How to Play Craps: Rules, Bets and Odds Explained

To play craps, put a chip on the Pass Line before the shooter’s first roll (the come-out roll). A 7 or 11 wins straight away, a 2, 3 or 12 loses, and any other total (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) becomes “the point”. The shooter then keeps rolling: hit the point again before a 7 and you win even money, roll a 7 first and you lose. Once a point is set, add an Odds bet behind your Pass Line chip, because that bet pays true odds and carries no house edge at all.

That is genuinely the whole core game, bro. The rest of the table (all those boxes, the yelling, the stickperson’s patter) is a menu of side bets, and most of them are priced to eat your stack. This guide walks through a round step by step, shows the real maths behind every bet on the layout, explains how online and live dealer craps differ from a casino pit, and finishes with table etiquette so you do not get glared at by the regulars. Our readers are mostly in the US, Canada, the UK and New Zealand, so the rules here are the standard American game; there is a short Australian note near the end.

Craps at a Glance

The Dice Maths Behind Every Bet

Every price on a craps table comes from one fact: two dice can land 36 ways, and those ways are not spread evenly across the totals. Seven is the most common total because six combinations make it (1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, 6-1). Twos and twelves are the rarest, with one combination each. Learn this table and the layout stops looking like a puzzle.

Two quick consequences. On the come-out roll, a Pass Line bettor wins instantly 8 times in 36 (the 7 and the 11), loses instantly 4 times in 36 (2, 3, 12) and sees a point established the other 24 times. Once a point is set, the only numbers that matter for the Pass Line are the point and the 7, so the chance of winning depends on the point: a 6 or 8 (five ways against the 7’s six) wins 45.5% of the time, a 5 or 9 wins 40%, and a 4 or 10 wins 33.3%.

How a Round of Craps Works, Step by Step

1. Buy in. At a live table, wait until the dice are in the middle, put your cash on the layout and ask for chips. Online, chips are already on screen.
2. Bet before the come-out roll. The puck (a disc marked ON and OFF) shows OFF when no point is set. Place your chip on the Pass Line (betting with the shooter) or Don’t Pass (betting against).
3. The come-out roll. The shooter throws both dice so they bounce off the far wall. A 7 or 11 is a “natural” and Pass wins. A 2, 3 or 12 is “craps” and Pass loses.
4. A point is set. On 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 the dealer moves the puck to that number and flips it to ON.
5. Take odds. Put extra chips behind your Pass Line bet. This Odds bet wins at true odds if the point repeats.
6. Point rolls. The shooter keeps rolling. Nothing but the point and the 7 settles your Pass Line bet; other totals only settle other bets.
7. Resolution. Point first: you win, the puck goes OFF and a new come-out roll follows with the same shooter. Seven first (“seven out”): Pass and its odds lose, and the dice pass to the next player on the left.

Shooting is optional. If you do not want to throw, tell the stickperson you will pass the dice and the next player takes over. You can bet any time the dice are not in the air, but Pass Line bets belong on a come-out roll (most casinos let you add a Pass bet after a point, but it gives up the come-out advantage, so do not).

The Craps Table Layout and Crew

A full casino craps table is a long tub with two identical ends, each carrying its own Pass Line, Don’t Pass bar, Come box, Field and place-number boxes. The centre of the layout, in front of the stickperson, holds the proposition bets: Any Seven, Any Craps, the hardways and the one-roll number bets. Online tables usually show a single, simplified end.

• Boxperson: sits in the middle, guards the bank of chips and settles disputes.
• Stickperson: stands opposite, pushes the dice to the shooter with a hooked stick, calls each roll and handles centre bets.
• Base dealers: two of them, one for each end, who pay and collect your bets and place chips on numbers for you.
• Shooter: any player at the table, in turn, clockwise.

In live dealer studios the roles shrink to a host and, often, a mechanical dice shaker. In RNG (software) craps, a random number generator produces the two dice and there is no crew at all.

The Main Bets Explained, With Real Numbers

Pass Line

The default bet, and a good one. It pays even money and the house edge is 1.41% of each bet resolved. You win 49.29% of Pass Line decisions over the long run, which is about as close to a coin flip as a casino gets.

