How to play Craps Online
Much-loved in casinos, or among friends, Craps is a popular dice game that can either be played against other players or the banker. Known to be notoriously hard to explain, it is often avoided by those new to playing casino games online, but in this guide I hope to explain the basic rules, techniques and combinations that are essential to play Craps online, as well as a couple of hints and tips to give you that extra edge.
The Basics
When you play Craps online, you may wager money against other players, called Street Craps, or the banker, called Bank Craps, on the outcome of one or a series of rolls of two dice. The possible numbers rolled with two dice are 2 through to 12, which allows for many types of bets on many numbers; the reason why the Craps table always seems so complex.
One bet is placed in basic craps play, which means the table lies mostly empty, and each player has a separate place on each table, mirroring the pattern so you need not worry about getting in the way. When you play craps online, the play can seem frenzied and complex because players can all bet at the same time, but can be slower than blackjack in some cases as often the dice have to be rolled several times before the outcome of the game is determined.
A basic craps bet is a wager that the person rolling the dice currently will roll the number he needs to win; the players all do well if the roller does well, which often creates a friendly party feeling on online games, as essentially it's all players against the banker.
The most basic bet in craps is called a "Pass Line" bet, where the chips are placed on the "Pass Line" of the board. It's a "series bet", which means that the person rolling the dice (called the "shooter") may need to roll the dice several times before a win or lose is decided.
The first roll in the series is different from the rest of the rolls in the series, and called the "come-out roll".
In the Come-Out Roll, rolling:
7 or 11 are automatic Pass Line winners, and the series ends with no more rolls.
2, 3 or 12 (known as craps) are automatic Pass Line losers, and the series also ends with no more rolls.
Any other number rolled is a point to the shooter, and the series will continue.
If the series continues:
The shooter must continue to rolls the dice, with the new object of play for him to roll their point number again before rolling a 7.
Any number apart from the point number, or a 7 rolled, counts for nothing, and the shooter will roll again.
The Pass Line bets win if the point number is rolled.
The Pass Line bets lose (known as a "seven out") if a 7 is rolled, and the series ends.
Simply put, if the shooter establishes a point then the roll the dice multiple times until they either achieve the point in a roll, or a seven out. If any number other than the point or a 7 is rolled then nothing happens and the shooter keeps rolling.
Tips and Tricks
Some of the best odds in the house come from Craps, with the Pass Line bet only having an edge to the house of 1.414%. Putting down "double odds" with your Pass Line bet gives the house even less of an edge; down to .606%! Compared to the edge the house has of 1.5% for blackjack, and 5.3% for roulette, you could be onto a real winner when you play Craps online!
Read through this page again; it's a lot to take in, and you probably won't be sure of what you are doing until you go through a couple of series' of craps yourself, but it's actually really very easy. Luckily when you play craps online, you don't have to feel too much of a rookie at a real craps table at a casino with the pros looking on, and you'll have plenty of times to learn the ropes at your own pace.
Remember:
The bet goes on the Pass Line.
On the come-out roll; 7 and 11 wins; 2,3 and 12 loses and 4,5,6,8,9 and 10 are points.
When a point is established, a roll of the point number before 7 wins, and a roll of 7 before the point number losses.
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