Craps is a two-dice game in which you bet on the results of a shooter’s rolls. To understand the basic Pass Line wager, learn two stages: the come-out roll and the point phase. On the come-out, seven or eleven wins; two, three, or twelve loses. A four, five, six, eight, nine, or ten establishes a point, which must repeat before a seven for Pass Line to win.
The crowded table layout makes craps look more complicated than this. Many printed areas are optional wagers with different rules. You can understand the main game without betting on all of them. This guide covers standard casino bank craps, with examples using conventional payouts and a Don’t Pass rule that pushes on twelve.
The craps table: what the different areas mean
| Table area or item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Pass Line | A main bet placed before the come-out roll |
| Don’t Pass | A main bet against the point being made, with different come-out rules |
| Come and Don’t Come | Bets that begin their own come-out sequence during an established point |
| Number boxes: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 | Locations for Place bets and established Come bets |
| Field | A one-roll wager on several totals |
| Center proposition area | Special wagers such as hardways and exact totals |
| ON/OFF puck | Shows whether the table has an established point |
| Chip rail | Space to store chips outside the active betting layout |
The layout is usually mirrored so players at either end can use equivalent betting areas. Dealers handle certain bets for you, particularly chips in the number boxes and center. Give a clear verbal instruction and wait for confirmation rather than reaching across the table.
The shooter is the player rolling the dice. Other players can bet on the same rolls. You do not need to shoot to participate, and throwing the dice does not give your own wagers different odds.
How to play Pass Line step by step
Stage one: the come-out roll
Place the Pass Line stake while the puck is OFF and betting is open. This begins a new decision for that bet. The first roll produces one of three outcomes:
| Come-out total | Pass Line result |
|---|---|
| 7 or 11 | Wins immediately at 1:1 |
| 2, 3, or 12 | Loses immediately |
| 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 | Becomes the point; the wager remains active |
If the shooter rolls six, the dealer moves the puck to six and turns it ON. Your original Pass Line bet now depends on whether six or seven arrives first. Other totals do not settle that particular wager.
Stage two: the point phase
With six established, a sequence of five, nine, and four leaves the Pass Line stake unresolved. A six then wins; a seven then loses. The same principle applies to every other point number.
If the point repeats, the shooter generally continues with a fresh come-out roll. If seven appears before the point, the shooter has sevened out and the dice normally move to the next eligible player. A seven on a come-out roll is therefore very different from a seven during the point phase.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s craps rules document these wagers and their resolution. Procedures and optional wagers can vary, so use the posted rules for the actual table.
A complete example of a craps hand
Suppose you place $10 on Pass Line. The come-out is eight, establishing the point. The next rolls are three, eleven, five, and eight. The three and eleven do not have their come-out meanings now: neither ends your active Pass Line bet. The final eight wins $10 profit.
If you also placed $20 in odds behind the Pass Line after eight was established, those odds win $24 because point-eight odds pay 6:5. Together, the two wagers earn $34 profit and return the original $30, for $64 total.
Now suppose the final roll had been seven instead of eight. Both the $10 Pass Line and the $20 odds wager would lose. The lower combined house edge of a bet with odds does not prevent a larger dollar loss on that individual decision.
Why seven is the most common total
Two fair six-sided dice have 36 equally likely ordered outcomes. A one followed by a six is a different outcome from a six followed by a one, although both total seven. Counting these combinations explains the payout differences.
| Total | Combinations out of 36 | Probability on one roll |
|---|---|---|
| 2 or 12, each | 1 | 2.78% |
| 3 or 11, each | 2 | 5.56% |
| 4 or 10, each | 3 | 8.33% |
| 5 or 9, each | 4 | 11.11% |
| 6 or 8, each | 5 | 13.89% |
| 7 | 6 | 16.67% |
Once six is the point, only six and seven matter to the Pass Line decision. There are five ways to roll six and six ways to roll seven. Ignoring rolls that resolve neither, the chance of making six before seven is 5/11. It is not simply 5/36, which describes only the very next roll.
