Craps is a table game that can be played at both online and land-based casinos. The aim is for players to bet on the roll of two dice, so there is no skill involved and the outcome of the game is determined purely by chance. In this article, we will present you with all you need to know about how to play craps online. We'll explain how bets are placed on the craps table, how the game unfolds and provide some craps betting strategy tips to help you get off to the best start.
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The Craps Table: An Introduction
This popular online dice game focuses on the action that takes place at a craps table. The table has a betting layout that is divided into several different areas, and each area represents a certain type of bet. Players make bets by taking casino chips and then placing them on the area or areas related to the type of bets they want to make.
A craps table layout can be offputting to some people because it has multiple betting areas and therefore looks rather complicated. Fortunately, the game itself is a lot simpler than the table layout might suggest, and when you know how a game of craps online is played, the layout becomes a lot more comprehensible. For that reason, we will proceed to explain the rules of the game itself and the main bets that can be made when playing. If you refer to the craps table layout as you read the following section, you'll find that it soon makes a lot more sense than it might at first glance.
How to Play Craps Online: Rules of the Game
The game of craps revolved around one player who rolls two dice. This player is referred to as the 'shooter' and when you play the game online you will play the shooter's part by pressing a button marked Roll or Roll Dice. The first roll that the shooter takes is called the 'come out' roll, and there are three possible outcomes:
When a shooter established a point, he continues to roll the dice, and his aim is to roll the point again before he rolls a 7.
Your job as a player of online craps is to bet on whether the shooter will succeed or fail. You must first bet on the outcome of the 'come out' roll by betting on the Pass Line or Don't Pass, as we will discuss in a moment. If the shooter establishes a point on the come out roll, you will then have the option of placing other bets, which we will also discuss.
Pass Line
Making a bet on the Pass Line means betting that the shooter will succeed in beating the casino. He can do this by rolling a 7 or 11 on the come out roll, or by establishing a point and making it again before rolling a 7.
- If the come out roll totals 7 or 11, your bet on the Pass Line will succeed. You will then be paid at odds of 1:1.
- If the come out roll totals 2 or 3, your bet on the Pass Line will lose.
- If the come out roll totals 12, you neither win nor lose. Instead, the casino will declare a Push and your bet will be returned to you.
- If the come out roll totals 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that total is the established point that the shooter must try to make again with subsequent rolls before a 7 is rolled.
When the shooter establishes a point, your Pass Line bet will remain in play, and it will win (paying odds of 1:1) if the shooter rolls that point before he rolls a 7. In the meantime, you will now also be able to bet on the outcome of the rolls he makes in an effort to succeed.
Don’t Pass
Making a bet on Don’t Pass is betting that the shooter will not succeed in beating the casino. Here you are hoping that he will roll a 2 or 3 on the come out roll, or that he will establish a point and roll a 7 before making it again.
- If the come out roll totals 2 or 3, your bet on Don’t Pass will win. You will then be paid at odds of 1:1.
- If the come out roll totals 7 or 11, your bet on Don’t Pass will lose.
- If the come out roll totals 12, you neither win nor lose. Instead, the casino will declare a Push and your bet will be returned to you.
- If the come out roll totals 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that total is the established point that the shooter must try to make again with subsequent rolls before a 7 is rolled.
When the shooter establishes a point, your Don’t Pass bet will remain in play, and it will win (paying odds of 1:1) if the shooter rolls a 7 before he rolls that point again. In the meantime, you will now also be able to bet on the outcome of the rolls he makes in an effort to succeed.
Come and Don't Come
Come and Don't Come are bets that side with and oppose the shooter, respectively. If you have made a Pass Line bet and a point has been established, you might want to bet on Come so that you win even more if he succeeds. Similarly, if you have made a Don't Pass bet you might also want to make a Don't Come bet so that you win more if the shooter fails in his quest to make the point. Successful Come and Don't Come bets pay 1:1.
Place Bets
These allow you to bet on a specific number from 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. If your selected number is rolled before a 7, your bet will win. The odds you will be paid for success will depend on which number you have elected to bet on, and those will be detailed in the Craps online Payouts section a little later.
Field Bets
Field bets allow you to bet that the next roll of the dice will show a specific number from 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. The odds you will be paid for success will depend on the number selected. 2 or 12 pay 2:1 and all others pay 1:1.
Hard Way Bets
The term "hard way" refers to a total made by rolling a pair of numbers. For example, a Hard Way bet on 6 would require the shooter to roll a pair of 3s. Hard Way bets can be made on the totals of 4, 6, 8, or 10, and the odds for success will depend on the total you have bet on, as we will detail later
Big 6 and Big 8
These bets, as you might have guessed, let you bet that the number 6 or 8 will be rolled before a 7 is rolled. The odds paid for a successful Big 6 or Big 8 bet are 1:1.
