Craps is the dice game, and has a low house edge — as low as 0.02%, depending on the odds offered by the casino. (That’s two-hundredths of one percent, not two percent!) Even if you can’t find a 0.02% game, the typical casino will offer a 0.6% game (meaning an expected return of 99.4%). More on this later.
Craps is an exciting game with the players yelling and screaming. Also, it’s unique in that the players roll the dice, so they in effect are determining whether they win or lose — unlike other table games in which you have no control over the cards dealt to you.
There are a gazillion different bets you can make in Craps, and covering them all would take a small book. But fortunately, that’s not necessary, because only a couple of bets in Craps have a low house edge. The rest are sucker bets with a high house edge, so we’ll ignore those completely.
Craps can be confusing to learn, even just the basic bets (which is why Craps is suitable for parody). If I may, I’d like to brag a little by saying that I’ve read many Craps tutorials, and I think what follows below is among the easiest to understand, so I really think you’ve come to the right place.
The best way to learn is to print out the picture below, and follow along with the examples below by moving the chips and a marker around on the printout. Once you’ve learned the rules, you can use an online สล็อต 168bet Craps simulator.
Rolling the Dice
Each player takes turns rolling the dice. The player who’s rolling is called the shooter. Everyone bets on the the same roll of the dice, whether they’re the shooter or not. The first roll of a sequence is called a Come-Out Roll. The shooter keeps rolling until he loses, and then the next player gets to roll.
Pass Line Bet
The basic bet is a Pass Line bet, and pays even money. (Place your bet on the area of the table marked Pass Line. Refer to the layout picture.) If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, you win. If the shooter rolls 2, 3, or 12 (craps), you lose. If the shooter rolls any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), that number becomes the point, and a marker is placed on that number. (In the picture, the marker is flipped upside down to the OFF position.) Once the point is established, you win if the point number is rolled again, and you lose if a seven is rolled before the point is rolled again (sevening out). The Pass Line bet has a house edge of 1.4%.
Whoa, that’s a mouthful, so here’s a summary of the Pass Line:
You Win if the Come Out roll is 7 or 11, or if the Point is repeated before a 7.
You Lose if the Come Out roll is 2, 3, or 12, or if a 7 is rolled before the point is repeated.
Still confused? Then here’s a sample game. Assume you place another Pass Line bet every time you lose.
- Roll= 7 — You win!
- Roll= 12 — You lose. (dice pass to the next shooter)
- Roll= 11 — You win.
- Roll= 4 — Point is established. Marker is moved onto the 4. You win if a 4 is rolled again before a 7.
- Roll= 6 — No effect.
- Roll= 3 — No effect.
- Roll= 10 — No effect.
- Roll= 4 — You win! End of round. Marker is moved back to the side. Now another Come Out roll happens, with the same Shooter.
- Roll= 3 — You lose. Dice pass to the next shooter.
- Roll= 7 — You win.
- Roll= 8 — Point is set. Marker is moved onto the 8. You win if an 8 is rolled again before a 7.
- Roll= 4 — No effect.
- Roll= 6 — No effect.
- Roll= 7 — You lose. End of round. Marker is moved back to the side. Dice pass to the next shooter.
Once a Point has been made, dice totals other than 7 are called numbers. When someone is throwing numbers, that means they’re on a roll, since they’re making lots of throws without hitting the 7.
Making Odds Bets
You can reduce the house edge by placing Odds Bets. Odds bets have zero house edge! But you can only place them after placing a Pass Line bet. Basically, the Odds bet dilutes the house edge of the Pass Line bet. Before we talk about about exactly how much Odds bets reduce the house edge, let’s discuss how to make them.
You can make an Odds bet only after a Point has been made. After a Point has been made, place your Odds Bet below your Pass Line bet. (That is, due South of your Pass Line bet in 2D, not under your Pass Line chip(s) in 3D.) The Odds bet is tied to the Pass Line; if you win your Pass Line bet, you also win the Odds bet. If you lose the Pass Line, you lose both.
Since Odds Bets reduce the house edge, you want your Odds bet to be as big as possible. In a single odds game, your Odds Bet can be as much as your Pass Line bet. In a double odds game, your Odds Bet can be twice as much as your Pass Line bet. Some casinos offer 5x, 10, or even 100x odds. The higher the odds, the smaller the house edge. (More on that later.)
Here’s how a sequence might play out:
- Roll= 7 — You win!
- Roll= 12 — You lose. (dice pass to the next shooter)
- Roll= 11 — You win.
- Roll= 4 — Point is set. Marker is moved onto the 4. You place your Odds bet under your Pass Line bet. You win both bets if a 4 is rolled again before a 7.
- Roll= 6 — No effect.
- Roll= 3 — No effect.
