Get Dicey
Play Craps and Have Fun
By Tracy Michigan
Published by Tracy Falbe
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2005 All rights reserved
Tracy Falbe also writes fantasy fiction. Discover her titles at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/braveluck
For a paperback edition of Get Dicey: Play Craps and Have Fun go to http://www.getdicey.com/.
This is a work of nonfiction that explains to the best of the author's ability how to play the casino game craps also known as dice. The information herein does not promise or guaranty that any person will win at craps, which is a game of chance designed to favor the casino. Get Dicey is meant to aid people who wish to play craps for entertainment and enjoy the game to its fullest potential.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
A note concerning the tables in this book. Many of the rules were illustrated through the use of tables in the original print edition. These tables have been adapted from the print version and presented as lists in the digital version. The information is the same and clear to read, but this simplification of the formatting was necessary in order to provide a good digital reading experience across numerous formats.
Dedication
To the Players
Table of Contents
Chapter One To Pass or Don’t Pass
Chapter Two Place Bets and Buy Bets
Chapter Three The Field of Dreams
Chapter Four Proposition Bets The Tempting Desserts
Chapter Five Power Pressing and Creative Play
Chapter Six Etiquette and Protocol
Chapter Seven The House Edge of the Sword
Chapter Eight The House of the Rising Sun
Acknowledgements
Thank you to David G. Schwartz, Ph.D., Coordinator of the Gaming Studies Research Center Lied Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for his pleasantness and recommendations for sources of information.
Thank you to Robert C. Hannum, Ph.D. from the Department of Statistics and Operations Technology at the University of Denver for kindly providing me with a copy of Practical Casino Math, which assisted me greatly in describing the mathematics of casino games.
Thank you to all of the casinos that employed me.
About the Author
Working six days a week as a craps dealer in Las Vegas, Nevada gave Tracy Michigan thousands of hours of experience with the game. Trained to know every option available on the casino craps table, Tracy interacted with countless players—yes, even Elvis—and learned creative and popular betting strategies during her career.
In Get Dicey: Play Craps and Have Fun, Tracy shares her knowledge with readers that will allow them to play the game with savvy and have a good time doing it. Tracy knows what people are wondering when they approach the game for the first time. She knows what mistakes they might make, explains baffling rules, and advises players on how to communicate with casino staff.
With humor and common sense, Tracy dispels the mysteries of casino craps, which, once understood, is actually quite elementary and very entertaining.
Introduction
The dice tables intrigue the casino visitor. Attended by rows of gently chirping video poker and slot machines, the dice game lounges like a sleeping dragon on its hoard of treasure. The colorful bank beckons with the promise of fast money.
But if you have ever strayed close enough to peep at the felt, the boxes of numbers and meaningless labels offered no hints about how to play. Stern commands such as “Come” and “Don’t Pass” looked more like an outline of dog obedience training than a fun activity.
Confronted by this puzzle, you consider more user-friendly games, but when you hear the collective roar from a craps game full of winners, your curiosity spikes. You want to be one of the happy people at the table. And, if the dice are hot, they are happy people.
Fortunately, the basic concepts of play are easy to learn, and if the gaming gods are willing, you will be collecting on odds bets and pressing place bets in a frenzy of action.
Get Dicey: Play Craps and Have Fun will teach you everything you need to know about playing the game along with the nuances of betting, game etiquette, and the numbers that explain the good and bad bets.
Just remember: there are six ways to make a seven.
This is a good thing.
This is a bad thing.
Table I.i The Craps Table
Players gather around the Pass Lines at the edges of the table. Base dealers stand at the rear of the game behind the boxed numbers, and a stick dealer stands at the front of the game in front of the proposition box. Players have direct access to the Pass Line, Don’t Pass, Field, Big 6, Big 8, Come, and Don’t Come. Other betting areas require interaction with the dealer in order to place bets.
Primary Bets
Pass Line
Don’t Pass
Field
Come
Don’t
Come
Place Bets (4, 5, six, 8, nine, 10)
Proposition Box
(Includes hardways, horn bets, any craps, any seven, eleven, two,
three, twelve, and any one-roll bet designated by the player.)
Chapter One To Pass or Don’t Pass
The great difficulty in learning any casino game during live action is that you will not always know why you were paid. Or, more commonly, why the dealer just snatched your money like a factory worker plucking defective product from the conveyor belt. Craps to the untutored player will be no exception. A little familiarization with the basic rules of craps will serve you well before throwing your money down that first time.
The Bare Bone Basics
The craps game will have five dice on the table, and the shooter will select two for play. By using two six-sided dice for play, all rolls will equal a number between two and twelve. The remaining three dice will be set aside in a bowl in front of the person working the stick. If one or both of the live dice land in the bowl during a roll, the dealer with the stick, who makes most game calls, will announce, “No roll, in the bowl,” or any variation on that statement. When dice fly off the table, land in the table racks, or on top of the bank, the roll will be declared null as well. All other rolls of the two dice on the game surface will be valid.
When you first arrive at a table, the game will be at one of only two stages of play. The game will either be coming out or have a point number. The circular pucks on each end of the table indicate the stage of the game. When the black side of the puck is up, it will generally read OFF, which means that the table is coming out. If the white side of the puck is up, it will generally read ON, which means that the table has a point number.
