Craps for Beginners: Understanding and Mastering the Basics of Craps

The dice game Craps is a staple in most North American casinos. This popular classic is also available at the best non GamStop casinos in 2025. In this guide, you’ll find many interesting facts and an easy-to-understand Craps guide for beginners.

Craps have a long history. Like many other games, UK-friendly casinos not on GamStop, with a long tradition in the United States, craps originated in Europe. It is a simplified version of the European dice game Hazard. French immigrant Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville brought Hazard from London to New Orleans, then a French colony of Louisiana, around 1805.

De Mandeville named his new, simplified version of Hazard “Crabs.” The game quickly spread among the working class and was carried north by the crews of merchant ships on the Mississippi. It was also renamed “Craps.”

Craps truly achieved its breakthrough during World War II, when American soldiers introduced the game to the world. Since the 1960s, craps has also been offered in European, Australian, and Macau casinos. It has been part of the inventory of virtual craps at non GamStop casinos since 2004.

Craps May Seem Complicated, But It Is Not

Admittedly, at first glance, craps does seem like a fairly complex game. However, it actually shares some similarities with online roulette. Craps also involve placing bets on a table before a round of play begins.

The difference between these two games, however, is that in craps, the table also represents the game—the dice field. We’ll cover the basic rules of craps in the next three sections. Learn how a round of craps works, how to win, and what the ominous table is all about:

The Game Process

In craps, everything begins in the same way as in live roulette. Players place their bets on the table. Various betting options are available, such as on a number or a player’s win. The player, also called the shooter in craps parlance, now begins rolling the dice.

What happens next depends largely on the shooter’s roll. If, for example, a 7 or 11 lands and you placed a pass bet, you win. If, in the same example, the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12, you lose.

However, if the rolls show a different number than this, it is marked, and the next roll follows. This game continues until either the marked number or a 7 lands. If the former is the case, you win. If the latter is the case, you lose.

How Do You Win at Craps?

There are several ways you can win at craps. Simply put, you win if your bet comes in. But what if you’re the shooter? Of course, you can still win then. We’ve clearly listed all the ways to win in craps for you. You win at craps if:

• You are the shooter and roll a 7 or 11.
• As a shooter, you roll the same number on the second or third roll as on the first before a 7 lands.
• You win your pre-match bet. Learn more about the different betting options below.

The Table & Its Betting Options

If you play craps in a land-based casino or live craps in an online casino, you’ll probably quickly notice the impressive, often meter-long table. Bets are placed on this table before the shooter makes their first throw.

On some tables, the field with the betting options is shown a second time at the back so that bets can also be placed from this side.

The basic thing to remember is that, just like in roulette, all betting options have their place on the table. For example, the Pass, Come, Field, Don’t Come, and Don’t Pass bets are located toward the left. Place bets are placed directly on the spaces labeled with the corresponding numbers. To do so, the chips must be placed exactly there. Hardway bets, on the other hand, are located in the middle of the table.

The Basics of Craps Rules – What You Absolutely Need to Know

In this section, we’ve summarized all the important points about the Craps rules at non GamStop casinos for you. Let’s start with some important basic rules for Craps. These are:

• Craps is played in almost all variants with two dice.
• If a 7 or 11 lands on the first roll, all players with a Pass Line bet win.
• If a 2, 3 or 12 lands, all players with a Pass Line bet lose.
• All other numbers are point numbers.
• The shooter continues throwing until he rolls the point number (and wins) or a 7 and loses.

Another practical feature is that all odds for Hardway bets (not to be confused with casino odds) are displayed directly on the table. So you always have them at your fingertips.