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Craps

The Ultimate Craps Guide for Online Casino Players from Canada

When it comes to iconic casino games, none are more highly regarded than the option of playing Craps. Here at Casino Bonuses Index.com, we present our review and complete Craps guide that will help players to achieve a better understanding of the game, gain clarity on rules, strategies and provide access to the best games online.

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Articles about Craps

The history of Craps

Craps is the dice game that still reigns supreme out in Canada. It is believed that the game of Craps was developed through a variation of an old English game known as Hazard which also took elements from an old French game called French Crabs.

What is Craps?

In the game of Craps, players will place wagers against the casino, in hopes of predicting the right outcome based on one or more roles using two dice.

There are three forms of Craps that exist today. You have your casino Craps, street Craps, and your now modern online Craps. Of the three, street Craps may sound like the most unconventional form of the game, yet it is the one which came first. True, this is an informal version of what we see as the game now. It is played by people either out in the alleyways of the street or in unlicensed rooms.

When it comes to casino Craps, it is unsurprising to find this as the most popular version of the game, which fills the gambling rooms of every land-based casino and has led it to be the most filmed games in Hollywood movies and Television i.e. Casino, Hard Eight, Diamonds Are Forever, The Simpsons and Friends.

The online format of Craps is indeed the newest alternative and can act as both of its predecessors’ forms.

Early Origins

It is commonly believed that the earliest version of the Craps game was based on the early-English dice game called Hazard. This was a game invented by Sir William of Tyre and was played by his knights during the 12th Century Crusades. During the siege on the castle of Hazarth, the name originated, whilst the Knight lay waiting for their command.

Evidence also indicates that there was a variant of Craps which dated further back to the Empire of Rome. Here Roman Legions used to cut down pig knuckles to the bone and fashion the dice to play within their inverted shields. This led to the term “to roll the bones”.

Movement of the Game

As with any early movement in the Middle Ages traits, habits, entertainment, religion moved through the land of England. The Game of Craps was even mentioned in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

His work often referenced this game and given the accuracy of his work, which is always referred to by scholars wishing to learn of the period, its referencing indicates just how popular the game was at the time.

The game of Hazard found its way from the battlegrounds to the houses of the rich and wealthy in the late 1600s in England. The game became a huge social event amongst the elite and noble socialites. Come the mid-1700s the game made its way to France and after a few decades, the game Hazard became known as Crabs. The name strung from the lowest value roll in the game of Hazard which was called crabs itself. After mass migration across the Atlantic, the game settled in America thanks to the French colony of Acadia.

Craps Arrives in America

In 1755 the French colony Arcadia was overthrown by British rule and renamed Nova Scotia. Fleeing the territory, the French arrived in Louisiana and settled in the Cajuns. They brought the game of Crabs with them, which by then had been referred to by settlers as Crebs and in some cases Creps.

There have been arguments that it was, in fact, the first settlers from England that came over on the Mayflower that introduced the game to America. However, it is more than likely the two versions of the now common Craps, sprung out of both camps.

By the 19th Century, African Americans in the South developed the game to its modern approach. The game ended up on the riverboats of the Mississippi and was able to spread about America faster. With some added variations to the game, it became an easier and faster game than the original and became firmly established within American establishments by the later stages of the 19th Century.

John H. Winn

In 1907, John H. Winn became the Father of modern-day Craps. He revolutionized the game, making changes for the players to decide whether they will bet for or against themselves. He adapted the layout of the table and added the Don’t Pass betting option to the board. Winn was a dice maker and because of this additional betting rule, to bet either for or against the shooter, crooked dice became irrelevant.

The work John H. Winn put into the game, configuring the layout, making system changes, remains the same to this day and during this period of development, the game became known as Craps.

20th Century Craps

In the 1930s, Nevada made gambling legal. This led to an onslaught of betting within the then and now casino capital of America. The game was an instant hit being referred to as Las Vegas Craps. The game was seen as an exciting step away from the more traditional card games of the time and led it to become a prominent feature of the Vegas casinos. From America, it spread north to Canada and it is now a really popular game among Canadian casino players.

Online Craps

As technology developed and the Invention of the Internet became available to nearly every household in the mid-90s. It was only a matter of time that the opportunity to gamble would come from this new medium and during the early 2000’s it was a reality.

One of the big appeals of Craps is the social aspect of it. It enriches betting tables and creates a vibe of energy between the craps shooter and those who were betting. Would the medium of online casino gaming be able to duplicate this?

Craps is a complex game when it comes to the betting element and the source of the Internet provides new players with a rich pool of information to tap into and learn about. The new technology has its benefits - it helped to increase the popularity of the game as more and more people were able to access the game and information on how to play it. This further led to the boom in online gaming when it came to Craps and this is where we find ourselves today.

