All About Craps

The origins of craps is still unclear to this day. Some historians believe the game originated in early Rome amongst soldiers, using bones as dice. Others believe it was originally an Arabic game that evolved over time as it traveled across the continents. Chances are we'll never know for sure, but it's generally agreed that modern day variants were developed in Europe, and brought over to North America sometime in the early 18th century.

Simple versions of the game can be played without a table or 'house' to handle the bets - which is generally referred to as 'street' craps. Full games as played at live and online casinos are referred to as 'table' craps or 'casino' craps, which is what we'll be covering here.

With the exception of the staff required to operate the table, online craps plays more or less the same as it's live casino counterpart. The majority of online casinos deal primarily with single player games - in which the player can roll at their leisure and bet however they wish - however there are multi-player and even live games with video available at certain venues.

While we're cover the rules below, if you're a visual learner watch the following video first for a quick overview:

Click on the play button to load/start video.

Playing Craps

It might seem tricky at first with all the different betting options available, but it's actually a pretty simple game once you know the basics.

When playing in live scenario, one the players at the table is designated the 'shooter', and is responsible for rolling the dice. The 'shooter' must place a bet on either either the 'Pass' line or the 'Don't Pass' line before they roll. No player is obligated to take on the roll, but it will be offered to the next player clockwise once the shooter 7's out (or if they wish to after crapping out.) When playing online this rule generally isn't in effect, as the software is essentially acting as the 'shooter' even if it's the player initiating the roll.

All players at the table are also welcome to place their bets on the outcome they expect before the roll, but only certain betting spots are available during this initial phase of the game.

During this initial roll (the 'come-out' roll,) if the shooter rolls a 2, 3 or 12, they have rolled a 'craps' and any bets on the Pass line lose. Bets on the Don't Pass line win if a 2 or 3 is rolled, and tie if it's a 12 (a "push".)
If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11 it's referred to as a 'natural', Pass line bets win and Don't Pass loses.
If the shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 - a 'Point' is set and the table moves on to the second stage of the game. Pass line and Don't Pass bets neither win or lose at this point.
If a Point is not set, additional 'come-out' rolls will be made for as long as it takes to roll a Point number.

Setting the Point:
Once the shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 - the 'Point' is now set and some of the available bets will change. The dealer will place the 'on' puck (previously flipped to 'off' during the come out rolls) beside the Point number to signify this second stage of the game.
The shooter will continue to roll at this point until one of two things happen:

If the shooter rolls a total that is the same as the point that has been set, Pass line bets win and Don't Pass loses.
If the shooter rolls a 7 at any time before rolling the Point number ("seven-out",) Don't Pass line bets win and Pass line bets lose and the round is essentially over, going back to the initial phase of come-out rolls.

That the basics - someone rolls the dice until the Point is set with a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, after which betting options change and they roll some more until that Point is hit (number is rolled again) or a 7 is rolled and it all starts over. What's a little harder to follow is the vast array of bets and when they can be made, which we'll cover below:

Basic Bets

Pass Line:
This bet can only be made during come out rolls. This is a bet that the shooter will win, either by rolling a 7 or 11 before the point is set, or by hitting the point after it's established before rolling a 7. This bet loses if a 2, 3 or 12 is rolled on the Come Out. Bets are paid even money.

Don't Pass:
This bet can only be made during come out rolls. These bets are basically the polar opposite of the Pass Line bet. You are betting that the shooter will lose on the Come Out roll with a 2 or 3, or by setting a point and not hitting it before rolling a 7. In the event that the player rolls a 12 on the Come Out roll, it's a 'push' and the bet is returned. Winning bets pay even money.

Come Bets:
This bet can only be made once a point is set. It wins if a 7 or 11 is rolled, loses if a 2,3 or 12 is rolled - and if a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 is rolled - the come bet gets moved to that number.
Once moved, the bet wins if the number it's on is rolled again before the shooter rolls a 7. Bets pay even money.

Don't Come Bets:
This bet can only be made once a point is set. It wins if a 2 or 3 is rolled, ties (money is returned) if a 12 is rolled and loses on a 7 or 11. If a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 is rolled - the bet gets moved to that number.
Once moved, the bet wins if a 7 is rolled before that number is rolled again. Bets pay even money.

