14 Aug 09 Craps – Terms and Terminology

Craps offers overabundance and embarrassment of bets and are also bad bets for the players. Craps betting can be easy and somewhat painless for players who do not understand yet the odds against winning the bet and the casino’s payout odds for that bet. You should focus and ponder on those bets that are more beneficial for you as players and those bets that are more advantageous for the casino. In that way you will know and learn which bets to put up and which bets to evade.

Here are the terms and terminology of craps which will help you to understand fully your game:

Any seven – also awful bet for the same reason.

Any Craps – you are betting that the next throw or roll will be craps that is a 2, 3 or 12. The house advantage is about 11% making it a bad bet.

Bets – There are two basic bets available in Craps the One roll bets and the Sequence bets. One roll bets are determined by the next roll of the dice and sequence bets which may involve several rolls of the dice before the results are known.

Buy Number bets – players betting on a place will be presented the alternative to buy the number. On a four or ten number buy, the odds drop from about 7 percent to about 5 percent even though the casino takes a 5 percent (one twentieth) commission from winning bets.

Come and don’t come bets are offered only after the point is recognized. The Pass and don’t pass bets (collectively called line bets) can only be made before the “come out” roll. To place such a bet place your chips on the area of the table marked “come” or “don’t come” depending on which way you have decided to bet. If a seven or an eleven is thrown on the first throw after you are allowed to place that bet, it automatically wins and if the throw is a two, three or twelve, it is an automatic loss.

Crap Eleven – A combination bet of 11 and any craps. Forget it. This is the worst possible bet in craps!

Field Bet – you bet on a number listed on the field box. If that number is not thrown on the next throw the bet is lost. This is a bad bet because the unlisted numbers of 5, 6, 7 and 8 are the most commonly thrown numbers and this gives the house an advantage of about 5%

Free Odds Bets – these are bets where the house has no mathematical advantage over the player. The house has an advantage of 17% on the worst craps bets available to players.

Hard ways or hard means that a double is thrown for the number when 4, 6, 8 or 10 is thrown. If the number is achieved through any other combination it is said to be the ‘easy way’ or ‘easy’. If you bet hard ways, the number has to be thrown that way before it is thrown the easy way and before a seven is thrown. Hard ways

Hop bet – To make this bet, give your chips t the dealer or the stickman and say “Hop” followed by the two numbers to be thrown. The payout odd varies with the numbers selected but the house advantage is about 15%.

Horn bet – a combination bet that the next roll will be a 2, 3, 11 or 12. It requires a minimum of four chips – one for each number. The house advantage is a bit over 11%.

Pass line bet – you are betting that the dice will pass or win. It also called right bettors and front line bettors. Bets are placed on the table in the “pass line” area. A throw of 7 or 11 on the “come out” roll automatically wins for pass line bettors.

Place Bets – these are popular with players but should be restricted to 6 and 8 only and winning bets are paid out at 7 to 6 so bets must be made in multiples of six betting units if you want the full odds. Casinos generally do not pay part odds with the possible exception of very low stakes games (if you can still find such a game.)

Proposition Bets – the house has an advantage of around 17% so this is a bad bet.

The Point – During the come out roll, a throw of 4, 5, 6, 8,9 or 10 establishes a point. The shooter must throw that number again (“Repeat the Point”) before a 7 is thrown. When that occurs, Pass line bettors win. When the 7 is thrown before the point is repeated they loose and “wrong bettors” or “Don’t Pass” bettors win. After the point is established, only the 7 and the “Point number” are relevant for pass line bettors. Other throws do not affect their wagers.

2 or 12 bet – you are betting that the next roll or throw will be a 2 or a 12 . House advantage is about 13% so forget it.

3 o 11 bet – similar problems to 2 or 12

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