CRAPS GAMBLING
Online casinos make free versions of their games available so that you can try out their software and decide whether or not you like playing on it before actually depositing money. Multiple software providers offer online craps games, including Microgaming, Realtime Gaming, and Playtech, among others. (Those are my three favorite software packages to play craps on, anyway.) Many of these casino software clients take a few minutes to download, but they're often worth it because you get a free state-of-the-art video game version of over 100 casino games usually, including craps. It's a flash version of the Microgaming craps game that can be played at Riverbelle casino.
Learning how to play craps is a lot easier now that free craps games are available online. Also as a kid you might have learnt different variations of craps, so your childhood gambling experience might help you. You obviously can't learn anything about dice control or dice setting by playing online, but you can get a feel for how the action of the game plays out by playing the free games. (There is a tendency for a lot of really smart people to be skeptical of the potential advantage to be gained by dice setting anyway.) Also, free craps games are available at any of the online casinos mentioned anywhere on this site.
So if the shooter doesn't roll craps, and the shooter doesn't roll a 7 or an 11, he's rolled a point number. When he rolls a point number, you should put another small bet behind your original bet. (Roughly twice the original amount would be an appropriate amount to bet.) This extra bet is called a free-odds bet or just an odds bet. Your original bet (the pass line bet you made) gets paid out as even money if you win. Your odds bet, on the other hand, gets paid out as a true-odds money. So even though you have to put extra money up for this wager, it's a great bet, because the house edge on this bet is exactly 0. (Any time the house pays out money in a true odds fashion, the house edge is exactly 0. Almost all casino game bets pay out at less than their true odds, which is why a casino is a profitable business to run.)
This bet isn't even shown on the layout of the craps table. That's because it's such a great bet for the player, and not such a good bet for the casino.
CRAPS GAMBLING : : Free-Odds Bet Payouts
Pass-line point House Odds Payout
4 or 10 2 to 1 2 to 1
5 or 9 3 to 2 3 to 2
6 or 8 6 to 5 6 to 5
Playing a pass-line bet and then a free-odds bet if the shooter makes a point is a strategy for playing craps that you can use for your entire time at the craps table with a significant amount of success. It's even more fun when you get to be a shooter, because then you have a lot of other players rooting for your success. Anyway, to sum it up, bet the pass line. Add odds bets when the shooter rolls a point. You didn't know becoming a craps player was going to be that easy did you?
Actually there are over 120 different kinds of craps bets that you can make, and there will be additional tutorials covering those bets on this site. But if you're a beginning player, the strategy outlined on this page and the home page will get you in on the action really quick, and you should be able to tread water without losing all your money playing craps.