Stories from the Casino Floor: Learning Craps

By John Grochowski on Thursday June 28, 2018

casino, casino-floor, casino-games, casinos, craps, table-games

Readers have shown me repeatedly over the years that one good story deserves another. And last month, after I shared a couple of tales of how craps players learned the game my inbox brought a flurry from other players.

Let’s share a couple more:

TED: I had a few false starts. It seemed like something I wanted to try, but every time I’d go to a table and watch a few rolls, I’d realize I didn’t know how you won or how you lost. I’d put my money back in my pocket and look for something else to do.

Finally, I brought it up at work. A few guys were talking about having been to the casino, and I asked if anyone had played craps. One guy said sure, it was all he played.

I asked if he could explain it to me. He said he’d do better than that, he’d show me.

A few days later, he brought in a pair of dice and we took our lunch break together. We went out for sandwiches, and he got out the dice and explained pass and come. He had me roll dice until I could explain to him what was happening.

Then he asked if I wanted to go with him next time he played. I did, and I played next to him. After that, I was practically an old pro.

OWEN: I learned online. I looked up the rules, then I practiced at one of the free sites. When it got to where I knew all the bets and how to make them, that’s when I decided to give it a go for money in a casino.

That’s not to say I was totally prepared. It’s different with other players and with a boxman, a stickman and all that. Practice online didn’t really prepare me for how fast it all moves, either. As the only player on a practice program, I could take a minute and look something up if I needed to. At the table, if I take a minute, the game has moved on by three rolls.

Online practice beat walking up to a table cold, though. You can do that at some games, but it was well worth my while to learn craps before trying to play for real.