Odds Bets

Pass Line Odds Bets:
This bet can only be made after a point has been set and if the player has a standing bet on the Pass Line. It's similar to the Pass Line bet, but pays out differently.
The bet still wins when the Point is rolled before a 7, but the payout changes depending on what number that is. Winning on a 4 or 10 pays 2:1, 5 or 9 pays 3:2, and 6 or 8 pays 6:5.

Don't Pass Odds Bets:
This bet can only be made after a point has been set and if the player has a standing bet on Don't Pass. It's similar to the Don't Pass bet, but pays out differently.
The bet still wins when a 7 is rolled before the Point, but pays differently based on that number. If the point was a 4 or 10 it pays 1:2, 5 or 9 pays 2:3, and 6 or 8 pays 5:6.

Come Bet Odds Bets:
The bet can only been made if a previous Come bet has already been moved to the numbers Come point. For example, if you bet on Come and the shooter rolls a 5, your Come bet will be moved to the Come 5 spot - after which you could make this bet on Come Bet 5 Odds.
The bet wins if your number is rolled before a 7. Like the other odds bets the payout depends on what number you're betting on. Winning on a 4 or 10 pays 2:1, 5 or 9 pays 3:2, and 6 or 8 pays 6:5.

Don't Come Odds Bets:
The bet can only been made if a previous Don't Come bet has already been moved to the numbers Don't Come point. For example, if you bet on Don't Come and the shooter rolls a 5, your Don't Come bet will be moved to the Don't Come 5 spot - after which you could make this bet on Don't Come Bet 5 Odds.
The bet wins if a 7 is rolled before the number your bet is on. Bets on a 4 or 10 it pay 1:2, 5 or 9 pays 2:3, and 6 or 8 pays 5:6.

Place Win Bets:
These bets have nothing to do with the Point number and can be made at any time. However, they are generally 'off' (does not win or lose) during Come Out rolls, though at some tables you can request they are 'on'. This bet wins if the number wagered on is hit before the shooter rolls a 7, and loses otherwise.
Payouts vary depending on the number wagered on, 4 or 10 pays 9:5, 5 or 9 pays 7:5, and 6 or 8 pays 7:6.

Place Lose Bets:
These bets have nothing to do with the Point number and can be made at any time. This bet wins if a 7 is rolled before the number wagered on is hit, and loses otherwise.
Payouts vary depending on the number wagered on, 4 or 10 pays 5:11, 5 or 9 pays 5:8, and 6 or 8 pays 4:5.

Buy Bets:
These bets can be made at any time and are very similar to Place Win bets. Again, they are generally 'off' (does not win or lose) during Come Out rolls. This bet wins if the number wagered on is hit before the shooter rolls a 7, and loses otherwise.
Payouts vary depending on the number wagered on, 4 or 10 pays 2:1, 5 or 9 pays 3:2, and 6 or 8 pays 6:5 - however the house charges an additional 5% commission on winning bets.

Lay Bets:
These bets can be made at any time and are the opposite of Buy Bets, winning if a 7 is rolled before the number being wagered on and losing otherwise.
Payouts vary depending on the number wagered on, 4 or 10 pays 1:2, 5 or 9 pays 2:3, and 6 or 8 pays 5:6 - however the house charges an additional 5% commission on winning bets.

Big 6 Bets:
These can be made at any time, and win if a 6 is rolled before a 7. They pay even money.

Big 8 Bets:
These can be made at any time, and win if an 8 is rolled before a 7. They pay even money.

Hardway 4 or Hardway 10 Bets:
These are two distinct bets that can be made at any time, but pay and work the same. The bet wins when the shooter rolls a 2,2 (for Hardway 4 bets) or a 5,5 for (Hardway 10), and lose when a 7 is rolled before that outcome.
Either bet pays 7:1.

Hardway 6 or Hardway 8 Bets:
These are two distinct bets that can be made at any time, but pay and work the same. The bet wins when the shooter rolls a 3,3 (for Hardway 6 bets) or a 4,4 for (Hardway 8), and lose when a 7 is rolled before that outcome.
Either bet pays 9:1.

Single Roll Bets

Field Bets:
These can be placed at any time, and win if the next roll is a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12, losing if a 5, 6, 7 or 8 hit. Win or lose, the bet lasts just the one roll (as do the bets below.) Winning bets pay even money on all but 2 or 12, which usually pay 2:1.

