Betting in the Game of Craps: The Pass Line Bets
A “Pass Line bet” is the most common bet made in Craps. Due to it’s easy to follow rules and low house edge, it’s a favorite of newcomers, experienced Craps players, and every type in between. Pass line bets are one of the four “Line bets” available. The other line bets are: “Don’t Pass”, “Come”, and “Don’t come”.
Betting is pretty easy for Pass Line bets. Just walk up to a open spot, wait until the shooter is finished throwing the dice, give some money to the boxman for chips, place your bet on a line, and tell the dealer what kind of bet you want. Sometimes you may be able to just place them in the proper spots yourself. Ask if you’re unsure.
To win a Pass Line bet you need a 7 or 11 to be rolled on the “Come out roll”. The come out roll is the first roll of the dice. Three things will happen during the roll. 7 or 11 will come up and make you an automatic winner. A 2, 3, or 12 will be rolled and you’ll lose right away. This is referred to as “Crapping out”. The last and most common outcome is for a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 to be rolled and become “The Point”. And this is where the pass line bet becomes interesting…
It becomes interesting because once the Point is established; you no longer want to see a 7. Now you want to see the Point come up again before a 7. In other words, before the Point, 7 wins for you – but after the Point, it loses. Neat, huh?
Of course, this “win/lose on 7” just applies to you and other people making Pass Line bets. If you’ve made Pass Line’s opposite bet (a Don’t Pass bet), then a 7 after the point is what you want. On a side note, if a 7 is rolled after the point, the shooter “Sevens out” and the dice will pass to the next available player. This is to give everyone a fair chance to shoot the dice.
Pass Line bets pay even money, but their real value is fun. Since the house edge is so small, your wins and losses will be fairly even. Unless you make numerous long shots, you can stay at the table with your new friends for a longer while and still have a shot at winning a respectable amount. Since fun and a chance at winnings are what gambling’s all about, doesn’t it sound like a good idea to play Pass Line bets?
Good luck and have fun!
