When playing craps in a casino, you place your bets, which in turn are covered by the casino bank. The casino covers the players’ bets at the game of craps and offers a variety of betting propositions. In the following explanations these propositional bets along with the more basic ‘pass’ and ‘don't pass’ are explained.

In this game of craps, four people are actively involved. First there is the ‘boxman’ an individual who sits at the middle of the table. He acts as the boss and constantly watches over the play. The two dealers situated to each side of the ‘boxman’ pay out winnings and take in the losing chips. Each of the dealers handles the players on his/her side of the table. In the center of the table is the box of proposition bets as well as the stickman, standing on the player’s side of the table.

It is the stickman who controls the action of the game by controlling the dice and the pace at which the game is played. After watching to see that all of the bets have been placed, the stickman then pushes several sets of dice over to the shooter. The player selects a pair of dice with which to play, and prepares to roll them across the table hitting the wall at the opposite side. If when the first roll is completed it comes up a 7 or 11, the player has rolled a ‘natural’ and wins. The amount of winnings is equal to the amount that has been wagered on the pass line.

The rolling of a 2, 3 or a 12 on the first roll amounts to ‘craps’ which means that the player loses. In this case the dealer removes the pass-line bets. The shooter however, does not give up the dice. The continues to roll until he ‘sevens out.’

If the first roll comes out a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, then the ‘box point’ is established. At this point the player will keep rolling the dice until the number comes up again. If this happens he wins. If a seven comes up before the number, than the player loses.

The best approach is to play the line and the come, either the pass or don't pass bets. These two areas are the best areas to bet. They offer the player the best odds. Always take your full odds behind your pass line bet when wagering on the pass line bet. There are casinos that offer odds as high as double or higher on these bets. If this is the case, you should take advantage of this opportunity. Also remember to increase your bets when you win and to not double up on losses.

PLACE BETS If you bet a 4 or a 10 you are playing 9 to 5 odds, where the true odds are actually 10 to 5 with the house having an edge of 6.66%. The bet on the 5 or the 9 has a payout of 7 to 5 while the true odds are 7.5 to 5 The house edge is 4%. The odds on a 6 or 8 bet pay odds of 7 to 6, with true odds of 6 to 5. The house edge on this bet is 1.51%.

SEVEN The odds on this one roll bet are 4 to 1. The actual odds are 5 to 1 and the house takes the difference giving them a 16,66% edge.

ELEVEN This one roll bet pays odds of 14 to 1 while the true odds are actually 17 to 1 and the house’s percentage is 16.66%. This is not a good bet.

COME BETS & DON'T COME These are even bets. The edge for the house is the same as for the pass-line bet - 1.414% and 1.402%

BUY BETS With this type of bet the player pays a commission called a "vigorish" of 5% in order to get the true odds on all of the numbers played. The only bets of this type that are worthwhile are those on the 4 and the 10. Buy bets result in reducing the house’s edge to 4.76%.

HARD WAYS This is a bet that may be placed on a 4, 6, 8 or 10. The payoff is 9 to 1 on the 6 and 8 and it is 7 to 1 on the 4 or 10. Respectively, the edge for the house is 9.09% and 11.11%. This too is a bad bet.

PASS LINE This bet pays even odds and gives the house a small edge of 1.414%. The pass-line bet is on of the best available.

DON'T PASS This bet pays even money and provides a house edge of 1.402%, making it slightly better odds than those of the pass line bet.

THE FIELD This is a one-roll bet that pays even odds of 2 to 1 or rolling a 2 or a 12. The edge for the house is 5.55%.

ANY CRAPS A one roll bet. If a 2,3,or 12 comes up you get 7 to 1 odds. The house edge is 11.11%, thus making it a bad bet. The BIG 6 & 8 bet allows players to place bets in boxes marked as such and to receive even money instead of the 6 to 5true odds. This gives the house a 9.09% edge.

HORN BET : In the area marked as the ‘horn’ you are allowed to bet on the 2, 3, 12 and 11 which also may be bet separately. To make a horn bet the player hands the money to the dealer, and calls out the bet. For instance, a player might place a horn bet by calling out "$8 horn bet." This allows him to place $2 on each of the four one-roll propositions. The payoff for the 2 or 12 is 30 to 1. The 3 or 11 pays out 15 to 1. The true odds for the 2 and 12 are actually 35 to 1 and they are 17 to 1 for the 3 or 11 coming up. The edge that the house holds for all four of these bets is actually 16.66% making the horn bet a very bad bet to place. One that is highly not recommended.

ODDS : When a point is made a player can take on the odds. This applies either in the case of the shooter making his point on his first roll, or it can be a come point on a succeeding roll. The odds on the 4 and 10 are 2 to 1; on the five and nine they are 3 to 2; on the six and eight they are 6 to 5. If he is betting against the point being made the odds are the same in all cases.

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