It is so interesting to note that the roots of the game of craps – namely the dice, is not necessarily the root of all evil as some anti-gambling lobbyist might have you believe; the dice actually date way back in time to pre-history. While online craps and gambling in general may be new, taking a wager on the dice or bones as they are called is certainly not new. The idea of calling craps dice “bones” is also not new and they have been called this for millennia, chiefly because the first dice were made of bone. Perhaps even the bones of an enemy!

People love to take a wager on the outcome of a completely random act. It really doesn’t get more random, or more exciting than the roll of two dice, each marked with 6 numbers. Taking a wager on dice, or anything else for that matter is not limited to any one culture, it is a universal aspect of culture and no-one knows who placed the first bet. Perhaps cave men may have bet their buddies that their wife was faster than another’s when skinning a mammoth. The prize may have been the wife and the mammoth of the loser; who knows?

To think that Herotodus recorded dice as far back as the 5th century BC is quite mind boggling, but craps may date back further than that. He is known as the Greek Father of History. Archaeologists have found artefacts of a similar nature dating even further back in many cultures. The Egyptians even placed dice in tombs believing that dice games were played in the underworld and the spirits of the dead loved the odd game of craps or something similar.

All classical civilizations gamble on the outcome of random events and we still do this today, so we can quite safely assume that there is a genetic pre-disposition to gamble in all human nature. The fact that we still play craps and a myriad other gambling games online is therefore human nature!

Governments have tried to ban these games time and again as they really don’t like to see money or mammoths changing hands without getting a stake or steak for themselves. So excuses that gambling games are another of mans cause of downfall is really a load of craps, excuse the pun! It is all about money, and this is why sensible Governments take a regulatory stance, so that gambling is legal and they get their pound of flesh too.

Play craps online at any one of the many online casinos and while you play you will be safe in the knowledge that this game is genetically part of who we all are on a cultural level. Gambling commissions in Government bodies often fall under Arts and Culture, or Sports and Recreation ministries and rarely under Health and Safety, so learn to play craps, it is human nature.

Casino craps may looks like an intimidating game to play, it actually isn’t. There are a lot of bets on a craps board and the important thing for beginners to learn is that there are only a handful of bets really worth placing. The balance of bets have got such high house advantages that they are only really useful to advanced players of this game who use advanced betting strategies.

The other vitally important thing to remember when you are a new player; is never use the word for the number “7”. Not online or offline, this is the quickest way to clear a craps table, and believe it or not, craps is absolutely no fun to play alone. You have two dealers, a stickman and a banker at the table and will be outnumber 4 to 1 by the casino staff.

Learn to play craps online, the same as you would in a casino, this way, the next time you walk into a casino and you hear the excitement coming from the noisiest table on the casino floor, you can go and join in the fun. Refer to the “7” as “that number” or “big red” and you will be safe to play and won’t be a pariah if you mention it. Bet with the shooter, not against him, this is not in the rules, but it is the best kind of casino craps etiquette.

Casino craps is not about how you throw the dice; it is about how they land and how you place your bets, and there are loads of bets. In the beginning stick to the simplest bets, Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line, Come Bets, Don’t Come Bets, Odds Bets, Pass Line Odds Bets, Don’t Pass Line Odds Bets and Come and Don’t Come Odds Bets. Later on when you have a better grasp of the game, you can move onto Field Bets, Big 6 and Big 8 Bets,
Place Bets, Buy Bets, Lay Bets and many more.

On the come out roll you don’t want to get craps because then you will be saying “oh craps, I crapped out!” You want to get points numbers, once you have establish the points, then you can go for your 7 and 11. If you get craps you are out and the dice passes onto the next shooter. If you don’t want to shoot when the stickman deems it is your turn for the dice, you don’t have to, you can still continue to play without shooting.

All in all casino craps is a fabulous game to play and it is easy for beginners to be winners as long as they stick to basic bets and basic strategy. Take a look at some “grind” strategies, they will keep you playing for hours, and learn more about this game – it is totally cool!

