One of the timeless classics of the casino, online or not, is the game of craps.

As difficult as the rules my be, the potential for big winnings – and a ton of fun – are always at your fingertips.

Originating from and old english game called Hazard, craps has evolved and complexicfied over hundreds of years, and made this dice game of strategy and chance a hit throughout conventional and online casinos worldwide.

As long as you know how to throw some dice you can play, but its the rules and odds that can make you the money But don’t let all the rules, bets and odds steer you away from playing, Silver Oak Online Casino has many easy to read resources at your disposal, so you can learn the game, and never miss out on the excitement of playing online Craps!

So what are you waiting for? Warm up your dice throwing hand and get in there!

Taking place in the 1920s during the thirsty days of Prohibition, the show will document the evolution of Atlantic City from a quiet family resort on the New Jersey shore, to the hotbed of gambling and sin that it became (and still remains to some degree). Other famous characters of the time, like the gangster Al Capone, will make appearances on the show and it will apparently strive for an incredible level of historical accuracy in the sets and costumes.

Nobody can make that world as fun and exciting as Scorsese, so it will be a hoot to watch the new show. And if you’ve ever visited Atlantic City, it should be cool to see the early days of the town, just like it’s fun to watch Casino and see just how much Las Vegas has changed from the seedy 1970s to today.

Whether or not you’ve ever visited Atlantic City or Las Vegas, or even seen Casino, you’re going to have a great time playing in our online casino right here at Silver Oak. Be sure to try out some of our classic favorites like Roulette or Craps. Or go for a more modern gaming experience with the latest in online slot machines. Whatever game you love to play you’re going to find it right here!

The old record was set in Las Vegas twenty years ago, but she didn’t just beat it, she annihilated it by one hour and twelve minutes. Ms. Demauruo bought into the game for $100, and once she got on a roll, was quickly surrounded by a crowd of well-wishers for her record-setting roll. The casino wouldn’t announce exactly how much she won, but if she played for that long before losing, let’s just it was a whole lot.

Feeling lucky yourself? Then check out our Craps table and try a few rolls of your own. And if you too are a beginner at the game, it’s easy to learn how to play. Get started with Part 1 of our Craps Strategy Guide.

Simon (almost) smiling and applauding (Fox Image)

The concept of tonight’s show seemed to have a fair bit of promise, with each pre-Idol choosing a song from their birth year to perform. But while this gave them an opportunity to really roll the dice and try to find the perfect song, they mostly followed the safe and boring path. Lil Rounds went with the pretty obvious choice of “What’s Love Got to Do With It”, Allison Arehata gave “I Can’t Make You Love Me” it’s ten thousandth airing on American Idol, while Matt Giraud dulled up “Part-Time Lover”.

Seeing Simon give a standing “O” for one of the only times in American Idol history was something to see though. But tonight’s episode does leave us with a couple important questions, starting with who will be eliminated. My money’s on Scott MacIntyre. The other important question – was Simon’s out-of-character extreme positivity just a result of him dipping into whatever it is Paula Abdul is sipping during the commercial breaks?

Did tonight’s vocal stylings get you in the mood for some game playin’? If so, visit our online casino now.

How to Bet on Don’t Pass

Simply place your wager in the area of the craps table highlighted below in orange:

A bet on Don’t Pass looks like this:

When to Bet on Don’t Pass

The way a bet is placed on Don’t Pass is very similar to the way it is played on the Pass Line.  Bets can only be placed on Don’t Pass before the first roll of a turn.  After it is placed, it will remain in play until the end of the turn.

What is a Don’t Pass Bet?

By placing a wager on Don’t Pass , you are betting that the roller will roll craps (2, 3, or 12) on the first roll of the turn or that he will roll a 7 after a point is established.  In effect, betting on Don’t Pass is equivalent to betting that any wagers on the Pass Line will LOSE.

Lets go through a full turn to make it a little more clear how this works.  After placing a bet on Don’t Pass , one of four things can happen on the first roll of the turn:

1. You WIN if a 2 or 3 is rolled (the roller “craps out”)
2. You LOSE if a 7 or 11 is rolled
3. You PUSH (ties) if a 12 is rolled
4. You GO TO THE NEXT STAGE if anything else is rolled (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10)

The Next Stage

If a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 is rolled, a point is established, and the game continues.  As an example, lets say the first roll of the game is a 10:

In this situation, one of 2 things can happen:

1. You WIN if a 7 is rolled before a 10
2. You LOSE if a 10 is rolled before a 7

As you can see, a Don’t Pass bet WIN whenever a wager on the Pass Line would LOSE, hence the name.

