How to Play Craps: Rules, Bets & Odds
Craps looks complicated but the good bets are simple. Learn how a round works, which bets cost the least, and which to avoid. Rules, odds and house edges.
Craps looks like the most confusing table in the casino: a long felt covered in boxes, a crowd shouting, and a vocabulary of its own. The good news is that the smart way to play is very simple. A handful of bets carry some of the lowest house edges in any casino game, and everything in the middle of the table is a trap. This guide covers how a round works, the bets worth making, and the ones to skip.
Table Edge is a free practice site: everything here uses practice chips with no cash value, and nothing in this guide guarantees a win. Craps is a game of chance, and no betting pattern changes the dice.
How the game works
One player at a time is the shooter and rolls two dice for the whole table. Everyone else bets on what the shooter will roll. You don't need to roll to bet, and you can bet on the shooter or against them.
Most of the action revolves around one bet, the Pass Line, and the rest builds on top of it.
The come-out roll
The shooter's first roll of a new round is the come-out roll.
- A 7 or 11 wins for Pass Line bets straight away.
- A 2, 3 or 12 ("craps") loses for Pass Line bets straight away.
- Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) becomes the point, and the dealer puts a marker on that number.
Once the point is set
The shooter keeps rolling. If the point number comes up again before a 7, Pass Line bets win. If a 7 comes up first, that is a seven out: Pass Line bets lose and the dice pass to the next shooter. Then a new round starts with a fresh come-out roll.
Seven is the most important number on the table because it is the most likely roll (six of the 36 possible dice combinations make it), and it ends most bets one way or the other.
The odds of each roll
Two dice make 36 equally likely combinations.
| Total | Ways to make it | Chance on one roll |
|---|
| 7 | 6 | 16.7% |
| 6 or 8 | 5 each | 13.9% each |
| 5 or 9 | 4 each | 11.1% each |
| 4 or 10 | 3 each | 8.3% each |
| 3 or 11 | 2 each | 5.6% each |
| 2 or 12 | 1 each | 2.8% each |
Once a point is set, it has to beat the 7. A 6 or 8 beats the 7 only about 45% of the time, a 5 or 9 about 40%, and a 4 or 10 only about 33%. That is why a seven out ends most shooters' turns, and why the casino can afford to pay the odds it does.
Dice have no memory. Whatever rolled last, the next roll has exactly the same odds, so no number is ever "due". You can see all of this in the craps dice probability tables and test streaks in the streak calculator.
The two best bets: Pass Line and Don't Pass
Pass Line wins if the come-out roll is 7 or 11, loses on 2, 3 or 12, and otherwise wins if the point repeats before a 7. It pays 1:1. Over the whole round it wins about 49.3% of the time, which works out to a house edge of 1.41%.
Don't Pass is the opposite bet. It wins on a come-out 2 or 3, loses on 7 or 11, and pushes on a 12. Once a point is set, it wins if a 7 comes before the point. It also pays 1:1, and its house edge is slightly lower, at 1.36%. You are betting against the shooter, which some people frown on at the table, but it is a normal bet and the money is the same.
Either bet is a good place to start. Choose one and stick with it. Switching back and forth gains nothing.
Come and Don't Come bets work exactly like Pass Line and Don't Pass, except you place them after the come-out roll, and the next roll acts as their own come-out. They carry the same house edge (1.41% and 1.36%).
Free odds: the best bet in the casino
After a point is set, you may add an odds bet behind your Pass Line bet. It pays true mathematical odds, which means the casino has no edge on it at all (0%). It is one of only two bets in the casino with that property (the other is its mirror image, lay odds, below).
True odds depend on the point:
| Point | True odds | Odds bet pays |
|---|
| 4 or 10 | 2 to 1 | 2:1 |
| 5 or 9 | 3 to 2 | 3:2 |
| 6 or 8 | 6 to 5 | 6:5 |
You can bet the same way against the shooter: lay odds on a Don't Pass bet also carry no edge. You bet more to win less, because 7 is the more likely number.
The odds bet doesn't lower the edge on your original Pass Line bet, but it dilutes the overall house edge on all the money you have at risk. The more odds a table lets you take, the better your combined edge:
| Odds offered | Combined edge |
|---|
| Pass Line only | 1.41% |
| 1x odds | 0.85% |
| 3-4-5x odds | 0.37% |
| 10x odds | 0.18% |
| 100x odds (rare, high-limit rooms) | 0.02% |
3-4-5x odds is the most common modern rule. It lets you back a 4 or 10 with three times your bet, a 5 or 9 with four times, and a 6 or 8 with five times. These figures are the commonly published estimates from craps strategy literature, not this site's own simulation, so small differences between sources are normal. Look at the table sign before you sit down: the higher the odds multiple, the better the table.
Bet-by-bet house edge
Sorted from lowest cost to highest:
| Bet | Pays | House edge |
|---|
| Odds on Pass/Come, lay odds on Don't Pass/Don't Come | True odds | 0% |
| Don't Pass / Don't Come | 1:1 | 1.36% |
| Pass Line / Come | 1:1 | 1.41% |
| Place 6 or 8 | 7:6 | 1.52% |
| Field | 1:1 (2 and 12 pay extra) | 2.78% to 5.56% |
| Place 5 or 9 | 7:5 | 4.00% |
| Place 4 or 10 | 9:5 | 6.67% |
| Hardway 6 or 8 | 9:1 | 9.09% |
| Hardway 4 or 10 | 7:1 | 11.11% |
| Any 7 | 4:1 | 16.67% |
The Field bet wins on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 on the next roll. Its edge depends on the casino: if the 2 pays 2:1 and the 12 pays 3:1, the edge is 2.78%, but if both pay only 2:1 the edge doubles to 5.56%. Check the table before betting it.
Place bets let you bet that a number will roll before a 7. Only 6 and 8 are reasonable, and even then they cost more than a Pass Line bet with odds.
What to skip
Everything in the center of the table (hardways, Any 7, and the other one-roll proposition bets) has big payouts and a big house edge. The Any 7 bet, for example, pays 4:1 on something that is a 5-to-1 shot, which is a 16.67% edge, about twelve times the Pass Line. The excitement is real, but so is the price. If someone suggests them, you can politely say no.
The one strategy that matters
Bet the Pass Line (or Don't Pass), back it with the maximum odds you can afford, and stay away from the proposition bets in the middle. That is essentially the entire basic strategy of craps. The game is about bet selection, not skill: once the dice leave your hand, nothing you do changes them.
Many betting "systems" for craps promise to beat the house by raising or lowering bets after wins and losses. None of them can work, because they don't change the odds of the roll. They only change how quickly you win or lose. The casino myths page covers the most common ones.
Money and mindset
Craps moves fast and the bets can pile up quickly, so decide before you sit down how much you can afford to lose, and treat it as the price of the entertainment. The bankroll simulator shows how wide the swings can be even on the best bets.
If gambling is affecting your life, you can reach the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Quick recap
- Pick Pass Line or Don't Pass, and always take the maximum odds behind it.
- Look for a table with 3-4-5x odds or better.
- Place bets on 6 and 8 are fine; skip the rest of the place bets.
- Skip the center of the table, especially Any 7 and the hardways.
- No number is ever due, and no betting pattern changes the dice.
Ready to practise? Try the bet trainer and odds table, then play at the free craps table. To compare craps with other games, see the best odds in the casino.
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