Online Craps:  Learning the Basics of the Game

Online CrapsOnline craps is one of the more intimidating games you’ll find at the casino.  In order to play like a professional, you would need to dedicate a significant amount of time to learning all about this notorious game.  For this reason, online craps are great.  If you register as a free player you can practice as much as you want before risking any hard earned cash.  Where online craps fall short, however, is in terms of the social aspect of the game.

Craps is arguably the most entertaining game you’ll come across at any land-based casino.  It’s a theatrical game with dramatic tossing of the dice and cheering crowds.  A high-energy craps game is almost guaranteed to draw a crowd.  Online craps games offer a limited social component via live chat, which allows players to communicate with one another during live, multi-player games. Unfortunately this doesn’t have the same level of excitement one experiences while gathered around a real craps table.

The History of Online Craps

Based originally on the British game “Hazard,” craps was later played in New Orleans in the 18th century.  The name comes from the French word “crapaud,” which means “toad.”  It was thought that when gamblers huddled around the craps tables, they looked like a group of toads perched on their haunches.

When French traders and noblemen brought the game to America it was virtually the same game that had been played in Europe.  There were some minor adjustments, namely a few rules were added to make the game fairer.  Online craps and the craps games you’d encounter in a land-based casino is different than street craps, which focuses more on the rolling of the dice and removes many of the complex betting rules that are associated with the traditional version of the game.

How to Play Online Craps

The beauty and frustration with online craps comes from the fact that the game is relatively easy to learn, but challenging to master. It’s entirely possible to learn the basics of craps within minutes, but to really understand the different types of wagers requires research and lots of practice.  However, craps is definitely worth learning. Online craps has some of the best odds, but also some of the worst.  Study and hands on experience will help you to identify the right bets.

Online Craps Bets Explained

Here’s a brief explanation of some of the more common craps bets:

Place Bets

Place bets offer some of the best odds at the craps table.  These bets are made on “point” numbers, which are four, five, six, eight, nine and ten.  Place bets can be made at any time during a round of online craps.  A place bet involves wagering on a set number being rolled prior to the next roll of a 7.

Come Bets

Come bets are the same as pass line bets, but you can lay down a come bet with every throw of the dice, once the point has been determined.  It is one of the better wagers you can make in an online craps game.

Other common online craps best are the Don’t Come Bet, Hard Way Bets, Horn Bets, Pass Bets, and Don’t Pass Bets.  In order to be truly successful at the online craps tables it’s important to familiarize yourself with all possible bets and the payout percentages for each.  Play for fun until you’ve mastered the basics.  That way you can preserve your bankroll for a real online craps gambling adventure!

 

Popular Casino Games – The Classic Games

Popular Casino GamesAsk anyone to name popular casino games  and odds are that more often than not the game they will mention is slots.  This is due, at least in part, to the fact that slots are much more widely played games as opposed to some of the other traditional online casino games.  Most people are drawn to the slot machines because they are so easy to play.  All you have to do is push a button and watch the reels spin.  What these players don’t always realize that there are other games that are not only easy to play, but also offer a greater risk/reward ratio.  Take the game of roulette for example.  It is solely based on a tiny silver ball spinning around a wheel that is numbered from zero to thirty-six.  Winners are determined based on where the ball lands.  However, it’s the fact that players can customize their bets according to their tolerance of risk that makes it very appealing to many players.

Another well-known classic online casino game is blackjack. Unlike video slots, whose outcomes are purely a matter of chance, blackjack falls on the other end of the spectrum because it is a game based on skill and strategy, not just luck.  While slot machines are one of the more popular casino games in part because there are so many different ones to choose from, blackjack also comes in many variations, which helps to keep the game interesting.  By applying even just a tiny bit of strategic knowledge, blackjack can be not only a hugely entertaining, but also potentially very profitable online casino game.

Popular Casino Games – The Top 3

While it may appear similar to blackjack, baccarat really is a horse of a different colour.  Both popular casino games rely on the use of playing cards, but whereas blackjack has an element of skill built in, baccarat is entirely based on luck.  The tie bet is an awful bet in baccarat because it gives the house an advantage in the 13-14% range.  If you avoid the tie bet completely, then the house advantage is actually rather small.  When it comes to action, this online casino game doesn’t pack a huge punch, but it is a great social game and if you play the live dealer version or within a multi-player environment, you get the opportunity to meet interesting people and share in a fun gaming experience.

Most people have heard of the game of craps, but that’s part of the reason why it’s not considered to be one of the popular casino games like slots.  Craps has a reputation of being a difficult and complicated game to learn, which is unfortunate, because it is, like roulette, a pretty straight-forward game.  You only need to decide whether to bet against or with the shooter; the shooter being the one throwing the dice.  Certain rules apply to the outcome of the shooter’s toss and your fate in the game is, for better or worse, tied to the shooter’s wins and losses.  Like baccarat, craps can be a great social game, and has the potential to be counted among the other very popular casino games, but with the excitement of blackjack or slots.