Taking No Craps

Indulging in the No-BS Version of the Casino Classic

First glance down the endless stretch of the crapless craps table leaves one to question his or her own sobriety levels.

It’s like a prone-positioned Leonardo DiCaprio (Wolf of Wall Street) under the spell of heavy-duty quaaludes, peering down a staircase of six steps and seeing sixty.

Once you shake the cobwebs from your skull, you may realize that neither your brain nor your eyeballs are deceiving you.

Noticeably longer than the 12-foot version of standard craps, it may require a Dan Marino-type cannon to fling those puppies to the rear plywood.

Why the extra real estate?

Whereas standard craps layouts contain six numbers (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) on each side, the crapless table squeezes ten across the felt for a total of twenty.

You’ll notice additional squares reflecting the 2, 3, 11, and 12 on each side for place betting, come bets, or sliding the black puck in the event it becomes the point.

For craps cultists, the spectacle is surely an oddity, like when you took in a Tesla Cybertruck for the very first time. Processing the bizarreness of it all leaves a significant adjustment period.

Your eyes aren't deceiving you

In the crapless universe, only one natural can be achieved during a come-out roll ... the winner-7.

Every other outcome of the initial roll, including the 2, 3, 11, or 12, becomes the point for pass line wagerers. That means tossing a 2, 3, or 12 during a come-out is no longer a stinger for pass liners, just as an 11 is no longer instant bank.

Gunning for a point of a 3 or 11 seems highly unorthodox, but imagine collecting a x3 payout on your odds wager, or better, a x4 payout for your odds on a 2 or 12.

The shift in gameplay surely encourages an uptick in place betting, as the confidence level of nailing one of these unlikely points may wane. Dice gamblers want to ensure they bang out a few 6’s or 8’s before succumbing to their dire pass line bet.

You’ll also notice a second dynamic that’s woefully absent from the crapless version. Don’t Pass and Don’t Come features are non-existent on the table layout, ensuring everyone remains strictly aligned with the dice hurler.

As such, folks will only prosper if the table remains on the warm side. There’s no Plan B on a cold crapless table other than to bid it adieu.

Otherwise, the crapless version boasts the same features as the traditional one, allowing bettors to drop coin on hop bets, horn bets, hardways, C & E – you name it.

An added incentive is its general tendency to come in with lower table minimums than conventional craps. Crapless players aren’t burdened with the heavy investments of the $50 and $100 minimums in your usual go-rounds with the dice.

Although conceived in 1981, crapless craps is just now becoming commonplace at popular gaming outlets throughout Las Vegas and beyond. Since the Covid outset, this oddball stepchild of craps has been easing toward the mainstream, becoming a regular fixture upon everyday gaming floors.

However, most enthusiasts still favor the age-old flavor of rocking the Don’ts and collecting moolah on come-out rolls.

But for those strictly in the business of hitting numbers and cranking out points, this modified version is surely an ideal way of cutting out all the crap.