How to play craps

Craps is a staple at land based casinos all over the globe, yet quite a number of gamblers – even experienced punters – know very little about it. Let us show you the rules, how the different bets work and why this popular dice game offers great value for money.

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Rules of craps

Craps is an old dice game played on a large, tub-like table with high sides. It features a betting layout with a multitude of unique wagering options, which is what new players often find so daunting about this game at first.

When playing at a land-based casino, you must know how and when to approach the table. If the black marker is in the ‘off’ position, the time is right to buy chips and place bets; but if the marker is in the ‘on’ position, the dice are in play and you should wait until all live bets are resolved.

Craps is played with a pair of standard six-sided dice. The person who rolls them is called the ‘shooter’ – an honour that passes around the table from player to player. Most bets revolve around whether or not a particular outcome (or any in a set of outcomes) occurs before the shooter rolls a Seven, at which point the turn ends and all bets on the table are resolved.

Common bets in craps

The craps betting layout comes with a veritable cornucopia of different wager types. Many punters find the sheer spread of options overwhelming at first glance, especially when there aren’t any straightforward clues as to the nature of each. However, you only need to know a handful of craps bets in order to play and win like a seasoned pro.

• Pass line
  This is far and away the most popular wager at the craps table. It wins even money if the come out roll is a Seven or an 11, but it loses on Two, Three, or 12. Otherwise, the number rolled becomes what is called ‘the point’. If a Seven is rolled before the point number comes up, the Pass bet loses; but if the point hits before a Seven shows, it wins even money. This wager should only be made on the come out roll.
• Don’t Pass
  This is almost the precise opposite of the Pass bet, the only difference being that a 12 pushes rather than winning or losing. Otherwise, the outcomes are mirrored: Two or Three wins on the come out roll, while Seven or 11 loses. When a point is set, the Don’t Pass bet loses if the point comes up and wins if a Seven comes first.
• Come and Don’t Come
  These are much like Pass and Don’t Pass, except they can only be made after a point is decided. After you place a Come bet, the next roll acts as the come out for that wager. From there, everything works in the exact same way: Come wins when the point appears before a Seven is rolled, while Don’t Come wins when the Seven appears before the point.
• The Odds
  This is best bet on the casino floor and should be taken at every opportunity. After making a Pass or Come bet, you can ‘take’ the Odds by placing another wager next to your original one. It pays 2 to 1 odds when a point of Four and 10 is rolled to victory; 3 to 2 on Five and Nine; and 6 to 5 on Six and Eight.

  You can also bet that a point will not win out by ‘laying’ the Odds after making a Don’t Pass or Don’t Come bet. This pays inverse odds of 1 to 2 on Four and 10 when the Seven appears first; 2 to 3 on Five and Nine; and 5 to 6 on Six and Eight.

  Because the payout odds for taking and laying the Odds are exactly fair, this wager has no house edge attached. No other table game offers that kind of value for money – not even baccarat or blackjack.

  As such, most casinos restrict how much money you can bet on the Odds. The most common arrangement is three times your original bet (Pass/Don’t Pass or Come/Don’t Come) on Four and 10; four times on Five and Nine; and five times the initial wager on Six and Eight.

More online craps betting options

The above are the simplest bets in craps, not to mention the best value. There are, however, many more wagering options on the table – some worth a shot, others best avoided.

• Place
  Four, Five, Six, Eight, Nine and 10 are known as the Place numbers. These work much like Odds bets, except the payouts are lesser and a Pass wager is not required. Six and Eight pay 7 to 6 odds, Five and Nine pay 7 to 5, and Four and 10 pay 9 to 5. Some land based casinos also offer Place to Lose bets, which are like laying the Odds.
• Buy or Lay
  Buy and Lay bets are much like taking or laying the Odds, except the house charges a five per cent commission. Often this commission is taken regardless of the outcome, but many casinos only collect it on winning bets. Either way, this addition puts a house edge on what would otherwise be a fair and even wager.
• Hard Way
  Hard Ways are even totals comprised of the same number on each die. For example: two Fours make a ‘hard’ Eight, while a Three and Five make an ‘easy’ Eight. As each Hard Way bet only has one winning combination and loses on any easy total of the same value and on a Seven, these pay more than other multi-roll wagers. Standard US casino payouts are 9 to 1 for hard Sixes and Eights, and 7 to 1 for hard Fours and 10s. In standard craps, these are boosted to 19 to 2 and 15 to 2 respectively for a lower house edge.
• Big Six or Eight
  These are complete sucker bets that should be avoided at all costs. They work in the exact same way as Place bets, expect with worse payouts. Why on earth would anybody take even money when they can get 7 to 6 odds in the Place betting?
• Put bets
  Players have the option not to play the come out roll on Pass and Come bets. Because skipping that phase decreases much of the value in those wagers, the Put bet raises the house edge and is therefore best avoided.
• Propositions
  The wagers discussed thus far may all be played out over a number of rolls. Prop bets, on the other hand, are resolved immediately. These options pay the highest odds on the table, yet the house edge can range from 5.3 per cent to well over 16 per cent. Steer clear.
• Field
  The Field bet is a simple prop in which one wagers that the next roll will produce a Two, Three, Four, Nine, 10, 11, or 12. A Two pays 2 to 1, a 12 pays 3 to 1, and all the rest pay even money.