Taking odds behind Pass Line
An odds wager becomes available after a point is established. It pays the mathematically fair ratio for making that point before seven. The odds portion has no house edge under these standard payouts; the original Pass Line wager still does.
| Point | Odds profit payout | Example odds stake | Profit if point wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 2:1 | $10 | $20 |
| 5 or 9 | 3:2 | $10 | $15 |
| 6 or 8 | 6:5 | $10 | $12 |
The table limits the amount of odds you may add. At a common 3-4-5x table, the maximum is three times the line stake on four or ten, four times on five or nine, and five times on six or eight. Those limits are not payout ratios.
Adding fair odds dilutes the house edge as a percentage of the total money wagered. It does not turn the original wager profitable. With the same Pass Line stake, its expected dollar loss remains; extra odds add exposure and variance. Never increase your total stake solely because the displayed percentage becomes smaller.
Don’t Pass and laying odds
Don’t Pass reverses much of the main sequence, but it is not a perfect mirror because of the barred result. On a standard bar-twelve table, a come-out two or three wins, seven or eleven loses, and twelve pushes. After a point is established, seven before the point wins.
A Don’t Pass bettor can lay odds after the point. Because seven is more likely than any individual point number, the amount risked exceeds the possible profit.
| Point | Lay amount to win $10 |
|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | $20 |
| 5 or 9 | $15 |
| 6 or 8 | $12 |
Some tables bar two instead of twelve; read the layout. Also distinguish laying odds behind an established Don’t wager from a standalone Lay bet, which can carry commission.
Don’t Pass is a normal permitted wager. You do not need to apologize for choosing it, but basic courtesy helps at a social table: avoid celebrating another player’s loss. Different bets can legitimately favor different results on the same roll.
Come and Don’t Come bets
A Come bet starts a fresh Pass Line-style sequence while the table already has a point. On its first roll, seven or eleven wins and two, three, or twelve loses. A point number moves the bet to that number, where it wins by repeating before seven.
Suppose the table point is six. You place a Come bet, and the next roll is nine. Your Come bet moves to nine. You now have two separate decisions if you also hold Pass Line: six governs the line bet, while nine governs the Come bet.
A seven can have opposite effects on different Come wagers at once. It wins a brand-new Come bet still in the Come area but loses earlier Come bets already moved to numbers. This is why learning one active wager before adding several makes settlement easier to follow.
Don’t Come works similarly to Don’t Pass, including the table’s barred come-out result. Established bets and their odds can have different default working status on later come-out rolls. Ask the dealer which chips are active.
Place, Buy, and Lay bets
Place bets
A Place bet backs a chosen number to appear before seven while the bet is working. You can select four, five, six, eight, nine, or ten without first making a line wager. Standard Place payouts are lower than true odds.
| Place number | Profit payout | Convenient stake | Profit on a win | House edge per resolved bet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 or 8 | 7:6 | $6 | $7 | 1.52% |
| 5 or 9 | 7:5 | $5 | $7 | 4.00% |
| 4 or 10 | 9:5 | $5 | $9 | 6.67% |
A Place six pays 7:6, whereas taking odds on a point six pays 6:5. These are different bets. Use chip multiples that permit exact payment, and confirm what happens to fractions at an electronic table.
Buy and Lay bets
A Buy bet uses true-odds winnings but charges commission. A Lay bet backs seven before the selected number and also generally charges commission. Whether commission is collected upfront or only after a win affects the cost, as can minimum fees and rounding.
Consequently, a generic claim that Buy or Lay bets always have a particular edge is incomplete. Ask for the fee calculation and settlement method. You need both the event probability and the actual net payment to compare wagers correctly.
Field bets, hardways, and one-roll propositions
The Field typically wins on two, three, four, nine, ten, eleven, or twelve on the next roll and loses on five, six, seven, or eight. Most winning totals pay even money, while two and twelve can receive enhanced payouts. A triple payment on one of those totals changes the edge materially compared with a table paying double on both.
