How to Play Craps
Craps moves quickly: players wager on the result of a dice roll or a succession of rolls. As with most casino games, chance determines the result, and no particular skill or strategy is required to win.
Craps is often highlighted for a low house edge of 1.41%, which is presented as giving a player a stronger chance of finishing ahead. That figure is not a promise of a winning session.
The Rules
At a land-based casino, craps is played against the house, with up to 12 to 16 people able to join at once. The table uses a broad felt layout surrounded by high rails; these let players bounce the dice while keeping them in bounds. Online versions generally recreate that appearance and format, but replace physical dice with a virtual pair.
A round starts when the shooter places a wager above the table minimum on either the Pass Line or the Don’t Pass Line. The shooter throws two standard dice, each with six sides numbered one to six. The combined number of spots facing upward is the roll. Craps is normally played through a series of rolls rather than a single throw.
The first throw is called the “come-out roll.” A total of 2, 3, or 12 is called “craps.” If craps appears on that come-out roll, the game ends. In addition, if the first roll is a 7 or 11, the game ends as well. Every round has two phases—come out and point—and a payout can follow an individual roll or, in some situations, several rolls.
Game Play
The first throw, or come-out roll, is easy to follow and can produce one of three possible results:
- A total of 2, 3, or 12 is “crapping out,” a losing result. The shooter and other players may wager on it, but that outcome ends the shooter’s turn.
- A total of 7 or 11 is a win, and the player may continue shooting.
- Any other total establishes a point. The shooter keeps rolling until that point is repeated or a total of 7 appears. Repeating the point wins; rolling a 7 before the point loses.
Learn the available wagers before starting. Although bets can be placed at any time, the start of a new shooter’s turn is generally described as the best time to act. Common craps bets include:
Pass Line Bet
The Pass Line is craps’ basic wager. On the first roll, a total of 7 or 11 wins, while 2, 3, or 12 loses. Once a point of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 is established, that number must appear again before a 7 for the bet to win. A 7 before the point loses.
Don’t Pass Line
This wager reverses the Pass Line: you take the opposite side of the shooter and want a 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll so the shooter “crap out.” If the come-out roll establishes a point, you want a 7 before that point.
Come Bet
A Come bet follows the same basic rules as a Pass Line bet, but it can be made only once the point is established. Put the intended chips in the table’s Come area. Once placed, the next dice roll serves as the Come-out roll for that Come bet.
Don’t Come Bet
A Don’t Come bet reverses a Come bet. After the point is established, a total of 2 or 3 wins, while 7 or 11 loses. A 12 is a tie. Every other roll wins when a 7 appears before that number on later throws.
Odds Bet
When the shooter establishes a point on the come-out roll, a player with a Pass Line bet may “take the odds.” This is widely described as the best craps wager because the house has no built-in advantage. A single odds bet is an additional wager, limited to the amount of the original bet, that the point will repeat before a 7.
Field Bets
A field bet is settled on one dice roll. The player wins when the total is 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12, and loses on 5, 6, 7, or 8. The payout varies: a 2 pays double (2:1), a 12 pays 3:1, and every other winning total pays even (1:1).
Proposition Bets
Proposition bets may be made at any time. Except for hardways, they are single-roll wagers. They include:
- Craps: A throw of 2, 3, or 12 wins, with an 8:1 payoff.
- Seven: A throw of 7 wins, with a 5:1 payoff.
- Eleven: A throw of 11 wins, paying 16:1.
- Horn Bet: A throw of 2, 3, 11, or 12 wins; the number rolled determines the payoff.
- Ace Deuce: A throw of 3 wins, with a 16:1 payoff.
- Boxcars or Aces: A throw of 2 or 12 wins, with a 30:1 payoff.
Getting Started
Only a few leading online casino software providers have released popular craps games, including leading providers such as Microgaming, NetEnt, and Playtech.
There are many reasons players are drawn to online craps. Minimum bets are often much lower than at online casinos, and games may be available around the clock. In addition, there are plenty of free online craps games for practising before staking real money. After learning the rules, players may find craps exciting, although practice does not remove the risk of loss.