In the game of gambling craps, it has a very clear definition of what can or shouldn’t be done, neither of these factors are governed by rules however, they are governed by good manners or etiquette if you like. They are “tacit” or unspoken rules!

The first and most important for the new player to remember is never say that number out loud! Do you know what “that number” is? It is the number 7 – oh sh*t, I just cleared the craps table!!!

This is what will happen to you if you mention the number 7 at a craps table in a land based casino, and if you mention it online, more or less the same thing. All the players will lose their enthusiasm, wander away to other games or other tables and you will be left standing there with egg on your face as though you let off a smelly fart.

The Number 7 in this game is pivotal; the entire game revolves around it. Have you ever looked at a die and seen how the numbers are imprinted on it? The 3 is opposite the 4, equaling 7. The 1 is opposite the 6, equaling 7 and the 5 is opposite the 2, again equaling 7. This means that the chances of 7’s coming up in gambling craps is incredibly high. Sometimes you want it to, and other times you don’t but it is revered, feared and treated as being God-like in gambling craps circles.

Craps players call it “that number”, “Big Red” and in some instances they have even called it “the devil” or worse. Saying the word out loud brings bad luck to the table and this number said loud will bring powerful bad luck. Gamblers are a superstitious bunch by nature and the one thing that you don’t do is question this universally held idea. Craps is absolutely no fun to play alone.

The other form of acceptable etiquette is to not play against the shooter. This is not a rule of the game it is another one of those unspoken rules. However the anonymity of gambling craps online has taken this unspoken rule and shook it up a bit. It is hard to be intimidated by antagonizing the shooter when he has no idea who you are. However it would be totally aimless to bet against a shooter who is on a hot streak, this would be like shooting yourself in the foot. And it is for this reason that most players bet with him or her.

Another little bit of “7” gambling craps advice; never bet on “that number” either, this number on a place bet has a house edge of 16.67%. So, you may as well just give the casino cashier all your money as you walk out the doors as place this kind of wager.

The beauty of playing gambling games online is that new players are able to take advantage of all kinds of free offers and the ability to play for free too, until they have mastered a particular game. If you enjoy these kinds of games and let’s face it who doesn’t like games of chance, then you have to try gambling craps.

Walk into a land based casino and sit at a craps table, try to watch and learn, but the best way to learn is to play! The croupier and other players will be helpful, I have always found this, but when you are new to a game such as craps, there is always more of a risk involved with losing your money, than if you have experience.

Play gambling craps online for free and you will soon be wagering like a pro; then you can really join in the fun. There is generally no limit to how much you can play free and some online casinos or casino portals even specialize in craps. You may be lucky enough to find a craps school with a game simulator.

Learn how to play and polish your skills and you will soon be joining in the fun at the craps tables. These are always the noisiest and most exciting tables in the casino, with players and spectators cheering on the shooter to throw the dice and win for everyone – it is a high-speed, non-stop action game!! All the players in this game want to be on the same side – the winning side!

Gambling craps has been a popularly played game in casinos for many years. However its popularity has increased even more since it is now available in millions of players’ homes. All you need is an internet connection to turn your living room into your very own craps room! While Las Vegas may seem like a million miles away, today it is as simple as a click of a button to bring it into your very own home.

There are a few basic rules you need to know even though gambling craps is quite intricate. It is easy to learn the core game and once these fundamentals are entrenched, the complex betting odds can be mastered. Just put these complexities aside for a moment and concentrate on the concept of the game which is driven by the roll of the dice.

When the shooter gets control of the dice and shoots, there are a few things which can happen. They can win or lose the game right off, or they neither win nor lose and the game continues.

The shooter places his bet first and the rest of the players place side bet on the outcome of his shooting. Online, the roll of the dice is controlled by a random number generator which mimics the possible actions of the dice. From here on in, good luck and have fun!

“Craps” does somehow seem to be a strange name for what is actually a very exciting casino game. It seems almost as though it is an expletive! Although I can imagine throwing the dice, not winning, then shouting across the table, “Oh craps, I lost again!”

