Craps is one of the fastest moving and
most exciting games in the casino. It can also be one of the most
intimidating to newcomers. Although the Craps table layout can be
confusing, once you eliminate the bets you should avoid, the game becomes
much easier to understand and enjoy. Luckily, the simplest bets are also
the ones with the lowest House Advantage.
A full-size Craps table needs a crew of four casino personnel to run a
game. At the center of the table is the Boxman who oversees all of the
action and also settles disputes. Two Dealers stand on either side of the
table. Their responsibilities include cashing players in and out, and
collecting and paying off bets. The Stickman handles the dice and center
bets. He also acts as the voice of the game, calling out rolls and winning
bets.
The roll rotates among players. The Stickman will offer the player whose
turn it is, or Shooter, 5 dice of which the Shooter chooses 2. The first
roll of the dice is called the Come-Out Roll. A legal roll needs to hit
the opposite side of the table and rebound. A player keeps control of the
dice until he loses a roll.
A Come-Out Roll of 7 or 11 “wins” for the Shooter (he keeps control of
the dice). A Come-Out Roll of 2, 3 or 12 “loses” for the Shooter (he
loses control of the dice). If a Come-Out Roll is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 the
Shooter continues to roll until:
A. HE MATCHES THE COME-OUT ROLL
If this happens the Shooter keeps control of the dice and gets another
Come-Out Roll. Or,
B. HE ROLLS A SEVEN
If this happens the Shooter loses control of the dice.
Rolling a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 on the Come-Out Roll is also known as
“establishing a point”.