The most commonly known aspects of craps take place when the game is coming out. Any roll that occurs when a game is coming out will be called a come out roll. Most bets on the table will be inactive at this time, and players will be betting on the pass line or don’t pass line. A bet on the pass line will win on any roll of seven or eleven. The pass line bet will lose on any roll of two, three, or twelve. These are the craps rolls.
Table 1.1 Come Out Roll Rules for Line Bets
Pass Line Coming Out
Wins on seven and eleven
Loses on two, three,
or twelve
Don’t Pass Coming Out
Wins on two or three
Pushes on twelve
Loses
on seven and eleven
The don’t pass, as the name implies, is the opposite of the pass line, but not the exact opposite. A don’t pass bet will win on any roll of two or three, but it will only push, which means neither win nor lose, on a roll of twelve. This is indicated by the statement Bar Twelve that is printed, usually as a pictograph, on the don’t pass. When a seven or eleven rolls, the don’t pass bets lose.
What happens when a four, five, six, eight, nine, or ten rolls? These rolls create point numbers. When one of these numbers rolls during the come out phase, it will become the game’s point number. The dealer will then place the puck, white side up, on the specific number. A table remains on the come out roll until a point is established. Seven, eleven, and craps rolls in sequence will create a come out roll of multiple rolls. After a point number is marked, the craps rolls and eleven cease to affect the line bets.
At what stage you enter the game is up to you and does not truly matter. Most people wait to begin on a come out roll just to start fresh, and they have the advantage of winning on a seven on the pass line. The opportunity to win on a seven is your best bet. This is because the most common roll of the dice is seven. Because the possible dice combinations must consider the roll of each die, the dice have six ways to make a seven. One and six, six and one, two and five, five and two, three and four, four and three are the six combinations. Unlike many other bets in craps, the pass line bet on a come out roll only wins even money because the odds are so good.
When a point number is marked, however, a pass line bettor will no longer win on a seven. The object now is for the shooter to again roll the number that is marked before the seven rolls. It is important to note that you may not remove your pass line bet from play after a number has been marked. If the seven rolls before the point number, then the pass line and potentially many other bets will lose.
The seven rolling before the point number, however, produces a win for don’t pass bets. When a point is marked, the don’t pass bet becomes a wager that the seven will roll before the point number rolls again. If the shooter rolls the point number, then don’t pass bets lose. Just like during the come out roll, the don’t pass and pass line have opposite goals when the point is marked.
Table 1.2 Point Number Rules for Line Bets
Pass Line
Wins when the established point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) rolls again before the seven.
Loses when the seven rolls before the established point number rolls again.
Don’t Pass Line
Wins when the established point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) DOES NOT ROLL before the seven.
Loses if the established point number rolls again before the seven.
When you consider that the seven is the most common dice combination, you may decide that the don’t pass bet sounds good. You are correct, but do not forget all those sevens that a don’t pass bet can lose on during the come out roll. Come out roll losses for a don’t pass player can add up like a mortgage.
And here is the catch. You CANNOT place a don’t pass bet after a point is marked. That is like sneaking into a theater through the exit. You might watch a good movie but do not expect management to approve. Any members of the dice pit staff will feel obligated to declare a late don’t pass bet “no bet.” If you are an obvious novice or intoxicated, the disallowed bet may be explained politely. If you are perceived as trying to sneak into the theater, you will be watched closely and your good karma will diminish under the searing surveillance.
Now that you grasp line play, it is time to learn about odds. Consider odds bets to be secondary bets that are made after a point is marked. You are gambling after all, and you should place your odds bets. Like eating breakfast, it is good for you, and you should do it.
Betting the odds is allowed on both the pass line and don’t pass. When betting the odds with your pass line bet, you are taking the odds. When betting the odds on your don’t pass bet, you are laying the odds.
Pass Line Odds
Just like your pass line bet, the additional odds bet will win if the point number rolls before the seven. You will place your odds bet about one or two inches behind your pass line bet. In addition to the term taking the odds, people often refer to the bet as backing up the pass line bet. This is a self-service area and your dealer does not need to place the bet for you.
Because there are fewer dice combinations for point numbers than the seven, the odds are against your pass line bets winning. The good news here is that your odds bet will be paid more than the amount of your original wager if it wins. The original pass line bet that was placed during the come out roll, however, will still be paid even money. Both bets lose if the seven rolls before the point number.
If the point is a six or eight, your odds bet will be paid 6 to 5, or for example, $5 will win $6. Ten dollars will win $12, and so forth.
If the point is five or nine, your odds bet will be paid 3 to 2. Two dollars will win $3. Twenty dollars will win $30, and so forth
If the point is four or ten, your odds bet will be paid 2 to 1. Essentially, that means winning double the amount of your bet. Winning on a four or a ten is my personal favorite. If fours and tens are rolling, you should have lots of winnings and be happy.
Table 1.3 Pass Line Odds
Point number 6 or 8
Pass line odds 6 to 5
Betting unit - 5 units
win 6
Bet example - $10 wins $12
Point number 5 or 9
Pass line odds 3 to 2
Betting unit - 2 units
win 3
Bet example - $20 wins $30
Point number 4 or 10
Pass line odds 2 to 1
Betting unit - 1 unit
wins 2
Bet example - $100 wins $200
Although the actual pass line bet cannot be removed from play after a point is marked, you may retrieve your odds bet whenever you wish. Exercising this freedom, however, would be irrational because the whole point of craps is trying to win on your odds bets.