House edge in craps

There is much debate among gambling brainiacs about the most accurate way to calculate the house edge in craps. There are three common approaches:

• Per unit wagered
• Per bet resolved
• Per roll

In craps, where wagers can push several times before they are resolved, ‘per roll’ is the best expression of a bet’s overall value for money.

The chart below shows those figures as arrived at by Michael Shackleford, the American mathematician and gambling expert. We have opted to excluded low-value bets such as the Proposition wager and Big Six or Eight. Hard Ways are shown in standard odds, while the returns for Place and Don’t Place bets are calculated on the assumption that the commission is only paid on wins.

Bet	Payout	HE per roll
Pass and Come	1 to 1	0.42%
Don’t Pass and Don’t Come	1 to 1	0.40%
Taking Odds on 6 and 8	6 to 5	0%
Taking Odds on 5 and 9	3 to 2	0%
Taking Odds on 4 and 10	2 to 1	0%
Laying Odds on 6 and 8	5 to 6	0%
Laying Odds on 5 and 9	2 to 3	0%
Laying Odds on 4 and 10	1 to 2	0%
Place on 6 and 8	7 to 6	0.46%
Place on 5 and 9	7 to 5	1.11%
Place on 4 and 10	9 to 5	1.67%
Don’t Place on 6 and 8	4 to 5	0.56%
Don’t Place on 5 and 9	5 to 8	0.69%
Don’t Place on 4 and 10	5 to 11	0.76%
Buy 6 and 8	23 to 20	0.69%
Buy 5 and 9	29 to 20	0.56%
Buy 4 and 10	39 to 20	0.42%
Lay 6 and 8	19 to 24	0.69%
Lay 5 and 9	19 to 30	0.56%
Lay 4 and 10	19 to 40	0.42%
Hard 6 and 8	19 to 2	1.26%
Hard 4 and 10	15 to 2	1.54%

Where to play real money craps games online

Craps is a staple at land based casinos all over the globe, yet quite a number of gamblers – even experienced punters – know very little about it. Let us show you the rules, how the different bets work and why this popular dice game offers great value for money.

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Rules of craps

Craps is an old dice game played on a large, tub-like table with high sides. It features a betting layout with a multitude of unique wagering options, which is what new players often find so daunting about this game at first.

When playing at a land-based casino, you must know how and when to approach the table. If the black marker is in the ‘off’ position, the time is right to buy chips and place bets; but if the marker is in the ‘on’ position, the dice are in play and you should wait until all live bets are resolved.

Craps is played with a pair of standard six-sided dice. The person who rolls them is called the ‘shooter’ – an honour that passes around the table from player to player. Most bets revolve around whether or not a particular outcome (or any in a set of outcomes) occurs before the shooter rolls a Seven, at which point the turn ends and all bets on the table are resolved.

Common bets in craps

The craps betting layout comes with a veritable cornucopia of different wager types. Many punters find the sheer spread of options overwhelming at first glance, especially when there aren’t any straightforward clues as to the nature of each. However, you only need to know a handful of craps bets in order to play and win like a seasoned pro.

• Pass line
  This is far and away the most popular wager at the craps table. It wins even money if the come out roll is a Seven or an 11, but it loses on Two, Three, or 12. Otherwise, the number rolled becomes what is called ‘the point’. If a Seven is rolled before the point number comes up, the Pass bet loses; but if the point hits before a Seven shows, it wins even money. This wager should only be made on the come out roll.
• Don’t Pass
  This is almost the precise opposite of the Pass bet, the only difference being that a 12 pushes rather than winning or losing. Otherwise, the outcomes are mirrored: Two or Three wins on the come out roll, while Seven or 11 loses. When a point is set, the Don’t Pass bet loses if the point comes up and wins if a Seven comes first.
• Come and Don’t Come
  These are much like Pass and Don’t Pass, except they can only be made after a point is decided. After you place a Come bet, the next roll acts as the come out for that wager. From there, everything works in the exact same way: Come wins when the point appears before a Seven is rolled, while Don’t Come wins when the Seven appears before the point.
• The Odds
  This is best bet on the casino floor and should be taken at every opportunity. After making a Pass or Come bet, you can ‘take’ the Odds by placing another wager next to your original one. It pays 2 to 1 odds when a point of Four and 10 is rolled to victory; 3 to 2 on Five and Nine; and 6 to 5 on Six and Eight.

  You can also bet that a point will not win out by ‘laying’ the Odds after making a Don’t Pass or Don’t Come bet. This pays inverse odds of 1 to 2 on Four and 10 when the Seven appears first; 2 to 3 on Five and Nine; and 5 to 6 on Six and Eight.