Counting the seven winning totals and four losing totals is not sufficient. Totals do not have equal probabilities: seven alone has six combinations, whereas twelve has one. This is the same counting error that makes many proposition bets appear more attractive than they are.
A hardway requires a double, such as three-three for a hard six, before an easy version of that total or seven appears. Four-two is an easy six and defeats a hard-six wager. Other unrelated totals usually leave the hardway active, subject to its working status.
One-roll bets such as Any Seven or a particular total resolve on the next throw. Their large advertised payouts can still fall well short of fair odds. For example, Any Seven at 4:1 pays four units of profit for an event with probability 1/6; a fair profit payout would be 5:1.
Which craps bets have the lowest house edge?
Under conventional rules, Pass Line has a house edge of approximately 1.41%, while Don’t Pass with bar twelve is approximately 1.36% per initial wager. True odds add no house edge. The exact basis matters: a percentage per roll is not directly comparable with a percentage per completed wager.
Michael Shackleford’s craps analysis separates these denominators and covers common payout schedules. Use it to check a specific bet rather than treating craps as a game with one universal edge.
Lower expected cost is useful information, but it does not identify a guaranteed winner. A small stake on a modest-edge wager may create less financial exposure than a much larger stake with a smaller percentage edge. Both stake and turnover belong in the comparison.
Working bets and contract bets
A bet being OFF means it is not in action for the relevant roll. Place bets are commonly off during a come-out unless requested otherwise. Come odds are also commonly off then, while the underlying established Come bet can remain active. Never assume that all chips in one area share the same status.
Pass Line and Come wagers become contract bets once their point is established and generally cannot be removed. Odds and Place wagers are more flexible. Don’t-side removal rules differ, and removing a favorable established Don’t wager gives up its future chances rather than reversing the original transaction.
Before changing a bet, state the instruction while betting is open and obtain confirmation. An unacknowledged call as the dice are released can create a dispute that could have been avoided by waiting for the next roll.
Common beginner mistakes and table etiquette
- Mixing up seven’s role: ask whether the table is coming out or has a point.
- Betting every printed area: each additional wager has its own stake and settlement.
- Confusing Big 6 with Place 6: the former commonly pays only even money for the same basic race against seven.
- Assuming a long roll changes the next throw: fair dice do not become due to produce seven.
- Increasing stakes to recover losses: a progression does not improve the dice probabilities.
- Reaching into active play: keep hands clear once the dice are moving.
Buy chips between rolls, put cash on the table for the dealer rather than handing it directly over, and use one hand when shooting if instructed. Aim for the opposite back wall without throwing dangerously. The crew decides whether a roll is valid.
Before playing for money, practice identifying the puck, the active point, and your total amount at risk. A $10 table can lead to far more than $10 of exposure once several numbers and odds are involved. Set an affordable loss limit and stop at it.
Frequently asked questions
Is craps the same as street dice?
No. Casino bank craps uses a regulated layout, a casino-funded payout system, and defined wager options. Informal street games can use different rules, stakes, and settlement arrangements. This guide does not describe every informal dice game.
Does rolling two, three, or twelve always lose?
No. Those totals lose a Pass Line bet on its come-out roll. After a point is established, they do not settle that Pass Line wager. They can also win or lose other bets on the table independently.
Can you win at craps without rolling the dice?
Yes. Everyone betting participates in the shooter’s results under their own wager rules. Taking or declining the role of shooter does not change the probability distribution of properly rolled fair dice.
Are bubble craps and live craps identical?
They can share the core rules, but electronic versions can differ in odds limits, payouts, commission rounding, and available wagers. Read the individual machine’s help screen. A physical pair of dice inside an automated cabinet does not guarantee the same betting schedule as the nearby table.
What should a beginner learn first?
Learn Pass Line, the come-out roll, and the point before adding odds or independent number bets. Understanding one wager completely is more useful than memorizing every phrase called by the crew. Our beginner casino games guide provides broader comparisons.