Just thinking about this made me curious as to the actual true beginnings of craps. I mean if you walk into a land based casino and pass a craps game in session there is always a lot of people shouting encouragement to the players. So it appears to be both popular to play and popular to watch with a good deal of interaction happening. It also happens to be the one game where the most money is wagered world-wide, and it has completely captured the imagination of the public, including me.

It is believed to be a descendent of a game called Hazard and was played by the Knights during the Crusades. One Englishman – Sir William of Tyre is credited with its invention as his knights laid siege to a fortress known as Hazarth in 1125 AD. Encylopaedia Britannica is far less romantic about the beginnings and name of the game, and state it stems from the Arabic words for “the dice” , “azzah” or “al zah”. Which makes sense if the Crusaders brought it back! It would have been a game of Arabic origin, they were fighting the Saracens, why not steal their games too?

Craps is certainly first recorded in British History and Sir Geoffrey Chaucer refers to it frequently in Canterbury Tales. Fortunes were lost by many a noble young buck in luxurious gambling houses during the 17th century, and the name change is thought to have come about because of a losing throw of 2 being called “crabs”. There are arguments as to whether the British or French took craps to the USA, but most historians believe that this is where the name change occurred, I still think my theory is sound.

An American, not having the moral scruples or the genteel refinement of the French or British, threw the dice, landed twos and shouted “craps, I lost again!” and it caught on! It is actually believed that the earliest British settlers arriving on the Mayflower were certain to have brought dice with them.

The historical argument continues with the French and British fighting again – this time in the USA. The French moved south and many people believe that the game was actually invented by French African Americans from Cajun country. Cajuns were often referred to as being “Johnny Crapaud” and “crap” happens to be French for frog. So putting all the pieces of the puzzle in place and a “crab-2” being a losing throw, a “crap” being a frog in French and everyone being at war; the natural deduction is that Hazard became Craps as a corruption of the name for that “2”, the losing throw. See my theory is quite sound!!

Gambling is generally always played with a mixture of drinks and cigarettes. It is very rare that you will find a player at a table without a drink or a smoke in his mouth or something to eat. ­­Casino craps is once such game. However because of the nature of the game you will find that there is often no space for a payer to do anything but just stand and play especially on a night that is full. Like all other games casino craps too has a set of basic etiquette that you need to observe as a player. These set norms are not so much the rules of the game as they are things that you should and shouldn’t do to make sure that everyone at the table has a pleasant experience playing. Here are some of them:

Place wagers neatly and gently

The ideal way for you to stage your wager in a game of casino craps is to put down the wager on the table neatly and gently and stage the amount. Tossing or throwing your wager at the dealer or the stickman will not go down very well with them and things could get unpleasant for you. You need to also take into account the fact that if you toss your wager onto the table the dealer is going to have to waste time gathering it and that is something that he or she will not take to kindly.

Do not fiddle with or throw the dice

Another very common mistake that people generally tend to make when it is their turn at a game of casino craps is that they tend to fiddle with the dice a bit too much. While no one expects you to toss the dice as soon as you pick it up in our hand you are expected to toss the dice within an acceptable amount of time. Fiddling with the dice, blowing on it etc, to make it lucky is not looked upon very kindly. When you do finally let go of the dice you need to make sure that you toss it gently across the table and not throw it. If thrown, besides the dice not landing on the table, there is a good chance that you might hurt someone.

No late bets

Late bets can be very annoying for the dealer as well as the other players in a game of casino craps. You need to make sure that you always place your bet well before the shooter has been handed the dice. Late bets interrupt the momentum of the game as well as hold it up causing unnecessary and annoying delays.

Keep food and ash off the table

The casino craps table is not a tray and it is most certainly not an ash tray. You need to ensure that all your cigarettes, cigars, food and drinks are kept away from the table. Spilling any of these onto the table will not only damage it but could also lead to you being fined or asked to leave the casino all together.

If you are new to the game, go through an online tutorial to understand the rules of craps. This is a game that requires a mix of skill, strategy and luck. You must know the behaviours that are considered suitable at the craps table to avoid being misunderstood and summarily removed from the game. The game involves a set of players and a couple of dealers who stand at the table and oversee the game.

