HOW CRAPLESS CRAPS IS PLAYED. Crapless Craps is played exactly like traditional craps, with the difference that when a 2, 3, 11, or 12 is rolled on the come out, the dealers will now mark the point of 2, 3, 11, or 12. Witness the board, with the 2, 3, 11, and 12 as the ‘box’ numbers From the Stratosphere footage. Craps Bets Explained People who are just getting started with craps have a hard time understanding all the available craps bets. The truth is that the process is rather simple if you understand that out of all the possible craps bets there are only a few that’s worth the effort when playing craps.

Craps seems like a complicated game because there are so many terms and slang for different bets. Learning the lingo can help you understand the game.

1. To roll a 2, 3, or 12 on the come out roll. A player betting on the Pass line or Come loses on crap out, but the roll does not lose when a point is established. Don't Pass and Don't Come wins if a 2 or 3 craps is rolled on come out, but ties (pushes) if a 12 is rolled on come out. The shooter may continue rolling after crapping out.
2. These are very important bets to remember when you play Craps online for real money at Bovada Casino – they’re the ones with zero house edge. After a point has been established during a Pass Line bet, you have the option of taking odds when you play at our online casino, which bolster your original bet, up to 3X.

• 2-Way: Player betting one roll wager for himself AND the dealers.
• 3-Way Craps: A bet made in units of 3 with one unit on 2, one unit on 3, and one unit on 12.
• Aces: Betting that the next roll will be the total sum of 2. Also called Snake Eyes.
• Any Craps: A bet that the next roll will be 2, 3, or 12.
• Any Seven: A bet that the next roll will be 7.
• Big Red: Another word for seven. Players will not use the world seven at the table.
• Black: Dealer slang for $100 gaming chips which in most casinos are black.
• Bones: Another name for dice.
• Boxcars: Slang for the 12. Also called midnight.
• Boxman: Table supervisor who sits between the dealers and opposite the stickman.
• Box Numbers: These are the place bet numbers; 4-5-6-8-9-10.
• Boys or The Boys: Slang for the Dealers.
• Cold Dice: Expression used to describe the table when no one is making their point.
• Color In: What you say when cashing out smaller valued chips for larger valued chips when leaving the craps table.
• Come bet: A bet made after the point is established. It is exactly like a pass line bet.
• Come out roll: The first roll of the dice to establish a point. ​
• Comp: Complimentary or freebies provided to players based on their action.
• Crap Numbers: The numbers 2,3 and 12.
• Craps Check: Betting on any craps during the come out roll to hedge your pass line bet.
• Don't Come bet: A don't pass bet made after the point is established.
• Don't Pass bet: A bet that the shooter will not make his point.
• Double odds: An odds bet that is twice the size of the original pass/come bet. Some casinos offer higher odds.
• Eye in the Sky: Surveillance department or the cameras in the ceiling to watch the players and dealers.
• Front Line: Another name for a pass line bet.
• Garden: Slang for the field bet.
• George: A player who is a good tipper.
• Green: Dealer slang for $25 gaming chips which in most casinos are green.
• Hard Way: A bet on 4, 6, 8, or 10 that wins only if the dice roll as pairs; 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5.
• Hi-Lo: A one roll bet on 2 & 12
• Hi-Lo-Yo: A one roll bet on 2,12 & 11.
• Hop bet: A bet that the next roll will result in one particular combination of the dice, such as; 3-5. 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 etc.
• Horn bet: A bet that the next roll will be 2, 3, 11, or 12, made in multiples of 4, with one unit on each of the numbers.
• Horn High bet: A bet made in multiples of 5 with one unit on 3 of the horn numbers, and two units on the 'high' number (number 12).
• Hot Dice or Hot Table: When players are winning or a player is rolling a lot of numbers.
• Inside Numbers: Place bets on the numbers 5-6 -8-9
• Lay bet: A bet that a 7 will be rolled before the number you are placing (4,5,6,8,9, or 10) comes up.
• Lay-Out: The printed area on the felt where wagers can be placed.
• Lay Odds: After a point has been established an additional odds bet can be made that will win if the original don't pass bet wins.
• Little Joe: Slang for a pair of twos or Hard 4.
• Marker: The plastic disk used to mark the point. One side is printed “on” and the other “off”.
• Mark the Point: The dealer puts the Puck on the layout to indicate the point number.
• Midnight: Slang for the 12. Also called box cars.
• Natural: A seven or 11 thrown on the come out roll for a winning bet.
• One Roll Bet: A bet in craps that is one or lost in a single roll. ​
• Odds Bet: An additional wager made in addition to the pass line bet.
• Off: What you say to indicate that they are not active on the next roll of the dice.
• Off and On: Refers to the way that Dealers pays off COME BETS when a new come bet is the same number as one already established.
• On: This means that your bets are working or in action.
• Outside Numbers: Place bets on the 4-10 –5-9.
• Parlay: Adding your winnings to an original bet and wagering it all. ​
• Pass Line Bet: A wager made on the come out roll in which you are betting that the shooter will make the point.
• Place bet: A bet that a particular number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) will be rolled before a 7 is rolled.
• Point: The number established by the come out roll.
• Proposition Bet: A wager on one of the bets in the center of the layout.
• Right Better: A player with a bet on the pass line.
• Rack: The grooved rail where you keep your chips.
• Seven Out: Expression when a shooter rolls a seven before making their point thus losing the pass line bet.
• Shooter: The player rolling the dice.
• Snake Eyes: Slang for the number 2. Also called aces.
• Stickman: The dealer with the stick that pushed the dice to the shooter and calls the rolls.
• Toke: Another word for a tip.
• World Bet: A bet on the horn numbers along with any seven. (2-3-11-12)
• Wrong Bettor: A player betting against the shooter.
• Yo or Yo-leven: The word used for rolling an eleven so as to not confuse it with “seven.”

