Craps
Craps is known for its flexibility and wide variety of playable bets. Each roll
of the dice in a game of Craps represents an opportunity to place bets with
various risks and rewards. When playing Craps it must be appreciated that
not all rolls are the same, and that not all bets are available on each roll.
Note: All rolls count, even those instances where, for example, the dice
end up on top of each other.
SESSIONS
A game of Craps is divided into sessions. You don't have to wait for a session to end before placing bets.
Come out roll
A session begins with the come out roll, where only some of the bets are available.
During the come out roll the puck on the table is marked "OFF". The first player who arrives at the table is known as the shooter. But before the come out roll can be made, the shooter must first make a Line bet. There are also other pre-session bets available but they will be discussed in the Bets and payouts section.
The Line bet is important because it marks the start of a session and stays on the table, potentially during several rolls, until it either wins or loses. A line bet cannot be retracted or added to once a session is under way.
Setting the point
If the outcome of the come out roll is a 7 or 11, you win and the round is
over before it started. If you roll a 2, 3, or 12 that's a Craps and you lose:
again, it's over before it started. Any other number becomes the Point. The
purpose of the Come Out roll is to set the Point, which can be any of 4, 5,
6, 8, 9 or 10. When the Point is set, the puck on the table is marked "ON"
and is placed above the Point number printed on the table.
Thereafter, if the puck on the table is marked 'ON' and a 7 is rolled, and
there is more than one player at the table, the next player becomes the
shooter.
All line bets remain until they either win or lose. But although they remain on the layout, as soon as the point has been set, all line bets are transformed into another set of bets - point bets.
After the point is set
After the point is set, the basic objective in Craps thereafter is for the shooter to win by rolling the Point again before rolling a 7. If the Point is rolled, the shooter wins and the round is over. If the shooter rolls 7, the bet is lost and the round is over. If the roll is neither the Point nor 7, the round continues and the dice keep rolling.
Session end
As soon as a line bet or point bet wins or loses, the current session ends and a new one begins with a new come out roll. Once you get the hang of the line and point bets and the basic session plays you are ready to move on to all the other exciting Craps bets, as described in Bets and payouts.
