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Be smart, play smart, learn how to play casino craps the right way!

A Hardway bet is a standing bet that you can make, remove, increase, or decrease at any time. You bet that a hardway number will show as a pair before any other combination of that number, and before a 7 shows. A Hardway bet can be made only on the numbers 4, 6, 8, and 10. For a Hardway bet, each roll can produce three possible outcomes: 1) The hardway number is rolled and the bet wins, 2) The “easyway” number or any 7 is rolled and the bet loses, 3) Any other number is rolled and the bet neither wins nor loses (i.e., it “stands” until it wins or loses, or until you remove it).

What’s a “hardway” versus an “easyway?” As noted, Hardway bets are made on the 4, 6, 8, and 10. Let’s look at the 10. There are three possible dice combinations to make a 10, which are: 4-6, 6-4, and 5-5. Which of those three combinations of numbers do you think is considered the “hardway” for making a 10? You’re right! The 5-5 combination is considered the “Hard 10.” Therefore, your Hard 10 bet stands until a 5-5 is rolled (you win), any 7 is rolled (you lose), or an Easy 10 (i.e., 4-6 or 6-4) is rolled (you lose). Now, let’s quickly look at the 4, 6, and 8.

There are three ways to make a 4, and the dice combinations are: 3-1, 1-3, and 2-2. The Hard 4 bet wins if a 2-2 shows before any 7, 1-3, or 3-1.

There are five ways to make a 6, and the dice combinations are: 1-5, 5-1, 2-4, 4-2, and 3-3. The Hard 6 bet wins if a 3-3 shows before any 7, 1-5, 5-1, 2-4, or 4-2.

There are five ways to make an 8, and the dice combinations are: 2-6, 6-2, 3-5, 5-3, and 4-4. The Hard 8 bet wins if a 4-4 shows before any 7, 2-6, 6-2, 3-5, or 5-3.

Although the 2 and 12 are even numbers and both are made by quasi-hardway combinations (i.e., the 2 is made by 1-1, and the 12 is made by 6-6), there’s no Hardway bet for them because neither has an easyway combination.

The table minimum bet doesn’t apply to Hardway bets. Instead, the minimum is whatever the lowest-denomination chip is in play for that table, which is usually $1. The payoff for the Hard 4 and Hard 10 is 7:1; whereas, the payoff for the Hard 6 and Hard 8 is 9:1. The Hard 6 and 8 each have four easyways to lose. The Hard 4 and 10 each have only two easyways to lose. Therefore, with more ways to lose, the Hard 6 and 8 have a higher payoff than the Hard 4 and 10.

Some casinos try to trick the inexperienced player into thinking they have higher Hardway payoffs than their competition by offering odds written on the table layout as “8 for 1″ and “10 for 1.” At first glance, this does appear to be a bit better than 7:1 and 9:1. However, look at it closely and you’ll see that it’s 8 “for” 1, instead of 8 “to” 1. “8 for 1″ means they pay you $8 but they keep your $1 bet. 7:1 means they pay you $7 and you keep your $1 bet. Therefore, “8 for 1″ is the same as 7:1, and “10 for 1″ is the same as 9:1. If I’m somewhere with lots of casinos such as Vegas, and unless it’s a $3 table with high maximum free odds (e.g., at least 10x), I turn around, walk out, and go to the casino next door. It bugs me to see a casino try to trick players into thinking it offers better odds than its competition. So, to hell with them, I go somewhere else.

You can call Hardway bets on or off at any time. This usually occurs after the shooter makes a point. Players typically play the Pass Line, so after a game ends, they make another Pass Line bet. They root for a 7 on the come-out roll, but although a 7 on the come-out is a winner for the Pass Line, it’s a loser for the working Hardway bets. Therefore, players tend to call their Hardways off for the come-out roll so they can root for a 7 without worrying about losing their Hardways. The dealer then puts an OFF button on their Hardways. After the shooter makes a point, players call their Hardways back on and working. The dealer then removes the OFF button.

