Casino Guide: A Tour of the Craps Table
The craps table is one of the oddest sights you will see in a casino. Many people avoid craps solely because the craps table intimidates them. We will take you on a tour of the craps table so you will understand what it is all about.
The craps table is approximately the size of a pool table. A dozen or so players can fit in. (No wonder it's so noisy there, you say.) For convenience, the craps table is two-sided with the same bets in them and divided by a center where special bets are housed. Think of it as like playing cards that can be held up or down. Players on either side make bets on that side and are assisted by whichever dealer is there.
Several kinds of betting options are presented on the table. The first is the PASS LINE. It curves along the whole side to make it easy for players to put their chips on it. It is the most popular bet of all. A pass line bet is essentially rooting for the shooter (the one throwing the dice).
The opposite wager, the DON'T PASS LINE, is in a much smaller space. It is an unpopular bet and if you wager on it, you are a "wrong bettor" as opposed to a "right bettor" who bets on the pass.
A highly visible betting area is the one for the COME wager. You will see that word in big red letters. The come wager is just the pass line one given another name and made *after* the initial or come out roll, not before. As a come bettor, you are not rooting for the shooter. If a point happens to be established and you make your come bet, you hope for a 7/11 while the same would cause the shooter to lose.
The opposite of the COME is the DON'T COME. It is allotted very little space in the craps table.
A place marked as FIELD with several numbers on it is favorable for the casino. It has a high house edge. Field wagers always lose if *any* of the numbers 5-8 is rolled. All other numbers count as a win. Notice the circles around 2 and 12. Those denote bonus payouts for those numbers.
A ridiculous bet is both the Big 6 and Big 8 bets. If there is anything that really deserves to be called "craps" on a craps table, it's these bets. They pay even money for 6 and 8 while a place bet on either one would earn 7 for 6.
Next are the place bets on the craps table. When you place bet any number that isn't any craps or 7 or 11, you are hoping it will be rolled before a 7 can show up. This is a very popular and easy-to-understand wager. They are initiated after the coming out roll.
Proposition wagers come last. These are placed at the center of the craps table. There are many kinds of proposition bets. An Any 7 is counting on the roll to be that number. Any Craps means you win if any of the craps numbers turn out. A hardway means you are betting on a particular number to come out "the hard way." Hard means the result of a double dice turn out, such as hard six = 3 and 3.
That is a summary of the craps table and what is in it. It is not as complicated as you think. And even if it confuses you, take heart as most of these bets are unnecessary. Make the simpler pass line and come bets (and their opposites if you like) and you will do just fine.
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