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How to play Craps - Rules

See also - How to play Craps | Craps Strategy | Best online Craps

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.

Dice Total Combinations Odds
2 1+1 2.78%
3 1+2, 2+1 5.56%
4 1+3, 2+2, 3+1 8.33%
5 1+4, 2+3, 3+2, 4+1 11.11%
6 1+5, 2+4, 3+3, 4+2, 5+1 13.89%
7 1+6, 2+5, 3+4, 4+3, 5+2, 6+1 16.67%
8 2+6, 3+5, 4+4, 5+3, 6+2 13.98%
9 3+6, 4+5, 5+4, 6+3 11.11%
10 4+6, 5+5, 6+4 8.33%
11 5+6, 6+5 5.56%
12 6+6 2.78%

Craps table

Click on any area of the Craps table for more information on a particular bet.

Craps table Read about 'Any Craps' bets Read about 'Any Craps' bets Read about 'One Roll' bets Read about 'One Roll' bets Read about 'Horn' bets Read about 'Horn' bets Read about 'Field' bets Read about 'Pass Line' bets Read about 'Don't Pass Line' bets Read about 'Big 6' and 'Big 8' bets Read about 'Any 7' bets Read about 'Hard Way' bets Read about 'Place' bets Read about 'Come' bets Read about 'Don't Come' bets Read about 'Hard Way' bets Read about 'Any 7' bets Read about 'Place' bets Read about 'Pass Line' bets Read about 'Don't Pass Line' bets Read about 'Don't Pass Line' bets Read about 'Big 6' and 'Big 8' bets Read about 'Field' bets Read about 'Come' bets Read about 'Don't Come' bets

Craps is often seen as an overly complex game due to many different types of bets the player can make however only four bets are worth knowing :

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

Once you understand these four bets we recommend that you go on into our Craps Strategy guide.

Pass line bets

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

Term Value Result Odds
Natural 7 or 11 Automatic win 22.23%
Craps 2, 3, 12 Automatic lose 11.11%
Point 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 Point established 66.67%

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.

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Don't pass line bets

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.

Term Value Result Odds
Craps 2 or 3 Automatic win 8.33%
Natural 7 or 11 Automatic lose 22.23%
Push 12

Tie

2.78%
Point 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 Point established 66.67%

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.

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Bets After The Point Is Established

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.

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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.

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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.

Numbers Bet Payout House Advantage
4 or 10 To Win 9 to 5 6.67%
4 or 10 To Lose 5 to 11 3.03%
5 or 9 To Win 7 to 5 4.00%
5 or 9 To Lose 5 to 8 2.50%
6 or 8 To Win 7 to 6 1.52%
6 or 8 To Lose 4 to 5 1.82%

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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%).

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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%.

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Proposition Bets


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.

Hard Bet Winning Roll Losing Rolls Payout House Advantage
Hard 4 2+2 7, easy 4 (3+1, 1+3) 7 to 1 11.11%
Hard 6 3+3 7, easy 6 (4+2, 2+4, 5+1, 1+5) 9 to 1 9.09%
Hard 8 4+4 7, easy 8 (5+3, 3+5, 6+2, 2+6) 9 to 1 9.09%
Hard 10 5+5 7, easy 10 (6+4, 4+6) 7 to 1 11.11%

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One Roll Bets

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

One Roll Bet Winning Numbers Payout House Advantage
Any Seven 7 4 to 1 16.67%
Any Craps 2, 3, 12 7 to 1 11.11%
Two 2 30 to 1 13.89%
Three 3 15 to 1 11.11%
Eleven 11 15 to 1 11.11%
Twelve 12 30 to 1 13.89%
Horn 2, 3, 11, 12

7 to 2 (for 3, 11)

15 to 2 (for 2, 12)

12.50%

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