Craps

Aside from the shooter, it takes four active individuals to successfully run a game of traditional casino craps.  The dice and the pace of the game are controlled by the stickman.  He pushes sets of dice to the shooter (another name for the player) once he has seen that all bets have been placed and set.  The stickman is positioned on the player’s side of the table.

The positions that control the cash flow are the dealers.  There is a dealer on both sides of the table, divided by the center box of proposition bets and the stickman.  The job of the dealer is to collect losers’ chips and to pay winners.  They are responsible for every player on their side of the table.

Now, the governing eye over the entire table is the boxman.  The boxman is positioned behind the center of the table watching for anything out of the ordinary. 

The casino bank covers every bet placed by players in a game of casino craps.  There are many proposition bets offered in a casino-banked craps game.  I will later explain the difference between the various proposition bets and pass and don’t pass bets.

Players must select a pair of dice from the set offered by the stickman and roll them against the opposite wall of the table.  If the first roll is a 7 or an 11, the player has rolled a “natural.”  A natural means the player has won the amount of chips bet on the pass line.

If the first roll is a 4, 5,6,8,9, or a 10 the shooter has set that number as their “box point.”  In order to win they must now roll that very same number before rolling a 7.  Should they roll a 7, they have lost. 

A shooter also loses if they roll a 2, 3, or a 12 on the first roll.  This is called “craps,” the name of the game.  The dealer will “rake” in the pass line bet.  Although they have lost, the shooter must continue rolling until they “7 out”.

The bets that offer the best odds for a player are playing the line and the come, either pass or don’t pass.  My advice is to always take full odds in the back of your bet if you are betting the pass line.  Casinos have been known to offer double odds or greater.  Should that be the case, take advantage of it.  Finally, it sounds obvious but be sure to remember: Only increase your bets on wins.  Never double up on losses.