Why Make Don’t Pass Bets

Don’t Pass bets are one of the highest odds bets in craps.  Once a point is established, the odds are in favor of the Don’t Pass bets over bets on the Pass Line.  No matter which point is established, it is more likely that a 7 will be rolled before the number which is “ON”.

For example, lets say a 10 comes up on the first roll of a new turn, as in the example above.  The number of ways a 7 can be rolled outweigh the number of ways a 10 can be rolled.  Specifically, there are 6 different number combinations that can be rolled to total 7 (1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, 6-1), while there are only 3 ways the dice can come up with a 10 (4-6, 5-5, 6-4).

Other than a 7, rolling either a 6 or an 8 are the next most likely.  There are 5 ways to roll either a 6 or an 8, which is still less likely than rolling a 7.  As you can see, even with the point “ON” a 6 or an 8, the odds are still in favor of a Don’t Pass bet over a wager on the Pass Line.

Don’t Pass Odds

Odds can be placed on a Don’t Pass bet any time after a point has been established.  Just like all other Odds Bets, odds put on a Don’t Pass wager have no advantage to the casino.  As always, if you can afford it, put as much money as possible on odds bets for the highest payouts.  For more on the subject, see the lesson on Craps Odds Bets.

To put an odds bet on your Don’t Pass wager, simply place a chip in the area highlighted below:

Final Thoughts

As always, I recommend downloading a free craps game to gain some confidence betting on Don’t Pass before trying the real thing.

Going back to the introduction, I said that the Don’t Pass bet is like the Pass Line’s evil twin.  I say this because more often than not, people playing craps in a casino will place bets exclusively on the Pass Line and will be rooting for the shooter to not roll a 7 once a point has been established.  If you choose to bet on Don’t Pass, you will be forced to root for the shooter to roll a 7 and everyone to lose on their Pass Line bets.

Don’t expect to make any friends betting on Don’t Pass in a casino.  The advantage of playing online is that you can throw as many bets as you want on a high odds Don’t Pass bet without fear of being booed out of the casino.  If you have a story about playing Don’t Pass bets in a casino, make a comment and share!

Have any questions about making Don’t Pass bets?  Ask your question in the comments below!

10) Situation: Playing Blackjack, you’ve got 11 against the dealer’s 15.
Song: Britney Spears – Baby One More Time
Lyrics: “Hit me, baby, one more time”.

Britney about to hit something, one more time

9) Situation: You think your wife is having an affair with a Craps player.
Song: Frank Sinatra – Luck Be a Lady
Lyrics: “A lady doesn’t wander all over the room, and then blow on some other guy’s dice” (!)

Situation: You just lost a big hand at Blackjack and need sympathy.
Song: Ray Charles – Blackjack
Lyrics: “I sat there with two 10s, I thought I’d have some fun. The dealer hit 16 with a 5, just enough to make 21″.

7) Situation: You’re kicking butt at poker while combing your waist-length hair.
Song: Motorhead – Ace of Spades
Lyrics: “Pushing up the ante, I know you got to see me. Read ‘em and weep, the dead man’s hand again”.

6) Situation: You’re heads-up in poker against a guy with a straight flush.
Song: The Beatles – I Want to Hold Your Hand
Lyrics: “Now let me hold your hand, I want to hold your hand”.

5) Situation: Your online slot just paid off enough to pay for a weekend in sin city.
Song: Elvis – Viva Las Vegas
Lyrics: “Oh there’s blackjack and poker and the roulette wheel, a fortune won and lost on every deal”.

4) Situation: You’re waiting to see if your monster bluff works.
Song: Bob Dylan – Ramblin’, Gamblin’ Willie
Lyrics: “He won a fortune from a man who folded his chair. The man, he left a diamond flush, Willie didn’t even have a pair.”

3) Situation: While playing video poker, you were one card away from a Royal Flush jackpot.
Song: KISS – Tears are Falling
Lyrics: “Somethin’ is wrong as I hold you near, somebody else holds my heart, yeah”.

