Tag: Craps

Craps Terms – what you need to know…

So you want to play Craps huh? Well, you better know some terminology. In today’s article, we’ll show you some key Craps terms.

So you want to play Craps huh? Well, you better know some terminology. In today’s article, we’ll show you some key Craps terms. There are countless Craps terms out there, but we’ll go over just the main and fun ones.

Aces: This is a roll of two. When a two is rolled, both dice show one dot, hence the term.

2-Way Eleven: Dealers love this one. When you bet a 2-way eleven, you’re making a bet on eleven for you and the dealers. It’s a good move to tip the dealers when playing if you’re doing well.

Any Seven: This is a one-roll wager. Make this bet and if the next roll is a seven, you win. A seven can be rolled: 1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-1, and 6-1. The bet pays 4:1. The house edge is high on this one since it’s a one-roll wager. Of course, you’d think it was a pot of gold when you’re standing at an ice-cold table.

Big 6: This bet is located in the lower section of the layout. It’s called the big 6, because the wager space is a huge 6. It’s a gimmick wager though, because it only pays even money. If you were to place the 6, you’d get odds on your payout. This bet stays up until it loses or you take it down.

Big 8: It’s the same as the Big 6, except it’s an 8. You’ll win every time an 8 is rolled and lose when a 7 is rolled. It pays even money. Unless you’re very lazy, place the 8 instead.

Big Red: No, it’s not a stick of gum. This is a codeword for making a wager on Any Seven.

Bones: Throw them bones. The bones are the dice.

Black: This is slang for a $100 cheque-also called a chip by the layman. “Give me a stack of black,” would be saying that you want a stack of $100 cheques, which is $2,000-there are 20 cheques/chips in a stack.

Boxcars: Keep making this wager and you might be living in a boxcar. This is slang for the number 12-6-6 on the dice.

Boxman: This is the guy who is in the suit and sitting down in-between the two dealers on the inside of the Craps table. He’s the boss of the table. It’s his job to make sure payouts are okay and to watch the game. You’ll also see him tracking players for rewards.

The Boys: Perhaps a bit sexist in these days since there are more and more female Craps dealers, but this is slang for the dealers at the table. “Here’s $20 for the boys,” means that you’re giving $20 as a tip to the dealers. In the old days, you’d only find male Craps dealers.

Today, we continue our Craps Terms series with more terms. We stopped off at “for the boys” last session. Today, we pick it up with an animal-the Buffalo. Let’s get started.

Buffalo: Okay, it’s not an animal. When you make a buffalo wager, you’re betting on each of the Hardways and Any Seven. If you want to mix it up, you can make a Buffalo-Yo wager, which is all of the Hardways and a Yo (eleven) bet.

Buy: When you place a number, you can buy it. When you buy the number, you’re paying a 5% commission for true odds. You’ll rarely see the 5,6,8 or 9 bought. It’s almost always the 4 and 10. Why? Well, when you buy the 4 and 10 you get 2 for 1 odds rather than 9 for 5. Imagine you bought the 4 for $25. Each time the 4 hits, you would be paid $50. Your commission would be $1. The commission is off the bet not the win. Also, the commission is rounded down, as most Craps tables don’t have 25-cent cheques.

C and E: This is an extremely common wager on the come out roll. When you make a C and E wager, you’re betting on Any Craps and Eleven (Yo). It’s a one-roll wager. You can make this bet any time, but most people do it on the come out roll to protect their Pass Line bets.

Charting: If you go to the casinos in Downtown Las Vegas, you’re likely to see a charter. Charting is when you record the action of a table. Usually this is done on a notepad. Why chart a table? Many people who do it believe there are patterns in the dice-not true. Others do it on a person by person basis, because they believe people have certain patterns. If you play online, you can do this easily and without standing out like you would at a real table.

