Walk past a busy craps table on the Strip and it looks like the most complicated game in the casino: a crowd shouting at a pair of dice, a felt covered in boxes and numbers, and a crew of four casino staff calling out bets at speed. In reality, the heart of craps is one of the simplest and, mathematically, one of the fairest wagers in any Las Vegas casino.
This guide explains how a round of craps works, which bets carry the lowest house edge, what the famous “free odds” bet actually is, and why most of the colorful bets in the middle of the table are best left alone. It is an explanation of the rules and the math, not a system for winning. No betting strategy changes the house edge, and every bet at a craps table has a negative expected value for the player except the odds bet, which is neutral.
How a round of craps works
Craps is played with two six-sided dice. One player, the shooter, rolls for the whole table, and the role passes clockwise. Every round starts with a “come-out” roll. If the come-out roll is a 7 or 11, pass line bets win immediately. If it is 2, 3 or 12, known as “craps,” pass line bets lose.
Any other total, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, becomes the “point.” The dealer places a puck marked ON on that number. From then on, the shooter keeps rolling until either the point is rolled again, which wins for pass line bettors, or a 7 is rolled, which loses for pass line bettors and ends the shooter’s turn. That second outcome is the famous “seven out.”
Every other number rolled while a point is established does not settle the pass line bet, though it may settle other bets on the layout. Once you understand this rhythm, a come-out roll followed by a series of rolls to decide the point, the rest of the table makes sense.
Pass line and don’t pass
The pass line is the foundational bet and the one almost every newcomer should start with. You place it before the come-out roll and it follows the rules described above. The house edge is about 1.41 percent, meaning that over a very long run the casino expects to keep around $1.41 of every $100 wagered on it.
Don’t pass is the mirror image. It wins on a come-out 2 or 3, loses on a come-out 7 or 11, and a come-out 12 is a push in most Las Vegas casinos (some houses bar the 2 instead; check the layout). Once a point is set, don’t pass wins if a 7 arrives before the point. Its house edge is slightly lower, about 1.36 percent.
Some players avoid don’t pass because it means betting against the shooter while most of the table is cheering for them. That is purely social; the bet is legitimate, and dealers are used to it.
Come and don’t come bets
Come bets work exactly like pass line bets, except you make them after a point has been set. The next roll acts as that bet’s own come-out roll: 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3 or 12 loses, and any other number becomes the come bet’s own point, with the dealer moving your chips to that number box.
Don’t come mirrors don’t pass in the same way. The house edges match their counterparts: about 1.41 percent for come and about 1.36 percent for don’t come. Come bets let you have more than one number working at once, but remember that more bets in action means more money exposed to the house edge, not a better expected result.
The free odds bet
Once a pass line or come bet has a point, you can back it with an additional wager called “odds,” placed behind the original bet. Odds pay at the true mathematical probability of the point being made before a 7: 2 to 1 on 4 and 10, 3 to 2 on 5 and 9, and 6 to 5 on 6 and 8. Because the payout matches the true probability, the odds bet has no house edge. It is the only bet on the casino floor with that property.
Casinos limit how much odds you may take, usually expressed as a multiple of your flat bet, for example 2x, 3x-4x-5x or higher. Larger odds lower the combined house edge on your total action, but they also increase how much money you put on the table. An odds bet does not make the game beatable; it reduces the average cost of the money you choose to put at risk.
Don’t pass and don’t come players can “lay” odds, paying the true odds in reverse. The same principle applies, and it is equally free of house edge.
Place bets and the field
Place bets let you bet directly on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 being rolled before a 7, without waiting for a come bet to travel. Placing the 6 or 8 carries an edge of about 1.52 percent, which is respectable. Placing the 5 or 9 rises to about 4 percent, and placing the 4 or 10 to about 6.67 percent.
The field is a one-roll bet that wins on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 and loses on 5, 6, 7 or 8. It looks attractive because it covers seven numbers, but those numbers are rolled less often than the four it loses on. The house edge depends on the payout for 12: where both 2 and 12 pay double, the edge is about 5.56 percent; where 12 pays triple, it falls to about 2.78 percent.
The proposition bets to skip
The center of the craps layout is filled with one-roll and hardway wagers, collectively called proposition bets. They offer big payouts and fast resolution, and they are the main source of house profit at the craps table.
Any seven, which pays 4 to 1 on a single roll, carries a house edge of about 16.67 percent, the worst standard bet on the table. Any craps is about 11.11 percent. Yo (11) and ace-deuce at 15 to 1 are about 11.11 percent, while aces or twelve at 30 to 1 are about 13.89 percent. Hard 6 and hard 8 are about 9.09 percent, and hard 4 and hard 10 about 11.11 percent. The Big 6 and Big 8 corner boxes, still found on some layouts, pay even money on a bet that the place 6 or 8 pays better, and carry an edge of about 9.09 percent.
You may enjoy the drama of a hardway, and that is a personal choice. Just treat these bets as entertainment spending with a steep price.
| Bet | Pays | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Free odds (behind pass/come) | True odds | 0.00% |
| Don’t pass / don’t come | 1 to 1 | ≈1.36% |
| Pass line / come | 1 to 1 | ≈1.41% |
| Place 6 or 8 | 7 to 6 | ≈1.52% |
| Field (12 pays 3 to 1) | 1 to 1 / 2 to 1 / 3 to 1 | ≈2.78% |
| Place 5 or 9 | 7 to 5 | ≈4.00% |
| Field (2 and 12 pay 2 to 1) | 1 to 1 / 2 to 1 | ≈5.56% |
| Place 4 or 10 | 9 to 5 | ≈6.67% |
| Hard 6 or 8 | 9 to 1 | ≈9.09% |
| Big 6 / Big 8 | 1 to 1 | ≈9.09% |
| Any craps | 7 to 1 | ≈11.11% |
| Hard 4 or 10 | 7 to 1 | ≈11.11% |
| Yo (11) / ace-deuce (3) | 15 to 1 | ≈11.11% |
| Aces (2) / twelve | 30 to 1 | ≈13.89% |
| Any seven | 4 to 1 | ≈16.67% |
Table etiquette on the Strip
Buy in by placing cash on the table between rolls, never while the dice are in the air, and never hand money directly to a dealer. Keep your hands clear of the table when the shooter is rolling. If you are the shooter, pick two dice with one hand and throw them so they bounce off the far wall.
Dealers expect questions from beginners, especially on weekday mornings when tables are quieter and minimums are often lower. Ask what the odds multiple is, whether the field pays double or triple on 12, and what the table minimum is before buying in.