Don’t Pass

The mirror image. On the come-out, 2 and 3 win, 7 and 11 lose, and 12 is a push (that tie, usually printed as “Bar 12”, is where the house gets its edge). After a point, you win if the 7 comes before the point. The edge is 1.36% per bet made, or 1.40% if you leave out the pushes, which makes it marginally cheaper than Pass. Socially it is the “dark side”: you are cheering for the table to lose, so expect some side-eye in a busy pit.

Come and Don’t Come

These are Pass and Don’t Pass bets placed after a point is already on. The next roll acts as that bet’s own come-out roll: 7 or 11 wins a Come bet, 2, 3 or 12 loses it, and any point number moves your chip onto that number, where it waits for the number or a 7. House edges match Pass (1.41%) and Don’t Pass (1.40%). Come bets let you have several numbers working at once without paying for expensive place bets.

Odds: the Only Bet With No House Edge

After a point is set, you can back your Pass or Come bet with an Odds bet, which pays the true odds of the point repeating: 2 to 1 on 4 and 10, 3 to 2 on 5 and 9, 6 to 5 on 6 and 8. Don’t bettors can “lay” odds in reverse (1 to 2, 2 to 3, 5 to 6). Casinos cap the size, commonly at 3x, 4x and 5x the line bet on the 4/10, 5/9 and 6/8 respectively (the “3-4-5x” rule), so the odds payout on a win is always six times the line bet.

Worked example. You bet $10 on the Pass Line. The shooter rolls a 6, so the point is 6. Under 3-4-5x odds you can add up to $50 in odds. If the 6 repeats before a 7, you collect $10 on the line plus $60 on the odds ($50 at 6 to 5): $70 profit. If a 7 shows first, you lose $60. The odds portion has zero edge, so the more of your money sits in odds rather than on the line, the lower the house edge on your total action.

Place Bets

A place bet lets you pick a point number directly, without waiting for a come-out. Payouts are slightly below true odds, and the gap is the house edge: 6 and 8 pay 7 to 6 (1.52%), 5 and 9 pay 7 to 5 (4.00%), 4 and 10 pay 9 to 5 (6.67%). That is why you bet place 6 and 8 in multiples of $6: a $6 bet wins $7. Place bets are usually “off” on the come-out roll unless you ask for them to work.

Buy and Lay Bets

Buying a number gets you true odds in exchange for a 5% commission. If the casino charges the commission only when you win, a buy bet on 4 or 10 has a 1.67% edge, much better than placing them at 6.67%. The don’t side’s version is a lay bet: lay 4 or 10 costs 2.44% when the commission is charged on wins. Rules on when the commission is taken differ between casinos, so ask before you buy.

Field

A one-roll bet on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. Most of those pay even money; 2 pays double and 12 pays double or triple depending on the casino. It looks generous because seven totals are covered, yet those totals only come up 16 times in 36 rolls. With 12 paying triple the edge is 2.78%; with 2 and 12 both paying double it is 5.56%.

Big 6 and Big 8

Even money that a 6 (or 8) arrives before a 7. Placing the same number pays 7 to 6 for the identical risk, so the Big 6/8 at 9.09% is one of the clearest bad deals on the felt. Plenty of modern layouts have dropped it, though it still turns up on some tables and in software versions.

Hardways

A “hard” number is rolled as a pair: hard 4 is 2-2, hard 6 is 3-3, hard 8 is 4-4, hard 10 is 5-5. The bet wins if the pair arrives before a 7 or the “easy” version of the number. Hard 6 and 8 usually pay 9 to 1 (9.09% edge), hard 4 and 10 pay 7 to 1 (11.11%).

Proposition (Centre) Bets

These one-roll bets have the loudest payouts and the worst prices. Any Seven pays 4 to 1 with a 16.67% edge. Any Craps (2, 3 or 12) pays 7 to 1 for 11.11%. A 2 or 12 at 30 to 1 carries 13.89%, and a 3 or 11 at 15 to 1 carries 11.11%. The Horn bet splits one chip across 2, 3, 11 and 12, so its edge averages out at 12.5%.

