Craps comes from an older English game that dates back to the 11th century but it can be complicated to those looking to get in on the action. You can’t just pick up a pair of dice or sit down at your online casino and start playing craps; you have to understand the basics, and then go about learning different strategies for success.
Once you get into it, it’s quite the exciting – just as you’ve seen in many Hollywood movies – as the crowds around watch you take home big winnings. Before we get to that point, though, here are the basics for what you’ll need to play online from the comforts of your own home:
Pass Line betting
If you are just playing the pass line, then the game of craps becomes much simpler for players to start up. It starts like this: you place your bet on the pass line, then take your dice and fire away. The person with the dice is called the shooter, but you don’t have to be the shooter to make a pass-line or don’t-pass bet in craps. The first roll is called the come-out roll, and if a seven or 11 is rolled right off the bat, the pass-line wins, while it loses on two, three or 12. The rest of the values on the dice are known as the shooter’s points, and these numbers need to be repeated until the shooter rolls a seven. Betting on the shooter is basically a don’t-pass bet.
The easiest way to look at it is to think of when you roll your pair of dice and turn up a five and a three, which totals eight and that number then becomes the point. The shooter has to roll an eight before he turns up a seven; if an eight is rolled up first, the pass-line bet wins and the shooter gets to go again. But if a seven is rolled, then the player loses their turn and the next person in line will turn into the shooter.
Other wagers
You can also make other wagers outside of the pass-line bet once the point is established. These wagers are called “odds bets” and it is the only wager you’ll find in a casino with true odds where the house doesn’t have a huge edge. For example, if the point is a four or a 10, you can win as much as 2/1, while it is a 3/2 winning for five and nine, and 6/5 for a six or eight.
These are the preliminary basics for online craps, but you should always read the guide available on the Bovada website and try out a few rounds before you dive in with two feet. Craps can be confusing, but once you play a couple of rolls, it’ll become second nature and then you can start learning the more complex nuances of the game.
