Understanding Craps
Craps is a dice game in which the players make wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other (playing 'street craps') or a bank (playing ' casino craps', also known as 'table craps', or often just 'craps'). Yes, you can still use a strategy blind without understanding Craps rules, but you might end up confused as to why your bet didn’t win. Craps Winning Strategies. All of the strategies we are presenting here are winning craps strategies. But in the end, Craps is a game based on luck, so there are no guaranteed winning strategies available. How to win at craps: Craps Betting Strategy #1 - Use craps rules to your favor Taking odds is the best bet in the house - period. Without a doubt, playing odds is the best winning craps strategy by far. But understand, even 100X doesn't eliminate the house edge as seen in this wizardofodds craps chart. Understanding the math behind the game of Craps is highly recommended. It is a long page but worth reading to understand the math behind a game of craps. Understanding the math behind the game of Craps is highly recommended. It is a long page but worth reading to understand the math behind a game of craps.
There’s no getting around it: Craps is one of the more difficult casino games for casino beginners to learn. But it’s also one of the most exciting casino games to play, and once you get the hang of it, you don’t have to think too hard about Craps game strategy – just roll the dice and see what happens, online or live.
To make Craps a bit simpler, we’ve got a new, streamlined online Craps layout here at Ignition's online casino. The Classic game version is still available, and many online players will prefer to keep it old-school, but if you’re new to Craps, online or live, consider starting with the newer casino game version. We’re going to use this new casino game version as a reference in this online Craps guide, which explains the various Craps bets and where they can be found on the Craps table. Once you understand how a Craps table works, it becomes much easier to play Craps for real money.
While this online Craps casino game guide will acquaint you with several of the most popular Craps bets, casino beginners may need a more in-depth Craps explanation, which you can find in our Beginners Guide to Craps.
Craps Table Basics
Before beginning to play online Craps games, it’s helpful to get a run-down of the Craps table game basics. On the welcome bar at the top of the online Craps casino game table, you can see your real money bankroll and how much you’re betting. The menu at the top left will take you to a set of online casino player controls where you can toggle the sound on and off, view the rules for Craps games, and make real money deposits. The different denominations of chips ($1 to $500) are available at the far left, along with a “REBET” button to speed up the game when you’re using a standard Craps bet size.
Where to Find the Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line
The middle section of the Craps casino game layout is where most of the magic happens. This is where you’ll find the basic line play bets, including with the Pass Line and Don’t Pass Bar. New Craps players are recommended to start with Pass Line wagers, where you’re betting on the shooter (you, in this case) to win. Drag and drop your online chips on the Pass Line, which is the bottom row on the casino Craps table. Then when you’re ready, roll the dice.
The Pass Line pays even-money if you land a 7 or 11, and loses with a 2, 3, or 12; rolling anything else results in a Point. If you establish a Point, you’ll see the ON/OFF button at the top of the layout flip to the ON side and slide across to the number you’ve rolled (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) to make it easy to remember. With Pass Line bets, you want to re-roll the Point—not a 7.
The Don’t Pass Bar is wedged between the Don’t Come Bar and the Don’t Pass Odds. This casino play bet is available only at the start of the round and pays when you land a 2 or 3 on the come-out. Rolling a 7 or 11 results in a loss, and a 12 is a push. All other numbers establish a Point Round, with the number you rolled being designated the Point number. To win your Don’t Pass bet during the Point Round, you must roll a 7; re-rolling the Point results in a loss.
Where are the Come, Don’t Come Bets?
When a Point is established, Come bets become available. This even-money bet initiates a mini round, making the next roll a secondary come-out roll. Just like with the Pass Line, if the outcome is a 7, or 11, the Come bet pays immediately. A 2, 3, or 12 results in a loss. Rolling a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 starts a Point Round for the Come bet, where you want to re-roll the Point before rolling a 7.
The Don’t Come Bar follows the same rules as the Don’t Pass Bar, and is available only during a Point Round. If you bet the Don’t Come, the next roll (the secondary come-out roll) pays if you land a 2 or 3, loses if you land a 7 or 11, and ties with a 12. All other outcomes initiate a Point Round for the Don’t Come bet, at which point, you’re hoping to roll a 7 before rerolling the Point.
