The first time I ever encountered Crapless Craps, also called Never-Ever Craps, was back in the 1980s in Las Vegas, at a place called Vegas World that since has made way for the Stratosphere Tower. Since then, I’ve seen the game in Mississippi and Minnesota. It’s not a casino standard, but it pops up from time to time.
The idea of it is appealing. In regular craps, 2, 3 or 12 are the craps numbers. They lose on the comeout roll. In Never-Ever craps, 2, 3 and 12 are point numbers instead. That means that if you’re betting the pass line, there’s no way to lose on the comeout.
That sounds like a great deal, but there’s a tradeoff. A roll of 11, “Yo-leven!” or just “Yo!” as the table calls would have it, is a winner on the comeout in regular craps. In the crapless version, 11 becomes a point number, too. With that change, the only roll that’s a winner on the comeout is 7.
Not only that, but 2, 3, 11 and 12 are all really weak point numbers. On the average, the shooter will make his point and convert a 2 or 12 into a winner only one time in seven, and make a point 3 or 11 only one time in four.
The bottom line is that the “Never Ever” house edge on the pass line rises to 5.38 percent from the 1.41 percent in regular craps.
If you just can’t stand the idea of losing on the comeout, then Crapless/Never Ever Craps is a game-changer. Just understand that there’s a price to pay in spotting the house a larger edge.