- Roll= 10 — No effect.
- Roll= 4 — You win both bets! End of round. Marker is moved back to the side. Now another Come Out roll happens, same Shooter.
- Roll= 3 — You lose. (dice pass to the next shooter)
- Roll= 7 — You win.
- Roll= 8 — Point is set. Marker is placed on the 8. You place your Odds bet under your Pass Line bet. You win both bets if an 8 is rolled again before a 7.
- Roll= 4 — No effect.
- Roll= 6 — No effect.
- Roll= 7 — You lose both bets. End of round. Marker is moved back to the side. Dice pass to the next shooter.
House Edge for Odds offered
All Craps games have at least Single (1x) odds. The casino decides whether they want to offer more odds at their tables or not. In general, the lower the minimum Pass Line bet, the lower the Odds the casino will give you. In Vegas, expect only single odds on a $0.25 game, and perhaps 10x odds in o $2 game, though we’ve seen Odds as high as 100x. (See our list of casino Craps minimums and Odds offered.) Here’s the house edge on Pass Line bets depending on the Odds offered, assuming you make full Odds bets:
No odds (pass line only)
1.41%
1x odds
0.85%
2x odds
0.61%
5x odds
0.32%
10x odds
0.18%
100x odds
0.02%
Therefore, to have the best chance of winning, you want to play at a casino that offers the highest odds, and make full odds bets every time. Unless you’re wealthy, this means you’ll want your Pass Line bets to be as small as possible. If you’re playing a 100x Odds game, if your Pass Line bet is $2, your odds bet is $200! (And $2 is about as small a minimum bet as you’re likely to find for a 100x Odds game. There are Craps games for as low as $0.25 in downtown Vegas, but they usually offer only single [1x] odds.) In Craps you can either win or lose a lot of money very quickly, and that’s especially true in games with high Odds.
By the way, you’ll generally make about 30 Pass Line bets per hour, which is handy to know if you’re trying to calculate your expected loss for a Craps session.
Odds Bets pay True Odds
The Pass Line pays even money (you win the amount that you bet), but the Odds Bets pay more, according to how hard it is to hit the point number. For example, let’s say the Point is 4. It’s harder to roll a 4 than a 7, because there are six ways to roll a 7 but only three ways to roll a 4. The odds are 2 to 1 against your rolling another 4 before a 7 comes up, and if you do roll that 4, then you’re paid 2 to 1. That means if your Odds bet was $5, you win $10 (i.e., twice as much as your Odds bet).
Here’s another example: You’re playing a 5x Odds game. You bet $3 on the Pass Line. The shooter rolls a 4, which becomes the point. You then place a full Odds bet of $15 (5x $3). The shooter rolls another 4, so you win both bets. You’re paid even money on the Pass Line bet, so you get $3 for that. But you’re paid 2 to 1 on your Odds bet, so your Odds bet wins $30.
Here’s how it plays out for the different points:
Point to roll
Payout
4 or 10
2 to 1 (e.g., $20 bet wins $40)
5 or 9
3 to 2 (e.g., $20 bet wins $30)
6 or 8
6 to 5 (e.g., $20 bet wins $24)
Don’t confuse this with the degree of Odds offered, like 1x, 2x, 10x — this is completely different. 10x Odds refers to how much you’re allowed to wager on an Odds bet, relative to how much you already put on the Pass Line. The 2 to 1, 3 to 2 payouts refer to how much you’ll be paid for your Odds bet.
Come Bet
So we’ve covered the Pass Line and the Odds bets. There’s one more set of bets you’ll want to make: the Come Bet and the Odds Bet that goes with it.
Once a point is established (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), you can make a Come Bet by placing your bet in the area marked COME. (See the picture.) At that point, the Come bet works similar to the Pass Line bet: You win the Come bet if a 7 or 11 is rolled, and lose if a 2, 3, or 12 is rolled. If any other number is rolled, you’ve established a Come Point, and your bet is moved to that number to mark it. (So then there will be two points: the Point with the On/Off marker that will win for you Pass Line bet, and the Come point that will win for you Come bet.)
Here’s a summary of the Come Bet:
You can place a Come Bet only after a Point is made on a Come Out roll.
You Win if the next roll is 7 or 11, or if the Come Point is repeated before a 7.
You Lose if the next roll is 2, 3, or 12, or if a 7 is rolled before the Come Point is repeated.
Just like you can back your Pass Line bet with an Odds bet, you can back your Come Bet with an Odds bet. Just as with the Pass Line bet, you just have to wait for a Come Point to be made before you make your Odds bet.
This is where people usually start getting confused, so let’s go through a sequence. Use your printout of the picture above and some “chips” and a marker to follow along. Assume that you’ll play according to the following strategy:
Always make a Pass Line bet. (Make a new one when you lose one.)