2) Situation: You’re Swedish and wearing a silver jumpsuit.
Song: ABBA – The Winner Takes It All
Lyrics: “I’ve played all my cards, and that’s what you’ve done too, nothing more to say, no more ace to play”.

1) Situation: Any time, any place
Song: Kenny Rogers – The Gambler
Lyrics: All of ‘em.

While your beverage choices are your own business, I can help you learn to play smart.  The first rule to playing smart at any casino game is to know what you’re up against.  Following is a top 10 list of casino games you can play online in order of the house odds (smaller house odds means a better chance of you winning!). With this list in hand, you’re well on your way to being a casino game aficionado.

10)  American Roulette is the most common version of roulette found in North America and has great house odds at 5.6%.

9)  Let Em Ride is an easy to learn table game played with cards.  This common game found in many casinos (and online) has a house edge of 3.5%.

8)  Tri Card Poker (aka Three Card Poker) is another simple casino card game. If you are dealt a higher 3 card poker hand than the dealer, you win!  This game has a similar house edge to Let It Ride, coming in at 3.4%.

7)  European Roulette has better odds than American Roulette because it has one fewer 0 square to bet on, increasing the overall odds.  Check out the blog post about the differences between the two types of Roulette for more info.  The one fewer green square drops the house odds on this game to 2.7%.

6)  Pai Gow Poker is a fun table game that involves a touch of strategy to win effectively (check out the pai gow poker guide at Silver Oak for winning strategies).  If played well, the house odds are only 2.5%.

5) and 4) Baccarat takes up two spots on this list because there are two different ways to play this game that offer different odds.  Play as the “Player” and the house odds are 1.63%.  However, if you play as the “Banker”, the house odds are decreased even further to 1.17%.

3)  Blackjack is always a favorite of expert and beginner gamblers alike.  Not only is it extremely easy to learn, but it has some of the best odds of any casino game out there with a house advantage of only 0.8%.

2)  Craps is my personal favorite casino game because it is a ton of fun when you get on a hot streak (which happens a lot in the game) and it has fantastic odds. Over the years, I’ve made more money than I’ve lost playing this game, which definitely adds to my love of craps.  The house odds when playing craps are very low at 0.8%.

1)  5 Times Odds Craps is a version of craps that lets you place extra wagers on top of the normal bets available in the game.  All of these wagers pay out at their true odds, meaning the house has zero advantage on any of these bets.  Generally, casinos will offer 2 times craps or 3 times craps, but Silver Oak Casino offers 5 times odds craps! If you play craps at Silver Oak Casino, the house odds drop to a mere 0.2%.

Now that you have the insider scoop on all of the best online casino game odds, you can confidently download the games and start winning!

Extra Tip: If you are setting up a new account, use the exclusive bonus code for our blog readers: BLOG50.  When signing up, click on “reedeem coupon” and type in the BLOG50 bonus code for $50 in free money!

Ready to go?

How? You can learn some new table games. You don’t want to go to Vegas and just sit in front of a slot machine for 48 hours. Table games are way more social. After all, have you ever see James Bond pick up a sexy Eastern Bloc beauty while playing nickel slots?

Try Pai Gow Poker. It’s the absolute best game for those who like to drink a lot of complimentary casino drinks. Why? Because it’s the slowest table game in Vegas. The dealer shuffles between every hand, and players have to spend a minute arranging their cards every game. So try Pai Gow Poker and you’ll be ready for some mellow, boozy action when you hit the Strip.

If you’ve never played Craps at a casino, you’ve probably wondered what all those people at the next table are doing cheering and hugging and making plans to meet up later. Those are Craps players and they’re having a helluva time. Only problem is, you cannot learn how to play by watching it. Seriously. It’s ridiculous. But if you play online, without a dozen people yelling at you to roll already, it’s a breeze to learn. So play Craps and see for yourself.

And then there’s Blackjack, my favourite, most hated game. I love it when I win. And on the rare occasion I lose…well, let’s not talk about that. Now Blackjack is a pretty easy game to learn, and chances are good you already know the basics. But playing online, at your own pace, can help you remember all those tricky little plays that can really help your bankroll – like when to split, and double-down and all that esoteric stuff. So try Blackjack now for that little bit of extra preparation.

Beyond that, the only advice I can give you for your trip is to tip big, win big and never, ever ride the roller-coaster on top of the Stratosphere after three hours at the buffet.

Play some Blackjack now.