In Craps, a shooter throws a pair of dice to establish a Point - and bets are made as to whether the shooter can repeat the Point before a 7 is rolled.
The series of throws to establish and repeat the Point is called a round. Each round starts on a Come Out roll. This is the roll where the shooter attempts to establish the Point. A pair of dice can make totals ranging from 2 (
) to 12 (
), but only totals of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 can be the Point. Totals of 2 (snake eyes), 3 (cross eyes) and 12 (box cars) are called craps, but a total of 7 or 11 is called a natural.
During Come Out, rolling craps or a natural will immediately end the round, whereas a total of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 establish the Point to keep the round open. If the Point is established, we move into the midgame part of the round and the shooter continues to throw the dice until either the Point is rolled again or a total of 7 is rolled - either of which will end the round.
There can be any number of throws between the Come Out roll and the end of the round. If a 7 comes before the Point, the shooter sevens out and the dice are passed to another player for the start of the next round. On the other hand, if the shooter hits the Point, he or she can elect to keep rolling for the next round. A shooter who rolls a 2, 3 or 12 on the Come Out roll craps out and passes the dice to the next player. Rolling a natural on Come Out (7 or 11) lets the shooter keep the dice for another Come Out roll.
There are a variety of bets that can be made on each throw, some are conditional and some are bets against a specific result. Some bets can stay on the table for the entire round, some bets span rounds and some are only viable for a single throw. All the variability makes craps interesting, fascinating and fun to play.
The best way to start playing Craps is with a Pass Line bet on the Come Out roll. A 7 or 11 on Come Out make it an immediate winner, paying 1-to-1. If a Point is established, then the Pass Line bet will pay 1-to-1 if the Point is repeated before a 7.
To start, click on a chip denomination in the control panel and then click on bet spots in the table layout to place bets. Each left-click on a bet spot places a chip and each right-click removes a chip. If you place more than the maximum bet on any given spot, your bet will automatically be reduced to the maximum allowed. The total amount of all the bets you have on the table will be shown in the Total Bet counter.
As you mouse-over each bet spot on the table layout, text will appear at the bottom of the control panel to tell you the bet name, payout odds, amount already placed and maximum bet for that spot. For example: "$5 Big 6 bet pays 1-to-1 ($100 Max)".
You can choose to throw the dice yourself, or pass the dice to "another" player who will throw them on each roll. Set the Throw/Pass button on the control panel accordingly.
When you have all your bets placed, you are ready to roll the dice. Click Roll on the control panel. If you've "passed" the dice, they will appear coming from the right of the screen as if thrown by another player. When the dice settle out, their final values will appear on the Results Board in the upper left corner, winning bets will be paid, resolved bets will be removed and the total amount paid out to you will be shown in the Message Window in the upper right.
If you elected to throw the dice, a shooter view of the table will appear when you click Roll. On initial Come Out rolls you will select two of five dice for your round of throws. Click on the two dice you want use. To throw the dice, use your mouse to position the arm, left-click and hold to cock the arm and then release the left mouse button to toss the dice down the table. The shooter window will disappear once the dice have settled out at the far end.