Other Bets
There are other bets that can be placed once a shooter has established a point. The options include Any Craps or Any 7, as well as specific bets on the individual numbers 2, 3, 11 and 12. Odds for success depend on the bet that has been made, as will be detailed later.
Having discussed how the game of online craps is played and the main bets that can be placed, the craps table layout presented earlier should be much easier to understand. Craps online is a little more involved than some simpler casino games, such as pokies or keno, but it isn't nearly as difficult to understand as most people assume on their first encounter with it.
Online Craps Game Variations
Some online casino games like blackjack, roulette and keno have quite a few variations for players to choose from. That isn't quite the case with craps, but you will find that different online craps titles will be presented in different ways. Some will focus on making the visuals as realistic as possible, others will focus on the fun and excitement that the game offers, and so on.
The one main variation that you can expect to find at most of the best casinos in New Zealand is Live Craps. Like other Live Casino games, Live Craps online uses video streaming technology to bring you the action from a physical craps game in a special casino studio. This gives you the most realistic online craps experience possible when playing online, so be sure to check it out at some point.
Craps Payouts & House Edge Figures
The payouts for many of the bets that we have previously discussed have already been given. Even so, it can be useful to have all payouts available in one place so that you can, if needed, refer to them as you play. The chart below shows the main bets that we have mentioned, along with their respective payouts. We also provide the House Edge for each bet, which shows you how heavily skewed they are in the casino's favour.
Craps Betting Strategy
Craps online is one of those casino games that can be played in a variety of ways. For those who like to keep things as simple as possible, you can place a bet on the Pass Line or Don't Pass and wait for the eventual result. Players who want to get more involved can follow their Pass Line or Don't Pass bet with other bets following the come out roll. The choice, as always, is up to each individual player.
As we have already said, craps is a game of chance. For that reason, there is no technique or strategy that you can employ that will actually change the odds of you winning. Similarly, your chances won't change one bit on the basis of how long you have been playing. A complete beginner, therefore, has just as much chance of winning as someone who has been playing online craps for several decades.
Watch the Edge
While the mathematical odds of you winning in craps can't be influenced by strategy or skill, there is one thing that you can do to give your own bets the best chance of success, and that is to focus on bets with the lowest house edge.
The house edge is the advantage that the casino has over the player, and it varies from bet to bet. If you bet on Any 7, the casino will have a 16.67% advantage over you. That means the casino will keep an average of NZ$1.667 for every NZ$10 that people bet on Any 7. Fortunately, at the other extreme, bets on the Pass Line or Come give the casino an advantage of just 1.41%, while bets on Don't Pass or Don't Come give the casino an advantage of 1.36%.
Because your chances of winning are greatest in situations where the house advantage is lowest, the best approach to the game is to focus on those outcomes where the edge is just 1.36% and 1.41%. Most players prefer to bet on the Pass Line and Come, as those allow you to root for the shooter rather than for the casino.
Craps Tips for Beginners
At this point, you have all the knowledge you need to take a seat at the virtual dice tables and enjoy playing craps online. However, before you rush off to do that, allow us to leave you with a few tips that can help you to avoid some common mistakes and get your new craps hobby off to a good start.
Play Free Craps Online
Being familiar with the rules of craps is one thing, but actually playing is quite another. It can take a little time to feel comfortable at an online craps table, so you might want to start by playing games that don’t involve financial risk. Fortunately, most online gaming venues will give a welcome bonus to new players, and you can sometimes use those funds to play table games. Check the rules beforehand and, if craps is a permitted game, you can play for a while at the casino’s expense.
Don’t Get Greedy
In a craps game, the house edge varies from bet to bet, as you saw earlier. It’s always good to focus on bets with the lowest house edge, but particularly so when you are relatively new to the game. While other bets might promise greater rewards for success, that’s only because they give you a far lower chance of winning. Avoid being blinded by greed for big wins and aim for modest wins instead, which are a lot easier to achieve.
Stake Wisely
Online casino games should be played purely for fun, with wins being viewed as nothing more than the icing on the cake. For that reason, you should aim to get as much entertainment value from your bankroll as possible. The easiest way to do this is by betting modest or even minimum stakes so that your money goes further than it would when using bigger stakes. For example, if you have NZ$30 to spend, using NZ$1 stakes would allow you to make 30 bets. Using NZ$5 stakes, on the other hand, would only let you make 6 bets.
Study the Game
Online Craps is a relatively simple game to play, but it does have hidden depths that can’t be covered in a single article. That being the case, our final tip is for you to study the game further if you intend to play it on a regular basis. You can do this in a variety of ways, from watching instructional videos on YouTube to reading entire books that delve into a deep analysis of odds and probabilities. In addition, be sure to get as much experience at the craps tables as possible, and enjoy your gaming.