When a Point is made, make the maximum Odds bet allowed on the Pass Line.
When a Point is made, make Come Bets until you have one Come Point established.
When a Come Point is made, make the maximum Odds bet allowed.
- Roll= 7 — You win!
- Roll= 12 — You lose. (dice pass to the next shooter)
- Roll= 11 — You win.
- Roll= 4 — Point is set. Marker is moved onto the 4. You place your Odds bet under your Pass Line bet. You’ll win both bets if a 4 is rolled again before a 7. You also place a Come bet.
- Roll= 6 — Come Point is made. Come Bet is moved onto the six.
- Roll= 3 — No effect.
- Roll= 10 — No effect.
- Roll= 6 — No effect.
- Roll= 7 — You lose your Pass Line bet and the Odds bet that went with it. But you win your Come bet, because 7 or 11 wins a Come Bet before a Come Point is made. (See how sometimes you can win and lose on the same roll?) Marker is moved back to the side. You make a new Pass Line bet. You can’t make another Come Bet until a new Point is made. The dice are passed to the next player.
- Roll= 8 — Point is set. Marker is moved onto the 8. You make an Odds Bet on the Pass Line. You’ll win both bets if an 8 is made again before a 7. You also make a Come Bet.
- Roll= 5 — Becomes the Come Point. The Come bet (i.e., the chip/s) is moved onto the 5. The point on your Pass Line Bet is 8, and the Point on your Come Bet is 5. You make an Odds Bet on your Come Bet.
- Roll= 10 — No effect.
- Roll= 6 — No effect.
- Roll= 11 — No effect.
- Roll= 5 — You win your Come Bet and the Odds Bet that went with it. The original bets and your winnings are moved to the Come area. You’re still waiting for that 8 on your Pass Line bet. You make another Come Bet.
- Roll= 11 — You win your Come Bet. You place another Come Bet.
- Roll= 3 — You lose your Come Bet. You place another Come Bet.
- Roll= 10 — Becomes the Come Point. Your Come Bet is moved onto the 10.
- ll= 5 — No effect.
- Roll= 3 — No effect.
- Roll= 9– No effect.
- Roll= 8 — You win your Pass Line bet and the Odds bet that went with it. Marker is moved back to the side. You make a new Pass Line Bet.
- Roll= 11 — You win your Pass Line bet. You make another Pass Line bet.
- Roll= 4 — Point is set. Marker is moved onto the 4. You make an Odds Bet on the Pass Line. You already have a Come Point established from way back when, so you don’t make another Come Bet.
- Roll= 5 — No effect.
- Roll= 3 — No effect.
- Roll= 9– No effect.
- Roll= 8 — No effect.
- Roll= 7 — You lose all four bets — the Pass Line bet, the Come bet, and the Odds bets that went with them. Marker is moved back to the side. The dice pass to the next shooter.
Note that you don’t have to make a Come Bet; you can make just Pass Line bets if you want. But since you could be waiting a long time to find out whether you win or lose, making a Come Bet makes things a little more lively.
Note also that you don’t have to stop with at just two points established; you could keep placing Come Bets and establishing new Come Points, but you then have the potential to lose money a lot faster. Here’s how that might work. Assume you’ve started out by placing a Pass Line bet. And to keep it simple, we won’t make odds bets.
- Roll= 6 — Point is established. You make a Come Bet
- Roll= 10 — Come Point is established. You make another Come Bet.
- Roll= 4 — Second Come Point is established. You make another Come Bet.
- Roll= 9 — Third Come Point is established. You make another Come Bet.
- Roll= 5 — Fourth Come Point is established. You make another Come Bet.
- Roll= 4 — You win on the 2nd Come Point. You place another Come Bet
- Roll= 8 — Yet another Come Point is established.
- Roll= 7 — You lose all bets on the table — your Pass Line bet and the four Come bets!
One final thing about Odds bets: Odds are normally “Off” on a Come-Out roll. Let’s say you had two points established backed with Odds bets, and you won your Pass Line bet, so the shooter is going to have another Come-Out roll. At this point your Come Bet and its Odds Bet are still on the board. But on a Come-Out roll, Odds are automatically “Off”, meaning you won’t win the Odds Bet if the Come Point is rolled before a regular Point is established. You can tell the dealer that you want your Odds bets working on the Come-Out roll before the shooter rolls the dice.
Don’t Pass, Don’t Come
(kinda reminds you of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, huh?)