You must be aware of the casino’s policy for whether Hardway bets are on or off for the come-out roll. There doesn’t seem to be consistency among casinos. Ask the dealer, “Are the Hardways automatically off?” Or simply listen to the stickman before the come-out roll, who says something like, “Hardways work unless you call them off.” If you don’t want a conflict in what to root for (i.e., rooting for a 7 on the come-out conflicts with your working Hardways), then simply call your Hardways off on the come-out and then call them back on after the shooter makes a point.

Hardways are located in the center of the table and typically controlled by the stickman, so don’t try to put down or pick up any of these bets yourself. When you have the stickman’s attention, gently toss your chips to an open area near the center of the table and say, “Hard four, please.” Sometimes, the stickman catches your chips in mid-air. Sometimes, he lets them fall to the table and then picks them up. When you gently toss your chips, try not to hit other people’s chips on the table because they could fly everywhere and then the game is delayed while the stickman figures out where they all go. After a while, you become incredibly accurate with your toss. I can stand at the end of the table and toss a $1 chip to land in whichever Hardway box I want to bet. Oddly, other players are impressed with that worthless skill. The stickman then places your chips inside the Hardway box in a position that corresponds to your table position (in a manner similar to Place bets).

Now you know! Remember, learn how to play casino craps the right way.

Be smart, play smart, and learn how to play casino craps the right way!

Let’s look at the basic play of craps. A new game starts with the “come-out roll” where the stickman typically says, “New shooter, coming out.” Once a new game starts, it continues until a “decision” is made. The decision that ends the game is whether the shooter makes his point or rolls a seven-out (7-out).

Prior to the come-out roll, the dealer places the puck in the OFF position (black side up) on the side of the table, usually near the Don’t Come box. The OFF puck indicates that a new game is about to start. The shooter rolls the dice. If the shooter rolls a 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12 (either of which is called a “natural”), a decision is made immediately and the game ends with that single roll. A 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll is called “craps” or “crapping out.” The same shooter then continues and starts a new game. If the number appearing on the come-out roll is any of the remaining possible numbers (i.e., 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), then a point is established (these numbers are called “point” numbers). The dealer places the puck in the ON position (white side up) in the point box corresponding to the point number that the shooter establishes. So, if you walk up to a table and see an OFF puck, you know that a new game is about to start. If you see an ON puck in one of point boxes, a game is already in progress and that number is the point.

If the shooter establishes a point on the come-out roll (i.e., rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10), the shooter continues rolling until she rolls the point number again or until she rolls a 7, which results in a decision and the game ends. If the shooter ends the game by rolling the point number, that same shooter keeps the dice and starts a new game. If she rolls a 7 (called a “7-out”), she loses the dice and the next shooter in line clockwise around the table starts the next new game.

Remember, a “craps” is when the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll; and a “7-out” is when the shooter establishes a point and then ends the game by rolling a 7. When a 7-out occurs, don’t be one of the many who yell, “Oh, man, he crapped out!” This tells everyone, including the dealers and boxman, that you don’t know the game as well as you think. When the dealers learn of your inexperience, they have better luck influencing your bets. So, when a shooter rolls a 7-out, call it a “seven-out,” not a “craps.”

In terms of a decision that ends the game, once a point is established, the only relevant numbers are the point number and 7. All other numbers are meaningless in terms of a decision to end the game. If the shooter rolls the point number to end the game, she gets to use the same dice to start a new game, or she may choose to select another pair from the stickman’s dish. However, if the shooter makes her point, those dice are usually considered lucky so you’ll seldom see a shooter asking for a new pair. If the shooter rolls a 7-out to end the game, the stickman empties all the dice from his dish and uses his stick to push them all to the next shooter. The new shooter selects two, and the stickman pulls the remaining dice back and places them in his dish. A new game, with a new come-out roll, is about to start.

Now you know! Remember, learn how to play casino craps the right way.