How to Play Live Craps
Craps is a game that you will hardly find at online casinos. However, luckily Evolution Gaming launched Live Craps a couple of years ago that has the same look and feel as the game in land-based casinos but then live streamed from a professional casino studio.
Do you want to know how to play [Live Craps?][game-stat-page] Then you've come to the right place. This guide will explain what Live Craps is, how it differs from the physical game, and which Live Craps strategies you can use. This way, you will discover how to master the ancient dice game online.
What is Live Craps?
Live Craps is a live dealer game by Evolution Gaming. The simplicity of throwing two dice and the many betting options creates a lot of commotion, and there is always excitement at the tables. Craps is extremely popular, especially in America.
Live Craps Basic Rules
The rules of Live Craps are similar to the game's physical version. The most significant difference is actually in the shooter. Since you are not physically at the table, in Live Craps, the live dealer or a mechanism arm rolls the dice. This depends on whether there are one or two hosts.
You don't bet chips on a table either but via an online betting interface under the live stream feed.
You usually have the choice of values of $0.50, $1, $5, $25, $100, and $500. Each betting phase lasts 15 seconds.
There are extra functions to ease betting. For example, you can repeat your previous bet, clear your bets in one quick swoop or double your current wager.
Live Craps Standard Betting Options
A craps table is divided into several fields. Every round, players choose which field(s) they bet on. We have listed the various betting options here.
Passline
When betting on the Pass Line field, you are betting that the first two dice will total 7 or 11. You win when this is the case. In that case, your bet will be doubled.
With a total of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 eyes, there is a 'point.' In that case, the shooter must throw the dice again. If he throws another point, he wins.
The shooter must do this before rolling a 7. You lose at Pass Line when the shooter rolls a seven before a point.
When a player bets on Pass Line and the shooter rolls a point, the bet must remain on the table.
Don't Pass Line
Don't Pass Line is the opposite of Pass Line. With this bet, you win if the shooter rolls a total of 2 or 3 eyes on his first roll (Outcome Roll). With 12 eyes in the first roll, you get your wager back.
Like with Pass Line, a 'point' is made at 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 eyes. With this bet, you do not win if the shooter rolls a point again, but if he rolls a seven before that. You double your bet on this betting option when you win.
You lose the Don't Pass Line bet when the shooter rolls 7 or 11 on his first roll. Unlike the Pass Line bet, this option removes or reduces your bet between rounds.
Big 6 and Big 8
You will also see the Big 6 and Big 8 betting options at the Don't Pass Line level on a craps table. With these options, you bet on a total of 6 or 8 eyes. This number must be rolled before the shooter rolls 7. These bets payout 1:1.
Field Bets
With Field Bets, you bet on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 eyes and win when the shooter rolls one of those numbers. This bet also pays 1:1. However, if the shooter rolls 2 or 12, the bank doubles your bet.
Come
You can only bet on Come when the shooter has made a point. He must, therefore, first roll 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 eyes before this betting option becomes available. When you bet on Come after a point, you only win if the shooter rolls 7 or 11 with his next roll. You lose at 2, 3, or 12 eyes.
The shooter can roll the same number again on his next roll. We then speak of the Come number. When this happens, the bank moves all bets on Come to the appropriate Come number in the Come field.
If the shooter rolls the same number again, you win. Again, he must roll the same number before rolling a 7. Your bet is doubled if the shooter succeeds.
With a bet on Come, you may no longer remove your chips from the table. The chips do not disappear from the table until the Come number or 7 has been rolled.
Don't Come
Like Pass and Don't Pass, Come and Don't Come are opposite bets.
You only place your bet on Don't Come after the outcome of the shooter. You win when a 2 or 3 is rolled at Don't Come. The bank pays your bet once if you win.
When the shooter rolls 12, you get your bet back. You lose at 7 or 11 eyes.
We also speak of the Come number when the shooter rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10.
The bank then moves your bet to the number just rolled. He places the chips in the upper left corner of the corresponding number.
You still win with seven eyes and lose with any other number of eyes. Removing or reducing your bet on Don't Come in the meantime is impossible.
Place bets
In craps, you can also bet on Place bets. With this type of bet, you have two options, a win bet or a lose bet. If you expect the shooter to roll 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, you choose the win bet. The bank pays you 7:6 on 6 or 8, 7:5 on 5 or 9, and 9:5 on 4 or 10.
You place a lose bet when you think seven is more likely to be rolled than 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. On 6 or 8, the bank pays you 4:5, on 5 or 9 5:8, and on 4 or 10 the bank pays 5:11.
Buy Bets
With a Buy Bet, you bet on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 eyes.
The shooter must roll this number rather than 7. You pay a 5 percent commission to the bank when you win.
