I don’t think any game that is played in Las Vegas is more daunting than craps (or, dice). The table layout looks terribly complicated, and the action moves very fast, so a casual observer can easily surmise that they will never understand the game.
Well, it just ain’t so, Gracie…
While it’s true that playing craps requires a high school understanding of math (actually, that’s the secret!), anyone with average intelligence can learn to play the game correctly. And, when played correctly, craps has one of the lowest house advantages on the casino floor. Not only that, but, it’s a ton of fun, as well.
OK! Let’s get the math part out of the way at the onset….
Any pair of dice is made up of two identical cubes. By their very nature, cubes have six faces: top, bottom, and four sides. With dice, each cube has “dots” on each of these faces that correspond to a number, 1 thru 6. On dice that are marked correctly, the numbers on opposite faces always add up to seven (1-6, 2-5, 3-4). When thrown, a pair of dice can show any one of eleven numbers on the top faces (1 &1 thru 6 & 6). That gives us 36 possible combinations. It’s the number of ways that the two dice can show individual numbers that determine the odds of the game.
Explanation….
When you throw a pair of dice, there is only one way that the top faces can add up to two: 1 spot on each die. There is also only one way to make a twelve: six spots on each die. So, the chances of rolling a 2 or a 12 on any given roll of the dice is 1 in 36. Digging a bit deeper, we find:
- there are two ways the dice can show a 3 (1-2 and 2-1)
- there are three ways to make a 4 (2-2, 3-1, 1-3)
- there are four ways to make a 5 (2-3, 3-2, 1-4, 4-1)
- there are five ways to make a 6 ( 3-3, 4-2, 2-4,1-5, 5-1)
- there are six ways to make a 7 (1-6, 6-1, 2-5, 5-2, 3-4, 4-3)
- there are five ways to make an 8 (2-6, 6-2, 3-5, 5-3, 4-4)
- there are four ways to make a 9 (3-6, 6-3, 4-5, 5-4)
- there are three ways to make a 10 (4-6, 6-4, 5-5)
- there are two ways to make an 11 (5-6, 6-5)
Now, if you study this simple chart until you really understand it, the math part of learning the game of craps will be over. Everything you do while playing the game revolves around these “odds”, and understanding the odds is the key to understanding the game. It is also crucial to learning to play the game correctly.
Next time, in Part 2, we’ll actually start to play, so, stay tuned…
How To Play Craps: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
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