Craps is one of the most exciting casino games. It is common to hear yelling and shouting at a craps table. It is played on a purpose-built table and two dice are used. The dice are made after very strict standards and are routinely inspected for any damage. As a matter of course, the dice are replaced with new ones after about eight hours of use, and casinos have implemented rules in the way a player handles them.

The player must handle the dice with one hand only when throwing and the dice must hit the walls on the opposite end of the table. In the event that one or both dice are thrown off the table, they must be inspected (usually by the stickman) before putting them back into play.

The craps table can accommodate up to about 20 players, who each get a round of throws or at 'shooting' the dice. If you don't want to throw the dice, you can bet on the thrower. Several types of bets can be made on the table action. The casino crew consist of a stickman, boxman and two dealers.

The first roll of the dice in a betting round is called the Come Out roll - a new game in Craps begins with the Come Out roll. A Come Out roll can be made only when the previous shooter fails to make a winning roll, that is, fails to make the Point or seven out.

A new game then begins with a new shooter. If the current shooter does make his Point, the dice are returned to him and he then begins the new Come Out roll. This is a continuation of that shooter's roll, although technically, the Come Out roll identifies a new game about to begin.

When the shooter fails to make his or her Point, the dice are then offered to the next player for a new Come Out roll and the game continues in the same manner. The new shooter will be the person directly next to the left of the previous shooter - so the game moves in a clockwise fashion around the craps table.

The dice are rolled across the craps table layout. The layout is divided into three areas - two side areas separated by a center one. Each side area is the mirror reflection of the other and contains the following: Pass and Don't Pass line bets, Come and Don't Come bets, Odds bet, Place bets and Field bets. The center area is shared by both side areas and contains the Proposition bets.

Pass bets win when the come out roll is 7 or 11, while pass bets lose when the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12. Don't bets lose when the come out roll is 7 or 11, and don't bets win when the come out roll is 2 or 3. Don't bets tie when the come out roll is 12 (2 in some casinos; the 'Bar' roll on the layout indicates which roll is treated as a tie).

Below is a list of the various bets you can make at craps.

Pass Line Bet - You win if the first roll is a natural (7, 11) and lose if it is craps (2, 3, 12). If a point is rolled (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) it must be repeated before a 7 is thrown in order to win. If 7 is rolled before the point you lose.

Odds on Pass Line Bet - After a point is rolled you can make this additional bet by taking odds. There are different payoffs for each point. A point of 4 or 10 will pay you 2:1; 5 or 9 pays 3:2; 6 or 8 pays 6:5. You only win if the point is rolled again before a 7.

Come Bet - It has the same rules as the Pass Line bet. The difference consists in the fact you can make this bet only after the point on the pass line has been determined. After you place your bet the first dice roll will set the come point. You win if it is a natural (7, 11) and lose if it is craps (2, 3, 12). Other rolls will make you a winner if the come point is repeated before a 7 is rolled. If a 7 is rolled first you lose.

Odds on Come Bet - Exactly the same thing as the Odds on Pass Line bet except you take odds on the Come bet not the Pass Line bet.

Don't Pass Line Bet - This is the reversed Pass Line bet. If the first roll of a dice is a natural (7, 11) you lose and if it is a 2 or a 3 you win. A dice roll of 12 means you have a tie or push with the casino. If the roll is a point (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) a 7 must come out before that point is repeated to make you a winner. If the point is rolled again before the 7 you lose.

Don't Come Bet - The reversed Come Bet. After the come point has been established you win if it is a 2 or 3 and lose for 7 or 11. 12 is a tie and other dice rolls will make you win only if a 7 appears before them on the following throws.

Place Bets - This bet works only after the point has been determined. You can bet on a dice roll of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. You win if the number you placed your bet on is rolled before a 7. Otherwise you lose. The Place Bets payoffs are different depending on the number you bet on. 4 or 10 will pay 9:5; 5 or 9 pays 7:5, and 6 or 8 pays 7:6. You can cancel this bet anytime you want to.

Field Bets - These bets are for one dice roll only. If a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12 is rolled you win. A 5, 6, 7 and 8 make you lose. Field Bets have the following different payoffs: 2 pays double (2:1) while 12 pays 3:1. Other winning dice rolls pays even (1:1).

Big Six, Big Eight Bets - Placed at any roll of dice these bets win if a 6 or 8 comes out before a 7 is rolled. Big Six and Big Eight are even bets and are paid at 1:1.

Proposition Bets - These bets can be made at any time and, except for the hardways, they are all one roll bets:

Any Craps: Wins if a 2, 3 or 12 is thrown. Payoff 8:1

Any Seven: Wins if a 7 is rolled. Payoff 5:1

Eleven: Wins if a 11 is thrown. Payoff 16:1

Ace Duece: Wins if a 3 is rolled. Payoff 16:1

Aces or Boxcars: Wins if a 2 or 12 is thrown. Payoff 30:1

Horn Bet: it acts as the bets on 2, 3, 11 and 12 all at once. Wins if one of these numbers is rolled. Payoff is determined according to the number rolled. The other three bets are lost.