Every Craps Bet Ranked by House Edge

Edges are for standard US rules. Payouts on a few bets (field, 2/12, 3/11) vary by casino; when you see “30 for 1” instead of “30 to 1”, the casino keeps your original chip and the edge rises.

How Much Odds Cut the House Edge

Because the Odds bet has no edge, your combined edge on Pass plus Odds falls as the odds multiple rises. The house still earns 1.41% on the line bet, but that cost is spread over a larger total bet.

The figures follow from the standard formula: 7/495 (the Pass Line edge) divided by one plus the average odds bet per line bet. One caution: lower edge per dollar does not mean lower risk. With 5x odds behind a $10 line bet you have $60 at stake on a 6, so swings get bigger even as the expected cost shrinks. Pick a line bet small enough that you can afford full odds behind it.

A Sample Beginner Session

Say you sit down with $300 at a $10 table that offers 3-4-5x odds, and you plan to bet $10 on the Pass Line every come-out roll, plus full odds whenever a point is set. Here is how the first few decisions might play out:

1. Come-out roll is 11: Pass wins $10. Bankroll $310.
2. Next come-out roll is 5: point is 5. You add $40 odds (4x). The shooter rolls 9, 3, then 5: you win $10 on the line plus $60 on the odds (3 to 2). Bankroll $380.
3. Next come-out roll is 3: craps, Pass loses $10. Bankroll $370.
4. Next come-out roll is 10: point is 10, you add $30 odds (3x). The shooter rolls 6, 8, then 7: seven out, you lose $40. Bankroll $330, and the dice move to the next shooter.

The order of results is pure chance, of course. What you control is cost: over many rolls this approach costs about 0.37% of the money you put into action, far less than a typical slot game (our slots volatility explainer, written for Australian readers, shows how slot pricing works).

Crapless Craps and Other Variants

Some casinos and online studios run variants. In crapless craps (often branded “Never Ever Craps”), the 2, 3, 11 and 12 become point numbers instead of instant results, so you cannot lose on the come-out. It sounds friendlier, but losing the instant win on 11 costs you: the Pass Line edge rises to 5.38%, nearly four times the standard game. Other changes to watch for are field bets that pay only double on 12, odds capped at 2x, and bets paid “for” rather than “to”. Always read the paytable before your first bet.

Playing Craps Online: RNG and Live Dealer

Online craps comes in two formats, and the rules above apply to both.

Evolution’s live Craps game, for example, splits each round into a come-out stage and a point stage, shows how many players are on each number and offers an easy mode that hides the complex bets. Speed is the hidden cost online: an RNG game can deal many more rolls per hour than a busy live table, and the house edge applies to every one of them. Bonus terms matter too. Many casinos count craps at a low percentage towards wagering, or exclude it from bonus play entirely, so read the bonus contribution table first (our guide to picking bonuses explains what to check).

Online casino gambling is only legal where your jurisdiction allows it. In the US, real-money online casinos are licensed state by state: eight states have legalised online casinos, but only seven markets are live (NJ, PA, MI, WV, CT, DE, RI), because Maine’s tribal-only market (legalised in January 2026, law effective 29 July 2026) had not launched as of October 2026. Check your own local rules before you play for money.

Craps Table Etiquette

• Cash on the table, not in hand. Dealers cannot take cash from your hand. Lay it on the layout between rolls.
• Keep your hands clear when the stickperson pushes the dice out. A die that hits a hand is considered bad luck, and blocking a throw is a quick way to lose friends.
• Shooter rules: handle the dice with one hand, keep them over the table and throw so both dice hit the back wall.
• Do not say “seven” during a roll. It is pure superstition, but the table will not see it that way.
• Bet timing: place bets only when the dice are in the centre. Say your bet clearly to the dealer for numbers you cannot reach.
• Tipping: players often make a bet “for the dealers” instead of handing over cash, such as a small hardway or line bet.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Skipping the odds. It is the only zero-edge bet in the casino, and the layout does not even mark it.
• Chasing the centre bets. A 30 to 1 payout feels exciting, but a 13.89% edge drains a bankroll about ten times faster than the Pass Line.
• Placing the 4 and 10 at 6.67% when buying them (1.67% with commission on wins) gives the same bet more cheaply.
• Betting the Big 6 or 8 when a place bet on the same number pays 7 to 6 instead of even money.
• Believing in systems. Progressions and “hot table” theories do not change the edge on any bet. Our craps strategy guide tests the popular systems against the maths.