Players are now faced with hundreds of options on where to play and with them, a choice of whether to play Craps as part of a live streaming platform against other players and the live dealer or on a virtual table that simulates the game like a slot machine.

The Internet and online gambling seem to have won over a majority of players that seek out the social appeal of the game, however, we are still yet to enter the stages of virtual reality gaming where it will further expand the evolution of the game for another 100 years.

How we can help you get better at Craps online?

OurCraps guide seeks to help you through this online presentation of the game. It is the perfect place to start from if you happen to be a first-time player. If you are aware of the game already, then you will have new information on gaming strategies to help you develop how you already play. There is also an opportunity to access free games and entry into the best online casinos which serve the game of Craps in both its live and virtual formats.

Our guide offers further studies on three core areas of the game. You will be able to read more about the game’s rules, the strategies that are associated with the game and a close study on one of the most popular methods which have been used successfully by professional Craps players.

Craps Rules

Here you can access our review and guide to the Craps rules. Before commencing with any form of online betting or gambling, it is essential to know the rules of a game prior to wagering your money.

Often new players will seek out games to ‘test their luck’ on, and this inevitably leads to more losses than anticipated because of having to learn something new, literally at a cost, when there are alternative methods and approaches to the game.

You will read from our guide on the rules just how simplistic a complex game can be, given the right approach to learning. The rules for both live and virtual gaming are the same, so you only need to learn once. The style of play is where the difference is felt, playing against the machines has its limitations. For a touch of the more ‘real’, many prefer to face off against the live dealer.

Craps Strategy

Since the game was invented, there have been those which seek to find the answer to how to win at Craps. For those believing that it is nothing more than luck, it would be wise in investing the time to learn just how online Craps is presented to players in the online domain.

The virtual world is far different from that where the game is made available within land-based casinos. What our guide to Craps strategy does is look at the game as it is in its digitalized format. Many online guides will tell you of Craps strategies which still relate to the process of playing in a land-based casino. From this, nearly all that which is advised it irrelevant to how the game actually is in its digital construct.

Your eyes will be opened up to the facts of programming, wagering tactics and improving your winning ratio based on gaming specifics, given there are now hundreds of games available made by different numbers of software developers.

Sharpshooter Method

In order to help those who still look to play Craps outside of the online casinos, we provide a detailed examination of the famous betting approach to the game: The Sharpshooter Method. In this review we discuss the distinction between the various methods relating to the ‘sharpshooter’, analyzing the methodology and the development of the technique which has altered throughout the time of the game.

Where you can play Craps online for real money and for free

Though the combination of our varied guides is there to help you learn and to lead you to a better form of gaming within the casinos found online, your goal can only be completed with true insight knowledge of what the casinos offer players that wish to play Craps online and how you are able to play these games for free.

The online race for supremacy is one that will never come with a conclusion. There are far too many sites online that offer too many good games, give out great service and reward players with fair and profitable bonuses.

Luckily, for the player, this is the case and through Casino Bonuses Index.com, you will be able to take advantage of how keen online casinos are to capture you as a member of their website.

Real Money Craps

When it comes to playing online Craps for real money, your decision making doesn’t start and end with the game.

The process of success begins with picking the right casino.

At Casino Bonuses Index.com, you have access to legally approved casinos online. All sites are compliant to your national gambling laws and from them, you are able to be part of a site that practices fair play and honest services.

The casinos which are listed in the TOP 3 above are what we deem to be the best, not only for their games of online Craps but for their mix of award-winning services and features. Important elements that will help you to enjoy your experience of playing online Craps even more inside these casinos.

Within each of the listed casinos, you are able to access sites that provide secure banking facilities to help you withdraw your winnings from reputable online payment services. Your deposits will be lowered in number because of your ability to access regular free bonuses that are eligible for the game of Craps inside these sites.

Your first bonus will be the welcome bonus, and you can see from the top 5 list the values you could claim back from the casino, which can be used to extend your time at the Craps table.

The option of play is important. The quality of games you have are perfect for those wanting the best live dealer Craps games and those wanting the best-tested machines in the games virtual table format. Each casino will have these selections, thus, putting the choice of how you win and what you win from, in your hands.

Playing real money games must still be taken with an air of caution, our guides and advice will only help if you are in a position where you are willing to learn with patience. In order to help you do this, we have a selection of free online casino Craps games which you can play before you take on any of the real money games.

Free Craps

Free online games are integral for any player, new or experienced. Access to these will help you better understand how to play the games and learn how they are programmed. You can see above four examples of the free games we have.

These are made by three separate online developers Playtech, Microgaming and two made by 1x2 Gaming. You will see just from these three games just how differently each work. You will notice their style is unique to their production, once you have played one Playtech game, for example, you know what to expect from the rest.