Change Only: IMPORTANT! If you do nothing else, remember this command. When you are at a real Craps table and you throw money down, it plays where it stays unless you say “Change Only.” Many unsuspecting people have thrown their money down expecting change only to see it gobbled up after it lost. Now, if you want the money to be a bet, just don’t say another word or say “Money Plays.” That’s the command for letting the money sit and play. The dealer shouldn’t touch the money.

Cheques: This is the official term for what many call chips. Let’s say you have a $100 cheque and you want a stack of $5 cheques, you would put down your cheque in the Come area and say “Cheque Change.” That’s the dealer’s cue that you don’t want it to play and that you want smaller cheques/chips.

Coloring: There are various terms that involve color. The first is color in, which is said by the dealer to let the boxman know that cheques are coming in. The next is coloring up, which is said to inform the boxman, or whoever, that the cheques are being exchanged. For instance, if you handed in a stack of red ($5 cheques, which is $100 total), the dealer might say color in, then coloring up. Next, he’ll say color out and hand you one $100 cheque.

Come Bet: To place a Come wager, you place the desired cheque(s) in the Come area, which is that big space right below the numbers. Think of the Come bet as the Pass Line bet. First, you place your wager. Second, a number is rolled. Your wager is moved to that number. Finally, when the number is rolled a second time, your wager is taken down and paid. You can put odds on your wager once it gets placed in a number. When you place a wager in the Come area, it will win instantly if the next roll is a 7 or 11, but it will lose instantly if the number is 2, 3 or 12. The Don’t Come Bet is just the opposite. If you bet this, you want to see the shooter throw a 7 before your number.

Come out Roll: This is sort of the start of every cycle if you will. The purpose of the come out roll is to establish the point. If the shooter throws a 7 or 11, all Pass Line wagers win and all Don’t Pass wagers lose. If the shooter throws a 2, 3, or 12, all Pass Line Wagers Lose. The Don’t Pass wagers win on 2 and 3, but push (bar) on 12.

Comps: These apply to any game. When you get a comp, you get something for free from the casino. For instance, maybe you’re playing Craps and the pit boss decides to comp you lunch. Comps are usually handed out to players who meet certain criteria. It’s important to note that there is no way you can get a comp unless you’re being tracked. This means you must register for the casino’s player card. And when you get change at a table, give them your card to. Comps are also called rewards these days and most casinos have went to a system to reward players automatically.

Crap: So, what is a Crap anyway-aside from the obvious? The numbers 2, 3 and 12 are Craps. And if you wager on Any Craps, these are the winning numbers you want to see rolled. When someone throws a 2, 3 or 12 on the first roll, it’s called Crapping Out.

Next time, we’ll venture into the D’s with Craps terms like dealer, dime, don’t come, double odds and more.

Craps – the story behind the game

The historian may have a little trouble clearly defining the history of Craps. In some circles, Craps has a debatable history. I found it fairly challenging to trace the game of Craps back to one single origin.

The historian may have a little trouble clearly defining the history of Craps and we found it fairly challenging to trace the game of Craps back to one single origin.

If popularity is to rule the day, then we should go with a widely accepted origin. It’s largely accepted that Craps evolved from an old game called Hazard, which was allegedly created by Bernard de Mandeville.

While his name might sound French, Hazard didn’t come into being in France or even Europe. Nope. Hazard was forged right in the USA. The time was 1813 and the place was none other than party town New Orleans-figures right? As the legend goes, Hazard grew in popularity.

Many found Hazard to be too complicated, so they simplified it. The new name? Craps. Many people today think Craps is extremely complicated. Can you imagine what Hazard must be like?

In the glory years, Craps was part of American culture. It was played in casinos and on many American streets. It was a game that was at least known about by most of society. And then the fall came. Some believe that gamblers just don’t want to think much. They want to put their money down and have a set path with limited choices. The popularity decline of Craps over the past 20 years would seem to support this theory.

Craps’ decline helped give rise to other games-like Blackjack. In the early 1990s, Las Vegas casinos experimented with a simpler version of Craps. Many of the decisions were taken out and it was more of a carnival came. There was one dealer-think Blackjack table here. You’d make a bet and throw the dice. It failed.