Hardways The bet on a hardway number wins if it's thrown hard (sum of pairs: 1-1, 3-3, 4-4...) before it's rolled easy and a 7 is thrown. Payoffs: Hard 4 and 10, 8:1; Hard 6 and 8, 10:1

House advantage

2 - 17%

Craps Objective

The objective of Craps is to correctly predict the outcome of on a roll of two dices, the player is able to bet to win or for the dealer to win.

Dice Roll Outcomes

Below is a table of all the possible outcomes on 2 rolls of a dice.

Craps Table

Pass Line Bet

A 'Pass Line Bet' is a even money wager and the winning conditions are:

If the player is rolled a point on their first roll (known as a 'come out' roll), a point is established. In order to win the player must roll the same point number again before a 7 is rolled.

e.g. A player rolling 5, then 4, then 3, then 5 wins. Whereas a player rolling 6, then 11, then 7 loses.

This type of bet carries a 1.41% house advantage.

Don't Pass Line Bet

A 'Don't Pass Line Bet' is essentially the opposite of a 'Pass Line Bet' except a roll on 12 is counted as a tie.

If the player is rolled a point on their come out roll, a point is established. In the case of 'Don't Pass Line Bets' the player must roll a 7 in order to win before the same point number is rolled again.

e.g. A player rolling 5, then 7 wins. Whereas a player rolling 6, then 8, then 6 loses.

This type of bet carries a 1.36% house advantage.

Come Bet

A 'Come Bet' Can be made after a point is established. It is essentially another 'pass line bet', the player wins on the first roll with a natural (7, 11) and lose on craps (2, 3, 12). Any other number that is rolled is establishes a come point. The player wins on a 'Come Bet' if this number is rolled again before a 7. This type of bet carries a 1.41% house advantage and pays even money.

Don't Come Bets

A 'Don't Come Bet' can be made after a point is established. It is essentially another 'Don't Pass Line Bet', the player wins on the first roll with a craps (2, 7), lose on a natural (7, 11) and tie on 12. Any other number that is rolled is establishes a come point. The player wins on a 'Don't Come Bet' if a 7 is rolled before the come point. This type of bet carries a 1.36% house advantage and pays even money.

Place Bets

A 'Place Bet' can be made after a point is established (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10). It is a bet for or against the point number being rolled again before a 7.

If you bet for the point number it must be rolled in before a 7. Conversely if you bet against a point number, a 7 must be rolled in before the same point number is rolled in.

Big 6 and Big 8 Bets

A 'Big 6 Bet' is a bet that a 6 will be rolled in before a 7. A Big 8 bet is a bet that an 8 will be rolled in before a 7. Both of these bets pay even money however the house advantage for each of these bets is 9.09%.

These are sucker bets and should be avoided, players who want to bet on 6 or 8 numbers can do so with 'Place Bets' which get a better 7 to 6 payout (which lowers the house advantage to 1.52%).

Field Bet

A 'Field Bet' is a bet on the next roll being a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. Rolls of 2 or 12 have a 2 to 1 payout while the other pay even money. This type of bet carries a house advantage of 5.56%.

Hard Way Bets

A 'Hard Way Bet' is bet that a certain 'hard' combination will be rolled before a 7 or the equivalent 'easy' combination is rolled. e.g. a hard 6 is made by two 3's, where as an easy 6 is made by a 1 and 5 or a 2 and 4.

One Roll Bets

As the name suggests the results of these bets depend only on the outcome of the next roll.

Strategy

The key to Craps strategy is by sticking to:

'Pass Line' bets
'Don't Pass Line' bets
'Come' bets
'Don't Come' bets

This is because these type of bets carry the lowest house advantage, all other bets should be considered sucker bets and avoided.

Furthermore if the outcome if any of these four types of bets are not resolved in the following roll (i.e. a point is established) the player has the option of making a 'Supplementary' bet (also known as 'Odds' bet) which are paid at TRUE ODDS.

Supplementary Bet To: Payout
Pass Line/Come bets 1 to 2 (on 4 or 10)
2 to 3 (on 5 or 9)
5 to 6 (on 6 or 8)
Don't Pass Line/Don't Come bets 2 to 1 (on 4 or 10)
3 to 2 (on 5 or 9)
6 to 5 (on 6 or 8)

As 'Supplementary' bets are paid at true odds, this dilutes the house advantage. Consequently the more you make the lower the house advantage. Here are the effects on the house advantage:

Supplementary Bet (x initial bet) House Advantage on Pass Line/Come bets House Advantage on Don't Pass Line/Don't Come bets

0 (normal bet) 1.41% 1.36%
1x 0.85% 0.68%
2x 0.61% 0.46%
3x 0.47% 0.34%
5x 0.33% 0.23%
10x 0.18% 0.12%
100x 0.021% 0.014%