Craps

Whenever you're in a casino, it's a good bet that the most noise is coming from the craps pit. Craps can look confusing at first, but it's fairly easy to learn. There are about 40 different bets that can be made on a craps layout but to get started playing craps, you really only need to understand the basic passline bet.

Passline Bet

• A simple passline bet works like this. You place your bet on the passline before a new shooter begins his roll. This is known as the come out roll.
• If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11 you win. 
• If the shooter rolls a 2, 3 or 12, you lose. 
• If the shooter rolls any other number, that number becomes the point number. The shooter must roll that number again before a seven is rolled. If that happens, you win even money for your passline bet. 
• If a seven is rolled before the point number is rolled again, you lose.

Odds Bet

• Once the point is established, an additional bet can be made behind the passline bet. This is known as the "Odds Bet." It is the only bet in the casino that does not have a house edge as it is paid off with true odds.
• Most casinos offer double odds, which means you can make a bet twice the size of your pass line bet. If you passline bet is $5 you are allowed to make an odds bet of $10. 
• The odds bet is paid as following:
• If the point is 4 or 10 it pays 2 to 1
• If the point is 5 or 9 it pays 3 to 2
• If the point is 6 or 8 it pays 6 to 5.

Other Bets

• To learn about the other best that can be made in craps, attend craps lessons in the casino, or buy a book of craps strategy. There are many other options, but most don't have the good odds of the abovementioned bets.