Craps features a plethora of bets, but the most fundamental is the "pass line" wager, which nearly all players make. On a come-out roll, the pass line bettors win when either a 7 or 11 is rolled. A 2, 3, or 12 loses, and is called "craps". When any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) is rolled, it is called the point. Once a point has been set, the pass-line bettor wins if the point is rolled again, and loses if a 7 is rolled first ("seven-out"). A shooter will continue to roll (even if he/she rolls craps) until a seven-out, at which point the dice pass to the next shooter for a new come-out roll. The opposite of a pass line bet is the "don't pass" bet, which wins on a come-out roll of 2 or 3, loses on 7 or 11, ties on 12, and goes to the point round when any other number is rolled. (In some casinos the 2 is barred and in such cases the 2 will tie but the 12 will win). In the point round the don't pass bet wins if a 7 is rolled and loses if the point is rolled. People who bet on the don't pass are called wrong bettors, while those who bet on the pass are called right bettors, only because most craps players make the pass line bet instead of the don't pass bet. A casino craps table is run by four casino employees: a boxman who guards the chips, supervises the dealers and handles coloring out players; two base dealers who stand to either side of the boxman and collect and pay bets; and a stickman who stands directly across the table from the boxman and announces the results of each roll and then collects the dice with an elongated wooden stick. He is also in charge of managing the bets made on the center of the table (hardways, yo, horn, etc). A new shooter, who must bet the table minimum on either the pass line or the don't pass line to play, is presented five dice by the stickman and picks two. The dealers will usually insist that the shooter roll with one hand and that the dice bounce off the wall surrounding the table. These requirements are meant to prevent cheating attempts by players switching the dice or making a "controlled shot." If a die leaves the table, the shooter will usually be asked to select another die from the remaining three but can request using the same die if it passes the boxman's inspection. This requirement is used in an effort to reduce cheating the game by players substituting loaded dice for the regulation dice.
Before the shooter begins, some casinos will allow a bet known as a fire bet to be placed. A fire bet is a bet for between 1-5 dollars in the hopes that the next shooter will have a hot streak. As points are made they will be marked on the craps layout with a fire symbol. The first three points will not pay out on the fire bet, but the fourth, fifth and sixth will pay out at increasing odds. The fourth point pays at 25-1 (a maximum of $125), the fifth point pays at 250-1 (a maximum of $1250) and the 6th point pays at 1000-1 (a maximum of $5000). Note that the points must all be different numbers for them to count towards the fire bet. A shooter who successfully hits a point of 10 twice will only garner credit for the first one on the fire bet. The fundamental bet in craps is the pass line bet, in which one bets that the dice will pass (that is, roll the point number before rolling a 7). A pass line bet is also won if the come-out roll is a 7 or 11. The following discussion assumes that the shooter, as is usually the case, is betting on the pass line. If a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 is thrown on the come-out roll (i.e., if a point is set), most casinos allow pass line bettors to take odds by placing from one to five times (and at some casinos, up to 100 times) the pass line bet behind the line. This additional bet wins if the point is rolled again before a 7 is rolled (the point is made) and pays at the true odds, 2-to-1 if 4 or 10 is the point, 3-to-2 if 5 or 9 is the point, and 6-to-5 if 6 or 8 is the point. While the house has a small (1.4%) advantage on pass line bets, the house has no advantage at all on odds bets. Therefore, taking the maximum odds (which vary by casino) can lower the house percentage for any given bet down to as low as 0.5%. Odds bets in craps are one of the few bets offered at a casino that are completely free of any house advantage. (Another such bet is the "double-up" option offered to the player in some forms of video poker after winning a hand.) The following is an explanation of the true odds paid when a player takes "odds". There are 36 possible permutations (ways to roll a pair of 6-sided dice): 1-1
= 1 way to make a 2 The odds of making the point are the ratio of the number of ways to make a 7 to the number of ways to make the point. For example, there are five ways to make a 6 or 8, so the odds of making a point of 6 or 8 are 6-5. Therefore an odds bet of $5 on 6 or 8 pays out $6. In general, due to proximity with even odds, the pass line and odds bets are two of the best wagers one can make in casino gambling. The rules for the come wagers are the same as for the pass line except that they can only be made after the come-out roll. Effectively, they represent starting a new game using the same stream of numbers being generated by the existing (pass line) game. Because of the come bet, if the shooter makes their point, a player can find themselves in the situation where they have a come bet with odds on it, and yet be rooting for the shooter to roll a 7 on their next come-out roll. Because of this, it is usual that odds bets on come wagers are presumed to be not working. That means that if the shooter rolls a 7 on the come-out roll, any players with active come bets lose their initial wager but will have their odds money returned to them, unless they tell the dealer that they want their odds working. Conversely, if the shooter rolls a number that matches an active come bet, the original bet is paid off at even money and the odds money is returned to the player (unless they told the dealer that they wanted their odds working, in which case they are paid at the true odds). There is also a don't come box in which one can place bets that the dice will not pass on the next sequence starting with the immediate roll as a virtual come-out roll; even the shooter may bet that he or she will miss out. Don't pass and don't come bets are basically the opposite of pass and come bets; the player is betting that a 7 will be rolled before the point. On the come-out roll a 7 or an 11 is a loss, whereas a 2, 3, or 12 is a win. Casino craps layouts bar either 2 or 12 on the don't pass and don't come bets. This means that if 2 is barred and the shooter rolls a 2 on the come-out roll, the wager is a stand off and the player's money is returned. On the craps felt the rules regarding whether the 2 or 12 tie on a don't come bet are usually displayed as DON'T COME BAR with a picture of the dice displaying the number two or twelve. This can be confusing to novice players, but is merely indicating the spot to place a don't come bet (DON'T COME) and the rules on which number ties (BAR two/twelve). When betting against the shooter, the bettor must put up the long side of the bet. Thus a don't pass bettor who bets $10 when the point is a 4 could place an odds bet of $20 behind the line. If the shooter rolls a 7 before achieving their point, the bettor would receive $10 for the don't pass bet plus $10 for their odds bet. Even though the house advantage on the don't pass and don't come bets are almost identical to the pass line and come bets, for most players the disadvantage of putting up the long side of the bet makes the don't pass line less desirable. Additionally, many craps players consider don't pass and don't come bets to be in poor taste, or even "taboo".
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