Casino: Once a Point is established, you can back up your bet. This is the Odds bet and it is the only wager that pays true mathematical odds. It is a perfectly fair bet. Don't Pass Line: You can bet that the table will lose. This is betting on the 7, or when the shooter sevens out. It is technically a smarter bet, but you will be the most hated person at the table since you win when the table loses. Avoid the Center of the Table: The 'Hardways' and 'Any Seven' bets with the pictures of dice are terrible math traps with huge casino advantages. Do not touch those bets.
Craps Basics Cheat Sheet: A Quick Summary
For a quick reference before you play, to guarantee you know what to do, look at this basic chart. It summarizes the absolute core mechanics of the only bet you will ever need to make: the Pass Line.
The Dice RollWhat the Shooter RollsThe Result The Start7 or 11You get paid The StartShooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 (Crapping Out).You instantly LOSE your bet. The round resets. The Middle PhaseThe Point is setThe number becomes the Point. The game moves to the next phase. The Ongoing GameShooter rolls the exact Point number again BEFORE rolling a 7.Massive Win The Ongoing GameRolls a 7 (Seven Out)Table groans, you lose
To wrap it up, craps is actually incredibly simple. The operators create the board to look like a math puzzle so that amateur players will make bad bets. By stepping up to the table, betting only on the Pass Line, avoiding the middle of the table, and ignoring the proposition bets, you are playing a nearly even game game on the floor. Join the fun, and enjoy the absolute most thrilling, high-energy casino experience Las Vegas has to offer.