Card Craps

This game was created to bypass laws banning dice Craps. It is necessary to understand the game of Craps played with dice, before attempting Card Craps.

1) A special deck of 48 cards, consisting of two cards of each of the denominations Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. These cards correspond to the faces of two dice.
2) Betting chips.

Any number can play, from two upwards. One person is dealer, and is known as the shooter.

This can be by any agreed method.

Any player may cut the cards; but the player to the dealer's left has the right to cut last. If he does not wish to do so, the right to cut passes clockwise.

The shooter deals two cards from the top of the deck face up onto the table. This constitutes a throw. The value of the two cards added together gives the score for the throw in just the same way as the two dice in dice craps.

Play follows the basic rules for Craps. The first two cards on a come-out give either a natural (7 or 11), a craps (2, 3, or 12), or a point (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10), which must be repeated before a 7 is thrown.

After every come-out throw the two cards are shuffled back into the deck by the shooter, and the deck is cut by him. This happens even if no decision has been reached (e.g. if a point has been thrown). If the shooter then still has to make a point, he deals further throws, but does not shuffle these back into the deck. This continues until he makes the point or sevens out. The entire deck is then shuffled together and cut. If, on a point, the whole deck is used without a decision, the deck is reshuffled and cut by the shooter; he then continues, trying for the same point.

If the shooter sevens out, he must give up the cards. He may also give up the cards if:
a) he has not made any throw in his turn; or
b) he has just thrown a decision.
The cards pass to the next player to the left.

When two decks are available, any player may request a change of deck at anytime. The change is made immediately before the next come-out throw.

See the rules for private Craps.

Players may arrange bets on the hardway as usual. A double hardway is not a bet, but a double payment made when the shooter throws a point number (4, 6, 8 or 10) with two cards that are pairs of the same suit, e.g. 8 with two 4s of Hearts.

The payment is made by wrong bettors to those who have taken a normal right bet on the shooter making the point. This serves to equalise the right and wrong bettors' chances on even number points. Otherwise point number payment is as in private Craps.

Payment by 'wrong' bettor when cards make point

From 'The Official World Encyclopedia of Sports and Games'
© Diagram Visual Information Ltd 1979