Crapless Craps is one of the most popular variants of the classic dice-throwing table game. Its biggest selling point continues to draw in players who have been scorned by crapping out on a regular table. When playing Crapless Craps, there are more chances to set your point number, the base game stays very much the same, and, best of all, you can’t crap out!
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While not a brand new way to play, Crapless Craps has certainly gained significant popularity in recent years. It’s grown from being a novelty game to being sought out by casino players online and within brick-and-mortar venues.
Crapless Craps is a variant of the classic game that maintains the same core mechanics but eliminates the possibility of crapping out. Now, there’s only one way to fail a Pass bet on the Come Out Roll, and that’s when a seven occurs.
It’s said that Crapless Craps has its origins in the Vegas World casino of Las Vegas, Nevada. Now called The Stratosphere, the game has spread from this world-class venue to the rest of The Strip and across North America.
In traditional craps, you lose on the Come Out Roll with a Pass Bet if you hit a two, three, 12 (known as crapping out), or a seven. In Crapless Craps, however, the two, three, and 12 can serve as point numbers instead. Plus, 11 can be a point number. In regular craps, rolling an 11 on the Come Out Roll does also count as a win if you back the Pass Line.
The origins of Crapless Craps can be traced back to Vegas World, which opened in 1979. However, the exact date when the game was first introduced to the public remains unclear. Today, you can find this exciting variant dotting across various venues in Las Vegas, Detroit, and Atlantic City.
In Crapless Craps, Pass Bets win on the Come Out Roll if it results in a seven. Any other number sets the point. The shooter will then try to hit that point number again before getting a seven. If they do, all Pass Bets win. The shooter keeps rolling until either a seven or the point is rolled, with a seven resulting in a loss to Pass Bets.
As you’d guess from the changes to the format, the Crapless Craps table layout differs from the traditional game of craps. The Don’t Pass Bar and Don’t Come Bar are removed, as are the lay bet boxes. Instead, it’s a much more refined layout with points running from two to 12 rather than four to ten.
The dice dictate the action in Crapless Craps, just as they do in traditional craps and other dice games like sic bo. Every phase of the game relies on the numbers rolled by the two dice. When the shooter rolls the dice, the numbers hit are added together to find the result of that roll.
The shooter rolls the dice in Crapless Craps. They’ll begin with a Come Out Roll, looking to hit seven to win all Pass bets.
Any other result establishes the point, which the player must roll again as many times as needed until either that point or a seven is rolled. If the shooter rolls a seven, the Pass Bets lose.
The key terms to know before you play Crapless Craps are: Pass Bets, Point, Come Bets, Come Point, and Place Bets. The two main terms for many players are Pass Bets and Point.
Most regular craps players bet on the Pass Lines. With a Pass Bet, you’re hoping for a seven on the Come Out Roll.
If the roll is not a seven, that number becomes the Point. The shooter must then roll that Point again before rolling a seven for all players to win their Pass Bets.
Come Bets and Come Point are terms that work similarly but are different bets. These bets are made after the Come Out Roll. If the next number after a Come Bet is a seven, it wins, otherwise the number rolled sets the Come Point. So, you don’t always have to bet on the run of the shooter and can pick a different time to wager. Place Bets involve placing chips on a specific number, which you need the shooter to roll before a seven is rolled.
If you’re used to craps, you’ll find transitioning to Crapless Craps a breeze. Still, here’s what you need to know.
First, the shooter will pick up the dice, move to the far end of the table, and shoot the dice for the Come Out Roll down the table. If it’s a seven, Pass Bets win. Any other number creates the Point Number.
Point Numbers in Crapless Craps can be two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine, ten, 11, or 12. In the regular game, 2, 3, 11, and 12 aren’t potential point numbers and three of those four result in crapping out. In Crapless Craps, you can’t crap out.
On Pass Bets, you win if the Come Out Roll results in a seven or if the Point Number created in the Come Out Roll shows up before a seven does. If a seven hits before the Point after the Come Out Roll, it loses. The same goes for Come Bets, and Place Bets, with seven causing losses if hit after the Come Out Roll.
Place Bets on two and 12 has a payout of 11:2, and a bet on three and 11 returns 11:4, with the house edge for each bet being 7.14% and 6.25%, respectively. Bets on four, five, six, eight, nine, and ten payout at 6:5, 3:2, or 2:1, with fours and tens returning the most. Pass Bets pay at 2:1 at a house edge of 5.38% in Crapless Craps – nearly quadruple that of the Pass Bet house edge in regular craps.
On the Crapless Craps tables, you have several betting options to explore.
Your main betting options are the Pass Line Bet, Come Bets, and Place Bets, letting you bet with the shooter, bet after the Come Out Roll, or back specific numbers from the outset.
A Pass Line Bet wins in Crapless Craps if the shooter rolls a seven on the Come Out Roll. Any other number sets the Point. You then need the shooter to hit that Point Number before a seven, for your Pass Line Bet to win.
The Don’t Pass Bet isn’t a strategic option in Crapless Craps because it’s not a betting option on the table.
Come Bets work the same as Pass Bets but can be placed after the initial Come Out Roll. The next roll after a Come Bet will either win on seven or set a Come Point Number. You need to roll that Come Point before a seven, provided the first roll does not result in a seven.
You can take free odds in the form of an Odds Bet in Crapless Craps. They give you 6:1 odds on two and 12 and 3:1 on three and 11. These are particularly large payouts for Crapless Craps. When you combine the Odds Bets with a Pass Bet, you can cut the house edge down to 1.042%.
Proposition Bets offer high odds for very specific outcomes. You can get odds of between 8:1 and 31:1 for dice rolls that show specific doubles, for example.
Place, Buy, and Lay Bets remain in play for multiple rolls if a loss isn’t triggered. With a Place Bet, for example, you don’t need that first roll to hit your number, you just need it to land before a seven.
Crapless Craps is better than craps if you place combinations of Pass and Odds Bets to lower the house edge, but playing the Pass Line in Crapless Craps is worse than in regular craps.
Crapless Craps plays just like regular craps, with the exception that you can’t crap out or place a bet on the Don’t Pass Line.
Crapless Craps in Las Vegas is a variant of craps in which you can’t crap out on the Come Out Roll.
In Crapless Craps, the prop bet for 12 to hit double sixes pays 31:1.
The Stratosphere in Las Vegas and Hard Rock Atlantic City both host Crapless Craps tables, as do many, many other venues across North America.