If you walk through any major casino, you will undoubtedly find a table that is much louder and more energetic than any other game in the building. The crowd is going wild while someone rolls the dice down the length of a massive, incredibly confusing green felt table. This highly intimidating game is known as Craps. To an absolute novice, the game seems terrifyingly complicated. There are dozens of different betting sections, and the dealers are shouting slang. However, this is actually a massive illusion. While it looks complex, craps is fundamentally one of the easiest, and best games on the floor. By understanding one rule, you can play craps like a seasoned professional.

The Pass Line Bet: The Foundation of Craps

The only logical way to start playing this game is to ignore all the crazy bets in the middle. All those fancy boxes and strange words are mathematically terrible "sucker bets" built to trick tourists. You only need to focus on one single, massive stripe wrapping the table: the famous Pass Line. Placing a chip on the Pass Line is the foundation of craps. At the start of a round, the player throwing makes the Come-Out Roll. If you bet the Pass Line, you win instantly if the Come-Out roll is a 7 or an 11. You instantly lose your bet if the Come-Out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (known as "Crapping Out"). It is truly that simple: Win on 7/11, lose on craps.

The Second Phase of the Game: The Goal of the Shooter

What if they roll a different number? If the shooter rolls any other number one of the other numbers, that number is now the Point. The pit boss takes a marker and moves it onto the corresponding box. The goal now changes. To win the money, the player keeps rolling until they roll the Point again. If the Point hits, you win. However, there is a catch: if the shooter rolls a 7 before the Point hits, this is a "Seven Out". Every single Pass Line bet instantly loses, the round completely ends, and a new shooter takes the dice. The entire excitement is just players cheering praying the shooter hits their Point before rolling a deadly 7.

• The Best Bet in the Casino: When the puck is ON, you can place an 'Odds' bet behind your chips. This is known as taking odds and it is the only wager that pays true mathematical odds. The house has no advantage here.


• Don't Pass Line: You can bet that the table will lose. This means you win if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3 on the come-out, or when the shooter sevens out. It is mathematically slightly better, but the other players will hate you since you win when the table loses.


• Ignore the Proposition Bets: The center layout with the pictures of dice are sucker bets with huge casino advantages. Do not touch those bets.

Simplifying the Math: A Quick Summary

To make your very first trip to the craps table, as easy and stress-free as possible, look at this basic chart. It explains the basic rules of the only bet you will ever need to make: the Pass Line.

Ultimately, craps is actually incredibly simple. The operators create the board to look like a math puzzle so that amateur players will randomly throw chips on terrible, high-house-edge sucker bets. By simply walking up, betting only on the Pass Line, avoiding the middle of the table, and playing smart math, you are playing one of the smartest, most mathematically sound game on the floor. Roll the dice, and have the best time on the floor.