Since the Stratosphere video came out, people have been asking ‘what is Crapless Craps’?

Before I begin, I will assume that the reader already understands and knows how to play craps, i.e, ‘traditional’ craps aka ‘craps’. If you do not know how to play craps, then forget crapless craps for a moment. Go binge watch all my YouTube videos, ask me some questions here on RoadGambler.com (I respond), and then come back for Crapless Craps.

Also, for the sake of clarity, anytime I mention the word ‘craps’ by itself, I am referring to the traditional game.

Let’s discuss Crapless Craps!

WHAT IS CRAPLESS CRAPS?

Crapless Craps is a variant of craps that plays exactly like traditional craps, but with the following rule change:

Craps Board Explained

• On the Come Out roll, 2, 3, 11, and 12 are not natural winners or losers, rather, they become the point.
  • If the 2 rolled on the Come Out in craps, the player would lose; but in Crapless Craps, if the Come Out roll is 2, then the 2 is the point. The player would then need to roll the 2 to win, and the 7 would lose.
  • If the 3 rolled on the Come Out in craps, the player would lose; but in Crapless Craps, if the Come Out roll is 3, then the 3 is the point. The player would then need to roll the 3 to win, and the 7 would lose.
  • If the 12 rolled on the Come Out in craps, the player would lose; but in Crapless Craps, if the Come Out roll is 12, then the 12 is the point. The player would then need to roll the 2 to win, and the 7 would lose.
  • If the 11 rolled on the Come Out in craps, the player would win; but in Crapless Craps, if the Come Out roll is 11, then the 11 is the point. The player would then need to roll the 11 to win, and the 7 would lose.

The 2, 3, 11, and 12 are now point numbers, referred to as the ‘extreme outside’ numbers.

One other difference is that there is no dark side betting in Crapless Craps; meaning there is no Don’t Pass or Don’t Come, and the player may not lay odds or bet against.

All other rules remain the exact same, meaning that on a come out roll, the 7 is a natural winner.

All differences between Crapless Craps and craps are from the above singular rule change.

This rule change also means that the pass line and come bets have a house edge of 5.382% (citation, Wizard of Odds) versus 1.41% for traditional craps.

I will now explain the differences that result from the rule change.

If a craps rule is not mentioned below, then the rule remains the same from traditional craps to Crapless craps. For example, place bets of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are not mentioned, thus those place bets are unchanged. Same goes for field bets, hardways 4, 6, 8, and 10 are not mentioned, those bets remain the same from traditional craps to Crapless Craps.

HOW CRAPLESS CRAPS IS PLAYED

Crapless Craps is played exactly like traditional craps, with the difference that when a 2, 3, 11, or 12 is rolled on the come out, the dealers will now mark the point of 2, 3, 11, or 12.

Witness the board, with the 2, 3, 11, and 12 as the ‘box’ numbers…

In the pic below, 12 is the point.

If the point is 2, 3, 11, or 12 the player may then take odds bets on those points. Odds bets on those points are subject to the same minimum and maximum as traditional craps. I have never been to a casino where the odds from craps were different from Crapless Craps. At the El Dorado casino in Shreveport, Louisiana, the craps tables and the Crapless Craps tables all have 100x odds. Discussion of the odds bets will follow.

In addition to taking odds on the 2, 3, 11, and 12, the player may also bet the 2, 3, 11, or 12. Discussion of the place bets will follow.

THE CRAPLESS CRAPS ODDS BET

If the point is 2, 3, 11, or 12, the player may take the following odds, subject to the table maximum.

• Point is 2 or 12
  • Pay off for a win is 6-1, meaning for $100 bet, the player will win $600.
  • There are six ways to lose and only one way to roll a winner, thus 6-1.
    • For example, if point is 2 then the losing combinations are 1+6, 6+1, 2+5, 5+2, 3+4, and 4+3 (six ways), while the only possible winning combination is 1+1 (one way). The similar condition for the 12, in which the only winner is 6+6.
• Point is 3 or 11
  • Pay off for a win is 3-1 meaning for $100 bet, the player will win $300.
  • There are six ways to lose and two ways to roll a winner, thus 6-2, i.e., 3-1.
    • For example, if point is 3 then the losing combinations are 1+6, 6+1, 2+5, 5+2, 3+4, and 4+3 (six ways), while the only possible winning combinations are 1+2 and 2+1 (two ways). The similar condition for the 11, in which the winning combinations are 5+6 and 6+5.

