Explaining the most Complicated Layout - The Craps Table Layout

Casinos offer a large variety of games. Out of all these games the craps table has the most complicated layout. There are lots of betting areas, and the writing does not make any sense nor does it make the betting process any simpler to understand. Not to mention the betting areas where you cannot even see the writing because it is written with minuscule letters. And what purpose does that black and whit puck serve?

Of course when playing craps you are supposed to know these things. If you don't know them, chances are you will not get any information from a seasoned craps player. Craps players like to trade information only with another craps player. So if you are a rookie or even worse, do not know anything about craps, they will not offer you any help. Do not worry. We will teach you the names of these betting areas. All you have to concern yourself with is winning. After all, winning matters more than knowing how a betting area is called.

You must know that at a craps table there are actually two games going on at the same time. The layout on one end of the table is identical to the one on the opposite side. They are nothing more than mirror images of the same thing. So the players on one end of the table are playing their game, while the players from the opposite side of the table are playing a different game. There is a part of the layout that is used by both sides, the middle of the table. The casinos use this system because they want to have as many players as possible at the craps table. This way they can make use of both ends of the craps table.

When playing craps you must use just the layout from your end of the table and the layout in the middle, which is common for both ends. You will notice the Pass line and Don't pass line bet, the Come bet and the Field bet. The boxes with the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 written on them represent the point numbers.

The Proposition betting area is placed in the middle of the table. There you will notice a "C" and an "E". The "C" stands for "Craps" and the "E" for "Eleven". The Any seven betting area can also be found in this part of the table layout, along side other Proposition bets. If you make a Proposition bet you must know that they are next roll bet. The outcome of such a bet will be determined on the next roll, and not on the current one.

Most players are confused by the Don't bets. For a Pass line bet there is a Don't pass bet, for a Come bet there is a Don't come bet. Actually there is a Don't counterpart for almost every bet on the table layout. A Don't bet is nothing more than the opposite of a corresponding bet. So if the Pass line bet, for example, wins, the Don't pass bet loses. Also if the Pass line bet loses the Don't pass bet wins. The purpose of the Don't bets is to allow the players to bet on both a winning or a losing roll of the dice. The players can bet that the shooter will either win or lose. Even if the shooter looses, you will win if you have bet that he will lose.

The casinos indeed offer a large variety of bets that you can make at the craps table. But in order for them to do so, they do not pay true odds. This means that the bets are not fair, your will not receive the payout that you deserve. This is also known as a negative expectation bet. Let's say that you have bet $5 on a coin toss. The chances of you winning are 50%. If you win then you should get your initial $5 back and another $5 as the winning payout. The odds against you were 50% and you managed to beat them. You should be paid accordingly. Instead you will get your initial $5 and another $4 as the winning payout for example.

The same thing happens when you play roulette. If you place a bet on one number you are facing 38 to 1 odds. But you will not get a 38 to 1 payout. Instead you will get a 35 to 1 payout. There is one bet that is fair. This is the Free odds bet. But you cannot make this bet until you have first placed a negative expectation bet.