Craps is a gambling game played with dice. The original game was called Crabs, but then first humorously and then officially it received the name Craps. Players bet on an outcome of the roll or of a series of rolls. Craps is most usually in
casinos, but can also be found less formal settings, especially among soldiers and prisoners.
The most fundamental bet in Craps is the Pass Line bet. Pass Line is a bet on series of rolls, where the first roll, called come-out roll, determines the number that must be rolled again before 7 comes out. If it happens, all players who bet on pass line win. They also win immediately if the come-out roll is 7 or 11, and lose if it is 1 or 12 (some casinos also include 3). Numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 are called points, and if they come out, the game continues.
Pass Line Betting
Betting on Pass Line the way described above is called Right betting. Players can also bet the Wrong way, which means that they bet that seven will come out before the point number. The wrong betting is not complete opposite of the right betting, because if 1 or 12 come out on the first roll, they also lose. These are casino numbers that provide the house edge. Casinos where players also lose 3, actually double the house edge of Craps.
The Shooter:
The dice are rolled by one of the players called shooter. The shooter is changed each time he rolls 7 and is replaced by the player to his left. The shooter bets equally to all other players. The shooter is required to throw the dice with one hand, the way they will hit a table wall before they stop. This is done to prevent so called
controlled shooting, a technique that allows players to manipulate the outcome of the dice throwing it a special way. Before the shooter starts to roll the dice, he selects two of five dice offered to him by the dealer.
Loaded dice
These are dice that look and feel like normal, but have a heavier substance implanted inside to displace the center of gravity and increase the possibility of certain numbers to appear. If during the game, a die falls on the floor, it must be replaced or put back in the game only after being inspected by casino personnel, to prevent substituting it by a loaded die.
Personnel
A Craps table is run by four casino employees: a boxman, two dealers and a stickman. The boxman is the most important figure that guards the chips and supervises the dealers. Two dealers stand either side of the boxman, collect and pay bets and supervise the game. The stickman stands across the table from the boxman, announces the results of the roll, collects the dice and maintains the bets made on the center of the table. He uses an elongated wooden stick to manipulate dice and chips easier.