Learn 1 A Day: Oh Craps

In January I visited the casino and had a pretty good time. It was a Tuesday evening when my buddies picked me up from work (sweet). One of my friends was well set on only playing Craps. He mentioned something about how the odds in Craps were better than any other games and I didn't believe him. I'm a Blackjack player, mediocre at best, and I'm confident that you have a better chance of beating the house in Blackjack. After getting Players Cards and deciding which area of the casino to play, our friend picked the very first table we came across. I stuck around as he tried to explain the rules again (he explained some in the car). I lost interest / I wanted to play Blackjack so I left.

Now that I'm doing this 1 A Day, I finally decided to sit down and learn how to play. I've quickly read through 3 different guides and have a better idea of what's going on. The guides all mention that Craps is a simple game but it intimidates people because 1. there is so much whooping and hollering going on at hot tables, 2. the table is huge and there are so many possibilities for betting (the table is actually same on both sides so more players can fit) and 3. there's a certain amount of lingo being thrown around at all the tables.

The place that I got tripped up on is the first bet, the Pass Line bet. Say you place a Pass Line bet of $5. So on the first roll, if the "shooter" rolls a 7 or 11, you automatically win your Pass Line bet back (win $5 on top of the original $5 bet). If the first roll happens to be a 2, 3, or 12, it's Craps and you lose your $5.

If the roll isn't craps (2, 3, 12) and it isn't 7 or 11, then that number becomes the Point (which can be 4,5,6,8,9,10,). Once the Point has been determined, the roller tries to hit that same number again before rolling a 7. If a 7 is rolled then you lose your Pass Line bet. As long as you don't hit the 7, you keep trying to hit the Point.

That's the most basic of the basic. There are many more bets that you can make, another example being the Odds bet which you place behind the Pass Line bet (no marked spot on the table). The purpose of the Odds bet is to bet more money behind your Pass Line bet. These are the bets that my friend was referring to that have "true odds". This means the casino doesn't take a cut of it and therefore gives the house less of an advantage. I still maintain that you have better odds of beating the house in Blackjack but everyone knows "The House Always Wins".

I tried craps online with good success, doubling my money in about 10 minutes.