Craps Hero

Let's talk about craps.

Historically speaking, the oldest game of chance that used dice was in 1573BC in Egypt. These dice are called "Theban dice", and you can see them for yourself at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Germany. (Just don't ask the museum curator to let you play with these dice.)

Craps is the proud descendant of that dice game. And craps gambling has become synonymous with wagering excitement and fun.

American craps originated on the Mississippi River during the steamboat era of the 1800's. Since then, craps has become the loudest, fastest, and most adrenaline producing game in any casino. And as far as casino games go, it has better odds than any other game. (Except maybe blackjack if you're a card-counter, or in extremely rare cases when you have a really favorable payout chart on a video poker game. And you have to be skilled and practice in either of those cases.)

Craps for Beginners

Craps can also be one of the most intimidating gambling games for a new player. Usually there are over a dozen players at a table, all yelling and excited. This would make almost anyone think that such a game is crazy and confusing. Heck, even the layout of the craps table seems overwhelmingly complex to a new player. But in spite of the noise and excitement at the craps table, it's actually one of the easiest games to play in an online casino.

One caveat though: a lot of craps bets are needlessly complicated and foolish, mostly because they don't offer good odds. Luckily for you, this guide to craps will not only show you the simplest craps bets that you can make, but those are also the bets with the best odds. You'll find other players who won't agree with your strategy, but if you believe in irrefutable logic and math, then you won't worry about that.

How to Play Craps

The first time you ever get to a craps table, make a small bet on thepass line. The pass line is the strip that runs all around the craps table's layout.

This small bet that you just made on the pass line is called a come-bet. That's because the first throw of the dice is a come-out roll.At this point, you're hoping to roll a 7 or an 11 if you're the shooter, or hope that the person who is throwing the dice rolls a 7 or an 11. On the come-out roll, a 7 or an 11 is a winner automatically, so if that happens, you're already a winner.

On the other hand, if the shooter rolls a 2, a 3, or a 12, then he's rolled "craps", which is an automatic loss.

Any other number establishes a pass-line point. The shooter's goal at this point is to roll this number again before rolling a 7. If he does roll the pass-line point before rolling a 7, then again, you win. But if he rolls a 7 before rolling the pass-line point, then you lose, and the hand ends. In this case, the dice move to another player, who becomes the new shooter.