Tips on How to Play Craps

by Bodog Casino | Jun 16 2009

If you ever poll professional gamblers on the one casino game they'd love to be money at, it'd probably be Craps.

Why? Well if you've ever seen anyone get hot at the game you'll easily know why: crowds form around them, ladies are looking to blow their dice (no pun intended), and everyone is watching their every move like a Hollywood starlet and the paparazzi.

Basically, Craps is the 'Dos Equis' of casino games.

What makes the game even cooler right now is that Bodog Casino is running a Craps Contest for its players: All you have to do is play the game. The more Hardways (a hardway in Craps is when you roll doubles; either two 2s, 3s, 4s, or 5s) you roll, win or lose, the more you move up the Craps Contest Leaderboard. The top five weekly players receive $100 each (standard casino rollover requirements apply) while the overall winner receives $1,000 (no rollover required!). (Contest runs from June 11th – July 9th, 2009)

Now if you new players are itching to become the next Craps rock star but are a bit intimidated by the rules and lingo, allow us to break it down so you can start playing immediately.

Know the “Pass Line” and You’ll Know How to Play
In Craps, players bet against the casino on the result of one roll, or a series of rolls of two dice. Pretty simple, right? What can make the game confusing is that there are tons of different types of bets and the outcome of your wager is not always decided on you first roll.

However, the game immediately becomes as unintimidating as Verne Troyer when you learn about the "Pass Line" and the "Don't Pass Line":

To start a round a player must bet on one of these "lines". Once you choose which you want to bet on you can roll the dice for the first round (known as the "Come Out Roll").

If the come out roll is a 2, 3 or 12, it is called "Craps" and the round ends with players losing their pass line bets (don't pass wins on 2 and 3, and pushes on 12).

A come out roll of 7 or 11 is called a "natural," resulting in a win for pass line bets (and a loss for don't pass bets). If you've ever checked out Rush Hour 2 and were wondering how Chris Tucker was making so much cash at Craps, it's because he had all his bets on the pass line and he was rolling nothing but 7s.

Now if numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 are rolled on the come out, this number becomes the "Point" and the first round is now over. In this situation players need to roll the point number again for the pass line to win (obviously this ends up a loss for those who bet on the don't pass line) If the shooter rolls a seven the don't pass line wins while the pass line loses.

Now that you know about these bets you can already start playing. However, we suggest checking out Bodog's Casino School on Craps to learn about the other cool wagers you can place.

And don't forget win or lose, rolling hardways will move you up the Craps Contest Leaderboard and help you win some extra cash!