Online Craps

Craps has been one of the best-loved casino games for a long time. From it’s origins in France to it’s move across the world and they famous scenes from the Vegas casinos.

Online Craps grabs hold of the same excitement and thrills by making the game accessible to everyone 24 hours a day. The online casinos never close… They are never many miles away… There are never waiting times to get a turn at the table.

Although craps is one of the most enjoyable casino games, with never-ending thrills, it is a bit tricky at first. Below you will find a guide to playing online craps, which also works perfectly when you visit a casino.

Once you have moved past the basics, you will get the hang of it very quickly. We need to tell you however of one of the greatest advantages of playing online craps. If you decide to play at one of the online casinos on our site, you can start out by playing for free to get some practice in.

If you have been playing the game for many years and know your way around the craps pit, you can jump into any of the casinos right away. All of the casinos are available all the time, so whenever you feel like it you can sit down and roll a few.

But let’s get to that promised section on how craps works

How to play online craps

We will try and cover everything you need to know to play the game of online craps so here goes…

Craps is a roll of two dice on an area called the craps pit. The basic idea behind craps is to establish a "point" number and roll that number again before rolling a 7 (craps). Only the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 can be a point number and all other rolls on the dice have special meanings depending on when they are rolled (before or after a point is established).

The payoffs in craps are made based on the result on the two dice when they come to a standstill.

Your first roll of the dice is called your “come out” roll. This begins a new series of rolls for you as a shooter. If there are more players at the table every player would get a chance to roll the dice in their own series of rolls.

In most online casinos it would be you and the banker playing craps. However if you play at a land based casino you will more than likely have other players sharing the table with you. Each next player gets a chance to do his or her come out roll if the previous player failed to make a winning roll.

Before you do your come out roll, you can either bet on yourself or against yourself. This sounds silly, but is the option offered to you. In a land-based casino you can therefore take part in the play of another player without rolling the dice yourself. When you play at an online casino however it is only you and the dealer.

Different craps bets

Betting the Pass Line (betting on the shooter)
When you (the “shooter") rolls a 7 or 11 on your come out roll it is refer to as a "natural" and which is always an automatic win. However if you roll a 2, 3 or 12, it is called, "craps" and you lose your Pass Line bet.

Should you roll any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10), this becomes your “point”. You win if the “point” repeats before 7 rolls, and you lose if you roll a 7 before your “point” is made.

These bets are placed in the area marked "Pass Line" on the layout.

Betting the Don't Pass Line (betting against the shooter)
This is the reverse of betting the "Pass Line." You lose on a "natural" 7 or 11, and win if a 2 or 3 rolls (12 is a "standoff," no one wins). If the dice roll 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 it becomes your "Point" and you win if 7 rolls before your "Point" is repeated.

You lose if your "Point" is made before 7 rolls. Place these bets in the area marked "Don't Pass Line" on the layout.

Come Bets (Same principle as a Pass Line bet)
The simplest explanation of "Come" bets is that you're betting with the dice, exactly as on the "Pass Line," except that "Come" bets are made any time after the "Come-out" roll.

You win on "naturals" 7 or 11, and you lose on "craps" 2, 3 or 12. Any other number becomes your "come-point" and you win if your "come- point" is made before 7 rolls. You make these bets in the area marked "Come" on the layout.

Don't Come Bets (Same principle as a Don't Pass Line bet)
The reverse of betting the "Come." You lose if the next roll is a 7 or 11, and win on a 2 or 3 (12 is a "stand-off"). Here you will win if 7 rolls before your "Don't Come Point" is repeated, and lose if the "Don't Come Point" is made before a 7 is rolled.

Place Bets
You may make a "Place Bet" bet at any time on any or all of the following numbers: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10.

If the number you have "placed" rolls before a 7 you win and are paid as follows:
- Point 4 or 10 you get $9 for every $5 wagered
- Point 5 or 9 you get $7 for every $5 wagered
- Point 6 or 8 you get $7 for every $6 wagered

Buy and Lay Bets
Buy bets are usually made on the 4 and 10. Lay bets are usually made on the 4, 5, 9 or 10. A buy bet wins if the number rolls before a 7.
A Lay bet wins when 7 roll before the number. Five percent (5%) is charged for these types of bets.

The Field Bet
Another extremely simple bet to make within the game of craps is the Field bet.  It doesn't have quite as good of odds as the pass line bet with odds behind it but it does have decent odds in comparison to many other bets on the table in craps. Most importantly, the field bet is a very simple "one-time" bet that can apply to any given roll. The field bet is circled in white in the graphic below for your reference.

This bet will be much easier to explain than the pass line bet as its complexity is much less. The field bet is simply a one-time bet that says if the shooter throws a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 then you win. If a 5, 6, 7, or 8 is thrown you lose. It's that simple and that easy. Most casinos also give you a bonus if a 2 or a 12 is thrown. I've noticed that most casinos double pay 2x your bet when a 2 or "snake eyes" is thrown and some even pay 3x your bet if a 12 or "midnight" is thrown. Consider that a bonus if you hit those numbers!

The Hardway Bet
The Hardway bet is a rather simple bet but not one of the smartest bets on the table simply because the advantages go much more to the house than say a pass line bet with odds placed on it. But, remember, craps is supposed to be fun and if you are looking for the best odds then go play Poker because that's the only game anyone has ever made a living at! All jokes aside, the hardways bet is located in the middle of the table which is circled in the graphic below.

There are essentially 4 hardways bets that are on the table.
- The "Hard 4"
- The "Hard 6"
- The "Hard 8"
- The "Hard 10"

What does a hardway mean?
Simply, the dice rolled the same number or "doubles". E.G. A 2 and a 2 was rolled for a hard 4, a 3 and a 3 was rolled for a hard 6, etc. That being said, when you wager on any hardways bet you are betting that the hardway number you wagered will come up before a "soft" version of that number or a 7. What's the "soft" version of each number? It's just a 4, 6, 8, or 10 with no repeating numbers or doubles. So, a 1 and a 3 is labeled a "soft 4".

The payouts for winning a hardways bet depends on the casino but these are the most common odds I've seen:
- "Hard 4" pays 7 to 1 or 8 to 1
- "Hard 6" pays 9 to 1 or 10 to 1
- "Hard 8" pays 9 to 1 or 10 to 1
- "Hard 10" pays 7 to 1 or 8 to 1

Get it? Well, if you're still confused, our friend Jake will place some bets for you in this example below.

Proposition Bets – This is a bet that I would not advocate as the advantage is hugely in on the house’ side.