There’s lots more to Craps, but everything you need to know has already been covered above. It’s completely unnecessary to learn any more. If you want to stop reading now, there’s no harm in doing so — you’ve earned it. But if you have an interest in learning a couple more bets, we’ll cover them now. Realize that learning these extra bets won’t make any significant impact on your chances of winning, though. (If it made a difference, this section would be mandatory, not optional.) In any event, if you don’t clearly understand the material that’s already been covered, then go back and learn that material well before you even think about reading this section. What’s already been covered is a lot more important than what’s about to be covered.
Okay, so you know how to make a basic Pass Line bet. Instead, you could bet the opposite, the Don’t Pass line. On this bet, you lose if a 7 or 11 is thrown, and you win if a 2 or 3 is thrown. (12 has no effect if you’re betting Don’t Pass.) If a Point is made, then you win if a 7 destroys the point, and you lose if the point is made before another 7 is thrown.
There’s also the Don’t Come bet. After a point is made, a Don’t Come bet loses on a 7 or 11 and wins on a 2 or 3. If a point is made, then Don’t Come loses if the point is repeated and wins if a 7 kills the point.
You can make Odds bets on both Don’t Pass and Don’t Come, only in this case it’s backwards: For example, instead of being paid 2 to 1 when a 7 kills a point of 4 or 10, you’re paid 1 to 2. That means that a $10 Odds bet wins $5 (giving you $15 total on the Odds bet, since you keep your original bet). You also get paid on your original Don’t Come bet, whatever that was.
Most players will bet Pass/Come instead of Don’t Pass/Don’t Come. Someone who bets Don’t Pass/Don’t Come is called a “Wrong Bettor”. That doesn’t mean they’re betting incorrectly, it just means they’re betting contrary to the way most people at the table are betting. As a Don’t Pass/Don’t Come player, you’ll be losing when everyone else is winning, and winning when everyone else is losing — and the other players may be hostile towards you as a result of the latter. At the very best, there won’t be any comraderie.
So why would you bet Don’t Pass/Don’t Come? Well, in fact there’s no need to. (Remember how I begged you to believe me that this section was optional?) You can be a fine Craps player without ever betting the Don’t side.
Technically, the Don’t side has a very slighter smaller house edge than the normal bets, but it’s such a small not worth worrying about — especially for the heat you’ll take from the other players for being a “wrong bettor”. But for inquiring minds, here’s the house edge for Pass Line+Odds compared to Don’t Pass+Odds (rounded)
Figures taken from The Wizard of Odds, then rounded
House Edge on Pass Line + Odds together
House Edge on Don’t Pass + Odds together
No odds
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%
Let’s put this into perspective: Let’s say you’re playing 16 hours, $5 basic bet, Double Odds, at a rate of 30 Come Out rolls per hour. Your expected loss from betting on the Pass Line is $43.92, compared to $33.12 from betting Don’t Pass instead.
Whether you’re betting Pass or Don’t Pass, make sure you calculate your Expected Loss before you start playing.
Craps Superstitions
Many Craps players are superstitious, so you have to avoid doing anything they think is bad luck, otherwise they’ll get mad at you and blame you if they start losing. Here’s what to watch out for:
Never say the word “seven” once a Point has been made. Crappers think that saying “seven” somehow makes it more likely that a seven will be thrown. They commonly refer to seven simply as “it”. (e.g., “I hope he doesn’t roll it.”)
Don’t hit anyone’s money with the dice when you roll. Crappers think this will induce a seven and kill any points that have been set.
If you’re a man and you’ve never played before, don’t mention that fact. New male Craps players are supposedly unlucky and will seven-out quickly.
On the other hand, if you’re a woman, you should definitely mention your newness to the game. Craps “virgins” are considered to be extremely lucky and are expected to throw numbers (i.e., make points instead of sevening-out) for a long time. Upon mentioning that you’ve never played before, you may see the players start suddenly wagering all kinds of money on the table! If it’s that kind of table, you could probably easily get players to make some bets for you, if they haven’t already offered. Of course, if you have played before, you could always say you haven’t, just to see the fascinating human spectacle.
Practice Online
While you can get a general understanding of the rules from the lesson above, you really won’t get a feel for the game until you’ve played it a few times. Try a free online Craps simulator, like the one from Venetian-Resort.com. It’s beautifully done, and lets you play with 2x Odds.
Closing
You may see ads for Craps Systems on the Internet or in magazines that purport to show you how to win at Craps. They’re all junk. (Like this one, which was debunked here.) There is no way to overcome the house edge and win consistently over the long run. If these systems really worked, the authors would be living on an island with their millions rather than being eager to get your $24.95 plus shipping. And the casinos would have gone bust long ago (or discovered the flaw in the game, and changed the rules to close the loophole). There are plenty of legitimate books that can teach you how to play, how to use good strategy, and how to not get in over your head, but the reputable ones won’t promise that you’ll be a consistent winner.
