How to Play Craps Part 4: Basic Betting…

First, click this link to open the craps table layout in a new window so you can follow along.

There are two basic bets in craps, both in Las Vegas and in most home games. You either bet that the shooter will win, or, that he will lose.On any Las Vegas casino dice table, if you want to bet that the shooter will win, then you place your bet on the “PASS” line. If you want to bet that the player will lose, you place your bet on the “DON’T PASS” line. Let’s examine these bets a bit closer…

• The “PASS LINE” Bet: As we have discussed before, the shooter can win by rolling a 7 or 11 on the initial rollout of the hand, or, by establishing a “point”, and again rolling that point before rolling a 7. If you have a bet on the PASS LINE, then you will win if either of these things happen. The bet is paid at 1:1, so a $5.00 bet will win you $5.00 ($10.00 total return: your $5 bet & the $5 win). The advantage for the House is the fact that all “points” have actual odds greater than 1:1, so the House wins the majority of the bets in hands which must roll a point to win. And, on the bets that the House loses, the payout is less than the actual odds on those bets. This represents the House “take” or “drop”. It’s the fee the House retains as payment for running the game.
• The “DON’T PASS” Bet is just the opposite of the Pass Line bet. You are betting that the shooter will lose the hand, either by rolling a 2 or 3 on the initial rollout, or, will roll a 7 before rolling any point that was established. It also pays 1:1, but the House “take” is a bit different:
  • Note that on the table layout, the DON’T PASS line actually says “DON’T PASS BAR 12″. This means that, if the shooter rolls a “12″ on the initial rollout, you do not win even though the shooter does lose. Your bet becomes a push (tie), and no money changes hands. This gives the House a 1.39% advantage, as they don’t have to pay a losing bet. This advantage is actually one-half of the numerical advantage of 1:36 due to the fact that the house doesn’t collect the bet, either.

These are, by far, the most popular bets on the table, and for one very good reason: they have the lowest House advantage (except for the “best bet in Las Vegas”, which we will discuss in our next article). As you stand beside the table, simply place your bet in the appropriate space before the hand begins and, if you win, the dealer will place your winnings next to your bet and you collect. If you lose, the dealer will pick up your checks and put them in the House pile. No muss, no fuss….

Next time: The best bet in Las Vegas…..

How To Play Craps:   Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6