How to Play Craps Online or in a Casino

Want to play craps, online or in a casino, but don't know where to start?
The craps table might look like a scary place at first, but it's actually pretty simple when you know what's going on. After reading this ehow, you'll be able to roll craps like a professional shooter!

And craps is a great game. Craps is a fun, social game that has some of the best odds of winning in the casino.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Essentially, there are two ways to play a game of craps - Pass and Don't Pass. There are also two states - the opening roll and stage 2. First, choose Pass or Don't Pass and place your bet in that area on the table.

2. 
    
   The table

   Let's say you choose Pass. Next is the opening roll.
   
   If the shooter (the person rolling the dice) throws a 7 or 11, you win!
   
   If the shooter throws a 2, 3, or 12 (called craps) you lose.
   
   If either of these happen, the shooter rolls again with the same winning conditions.

3. If the shooter rolls anything else, that number becomes the point and we move to stage 2.
   
   In stage 2, the shooter keeps rolling until he rolls the point or a 7.
   
   If the shooter rolls the point, you win. But if the shooter rolls a 7, you lose.
   
   Anything else and the shooter rolls again.

4. That's it! After the shooter rolls a 7 or the point, everything starts back over at the opening roll.

5. If you want to play Don't Pass, everything is the same but reversed.
   
   For the opening roll, you win on 2, 3, and 12 (craps) but lose on 7.
   
   Then, once the point is established, you win when the shooter rolls a 7 but lose if the shooter hits the point.

6. Craps also has the only fair bet in the casino, the odds bet. Once a shooter has established a point (so it's not the opening roll anymore), you can add more money to your bet and the casino pays fair odds on that bet. The craps dealer has no advantage on an odds bet. This is the only casino game where this is the case.

Tips & Warnings

• On any given roll, 7 is the most likely number to be rolled. Keep that in mind; it's best to have your money on 7.
• The Pass bet has the advantage on the opening roll, since 7 is the most likely roll.
• Don't Pass has the advantage after the opening roll, since 7 is more likely to be rolled than the point.
• Craps is generally a game that you can play for a long time because things even out often. But like any other game of chance, you can lose a lot of money quickly. Pay attention and never bet more than you're able to lose!