Shooting dice
There are rules regarding shooting the dice. The player is expected to follow rules of transparency and play openly so that the players and the masters can clearly see that there is no effort at playing underhand tricks. When you play craps, place the dice in one hand and jostle them if you want or just shoot. Do not cup them in both hands before you play since these actions will call for a re-play. When you shoot, the dice should hit the table and bounce on to the back wall and land back on the table. This requires practice because you do not want the dice falling off the table which calls for the need to shoot again, preferably with new dice.

Fervour
The craps table moves at an unprecedented speed and demands a larger fund available to play at the speed when the numbers are working to player advantage. This is the point where the maximum crowd waits around the table and the decibel level and concurrent sense of excitement linger. If there has been a bad run, the table soon finds the patrons emptying out to try their luck elsewhere.
Money management
You will wager an amount of approximately $45 for a game of craps and will need to follow it up with similar payments at a fast rate. You can lose a few hundred within the hour if you are imprudent when you play. If you are serious about playing, start with $100 and carry an extra $500 in case you lose it. Keep a limit on the amount you spend, this means do not carry an extra amount of cash, just in case. You will almost certainly get swept up in the heat of the moment and wager all that you have brought with you.

Superstitions
The number seven is considered unlucky as is the use of rounded dice. The numbers should not be mentioned loudly or within earshot of other players at the table. The craps dice are perfect sharp edged squares and demand player loyalty on every shot during a good run. You will see that the player demands the same dice back even if it falls to the ground in the course of shooting. Some players throw a penny under the table to ensure winning. If you are shooting dice at the craps table, do so one at a time. Players are superstitious and see bad luck in two dice being thrown together. It is good etiquette to cheer the player whose chance to shoot dice has arrived.

One of the most exciting places in a casino will surely be the crap table. Unlike baccarat, which is considered to be the game of the elite, or poker, which appears to be so boring as all eyes are on the move for any good or bad hand, craps is an action-oriented game. People would usually crowd craps table, yelling their bets, praying for good rolls.

But do you exactly know how to play craps? For any novice, everything can look so confusing. You can even see it by the messiness of the tables and of the players. However, the techniques are just simple and easy to follow. All you need to do is to follow them to a T first and learn to diversify once you can get the principles behind them. 

The Logic of Craps

A dice pair is used when you’re going to play craps. All faces are numbered from 1 until 6. The main point of the game is for the shooter to get a point number, roll the same number again, and then roll on the craps, which is actually 7. The one who is currently holding and playing the dice is the designated shooter. The others, called bettors, can only call for point numbers ranging from 4 to 10, except 7. Because of the many bet combinations that you can actually create in craps, you have the freedom to choose which of them you think will provide you the victory.

Tips on How to Play Craps

1. Make sure that you can hit the wall located somewhere far. The rule of the game is actually rolling the dice from both ends of the table. For your dice to be determined as fair, these dice must hit each of these far walls. You can occasionally create short throws, especially if you’re still new, but if you want to be known as a good player, then definitely, you should not aim for that.

2. Remove your hands off the table. Surprisingly, there are a number of players who won’t be able to toss their dice at the farthest corners simply because a hand is getting in the way. Don’t let it be yours, or else, you may be destroying somebody else’s night and chance of winning. Keep in mind that your goal is to get a dice combination other than 7. Don’t let your hand manipulate the odds.

3. Bet your money wisely.  Don’t think that a shooter will always have to play the dice. You can always opt to say pass when you think that the odds of winning are too low or you’re still not confident enough to play the game. When you’re uncomfortable, it will surely affect whatever strategy you have implemented for your crap.

4. Toss the dice properly. When it comes to craps, you don’t slide or drop the dice. You roll it all across the table. Don’t make this a habit, or you may get the ire and warning of the dealer. You will most likely be accused by other player for cheating. If you’re a novice, play when there are less people who are in the craps table.

5. Don’t say anything when you’re actually making a pass. Though you certainly wish that the competing players will not win the bet, saying it out loud is considered to be rude in any craps table. So if you’re making a pass, don’t shout that you’re rooting for 7.