Any Seven Bets:
These can be placed at any time, and win if the next roll is a 7, losing if any other number is rolled. Wins are paid at 4:1.

Any Craps Bets:
These can be placed at any time, and win if the next roll is a 2, 3 or 12, losing if any other number is rolled. Wins are paid at 7:1.

Horn 2 Bets:
These can be placed at any time, and win if the next roll is a 2, losing if any other number is rolled. Wins are paid at 30:1.

Horn 12 Bets:
These can be placed at any time, and win if the next roll is a 12, losing if any other number is rolled. Wins are paid at 30:1.

Horn 3 Bets:
These can be placed at any time, and win if the next roll is a 3, losing if any other number is rolled. Wins are paid at 15:1.

Horn 11 Bets:
These can be placed at any time, and win if the next roll is an 11, losing if any other number is rolled. Wins are paid at 15:1.

If you're more of a hands on learner check out our Craps trainer below. Click on the question mark at the bottom and you'll get more information on every bet while you play.

Craps Strategy:

While like all casino games the odds ultimately favor the house, craps is a game in which the player odds are actually quite good so long as they choose the right betting options.

To preface, it's a good idea to understand the odds of the game are based around the likelihood of any given dice total coming up. With two 6 sided dice the combination will always be between 2 and 12, but some totals are much more likely than others with the 36 possible die combinations. The least likely number combinations total 2 (1,1) and 12 (6,6). The most likely total is 7 which can be made 6 different ways (1,6), (2,5), (3,4), (4,3), (5,2) and (6,1). All other possible totals can be made with more than 1 combination of the dice, but less than 6 combinations.

With that said and without getting too deep into the mathematics, here are some of your best bets at the craps table:

Simple/Basic Bets

While these aren't the most exciting bets on the table, they're easy to understand and have some of the best odds for the player:

Pass Line Bets / Come Bets
Both of these bets have identical odds. For either option:

On the come-out roll the odds favor the shooter. They have a better chance of rolling a 7 or 11 than a 2, 3 or 12 (22.2% chance of a 7 or 11 versus an 11.1% chance to roll a 2, 3 or 12.)
If the come-out roll results in a Point being set, the odds of winning go down. The shooter is always more likely to roll a seven than the Point number, and with these bets these are the only numbers that we need to worry about. (8% to 14% percent chance to hit the Point depending on the number, versus a 16.7% chance to roll a 7 at any time.)

Don't Pass Bets / Don't Come Bets
Both of these bets also have the same odds and are basically the opposite of the aforementioned pass line/come bets. For either option:

On the come-out roll the odds favor the shooter. They have a better chance of rolling a 7 or 11 than a 2 or 3, (12 is considered a tie for these bets) so your chances of winning are lower (8.3% for a 2 or 3 vs. 22.2% for a 7 or 11.)
If the come-out roll results in a Point being set, the odds of winning this bet go up. The shooter is still more likely to roll a seven than the Point number, and these are the only numbers that we care about for this bet. (16.7% chance to roll a seven versus 8% to 14% to roll the Point depending on what it is.)

Odds Bets

While often neglected by new craps players, odds bets are actually some of the best options on the table with very little house advantage. There are a few different options:

Pass Line Odds Bets / Come Bet Odds Bets
This bet can only be made after a Point has been set and with a standing Pass Line bet, and the odds of rolling a 7 before hitting the point are still not in favor of the bet. However, unlike a regular pass line bet, the payouts are higher for winning bets placed here - from 6:5 all the way up to 2:1 depending on what number the point is (the less likely the total is, the more it pays.)

Don't Pass Odds Bets / Don't Come Odds Bet
Again this bet can only be made after a Point has been set and with a standing Don't Pass bet, but this time the odds of rolling a 7 before hitting the point are in favor of the bet so the payouts are lowered - from 1:2 up to 5:6 depending on what number the point is and the odds of it being rolled. While the lowered payouts steer some people away from the bet, the payouts are in sync with the odds.

Place Win Bets
Statistically these pay less on average than those mentioned above, but still see a fair bit of play. You can make this bet at any time, but it does not count during the come out roll (a Point must first be set.)