How Craps Compares With Other Table Games

Craps is a game of two halves: its best bets are among the cheapest anywhere, and its worst are among the most expensive. Where you put your chips decides which game you are really playing. For a wider tour of table games and their costs, see our casino games overview (Australian edition), or browse more guides on the Casino Bros blog.

Who Craps Suits

Craps is a great fit if you like a social, fast-moving game and are happy to stick to a few simple bets. It suits players who want a low house edge without memorising a strategy chart, as blackjack requires. It is a worse fit if you get drawn into action bets, because the layout constantly invites them, or if you want a quiet game: a hot shooter at a full table is about as noisy as a casino gets. If you prefer a calmer pace, our keno guide and easiest games for beginners cover alternatives.

A Note for Australian Readers

Craps is an approved game at Crown Melbourne: the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission lists it among the casino’s approved games (with a rules amendment dated 27 April 2022). Whether other Australian casinos deal it changes over time, so check with the venue. Online, the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes offering online casino games to Australians an offence for the operator, not the player, which is why no Australian-licensed online casino offers craps. If gambling stops being fun, Gambling Help Online is free and confidential on 1800 858 858.

Play It Safe

Set a loss limit before your first roll and walk away when you hit it; no bet on the layout changes the long-run maths. In the US the National Council on Problem Gambling helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET. In Great Britain, the National Gambling Helpline (run by GamCare) is 0808 8020 133. More tools are on our responsible gaming page.

FAQ

What is the easiest way to play craps?

Bet the Pass Line before the come-out roll, then add the maximum Odds bet once a point is set. You win on 7 or 11 on the come-out, lose on 2, 3 or 12, and otherwise win if the point repeats before a 7. That one routine costs about 0.37% of your action at a 3-4-5x table.

What is the best bet in craps?

The Odds bet, because it pays true odds and has no house edge. You can only make it behind a Pass, Don’t Pass, Come or Don’t Come bet. Of the bets you can make on their own, Don’t Pass (1.40%) and Pass Line (1.41%) are the cheapest.

Why is 7 so important in craps?

Seven is the most likely total with two dice: six of the 36 combinations make it, a 16.67% chance. It wins Pass Line bets on the come-out roll but loses them once a point is set, and it ends the shooter’s turn.

What does the point mean in craps?

The point is the number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) rolled on the come-out. The dealer marks it with the ON puck. Pass Line bets then win if the point is rolled again before a 7.

Do I have to roll the dice to play craps?

No. Shooting rotates clockwise around the table, but you can tell the stickperson you want to pass the dice and keep betting as normal. Online, the dice are rolled by software or in a studio.

Which craps bets should beginners avoid?

The one-roll centre bets (Any Seven at 16.67%, 2 or 12 at 13.89%, Horn at 12.5%), the hardways (9.09% to 11.11%) and the Big 6 or 8 (9.09%). They pay big numbers but cost many times more than the Pass Line.

Is online craps fair?

At a licensed casino, RNG craps uses a tested random number generator and live craps uses real dice filmed in a studio. The house edge is the same as on a land-based table with the same paytable, but online games run faster, so the cost per hour can be higher.

What are the basic rules of craps?

Here is how to play craps in four rules. The shooter’s first roll is the come-out: 7 or 11 wins for Pass Line bets, and 2, 3 or 12 (craps) loses. Any other total (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) becomes the point. The shooter then keeps rolling: the point before a 7 wins for the Pass Line, and a 7 before the point loses and ends the shooter’s turn.