Understanding the Craps Table

If you walk through any major casino, you will undoubtedly find one game that is completely chaotic and crazier than the rest. Players are yelling and celebrating while someone rolls the dice down the length of a massive, incredibly confusing green felt table. This loud, complex game is known as Craps. To someone who has never played, the craps table looks like an impossible mathematical nightmare. The felt is covered in weird text, complex jargon being yelled by the dealers. But this is a huge misconception. Despite its terrifying visual appearance, craps is actually one of the simplest, and most profitable games in the entire casino. If you can ignore the noise and learn one single bet, you can join the fun.

The Core Mechanic: The Foundation of Craps

The secret to start playing this game is to ignore all the crazy bets in the middle. The weird proposition bets are designed to steal your money built to trick tourists. You only need to look at the long line wrapping the table: the “Pass Line”. Making a Pass Line bet is the fundamental core of the entire game. When a new round begins, the shooter rolls the dice for the first time. With your money on the Pass Line, you instantly win even money if the dice total 7 or 11. You lose immediately on a 2, 3, or 12. The math is that basic: 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3, or 12 loses.

The Ongoing Game: What Happens on a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10?

What if they roll a different number? If the dice land on one of the other numbers, that number is now the Point. The dealer will take a large plastic puck and places it directly onto that specific number on the table layout. The phase of the game shifts. To win the money, the shooter keeps throwing until they roll the Point again. If the Point hits, you win. But there is a fatal flaw: if a 7 appears before they hit the Point, the round ends. All Pass Line bets are swept away, the game resets, and the next person shoots. The entire excitement is a group effort praying the shooter hits their Point before rolling a deadly 7.

• Taking Odds: Once a Point is established, you can back up your bet. This is the Odds bet and it is literally the only bet in the entire casino with absolutely zero house edge. The casino makes zero profit on this bet.
• Don’t Pass Line: You can play the ‘Don’t Pass’ line. This means you win if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3 on the come-out, or when the shooter sevens out. It is technically a smarter bet, but the other players will hate you because you are cheering for everyone else to lose.
• Ignore the Proposition Bets: All the bets in the middle of the table with the pictures of dice are sucker bets with huge casino advantages. Avoid them completely.

Simplifying the Math: How the Pass Line Works

For a quick reference before you play, to guarantee you know what to do, review the simple cheat sheet below. It breaks down the math of the Pass Line bet: the Pass Line.

Ultimately, craps is actually incredibly simple. The casino purposefully designs the table layout to look like a math puzzle so casual gamblers will make bad bets. When you arrive, placing your chips exclusively on the Pass Line, avoiding the middle of the table, and ignoring the proposition bets, you are playing one of the smartest, most mathematically sound game available. Join the fun, and enjoy the absolute most thrilling, high-energy casino experience Las Vegas has to offer.