Buy Bets payout according to the actual odds of the number of spots. The bank pays you 6:5 on a 6 or 8, 3:2 on 5 or 9, and 2:1 on a 4 or 10.
Lay Bets
Lay Bets are the opposite of Buy Bets. With this betting option, you bet on seven eyes.
The shooter must roll this number before rolling 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Like with Buy Bets, you also pay a 5 percent commission on winnings.
The payout at Lay Bets is the other way around than at Buy Bets. The bank pays you 5:6 at 6 or 8, 2:3 at 5 or 9, and 1:2 at 4 or 10.
Any 7
The Any 7 bet focuses on a total of 7 eyes on the shooter's next roll. If he does indeed roll a 7, the bank pays you four times your bet.
Any 11
In addition to betting on 7 eyes, you can also bet on Any 11 in craps.
In this case, you bet on 11 eyes in the shooter's next roll. The shooter can only throw 11 with a 5 and a 6. The chance of this happening is smaller than Any 7.
This risk is rewarded because you win fifteen times your bet when the shooter rolls 11 eyes.
Any Craps Bet
With an Any Craps Bet, you bet on multiple numbers simultaneously. The Any Craps Bet includes the numbers 2, 3, and 12. If the shooter rolls one of these three numbers, you win seven times your stake.
Horn Bet
The Horn Bet is somewhat similar to the Any Craps Bet. The risk is smaller with this betting option, where you bet on a total of 2, 3, 11, or 12 eyes. When the shooter rolls 3 or 11, the bank pays you 15:1. With 2 and 12 eyes, this is even increased to 30:1.
Hard Way Bets
Hard Way Bets refer to a total of 4, 6, 8, or 10. However, this total must be rolled with two equal numbers of eyes, so 2×2, 2×3, 2×4 or 2×5. If you win, the bank pays you 7:1 on 4 or 10, and 9:1 on 6 or 8.
Differences Between Live Craps and Physical Craps
There are a few differences between the two. They are only sometimes big, but they are essential to know.
The Shooters
With Live Craps, the player is never the shooter. This is solved in several ways.
Most versions of Live Craps have two dealers. One talks things together as a presenter, and the other takes on the shooter's role.
Another way is to replace the shooter with a mechanical arm. Here you place the two dice, after which the arm fires them like a catapult against the table's back wall.
With both methods, you not only keep the feeling of a real casino, but you also know that they don't cheat with the dice at Live Craps. In addition, the camera always clearly shows the score. So there is no doubt about the validity of the throw. Another major difference between live craps and physician craps is that everything is automated, which speeds up the game significantly.
Live Craps EasyMode
If you are entirely new to Live Craps, you can choose to start with Easy Mode. The Come-Out Roll and Point Roll betting options disappear when you select this. The remaining options are mainly bets that require one roll: Place to Win and Place to Lose.
Live Craps Strategies
The difference between Craps and Live Craps is small. Therefore, we recommended following the same strategy. This means that it is wise to start with Pass Line bets, where you have a small chance of losing.
The chance that the shooter rolls 7 or 11 is much higher than losing to a roll of 2, 3, or 12 eyes. If the shooter throws one of the other eyes, there is a 'point,' and he throws again. The shooter wins when he rolls the same number of eyes. If the outcome is a 7, you lose.
The reverse, the Don't Pass Line, is also interesting to bet on. Here the chance of losing is slightly higher but still relatively small, especially if you compare it with other betting options.
Another way to limit the risk with Live Craps is with the Fields strategy. You spread your chances of winning by betting on the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
With one of these numbers, you win your stake once. At 2 and 12, this is even twice. You only lose if the shooter rolls 5, 6, 7, or 8.
These are the best ways to mitigate risk, but keep in mind that no Live Craps strategy is profitable in the long run.
Return to Player and House Edge of Live Craps
In Live Craps, the house edge is between 2% and 0.5%. That is relatively low, so online players find playing live Craps attractive. The house edge of this game is even lower than Live Blackjack, Live Roulette, or Live Baccarat.
However, the Return to Player percentage depends on your strategies. The margins remain limited if you keep the risk low with many Pass Line or Come bets. Always remember that Craps is a game of chance at the end.
FAQs About Live Craps
Is Live Craps Rigged?
No by Evolution Gaming isn’t rigged. A live dealer or mechanical arm throws the dice, and the cameras clearly show the outcome.
What is the RTP at Live Craps?
The Return To Player (RTP) in Live Craps is between 98% and 99.5%.
Who is the shooter in Live Craps?
The live dealer takes on the role of the shooter in Live Craps. In the case of two live dealers, there is a presenter and a shooter. A mechanical arm takes over the shooter's role when there is one live dealer.
How many people are allowed at one Live Craps table?
For a live stream, there is an unlimited number of players for one Live Craps table. You do not have to wait for each other to place bets, which keeps the game's pace nice.