Crapless Craps

Introduction

Crapless Craps is a craps variant that treats the 2, 3, 11, and 12 as point numbers (like 4,5,6,8,9, and 10). I believe the game started at the Stratosphere, or maybe even its predecessor, the Vegas World decades ago. It is certainly one of the earliest novelty games and one of the most successful. Today, it is very popular in the casinos of Detroit, but can still be found at the Stratosphere.

Rules

The rules of Crapsless Craps are the same as conventional craps, which I assume the reader is familiar with, except all totals except seven establish a point. Thus, on the come out roll, the player either wins (with a seven) or a point is established. No more crapping out.

If you're not familiar with the rules of craps, following are the rules for the Pass bet, the most fundamental bet in craps and Crapless Craps.

1. The first roll is called the "come out roll."
2. If the come out roll is a total of seven, then Pass bets win.
3. Otherwise, whatever total was rolled, becomes the "point."
4. The dice are rolled again.
5. If the outcome of the roll in rule 4 is the "point," then Pass bets win and are paid even money.
6. Otherwise, if the outcome of the roll in rule 4 is a seven, then Pass bets lose.
7. Otherwise, on any other outcome, nothing happens and return to rule 4.

To the craps player, this may seem like a good value. No more losing on the come out roll. However the player gives up:

• Winning with a total of 11 on the come out roll.
• If a 2, 3, 11, or 12 is rolled on the come out roll, the Pass bet will likely lose, because these totals are much less likely than a total of seven.

Overall the house edge on the pass bet in crapless craps is 373/6930 = 5.382%. Compare that to that of conventional craps at 1.414%.

Odds Bet

Crapless craps does offer free odds of 6-1 on the 2 and 12, and 3-1 on the 3 and 11. The following table shows the combined house edge by combining the pass line and the odds:

Place Bets

You can also make place bets on the 2, 3, 11, and 12. The 2 and 12 pay 11-2 with a house edge of 7.143%. The 3 and 11 pay 11-4 with a house edge of 6.250%. There is no don't pass bet in this game.

You can also make buy bets. On points of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 the odds are the same as regular craps. The following table shows the odds on the 2, 3, 11, and 12. One reader claims they only charge the commission on wins in Mississippi but I'll list it both ways.

Lay Bets

I have an unconfirmed report that at least one casino offers lay bets in craps. As in conventional craps, the 5% commission is based on the win, as opposed to the bet amount. I'm told the commission is paid only after a win, but I analyzed it both ways.

The following table shows my analysis of all lay bets when the commission is payable on wins only. Note the low house edge on the 2 and 12.

The following table shows my analysis of all lay bets when the commission is payable up front.

Mugsy's Corner

Mugsy's Corner is a side bet available in both craps and crapless craps. It wins if the shooter rolls a 7 in the first two rolls. For all the details, please see my page on Mugsy's Corner.

Written by: Michael Shackleford