Vegas Country
Vegas Country

Craps

| Published on July 13, 2007

Craps
Craps is a dice game and is said to date back to the Romans but has been made famous in the Casinos of Las Vegas.

Objective of the Game

The Craps table is usually the most exciting table in the house with players taking an active role in the game and adding to the atmosphere by cheering and commenting on the game.

"Snake Eyes!" Craps is a game of chance and the objective is to predict the outcome of the roll of the dice. The game can seem fairly complex but offers up a captivating experience once you have learnt the ropes.

The game uses two identical dice and is based on how often seven as the total of the two dice comes up and how the other numbers compare with it.


How to Play

The game can look complicated but it is possible to learn just a few of the betting options to begin playing.

The opposing faces of each die always total seven (the one is always opposite the six, the two opposite the five and so on).

You have six numbers on each die and so a pair of dice will give you 36 different combinations. Craps is based on how often these different combinations appear. See below all the different combinations:

Two Die total Combinations No. Combinations
2 1+1 1
3 2+1, 1+2 2
4 3+1, 2+2, 1+3 3
5 4+1, 3+2, 2+3, 1+4 4
6 5+1, 4+2, 3+3, 2+4, 1+5 5
7 6+1, 5+2, 4+3, 3+4, 2+5, 1+6 6
8 6+2, 5+3, 4+4, 3+5, 2+6 5
9 6+3, 5+4, 4+5, 3+6 4
10 6+4, 5+5, 4+6 3
11 6+5, 5+6 2
12 6+6 1
Total 36

The most common two die total is 7 with six different combinations.

Some of the terminology used in Craps:

  • Naturals - The total of the two dice adds up to 7 or 11
  • Craps - The total of the two dice adds up to 2, 3, or 12
  • Point - The total of the two dice adds up to 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10
  • Snake Eyes - 1's rolled on both dice
  • The Shooter - you, the player
  • Come out roll - The first roll of the dice

To get started we can look at the most popular (and profitable) bet on the Craps table: the pass line wager.