Real Craps players weren’t interested in the novelty game and non-Craps players just didn’t give a, well, crap. The casinos saw that there wasn’t any real money in the game and ditched it.

I think the game failed, because of one critical issue-community. Most real world Craps players play the game, because of the atmosphere. They want to be where the action is. Also, they want others to throw the dice to mix things up. There’s nothing better than a full table of happy Craps players. No matter where you are in the casino, you’ll hear the shouts.

Craps also has an interesting twist. An empty table is hard to fill. Craps players go where other Craps players are. Take a look at any other game, like Blackjack. An empty table can be a welcomed sight. There’s no other game as passionate as Craps.

Rolling the Dice…. Craps Strategies

Games at casinos are of two kinds. The game of skill which is one counts on the acquired skill of a player. Such games include blackjack, baccarat and poker. Games such as roulettes, slot machines and craps are games that rely on the player’s luck, which are called games of chance.

The game of crap is played with a dice. As all players know, each dice has six sides with number one through six accordingly. Crap uses two dice. With it, two (1, 1) the smallest number that can be rolled, and twelve will be the biggest number (6, 6). Seven being the most common number that is rolled, establishes and determines the odds.

Here are reasons why players often lose the game. Understanding this, one can have a better game:

  • More often then not, these gamblers rely on their luck.
  • Usually these players already have losing in “mind”.
  • Often, players have very little understanding of the game.

Here are different strategies that one can count on in playing craps:

  • Betting the Pass Line. When one wins, this pays an even winning. Place your bet on the Pass Line area. If the result of the rolled dice is seven or eleven, you win. While if two, three or twelve, you lose. If the results are other than these numbers, you continue dicing until you roll a seven, you win. If it comes out before a point, you lose.
  • Betting the Don’t Pass Bar. This is the exact opposite of betting the Pass Line bar. You win when the result of the come out roll is two or three. You lose if the result is seven or eleven. If the result is the number twelve, it is declared a push. You keep on rolling the dice until such time a point seven is rolled. You win id before the point, seven comes out.
  • Come out bet. This type of a bet can only be done after a come out roll resulting in the following numbers – 4, 5,6,8,9, or 10. Similar to the Pass Line bet, if the result of the next roll is the number two, three or twelve, you lose. While if the resulting next roll is seven or eleven, you are a winner.

The bottom line in any game is to always play wisely. Think with your head and never rely on your luck when betting. Look at the statistics; they will increase your chances of winning, as they will show you the betting probabilities. Having a solid game plan, the discipline to execute them, as well as effective and precise money management will increase your winning chances.

Craps – How it works and how to play

Craps is one of the simpler casino games to learn. It is also another of the more popular casino games often played at parties, barbecues and sometimes even on the street. The lure of this game is that you only need a pair of dice and a few friends and you’ve got all you need for a game of Craps.

However, it is the casino version of the game that gives Craps its reputation of being a fast paced, exciting game. Players often begin with this game in the casino because of its ease of play. The basic concept is this: you place a bet on what is referred to as the “passline bet.” You make your wager before you roll the dice. If you roll a 7 or 11, then you win. If you roll a 12, 3 or 2, you lose. Any other number becomes the point number, meaning that number must be rolled again before the seven for you to win anything. If you roll the seven before you roll the point number, then you lose.

However, you do have the option to bet again in addition to your original bet. It is known as the odds bet: meaning the casino (online or real) does not have their usual house advantage and it also hedges on true odds. Many casinos and online casino sites offer lessons for Craps as it is one of the most popular and exciting games played. There is usually a great amount of money riding on Craps games and the atmosphere around the Craps table is filled with cheering spectators, all vying for the opportunity to see a player win big. This is the best way to get in the game when you are checking out a casino.

Most online casinos will allow you to play the game for free before offering you the option to play for real money. So what are you waiting for? Stop by at an online casino today and see for yourself what the fuss surrounding a game of Craps is all about.