Craps

January 23, 2010 / admin /

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As with many wagering games, the origins of the game known today as Craps is both long and complex, but likely stems from a similar game called Hazard which was developed in Great Britain centuries ago. The game soon became embraced by the French and later came to the Western Hemisphere by way of New Orleans, thus establishing it as a global favorite. The name Craps stems from the French word crapaud which means toad. This is a game played using dice and while it can be played in an informal setting, it is wildly popular in casinos across the world due to its fast pace and high level of thrill. Bank Craps is the name of this casino version.

Most often, in a casino setting, Craps is played with at least one player squaring off against the casino. In turn, the casino will set the odds on what it will pay out and cover all of the bets being placed at a given table. Those playing will usually take turns rolling the dice with whoever is doing so being known as the shooter. The other players will place their bets on the shooter’s dice rolls at the beginning of each round. A casino employee known as a stickman offers 5 dice in a bowl to the person whose turn it is to be the shooter. They can pass on this, but if they choose to roll then they must select 2 dice and return the rest. To establish a point and continue play, the shooter must roll a total of either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. On an initial come-out roll, if 7 or 11, referred to as “natural”, are rolled then the pass line bets win, but if they “crap out” by rolling a 2, 3 or 12 then the round ends and the pass line bets are lost by all players. The rounds continue after this a point has been established, with the shooter attempting to roll either the point value so that the pass line wins and avoid rolling a 7. Rolling a 7 results in a seven out and means that the pass line loses their bets and a new shooter is then selected, moving in a clockwise direction around the table until someone chooses to play this role.