Craps Play Mechanics and How the Game Works

If you're into games that have a wide range of bets and a lot to learn, then craps is the way to go. Tons of bets are available in this game, and while that's one of the big points of appeal for many players, it can also be extremely frustrating and intimidating for others. This is the reason why we're going to cover craps play mechanics here in a way that will help out all players no matter if you already know some of the rules or if you have no idea where to even begin.

At a craps table, one person will be rolling the dice while everyone else watches. The person rolling the dice is called the shooter, and the outcome of all of the bets are based on the shooter's rolls. The first roll of a turn is called the come out roll, and some turns can have multiple rolls just depending on what happens. Everything in craps (or almost everything) centers around the come out roll and a bet that you place on that roll called the pass line bet. Understanding this bet is the key to understanding the vast majority of craps.

When you place a bet on the pass line bet, you'll need to pay close attention to the outcome of the come out roll. Rolls of two, three or 12 automatically lose and a new turn is started, but rolls of seven or 11 automatically win at even money. The six remaining numbers are called the place numbers: four, five, six, eight, nine and ten. If a place number is rolled, then this establishes a value called the point, and it takes you to another stage of the game.

During this next part of the game, the shooter is going to continue rolling the dice until the point is re-rolled or until a seven is rolled. If the seven comes first, then the bet loses. Likewise, if the point is rolled first, then the bet wins. It's a pretty straight-forward thing, and it's pretty easy to understand once you get the hang of it. The vast majority of people, including everyone who is playing well, will use the pass line bet as the basis of their strategy in the game of craps. Overall, this is the fundamental bet that you need to know about, and you'll learn all of the mechanics of the game from using this bet.