Craps

Craps

Craps
Craps is the game that has simple actions to do and hot emotions to get. People shouting and chips flying all over across the table - it's a usual situation. Very emotional and exciting, this game collects many people at the table.

History
Dice is really the oldest gambling game in history. This game has roots stretching back into ancient times when dices were not a game attributes but shaman fortunetelling devices. First cubical dice was found in Egypt at 600 B.C. Dices are mentioned in Korean, Indian, American history and seems to be very popular in Arabian countries.
Material for dices varied from bone, wood, stones to seeds, ivory, jewels and porcelain. Today they are made of hard cellulose with sharp edges and corners.
The predecessor of the modern craps is Hazard - English game, which is said to exist since XII century and was probably imported to America by the first settlers. French called it craps - that's how it got its current name. It changed many times - rules, odds, layouts. Approximately in 1813 Bernard de Mandeville of New Orleans took the game of hazard, simplified it, and made it the first version of craps. This Hazard adaptation spread throughout the United States. It had one major imperfection; which was fixed by John H. Winn. He introduced the possibility for players to bet 'right' or 'wrong' in the layout of the craps table, and included a space for 'Don't Pass' bets. This adjustments revolutionized the game, eliminated the usefulness of fixed dice and made it possible for players to bet for or against the roller.
Today craps is said to be one of the fastest, noisiest and very exciting games in any casino. It has many rules, but the principle of playing is rather simple.

Objective
To predict what result will be on a pair of dices.

Rules
The game of craps is played with two dices and up to eight players participating. It starts when a player rolls the dices first time – Shooter makes a "Come out" roll. The shooter wins if he rolls a "Natural" - a 7 or 11, and loses if the roll is a 2, 3 or a 12 - "Craps". Any other result - 4,5,6,8,9, or 10 - is the Point. In last case he has to roll another point and then a 7 to win the game. Rolling a 7 right after the first point would mean he loses and the dices pass to the next player. If you don't want to roll you can skip your turn, then it's next players' turn.

Betting
Every player can place bets in craps. You can do it such way:
1) Pass Line Bet: The simplest one: bet on that the shooter wins his game. It can be made at any time but is usually made before the come out roll. The odds are 1:1.
2) Don't Pass Bet: Opposite to Pass Line bet. You bet the shooter does not win his game. Odds are 1:1.
3) Odds Bet: It's a bet in case of a point in come out roll. It's a strengthening of Pass Line or don't Pass wager. Here you don't bet against casino. A winning odds bet are 6:5 for a 6 and 8 roll, 3:2 for a 5 and 9 roll and 2:1 for a 4 and 10.
4) Come Bet: It's a Pass line bet you make after the point is established. The next roll becomes the come out roll for your bet. A come bet wins with 7 and 11 and loses with 2, 3 and 12. All other rolled numbers cause your wager to be moved to that particular number. To win, the point has to be re-established before a 7 is rolled. The odds are 1:1.
5) Don't Come Bet: The opposite of the Come bet. Odds are 1:1.
6) Field Bet: You bet the outcome of the next roll will be a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. If the dices show 5, 6, 7 or 8 you lose. The odds are 2:1 on a 2 and 12 roll and 1:1 on a 4, 9, 10 and 11.
7) Place Bet: A bet on a certain number before a 7. The odds are 7:6 on a 6 and 8 roll, 7:5 on a 5 and 9 roll and 9:5 on a 4 and 10.
8) Buy Bet: Same as the place bet but it pays the true odds with a 5% charge with every win.
9) Big 6 and 8: Bet on that a 6 or a 8 is rolled before the next 7. Odds are 1:1.
10) Any Craps: You bet the next roll will be a 2, 3 or 12. The odds on this one are 7:1.
11) Hardways: Bet on one of the doubles, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4 and 5+5. The odds are 7:1 on a hard 4 and hard 10 (2+2 and 5+5) and 9:1 on a hard 6 and a hard 8 (3+3 and 4+4).

Craps strategies
A good and reliable strategy to play craps says you should make only pass line or not pass line bets. Come bets are good if you know that shooter throws many points. Below you will find a table of approximate possibilities to bet and house edge per each bet:

Bet	Winning possibility	House Edge
Pass Line Bet	49.30%	1.41%
Pass Line Bet,3x Odds	49.30%	0.61%
Don't Pass Bet	50.71%	1.36%
Don't Pass Bet, 3x Odds	50.71%	0.58%
Come Bet	49.30%	1.41%
Come Bet, 3x Odds	49.30%	0.61%
Don't Come Bet	50.71%	1.36%
Don't Come Bet,3x Odds	50.71%	0.58%
Field Bet	44.44%	5.56%
Place Bet
6 and 8	45.45%	1.52%
5 and 9	40.00%	4.00%
4 and 10	33.33%	6.67%
Buy Bet
6 and 8	45.45%	1.52%
5 and 9	40.00%	4.00%
4 and 10	33.33%	6.67%
Big 6 and Big 8	45.45%	9.09%
Any 7	16.67%	16.67%
Any Craps	11.11%	11.11%
Hard Ways
6 and 8	9.09%	9.09%
4 and 10	11.11	11.11%

Betting Limits
The minimum bet is $1, maximum varies from casino to casino ($100 and higher)

Statistics
In most casinos there is statistics available on a number of previous played games. You can view the number of wins, losses, players speed, elapsed time and so on.