Craps: a beginner’s guide

Craps is exciting, loud and a hell of a lot of fun, which makes it perfect your own casino night party. But as not many people actually know how to play the game, here’s a quick beginner’s guide to craps to get you on your way.

Two dice are thrown by one player, so your possible points range from 2 to 12. The person throwing the dice is called the Shooter. The rest of the players are simply betting on whether he will get the required roll or not. Each player at the table gets a chance to be the shooter, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

Players are not in competition, in fact you tend to find it’s everyone against the house, which makes for a lot of fun. To bet, you place your chips on an area of the table marked "Pass Line". This is a series bet, so the dice might be rolled several times by the shooter before you win or lose. On this first roll: 7 or 11 are Pass Line winners and the series ends straight away.  A 2, 3, or 12 – craps are automatic Pass Line losers and the series ends.

Any other throw is the shooter’s ‘point’ and the series continues. So now if you rolled an 8, this is your point and now your aim to roll this figure before you roll a 7. If you roll anything other than a 7 or the point (8 in this example), nothing happens and you continue to throw. Throw a point and Pass Line bets win and the series if over. But if you throw a 7 you and the Pass Line lose.

This is the key thing to remember – a 7 on the come-out roll is a winner – but after a point has been established it’s a loser.

Now, there is a lot more to the game when it comes to what outcomes you can bet on. But those are the basics and should be enough to see you through a game or two on your next casino night.

Craps tables are often paired with a roulette table for an authentic casino experience.