Similar to craps, the player may also take the same odds bets on the come bet if the 2, 3, 11, or 12 rolls.

The odds bet pays true odds. The only caveat is that the player must make a pass line or come bet to take advantage of the odds bet.

Craps Board Explained Practice

THE CRAPLESS CRAPS PLACE BETS AND BUY BETS

The player may also make place bets on the 2, 3, 11, and 12.

• Place bet of 2 or 12
  • Pay off for a win is 11-2, meaning for $100 bet, the player will win $550.
  • The house edge with the place bet of 2 or 12 is 7.143% (citation, Wizard of Odds)
• Point is 3 or 11
  • Pay off for a win is 11-4 meaning for $100 bet, the player will win $275.
  • The house edge with the place bet of 3 or 11 is 6.25%.

As a reminder, all other place bets in Crapless Craps are exactly the same as traditional craps.

Due to the high place house edge on the place bets, RoadGambler recommends avoiding place bets on the 2, 3, 11, 12.

The wiser way to play the 2, 3, 11, and 12, if the player would like ‘extreme outside’ action is to buy the 2, 3, 11, or 12. If the player buys the extreme outside numbers, the player must pay a 5% commission, but will then receive a true odds payout. Most casinos, according to my experience, charge commission as soon as the player makes the bet.

• Buy bet of 2 or 12
  • Pay off for a win is 6-1, meaning for $100 bet, the player will win $600.
  • Commission is $5 for $100 bet. Thus the player will pay a net $595 versus $550 on a place bet of 2 or 12.
  • Thus, by risking an additional $5 upfront, the player will win an additional $45 net.
  • House edge on the typical ‘pay upfront’ scheme is 4.76% (citation, Wizard of Odds)
• Point is 3 or 11
  • Pay off for a win is 3-1, meaning for $100 bet, the player will win $300.
  • Commission is $5 for $100 bet. Thus the player will pay a net $295 versus $275 on a place bet of 3 or 11.
  • Thus, by risking an additional $5 upfront, the player will win an additional $20 net.
  • House edge on the typical ‘pay upfront’ scheme is 4.76% (citation, Wizard of Odds)

Craps Board Explained For Dummies

RoadGambler advice: RoadGambler recommends that the player should avoid place bets on the 2, 3, 11, 12, and instead buy those numbers, if the player wants extreme outside action without pass line or come betting.

FINAL ADVICE

Just avoid playing Crapless Craps. Seriously. I know that might not be the advice you want to hear, but that’s genuine and real advice. I’ve never been to a casino where the only craps option was Crapless Craps; every single casino that has Crapless Craps has traditional craps as the main option (if any reader knows of a casino that has only the Crapless Craps option, please let me know).

I love testing out carnival games and playing all sorts of weird casino games, and I play them out of curiosity. Sometimes, I’ll prefer the carnival variation of a game over the traditional game, such as Commission Free Pai Gow Poker. However, in a variant such as Commission Free Pai Gow Poker, the house edge is 2.51%, which is nearly identical to traditional Pai Gow Poker.

The disparity in the house edge for Crapless Craps and traditional craps is just too high. Giving up the 11 winner on a come out is just too much give up. On a point of 2, 3, and 12, even though the player might not lose his bet immediately, the long shot of repeating those points does not make up for the change of the 11 on the come out.

However, if you insist on playing Crapless Craps over traditional craps, here is some advice on how to play it effectively:

1. Make sure that the casino rates you higher than if you played traditional craps. Many casinos will rate you on the Crapless Craps pass line and come bets like you are playing traditional craps. For a traditional craps game, earned comp rates on pass line bets are very low because the house edge is low. The earned comp rate for Crapless Craps should be similar to roulette.
   1. You can figure this out by playing regular craps and asking for your comp rate during your session play, and then when you move to the Crapless table, play for the same period of time, making the same bets, and asking for your comp rate. The Crapless comp rate should be significantly higher than traditional craps.
2. Play a high variance game based on hit and run. Hit and run has the advantage in that, while it will not change the house edge, it reduces the number of hands played. You cannot lose money while you are away from the table and walking around the casino.
3. Stick to the normal craps type bets, and try to ignore playing the extreme outside numbers unless the chance to bet the extreme outside number is through the odds bet. You will be tempted to place or buy the extreme outside, when the inevitable day comes that the extreme outside numbers are repeatedly rolling. Do not fall for the gambler’s fallacy.
4. Do not be afraid to take as much odds as you are comfortable with on the extreme outside numbers. The extreme outside odds bets pay true odds and this will significantly reduce the house edge.

I hope this Crapless Craps guide helped you understand the game. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Craps Board Explained Sheet

Posted in: Casino, Craps, Gambling