Craps Tips
Fast Track Gambling Tips Series

This Craps Tips lesson includes how to play, betting, strategies and some basic lingo.
Craps Tips is one of the fast track gambling tips series for casino games and can be printed for your next casino visit online or off.

1) Let’s run through the numbers: 2, 3, 12 are craps-losers. 7 and 11–a ‘natural’-winners.

2) Point Numbers are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 & 10 and these points must be repeated before a 7 is rolled.

3) When a player is handed the dice to throw, the first roll is called come-out and a 7 or 11 immediately wins.  Whereas the 2, 3, or 12 immediately loses.

4) If the player throws any of the other numbers: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10,  the player continues to throw until either that same point number is rolled again, in which case the player wins, or until a 7 is rolled, in which case the player loses.

5) Any other number has no significance to the pass-line wager. This explains why the 7 sometimes wins, and sometimes loses. If it is thrown on the first roll, it wins. If it is thrown when the player tries to repeat his first-roll number, it loses and is called a 7-out.

Craps Tips: Strategy
6) Keep your pass line or don’t pass bet to the table minimum; use progressive betting when taking or giving odds. That’s where the real money is won.

7) The Odds bets are determined by a probability chart and are based on 36 combinations a pair of dice can be rolled.

8) For instance, the 7 can be rolled in six combos (combinations); which is the highest combination probability.  The 6 and 8 can be rolled in five combos, and the 5 and 9 can be rolled four combos, while the 4 and 10 can be rolled three combos each.

9) Be sure to place correct amount on odds bets (as shown below) or casino pays only even money.
6 and 8 - 6 to 5 odds.   Pays $6 for every $5 wagered.
5 and 9 - 3 to 2 odds.   Pays $3 for every $2 wagered.
4 and 10 - 2 to 1 odds.  Pays $2 for every $1 wagered.
Therefore, placing the 6 and 8 is a good bet.

10) Always repeat a winning parley bet.

11) Don’t advance in your betting progression until you win two parlays in a row or win with odds. 

12) Don’t Pass/Don’t Come are excellent bets at a ‘cold’ craps table.

13) Be wary about making field or proposition bets.     

14) Craps Tips: Best bets: Under 3% house edge being any intelligent player’s goal.
Pass line -1.41% 
Don’t pass line - 1.40% 
Come -1.41% 
Don't come -1.40% 
Place 6 and 8 to win -1.51%.
Multiple odds blows the house edge away:
Single odds - 0.85% 
Double odds - 0.61% 
Triple odds - 0.47% 
5 x odds - 0.32%
10 x odds - 0.18%.

15) Craps Tips and Terms:
Hook: imaginary line that separates players 3 and 4 OR on larger tables, players 4 and 5.
It dictates where the dealer will place the players’ Come, Don’t Come, Place, Buy or Lay Bets and eliminates misunderstandings.
The words SIX and NINE are used instead of 6 and 9 for the same reason.

More Craps Tips from Larry Edell
At the craps table itself, there is only one person who is seated and that person is the boxman.He (or she) takes care of things, for both the table and the players.
He keeps an eye on the payoffs, the bets, and more importantly, the average bets of all the players who want to be rated.
I’ve found that if you tip the dealers, the boxman takes it upon himself to bump up your average bet a little. He has an obvious personal interest in this, as all of the dealers split the tips. He would rather have tippers return to his casino than non-tippers.
 
Craps Tips: Boxman
The boxman also handles player disputes and is charge of the table’s chip bank, which is directly in front of him, by the middle of the table. The boxman is the most experienced casino employee at the table. Occasionally an inexperienced dealer might make an unpopular decision and the boxman can overrule it.

Craps Tips: Stickman           
The man with the stick is called the stickman. He technically is one of the three dealers, and they all rotate around the table, so each dealer takes turns with the stick. The stickman retrieves the dice and pushes them to the shooter, taking care not to display the dreadful seven that, of course, is bad luck.
The stickman also takes care of the proposition bets, and helps the other two dealers, who are on the opposite side of the table (next to the boxman) and handling all of the players’ bets.
 
Craps Tips: The Pit
Behind the tables is an area called the “pit”. Players are not allowed to walk through this area.
In the pit are floor persons, who are one step above the boxmen. Their primary functions are to watch out for cheaters and to keep track of rated players. When you first check in and ask for a marker, or when you leave and ask for a comp, or if you switch tables, this will all be handled by a floor person.  
Supervising all of this is the pit boss. He is in charge of the casino personnel at all of the tables. You will rarely see him.
If you have a dispute regarding ratings or table play you will be speaking with a floor person, not the pit boss.

Craps Tips: Disputes 
So, let’s say something strange happens during your play and the dealer closest to you disagrees with what you want.
For example, you have a $10 hard six and the shooter throws wildly. The dice bounce around all over the table and somehow end up sitting on top of each other. If they were separated on the table it would show your hard six, but the dealer suddenly calls out “no roll!”
           
Your first appeal would be to the boxman, who could overrule the dealer. If he doesn’t, you can yell, “Stop Play, I want to talk to the pit boss!” They really will stop play and a floor person will come over and see if he can resolve the situation first by talking to the boxman. If he can’t, he’ll call over a pit boss.
           
Usually, it won’t get that far. The boxman knows that it is more important to keep the players at his table in his casino, than it is to pay off a few hundred disputed dollars. Casinos are very competitive these days and they will do a lot to keep you as a regular patron.  
Now that we know the casino personnel, let’s take a quick look at the craps table itself, and learn some things that many players often overlook.

Craps Tips: The Table           
There are signs on both sides of the table announcing what the minimum and maximum bets are.
For example, one sign might say “$10 to $1,000, 2X odds”. This means that the minimum flat bet is $10, the maximum flat bet is $1,000 and the casino offers two times odds.
There are usually several tables in the pit area, with different stated limits. It is not uncommon to see four tables, each with different minimums – $1, $5, $10 and $25. Usually on weekdays, the minimums are lower, and on weekend evenings, the minimums are as high as the traffic will allow. In the evenings, when all the tables are in use, the house usually raises all of the minimum bets.
If you are a $1 player, it is easier to find a low minimum table in the daytime.
 
Those minimum and maximum bets apply to flat bets only, not proposition bets. If you want to bet higher than usual on the 2, 3, 11, 12 or hardways you better ask the dealer what the upper limits are as they are never posted. Sometimes it’s as low as $50.
           
On the table itself, there are grooved chip holders in the sides to hold your chips. You can also use one of these racks to track the table. Just use a red chip for pass-line winners and a white one for don’t pass winners. This way you can see which way the table is going.
For example if you have four red chips and only one white, you’ve got a hot table, and you might want to increase your bets and odds. If you have more white chips than red ones, you might want to switch to the “don’t” side.
             
The dealer will never make hand-to-hand contact with you, your money or your chips. If you want your cash turned into chips, drop it on the table and say “change”. He will take your money, convert it into chips, and push the chips back to you. Even when you win a bet, he will either place your winnings next to your bet, or push them toward you. Never try to hand anything directly to a dealer.
 
A final Craps Tip: Have fun while you’re playing.
Talk to the other players and dealers. Try to make some friends.
Tip the dealers if they help you and use your chip racks to keep track of the table direction. And, as always, good luck at the tables!

From Craps Tips, go to Craps Table Talk
OR
Return to Learn to Play Craps Program

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