  Because the payout odds for taking and laying the Odds are exactly fair, this wager has no house edge attached. No other table game offers that kind of value for money – not even baccarat or blackjack.

  As such, most casinos restrict how much money you can bet on the Odds. The most common arrangement is three times your original bet (Pass/Don’t Pass or Come/Don’t Come) on Four and 10; four times on Five and Nine; and five times the initial wager on Six and Eight.

More online craps betting options

The above are the simplest bets in craps, not to mention the best value. There are, however, many more wagering options on the table – some worth a shot, others best avoided.

• Place
  Four, Five, Six, Eight, Nine and 10 are known as the Place numbers. These work much like Odds bets, except the payouts are lesser and a Pass wager is not required. Six and Eight pay 7 to 6 odds, Five and Nine pay 7 to 5, and Four and 10 pay 9 to 5. Some land based casinos also offer Place to Lose bets, which are like laying the Odds.
• Buy or Lay
  Buy and Lay bets are much like taking or laying the Odds, except the house charges a five per cent commission. Often this commission is taken regardless of the outcome, but many casinos only collect it on winning bets. Either way, this addition puts a house edge on what would otherwise be a fair and even wager.
• Hard Way
  Hard Ways are even totals comprised of the same number on each die. For example: two Fours make a ‘hard’ Eight, while a Three and Five make an ‘easy’ Eight. As each Hard Way bet only has one winning combination and loses on any easy total of the same value and on a Seven, these pay more than other multi-roll wagers. Standard US casino payouts are 9 to 1 for hard Sixes and Eights, and 7 to 1 for hard Fours and 10s. In standard craps, these are boosted to 19 to 2 and 15 to 2 respectively for a lower house edge.
• Big Six or Eight
  These are complete sucker bets that should be avoided at all costs. They work in the exact same way as Place bets, expect with worse payouts. Why on earth would anybody take even money when they can get 7 to 6 odds in the Place betting?
• Put bets
  Players have the option not to play the come out roll on Pass and Come bets. Because skipping that phase decreases much of the value in those wagers, the Put bet raises the house edge and is therefore best avoided.
• Propositions
  The wagers discussed thus far may all be played out over a number of rolls. Prop bets, on the other hand, are resolved immediately. These options pay the highest odds on the table, yet the house edge can range from 5.3 per cent to well over 16 per cent. Steer clear.
• Field
  The Field bet is a simple prop in which one wagers that the next roll will produce a Two, Three, Four, Nine, 10, 11, or 12. A Two pays 2 to 1, a 12 pays 3 to 1, and all the rest pay even money.

House edge in craps

There is much debate among gambling brainiacs about the most accurate way to calculate the house edge in craps. There are three common approaches:

• Per unit wagered
• Per bet resolved
• Per roll

In craps, where wagers can push several times before they are resolved, ‘per roll’ is the best expression of a bet’s overall value for money.

The chart below shows those figures as arrived at by Michael Shackleford, the American mathematician and gambling expert. We have opted to excluded low-value bets such as the Proposition wager and Big Six or Eight. Hard Ways are shown in standard odds, while the returns for Place and Don’t Place bets are calculated on the assumption that the commission is only paid on wins.

Bet	Payout	HE per roll
Pass and Come	1 to 1	0.42%
Don’t Pass and Don’t Come	1 to 1	0.40%
Taking Odds on 6 and 8	6 to 5	0%
Taking Odds on 5 and 9	3 to 2	0%
Taking Odds on 4 and 10	2 to 1	0%
Laying Odds on 6 and 8	5 to 6	0%
Laying Odds on 5 and 9	2 to 3	0%
Laying Odds on 4 and 10	1 to 2	0%
Place on 6 and 8	7 to 6	0.46%
Place on 5 and 9	7 to 5	1.11%
Place on 4 and 10	9 to 5	1.67%
Don’t Place on 6 and 8	4 to 5	0.56%
Don’t Place on 5 and 9	5 to 8	0.69%
Don’t Place on 4 and 10	5 to 11	0.76%
Buy 6 and 8	23 to 20	0.69%
Buy 5 and 9	29 to 20	0.56%
Buy 4 and 10	39 to 20	0.42%
Lay 6 and 8	19 to 24	0.69%
Lay 5 and 9	19 to 30	0.56%
Lay 4 and 10	19 to 40	0.42%
Hard 6 and 8	19 to 2	1.26%
Hard 4 and 10	15 to 2	1.54%

Where to play real money craps games online

It might not offer quite the same atmosphere as playing at a land-based casino, but online craps is faster, more convenient and every bit as authentic. Several of the Internet’s best real money casino sites run virtual craps games from some of the world’s leading providers of online gambling software. Our top rated casino sites are listed in the table at the top of this page, and we recommend checking out our our top-rated casino sites for players from United States, which have some excellent welcome bonuses available for new players along with hundreds of instant-play casino games to choose from.

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