Among a wide range of gambling activities, there is one fascinating option – craps. It is drawing on more and more players, who are sometimes afraid of complicated rules associated with this popular gambling activity. The Login Casino team has prepared detailed information on craps table layout and other important rules that will help you get a sense of craps very quickly.
How did this famous gambling activity appear?
Ancient Greek teachings claimed that craps was invented by their compatriot Malamed: during the siege of Troy, he allegedly entertained Greek soldiers with this particular game. However, archaeologists denied this information since excavations showed that the first dice existed long before the time of Malamed and the Trojan War. According to the most popular version, craps was invented much later – in the 11-12th centuries in England. This is due to the long crusades, during which soldiers fought boredom by throwing dice (then the game was called Hazard).
Hazard quickly gained popularity in the UK, where the upper class spent their leisure time in such a simple way. Over the course of several centuries, craps appeared in neighboring France, where it was very popular among the local aristocracy and rich people. It is believed that French people changed the name of the game to the usual craps for us, which appeared by distorting their word “crabs”.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, this game was brought to the United States by immigrants from Europe. At first, craps was known only in the south of the United States.
After the ban on gambling in the United States, craps continued to be played during steamboat trips along the Mississippi River, where gamblers nailed. It was in those years that John H. Winn was able to come up with a new type of craps, which leveled out the chances of fraudsters to cheat because bets were accepted both on the players and against them. This gambling activity became very popular.
Now craps is one of the most beloved games in gambling establishments.
Detailed overview of the craps table layout
To play craps, you need a special large elongated game table with rounded corners – you have probably seen it on the craps table layout images.
Twelve people can play at the craps mini table at the same time, but there are standard ones where twice as many players can take part in the game.
The edges of the sides of the table are high so that dice do not fall out during throwing. The inner sides (except the box for casino chips) are trimmed with special ribbed rubber material so that dice bounce off and at the same time, are not damaged and do not fly over the sides. In the edges of the sides, where the players are standing, special grooves are made with sectors where players can put their chips.
The playing field of the craps table is covered with fabric and marked out by bet sectors. The betting field on the gaming table is divided into three parts: two symmetrical side fields at the edges, and one more between them in the center. Often in the markup of the central field, there are designations of dice in the form of dots, and not just numbers. Bets on this field are accepted and set only by the stickman.
Side field are utilized for betting on a line. According to the rules of the casino, players can independently place bets on this field.
Below, you can see the picture of craps table layout:
Dice in craps are hexagonal objects with straight angles. Dices for craps in casinos are large – with edges of 1.9-2 centimeters – made of acrylic. They are polished to achieve a perfect surface and transparency of the dice. On each side, there are dots, denoting numbers from 1 to 6. During production, dots are drilled and filled with the same acrylic, but of a different color. This helps to achieve the exact balancing of the dice. On the stickman’s table, there is a set of five dice and a bowl for them, which has its own name – a boat. By stick, a stickman moves the dice to the shooter so that they choose two out of five for throwing.
Pucks are game markers. These are two large black and white plastic pucks with a diameter of about 5 cm with the words ON on the one side and OFF on the other one. Depending on the situation in the game, dealers put them on the playing field with the right side to show whether the bet is working or not. Sometimes these pucks are called point.
Casino chips for bets of different denominations. Unlike other gambling activities, in craps, dealers collect chips with their hands. In this case, a boxman is responsible for exchanging chips.
Stick is a special object utilized to move the dices on the table.
Who participates in the game of craps?
After the craps table layout is explained, some data should be provided on participants in the game of craps. Thus, near the table where craps is played, it is possible to see the following people:
A boxman is a casino employee who sits near a box with chips on the long side of the table in the center, monitors the progress of the game and controls the work of dealers. He also deals with exchanging players’ money for chips. A boxman was named after the word “box” because next to them, on the table, there is a recess in the board – a box – with casino chips.
Dealers – casino employees that stand on both sides of the boxman and are responsible for the actions on the side fields: put pucks, collect bets and make payments.
Stickman is a casino employee, who stands opposite the boxman, monitors the progress of the game, manages the dice, accepts bets from players placed on the field in the center, announces the start of the game, the results of rolls and stages, collects bets from the center of the table and tells the dealers whose bets have won. The main function of the stickman at the playing table is to pick up the dice after the roll and, after payment of all bets is completed, move them to the player for the next throw. Another stickman’s function is to lure players into the game. Stickman is a showman at the craps table, they usually shout out some jokes, thereby entertaining the public. The more professionally a stickman does it, the more interesting the game is.
