Craps has always been the mystery game to me. I’m reading the Wikipedia article on it. What’s the typical minimum bet? Is there a way to not shoot the dice and just bet on other players? Ok to only bet pass/don’t pass? Does a craps table use their own unique chips that I have to buy at that table?
Mininum Bet? There will a placard underneath the dealers on either side of the boxman. The typical minimum is $5. Five dollar tables will be hard to find at the big Vegas casino/resorts.
Not shooting the dice?, yes you can pass the dice when it comes to you.
yes, you can bet only the pass/don’t pass. Just don’t do both at the same time.
Craps chips are the same chips used for Blackjack, 3-card, and even poker, no special chips.
My recommendation is to start simple. Put the minimum bet on the pass line ($5?) and once the point is established back it with a $10 odds bet. Always bet the odds, because there is no house advantage.
Once you get a little comfortable with the pass and Odds bets, you can start betting the numbers (4,5,6,8,9,10). IMO, Betting the 6 and 8 are the next best odds on the table.
The worst odds on the table are the bets in front of the dealer, the “hardways” the “YO” the “Any Craps”, the “horn”. the good news about those bets is you can usually bet as little as a dollar on those bets, no matter what the table limit is.
IMO, the simplest bet on the table is “Field bet” You win when the roll is 2,3,4,9,10,11, or 12 and lose when it the roll is 5,6,7, or 8. A roll of 2 or 12 actually pays 2-1 and occassionally you can find a table that pays 3-1 on 12.
My advice, stay away from the Don’t pass bets. It is not a bad bet, but you are betting against the table and most of the players at the table.
And I forgot to say, Craps is a fast game but it is not complicated but you can make it that way by pressing your bets and playing every number on the table.
Start at a table that is not crowded. Go to the side that doesn’t have many players. Dealers will help you out.
You can win a lot money quickly at Craps if you start pressing your bets, but you can lose it quickly too. It is my favorite game because you have to have your wits about you. It is not mindless like a slot machine. A hot craps table is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.
Keeping it simple your first time out is the best thing to do and the house edge is low. The pass line backed up by odds is the way to go. It shouldn’t be hard to find a $5 table.
Those big payoff bets that notfrommensa pointed out are really sucker bets and the adice to avoid those bets is sound. One bet I have seen on tables recently is the fire bet. The payoff on a $1 bet is attractive at 25-1 anywhere up to 1000-1. But the house edge is something like 24%! I figure if you want to throw a few bucks in the crapper, use it to tip the dealers.
I don’t mind people betting don’t pass. Most dark side players that I encounter stay pretty quiet and don’t rub it in your face if they are winning.
There are a couple of nice posts an another board I frequent about how to get your feet wet in craps.
Pretty much, all of the bets at the table except for the sucker bets and the odds bets are worth about the same amount. The sucker bets, you just plain avoid, and the odds bets have no house advantage themselves, but are only available after you’ve made some other bet. So avoid the sucker bets, take the odds bets whenever you get the opportunity, and within those two constraints, do whatever you want.
I believe Ellis Dee is a pretty big craps player. There was a thread in 2004 that has a ton of strategies for craps once you get comfortable with the game. It’s been five years and I still haven’t had a chance to go to a casino with a big bankroll like I mentioned I’d like to do in that thread.
You can have a lot of fun just betting the pass line, taking the odds, and placing the 6 and 8.
Agree 100%. In fact, placing the 6 and 8 is even an unnecessary step at first–just play the pass line and odds until you get the hang of it and feel like you understand what’s happening.
Once you feel like the action isn’t fast enough, then add in the 6 & 8 and any other sucker bets you feel like throwing away money on.