Payouts vary depending on which number you wager on:

Place Win 4 and 10 bets pay 9 to 5, and have about an 8.3% chance of being rolled compared to 16.7% for a 7.
Place Win 5 and 9 bets pay 7 to 5, and have about an 11.1% chance of being rolled compared to 16.7% for a 7.
Place Win 6 and 8 bets pay 6 to 8, and have about an 13.9% chance of being rolled compared to 16.7% for a 7.

Place win 6 and 8 bets are more likely to come up than the other options, but don't even pay even money though they're less likely to come up than a 7 on any given roll. Can be fun to play, but not the best odds.

Other Bets

There's still plenty of betting options left on the table, but most don't pay out as well on average as what's been mentioned above.

Buy Bets
These have the same odds of winning as the Place Win bets mentioned above, and do actually pay a little more - but they also have a 5% 'commission' that gets removed on wins more or less balancing them out. They can be placed at any time but do not count until a point is set.

Buy 4 and 10 bets pay 2 to 1 (minus a 5% commission), and have about an 8.3% chance of being rolled compared to 16.7% for a 7.
Buy 5 and 9 bets pay 3 to 2 (minus a 5% commission), and have about an 11.1% chance of being rolled compared to 16.7% for a 7.
Buy 6 and 8 bets pay 6 to 5 (minus a 5% commission), and have about an 13.9% chance of being rolled compared to 16.7% for a 7.

Lay Bets
These are basically the opposite of Buy Bets, but once again have a 5% 'commission' that gets removed on wins. They can be placed at any time.

Lay 4 and 10 bets pay 1 to 2 (minus a 5% commission), and have about an 8.3% chance of being rolled compared to 16.7% for a 7.
Lay 5 and 9 bets pay 2 to 3 (minus a 5% commission), and have about an 11.1% chance of being rolled compared to 16.7% for a 7.
Lay 6 and 8 bets pay 5 to 6 (minus a 5% commission), and have about an 13.9% chance of being rolled compared to 16.7% for a 7.

Big Six or Big Eight Bets
Both a dice total of 6 or 8 can be rolled with 5 different dice combinations, but a 7 can be rolled with 6 different ones making it more likely. As the bet only pays even money, the odds aren't good on these options.

Hardway Four or Hardway Ten Bets
A 'hard' four is rolling a 2,2, a hard 10 is rolling a 5,5. Statistically you have about a 1 in 9 chance of hitting either before a 7 is rolled, but the payout for either is just 7 to 1. Not a good bet.

Hardway Six or Hardway Eight Bets
A 'hard' six is rolling a 3,3, a hard 10 is rolling a 4,4. Statistically you have about a 1 in 11 chance of hitting either before a 7 is rolled, but the payout for either is just 9 to 1. Not a good bet.

One Roll Bets

Certain bets either win or lose immediately after each roll regardless of what was rolled. These 'one roll bets' might seem tempting, but have some of the worst odds on the table.

Field Bets
Field bets are actually fairly popular since there's a lot of opportunities to win, 7 die totals will win versus just 4 to lose. Unfortunately, these totals are the harder ones to hit, representing only 16 of 36 potential combinations for a 44.4% chance. As the bet pays even money on everything but a 2 or 12, the house has a pretty good advantage on this one.

Any Seven Bets
Sure - 7 is the most likely number to be rolled, but there's still only 6 out of 36 combinations that will roll it. With a 4 to 1 payout and a 1 in 6 chance of hitting it on any given roll, it's not a good bet.

Any Craps Bets
With 4 possible winning combinations and 32 combinations to lose, a 7 to 1 payout is definitely not a good bet statistically.

Horn Two or Horn Twelve Bets
Either bet can only be won with one of 36 possible combinations (a 1,1, or a 6,6 respectively) but the payout is only 30 to 1. It's an exciting bet because of the potential payoff, but the 30 to 1 gives the house a huge advantage.

Horn Three or Horn Eleven Bets
Either bet can only be won with two of 36 possible combinations but the payout is only 15 to 1. Again - an exciting bet because of the potential payoff, but the 15 to 1 gives the house a huge advantage when you have 1 in 18 odds of hitting it.

To summarize, the only real strategy to employ in craps is to stick to the bets with the best player odds and hope for the best.