Ready to make a Come and Don’t Come bet? On the online Craps casino game board, look below the black puck that says OFF for the Don’t Come Bar. You can drag and drop chips onto the rectangle to wager on it. As for the Come bet, look right above the field for the row that says Come. Drop chips anywhere on that row during a Point Round. At Ignition, the allowable betting range is $1-$100 for individual Craps bets, including Come bets.
Where to Find Big 6 and Big 8 Bets
The Big 6 and Big 8 bets are located at the bottom-left corner of the Craps casino game table. These are two separate bets that pay even-money if you land a 6 or 8 (depending on which bet you take) before rolling a 7. These online Craps play bets are available once a Point is established.
Where to Find Odds Bets
With zero casino house edge attached, the play odds are the best Craps bet in the online house. These are available only during a Point Round, and bolster your Pass Line or Don’t Pass bet. When you get Pass Odds, they pay when you roll the Point, and lose when you roll a 7. With Don’t Pass Odds, they pay when you roll a 7, and lose if you re-roll the Point. The real money payout depends on the Point number.
Where to Find Place to Win and Place to Lose Bets
Place to Win and Place to Lose bets become available during the Point Round and can be removed after any roll. Place to Win involves choosing a Point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) that you think will be rolled before a 7. Place to Lose involves choosing a Point number, and hoping that a 7 is rolled before that Point number.
The Place to Win and Lose betting rectangles are immediately above and below the Point numbers on the online Craps casino game board. Grab an online play chip and hover it over the top of the number, and you’ll see Place to Lose pop up; Place to Win will appear when you hover just below any of the Point numbers.
Where to Find Buy and Lay Bets
Understanding Craps Odds Payouts
Understanding Craps Table
Buy and Lay online play bets are the same as Place to Win and Place to Lose except for the payout. Once a Point is established, you can Buy a number, which means you’re betting that the number purchased will be rolled before a 7. Laying a bet involves choosing a Point number and betting that a 7 will be rolled before that chosen number is rolled. Both bets pay at true odds, but charge a 5% commission at the time of purchase.
To take a Buy bet, drag and drop chips on the rectangle between the Come Bar and the Place to Win rectangle. When you hover over it, you’ll see BUY followed by whichever number you’re buying. As for the Lay bet, it’s in the rectangle above the Place to Lose area.
Understanding Craps
Where to Find Field Bets
Between the Come Bar and the Pass Line, you’ll see a rectangle that says FIELD. In the rectangle, there are numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12, with DOUBLE written over the 2, and TRIPLE written over the 12. These are your Field bets.
A Field bet is a single-roll wager on one of the numbers included in the field being rolled next. It pays when a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 is the next roll, and loses if a 5, 6, 7, or 8 is rolled next. If a 2 is rolled, the real money payout is doubled, and if a 12 is rolled, the real money payout is tripled. All other winning Craps play numbers result in a 1:1 payout.
Where to Find Proposition Bets
The Proposition bets are found in the bottom-right corner of the Craps play table, and they include both single-roll bets, which are resolved with a single roll of the dice, like Yo (11) and Any Craps (2, 3 or 12), and multi-roll bets, like the Hardway bets.
The Hardway online play bets are when you a roll a number with two identical dies. For example, rolling a 6 the hard way means rolling two Threes. Rolling 8 the hard way means rolling two Fours. Rolling 8 with a Five and Three is rolling it the easy way. You must roll the selected number the hard way in order to win; if you roll a 7, or roll the selected number the easy way, you lose. You keep rolling until one of these outcomes is achieved.
All other Craps play bets in the Proposition Bet section are single-roll bets that pay if you land the selected number on the next roll. Just drag and drop any number of Craps casino chips, up to the maximum $100, on the space that represents the bet you want to place, then hit the Roll button.
You’ll get a better understanding of how these Craps casino bets work by playing Craps in Practice Play mode for free. The more you understand the game, the more fun Craps is to play, so roll the bones and let us know what you think.