Craps
BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS
What is most fundamental to understand about craps is that there are two
identical dice used in the process of playing the game. Each of these dice
are six-sided, which the sides having values of one (1) through six (6). When
you look at the sides opposite each other in each die (yes, folks, that's the
singular for dice), you will find that the opposite sides add up to seven;
so it follows that the 1 will be opposite the 6, the 2 will be opposite the
5, and the 3 will be opposite the 4. All of these combinations add up to 7.
On any one roll, there are thirty-six (36) different dice combinations
that can result.
- Of these 36 combinations, six of them add up to a total of seven (7).
That makes 7 a very key number in the game of craps, since it is the one
most likely to occur. As we do the math, seven is the result of six
combinations out of the possible 36, which translates to a ratio of 6-to-30.
Therefore, the odds against a seven being rolled in the game of craps is 5-1.
- Five of the dice combinations add up to six (the 4-2, 1-5 and their
reverses, plus the 3-3 combination), and five of them also add up to eight
(the 2-6, 3-5 and their reverses, along with 4-4); these add up to 5 out of
36, which comes out to a ratio of 5-to-31, so the odds against either of
those totals ( six or eight) being rolled are then 6.2 to 1.
- Four of the combinations add up to five (1-4, 2-3 and their reverse),
and four of them also add up to nine (4-5, 3-6 and their reverse); that is
4 out of 36 combos, constituting a ratio of 4-to-32, which means there are
8 to 1 odds against either a five or a nine being rolled.
- Three combinations add up to four (1-3 and its reverse, plus 2-2),
and also three of them add up to ten (4-6 and its reverse, in addition
to 5-5), bringing either of those totals (four or ten) to 3 out of 36,
which translates to a 3-to-33 ratio, and 11 to 1 against either of those
numbers being rolled.
- Two of the combinations add up to three (1-2, either way), and the
same goes for eleven (6-5 either way). That converts to 2 out of 36
combinations, a 2-to-34 ratio, and 17 to 1 against either the three
being rolled or the eleven being rolled.
- Only one of the combinations adds up to two (this is the 1-1, or
"snake eyes"), and only one adds up to twelve (6-6, or "boxcars"). For
both the 2 and 12 combination, it's one combination out of 36, which
translates to 35 to 1 odds against either of the combos being rolled.
The odds of rolling a seven before the combination of six is rolled
comes out to 5 to 6 (representing the number of 7's out of the 36 possible
combos against the number of 6's in the 36 combos). The odds of rolling a
six (6) before a seven (7) is 6 to 5. The odds of rolling the five (5)
before rolling the seven (7) is 6 to 4, which you can reduce to 3 to 2.
The odds of a four (4) being rolled before a seven (7) is rolled are 2 to
1. The odds of a three (3) being rolled before a seven (7) is rolled are
3 to 1. And the odds of the two (2) being rolled before a seven (7) is
rolled are high - at 6 to 1.
It is essential to understand these numbers - and the odds that are
associated with them - in order to go forward in the game of craps.