Las Vegas: Craps
The dice game known as craps is the most exciting, frenzied, and noisy game on any casino floor, but it's also the most intimidating for novices. It all happens too fast to learn by observation, so prospective players should take a lesson or two first. That said, it's not as hard as it looks, and you don't need to know all the rules to enjoy playing - in fact the easier bets on the table pay much better odds than the more complicated "sucker" ones.Craps is played on a baize table with high, padded, and slightly rounded walls. Each game is operated by four casino employees; the "boxman," who's in overall charge; two dealers, to handle the bets at either end of the table; and the "stickman," who uses a stick to recover and distribute the dice. However, it's the players who actually throw the dice, so craps is much more of a participatory experience than other casino games, and a player on a hot streak can take the credit for a table-full of winners.
At the start of each game, the stickman invites a different player to be "shooter"; you can decline if you prefer. The shooter then lays a bet, on " PASS ," and makes the "come-out roll" by throwing two dice hard enough to bounce against the end of the table. Meanwhile, the other players have laid any bets they want to make, mainly on either PASS or " DON'T PASS ." In effect, they're betting with or against the shooter, although it's the casino that actually pays the bets.
If the come-out roll is 7 or 11, then the shooter, and everyone else who has bet on PASS, wins immediately, while everyone who bet on DON'T PASS loses. If, on the other hand, the come-out roll is "craps," meaning 2, 3, or 12, the shooter and all PASS bettors lose; DON'T PASS bettors win on 2 or 3, or retain their stake on 12.
Any other come-out roll - the possibilities are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 - becomes the "point," and a marker is placed in the corresponding position on the table. The shooter's sole aim is now to throw the point again before throwing a 7, or "sevening out." If the shooter succeeds, PASS wins and DON'T PASS loses; if not, DON'T PASS wins, PASS loses.
"Craps" is a noun, the name of the game; "crap" is the matching adjective, as in "crap table."
At any point after the come-out roll, anyone - even players who have not bet so far - can also bet on either COME or DON'T COME . These are the same as PASS and DON'T PASS, in that the next throw becomes your "come number," and a COME bet wins if the shooter throws that number again before throwing a 7. If the shooter throws the point before either a 7 or the "come number," then COME bets stay on the table.
In addition, after a come-out roll that's neither 7, 11, nor craps, anyone who has bet PASS/DON'T PASS or COME/DON'T COME can make an extra ODDS bet on that same bet. This time, you're betting according to the actual odds that the relevant point or come number will or will not be thrown before a 7. To place an ODDS bet, say "odds" to the dealer and either put your chips behind the PASS line if you've already bet PASS, or give them to the dealer to go with your original COME, DON'T COME, or DON'T PASS bet. ODDS bets are the best-value bets in the casino, in that they pay according to the precise likelihood of throwing that particular dice combination compared to a 7. Some casinos only allow ODDS bets up to double the original stake; others allow them to be as much as a hundred times higher. For serious gamblers, the ODDS bets are the prime reason to play craps at all.
Note, however, that the actual odds for ODDS bets are not marked on the table. All those bets that are marked, such as the dice pictured in the middle, are not only harder to understand, but they're also much worse propositions - which is why they're not worth explaining here. If you see "crapless craps" advertised, that's a simpler version in which every number other than 7 can be the point after the come-out roll.
Though the usual minimum stake for craps on the Strip is $5 or $10, Silver City has 25¢ tables, and the Sahara always offers $1 tables. The Stardust, Circus Circus , the Flamingo and Excalibur are also renowned for low minimums, while at Bellagio or Caesars , it can be hard to find a table that accepts stakes of less than $100. Downtown, Binion's is one of the more boisterous and atmospheric spots to play, and tables can be as low as 25¢, too.
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