Introduction to Craps

Dice represent one of the world’s oldest forms of gambling; the ability to make dice existed before card printing was even imagined. Any stone or piece of bone could be formed into a regular shape with marked sides and thrown to generate a random result; cards require paper, which came about much later.

With dice having a history longer than documented history itself, today’s most popular evolution of throwing dice, craps, cannot possibly be explained in one short article. If you really want to take up craps as a hobby, or even professionally, you should plan to do lots of research and amass several years’ experience to become reasonably well-versed in the game.

That being said, let’s explore this casino favorite a little. Craps is exciting. With its separate area in the casino, boisterous, bragging players, and ever present action, craps gives a unique energy to the game room.

craps

Craps players are, largely, a superstitious lot. Shooters ask the nearest female player or spectator to blow on the dice for luck, altruisms like “see one, bet one” abound, and selecting their two special dice from the five offered is done with a near religious reverence.

So how can a newcomer get their feet wet without getting in over their heads?

Anyone playing craps must first and foremost develop a system for managing their money. Whether you are the shooter or not, there is always something to bet on in a craps game, from hard numbers, to shooters crapping out, to come and don’t come bets, or odds behind the line. With so many opportunities to make or lose money, persons too free with their bankroll will quickly find themselves without one. Try to give yourself a limit of how much you will bet during each shooter’s turn with the dice. If you win, great. If you lose, you limit how much you lose.

Next, until you have more experience, try to stay away from the risky proposition bets. Of course the huge payoffs of Hardway bets, Horn bets, and Any 7 can tempt even seasoned gamblers, but a good rule of a thumb is that the higher the payoff, the worse the odds of it ever happening.

Until you have at least a few casino trips under your belt, do not get fancy. The best bets from an odds viewpoint are the most basic: Pass/Don’t Pass or Come/Don’t Come with odds. The odds bet behind the pass line is the only bet on the table that does not offer any edge to the house.

In later articles we will be discussing deeper the rules and strategies of craps. It is a huge topic, and I hope to cover it all eventually.