We do have a full section dedicated to the discussion of free games.

If you wish to learn more on this, you can refer to the link heading this section to read more on how they can be played, what the advantages are and how they integrate with Craps strategy.

The free Craps games are limited to the virtual tables, there are no options to play free live dealer games. The free Craps presented through our site are demo mode formats. They are authentic, genuine casino games that can be found within the top 5 sites listed.

By playing them in their demo mode first, you will be in a better advantage when coming to play the very same for real money.

Your options for the perfect Craps casino tested

There are two very distinct ways in which you can play Craps online as previously mentioned. In this section, we explain our experiences surrounding the two formats, playing for real money games within one of the recommended top 5 casinos and playing on the virtual machine games of Craps.

Testing Real Money Games

In order to comprise a guide on the game, we, of course, had to test the products for ourselves. We took to one of the top 5 sites and registered to play with one of their versions of the game.

We opted to play against the live dealer, knowing that we would have to test a virtual table game at some point. So, rather than informing you of two virtual machines, you can understand how our experience went on both formats, live and virtual.

The live game was part of the Evolution Gaming service, easily the number one streaming service for live casino games in the world. You would be hard-pressed to find a casino online featuring live dealer tables that weren’t provided by Evolution Gaming.

The live dealer craps game is a welcoming environment. The dealer is fully trained on the rules and will preside over the game as you are able to bet with one on one games or with other members.

Depending on the casino you join, there are various tables of Craps to be found. You have your basic tables and then there are the VIP Craps tables. Playing Live tables was a little daunting at first, you do become relaxed with how calm the pace of the game is and the control of the host helps to put first-time players at ease.

You are able to sit back and watch games unfold and are able to place side bets for or against the shooter. Players are able to communicate on the platform’s chat where you are also able to communicate with the host/dealer. Wagering as the shooter or outside bettor is easy to get hold of and not too dissimilar to how the game is presented within the virtual tables.

Testing Virtual Games

The virtual table games you find both with the casino and our free online games are slot-like in their development. Playing is a lot simpler than going live because there is far less pressure.

► You have the basic buttons to select your wagering amount and to roll the dice. There are always help buttons on these games to inform you of the rules and how to play.

► There are two different programs that make these games. One algorithm is the RTP which is the Return to Player program which calculates its payout rate based on the amount of money put into the machine.

► The other algorithm is the RNG, the Random Number Generator, which gives the game a more realistic style of play because just like it would be playing with dice, the outcome is purely random to what it would land on.

► The wagering levels are varied with virtual games, the one we tested ranged from 1 to 500. This can be the same as most live tables, there are, however, some which far exceed this level.

► Once you have selected the amount you wish to wager, you simply highlight the area on the table to place your bet down.

When playing, you’ll find it is not a fast as a typical slot game. Craps is about making logical decisions and not just a case of clicking spin, or roll, in this case.

Summary of playing Craps online

It is easy to see how and why Craps became such a compelling game. There is something special about playing with dice and we feel that there is a scene that a player really can really gain this feeling of luck being on their side, whereas cards can be seen as something which can be manipulated.

Playing live was great fun, it certainly has a social energy despite not being able to see other players, but just by having the host presenting the game was enough.

The virtual tables are a different form of entertainment and better suited to those players that like to have time and enjoy games within their own comfort zone.

To get the best of both worlds, you have the top-rated 3 casinos to pick from, see which you prefer and lower your spending with the free bonuses that are available.

FAQ

Q: Is Craps easy to learn?

A: Craps requires a bit of time to learn all the different areas of the table and how to wager. With practice and a clear understanding of the rules, you should be able to grasp the game in under 10 minutes.

Q: What are the variants of Craps?

A: Within live tables, the only changes you will find are the types of tables you can join, standard, platinum, VIP. The basics of the game, however, do not have a variant to play on.

Q: Is it better to be the shooter or outside bettor?

A: The position of you as the player doesn’t change in the level of entertainment or profit with either position. You will still either win or lose your bets.

Q: Are there Bitcoin Craps games?

A: There are Bitcoin casinos located and reviewed within Casino Bonuses Index.com that do offer you the option to play bitcoin Craps games.

Q: Are there any Craps tournaments?

A: The key tournaments for online casinos seem to specifically be aimed at players who enjoy blackjack, poker, and roulette. We are yet to discover one that is focused on Craps.

Top Tips

☆ Learn the rules before you play any game and the different ways to bet.

☆ Practice on free demo games, where you can also learn new strategies.

☆ Play with bonuses as they will prolong your game time which is needed to build a profit.

☆ When picking a casino, it is always better they have both live and virtual formats to enjoy.

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