A shooter is a player who throws a dice until he or she loses. In order to throw a dice, they stand at the end of the table (at its shorter part). After the end of their game or loss (7-Out), the dices are transferred to the other player clockwise.
Players are those who make bets on rolls. They stand at the table opposite and around the shooter. The rules of the game in craps allow players to join the game and leave it at any time.
Spectators are visitors at the casino who are noisily involved in the game, cheering the shooter.
A casino inspector monitors equipment of the gambling establishment and does not stand near the table. A casino inspector comes towards the gaming table only in extreme situations to check the dice, for example, when the dice during throwing flies overboard the table.
Casino craps table layout and the game progress
Dice selection. As already mentioned, in craps, on the table, there is a set of five dice. Before the roll is made, the stickman gives all five dice to the shooter so that they choose two for the roll.
A Roll of dice is the main action in a craps game. Rolls are made only by the shooter, with one hand – the one that took the dices from the table. The dice cannot be shifted from hand to hand. A roll is considered to be completed if at least one of the two dices hit the side opposite to the shooter, and both dices remained on the table.
To Set Point means to put a puck on the Point number on the Across Line. This action before the start of the roll in the second stage of the game is performed by dealers.
Exchanging money for casino chips
Before you enter the game (place bets), you need to exchange money for casino chips. This usually happens at the craps table felt layout. A boxman exchanges money for chips at any time between dice rolls. Having received the chips, players can hold them in their hands, or put them on the table (but not on the layout of the field) or put them in special grooves for the chips that are located on the sides of the table. The latter option is preferable.
The first stage – Come out Roll
The first stage in the game is called “Come out Roll”. These words are pronounced by the stickman before the shooter rolls the dice. At this point, players and the shooter can make bets on the Pass Line.
Traditional hexagonal dice are thrown by the shooter strictly with one hand so that they hit the opposite of the shooter, and, rolling back, stably froze on the table. If the dices flew off the table, the game stops until the fallen dices are checked (this is done by the casino inspector). However, as a rule, the whole set of dice is immediately replaced with a new one.
In the first stage, the shooter makes only one roll. Next, the stickman announces the result. There are 11 possible outcomes of this roll:
| The result of a roll of two dice | Possible combinations of the faces of dice |
| 2 | 1-1 |
| 3 | 1-2, 2-1 |
| 4 | 1-3, 2-2, 3-1 |
| 5 | 1-4, 2-3, 3-2, 4-1 |
| 6 | 1-5, 2-4, 3-3, 4-2, 5-1 |
| 7 | 1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, 6-1 |
| 8 | 2-6, 3-5, 4-4, 5-3, 6-2 |
| 9 | 3-6, 4-5, 5-4, 6-3 |
| 10 | 4-6, 5-5, 6-4 |
| 11 | 5-6, 6-5 |
| 12 | 6-6 |
The names of the sum of numbers in craps for the first stage and their role in the game are as follows:
7 or 11 – Pass – win in the first roll.
2, 3 or 12 – Crap – loss in the first roll.
4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 – English Point – the transition to the second stage.
In case of winning or losing, the shooter continues to play, starting the series from a new stage – the first roll. The game does not transfer to another player.
The second stage – Point Roll
As you have already understood, whether the second stage will take place – it depends on how the game has developed in the first stage. The second stage in the game is called Point Roll because the main thing in this stage is Point, thrown in the first roll. Before the shooter continues the game, dealers mark this specific Point (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) with a puck marker – ON on the base field. The marker is placed on the Across Line. This action is called “Set Point”. After that, players and the shooter can place bets on the Point number, or make bets on the Pass Line. The marker on the line remains until the end of the second stage.
In the second stage, the player must confirm their Point, which fell in the first roll, i.e. it is necessary to roll the dice until the same Point falls again or until 7 falls.
4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 – Point of the first stage – winning in the second stage.
7 –Seven Out or 7-Out – loss in the second stage.
When a 7-Out occurs, the game for the shooter ends and a stickman says, “Seven out! The party is over!” The right to throw passes to another player.
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