Craps

Learning how to play craps isn’t as difficult as you might think. People are often steer away from playing the game because they think its too complex, but the only particularly complicated aspect is all the different types of bets that can be placed.

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You don’t actually need to learn all of them to start playing and you can just stick to the simplest ones if you like.

You do, however, need to understand how the game is played.

This article will help as we cover everything you need to know to play craps in a live casino or online.

We explain the main objective of the game, the craps table, the betting layout, and the basic rules. We also introduce the different types of bets.

Game Objective in Craps

The main objective in craps is really quite straightforward. Basically you are just betting on the outcome of the roll of two dice.

Craps is pure chance since you can’t affect the outcome in any way, but you do have the choice of several wagers. The majority of these wagers are ultimately based on what combination of dice will be rolled.

The goal in craps is therefore to try to correctly predict which numbers will come up on the next roll. This is, of course, guesswork, but it doesn’t stop the game being a lot of fun.

Craps is played on a specially-designed table that features a betting layout where players can place their wagers. In a live casino, a table would look something like this.

The dice are rolled on the table by one of the participating players, referred to as the shooter. Typically, a new player will become the shooter at the end of each round, although one player may remain as the shooter for several in a row.

Anyone at the table, including the shooter, can make wagers by placing their chips in the appropriate spot on the betting layout.

A craps table requires the attention of several casino employees. You’ll usually find the following people running a table.

The boxman is in charge of the chips at the table. He (or she) will exchange cash into chips for players and swap them for different denominations if required. He’s also responsible for supervising the dealers and generally ensuring that the game runs smoothly.

Craps

The stickman is in charge of the dice. He moves them around the table with the use of a stick (hence the name), passing them to the shooter at the start of each roll. He will also announce the outcome of each roll.

A craps table usually features two base dealers, one standing on either side. They are responsible for collecting losing bets and paying out winners. When requested to do so, they can also place certain bets on behalf of players.

The Craps Table (Online Casino)

The rules of craps are the same regardless of whether you are playing in a live setting or online. However, things are a lot simpler online. There’s no allocated shooter, as technically you are the shooter every time you play.

The diced are rolled automatically when you press the relevant button, and you place your bets by clicking in the appropriate place on the betting layout.

The following is an example of what an online craps table looks like:

Basic Rules

Each round in craps starts with what is known as the come-out roll. Most casinos will require that the shooter place a bet before making this roll on either the pass line or the don’t pass line.

If the combined value of the two dice on a come-out roll equals 2, 3, or 12, then this is “crapping out” and the round is over. Players will lose pass line bets and win don’t pass bets. If the come-out roll is 7 or 11, the round is also over.

Players win pass line bets and lose don’t pass bets.

Craps Strategy

If any other value is rolled on the come-out roll i.e. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, then a point is established, equal to the value rolled, and the round continues into the next stage.

The shooter continues to roll with players betting on the outcome of each, until they roll either a 7 or the point value that has been established.

Following a roll of either 7 or the point value, the round is over and a new come-out roll is required. It’s standard practice for the shooter to pass the dice to another player if a round ends with a 7, and to stay as shooter if the round ends with the point value being rolled.

This is essentially all there is to the basic rules of craps. What makes the game more complex are all the different bets that can be placed.

The following is a list of the different wagers you can place when playing craps.

  • Pass Line
  • Don’t Pass
  • Come
  • Don’t Come
  • Pass Line Odds
  • Don’t Pass Odds
  • Come Odds
  • Don’t Come Odds
  • Place Win
  • Place Lose
  • Buy
  • Lay
  • Big 6
  • Big 8
  • Hardways
  • Field
  • Any 7
  • Any 11
  • Any Craps
  • Ace Deuce
  • Aces
  • Boxcar

As you can see, there are numerous different bets in craps. Please don’t let this steer you away from playing the game as you really don’t need to learn them all.

They are pretty simple overall; it just takes a little time to familiarize yourself with each one.

You can read about all these bets in more detail here.

If you’re ready to put what you’ve learned here into action, you might want to consider trying out an online casino. You can play craps at most of the top online casinos that we recommend. If you want to play for real money, you’ll get a bonus for signing up and making your first deposit. And if you prefer to just play for fun, that’s an option at most places, too. Here are some of the online casinos we recommend playing at.

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You may have heard that casino craps offers some of the best odds in the entire house. So you may want to explore some of odds charts and probabilities of rolling combinations of certain numbers. Basically all of the odds are connected to the two dice that are thrown. These are also six sided dice used in many other games as well such as sic bo. Because there are 6 sides on each die, two dice gives you 36 possible outcomes when you roll the them and we'll explain the odds of rolling 7's and other numbers.

Dice Combination Odds

There are 11 possible outcomes but 36 possible combinations that add up to those outcomes. These range from 2 to 12. The lowest roll you can get is 2 (snake eyes) and the highest roll that you can make is 12 (box cars). Take a look at the craps dice combination chart below to see all the possible outcomes that can be rolled.

Total RollNumber of Possible OutcomesOddsPossible Combinations
2135 to 11:1
3217 to 11:2 , 2:1
4311 to 11:3 , 3:1 , 2:2
548 to 11:4 , 4:1 , 2:3 , 3:2
656.2 to 11:5 , 5:1 , 2:4 , 4:2 , 3:3
765 to 11:6 , 6:1 , 2:5 , 5:2 , 3:4 , 4:3
856.2 to 12:6 , 6:2 , 3:5 , 5:3 , 4:4
948 to 13:6 , 6:3 , 4:5 , 5:4
10311 to 14:6 , 6:4 , 5:5
11217 to 15:6 , 6:5
12135 to 16:6

Craps Table


Notice that there are 6 possible combinations of the dice that can make a total of 7. This is why the term 'lucky 7' is so famous in the gambling world. There is some craps strategy that needs to be planned out after knowing the probability of certain dice rolls. You can also visualize the dice roll combinations above as well. Check out the payout odds for each bet and free odds table for charts, house edge and odds percentages information.

Calculate Craps Odds and Probabilities

If you would like to calculate the odds of rolling a certain combination, just take the number of possible combinations of that roll and divide it by the total number of possible outcomes. For example, rolling a 7 has six combinations. Therefore 6 divided by 36 would be a 1 in 6 chance of rolling a seven. Alas, the odds of rolling a 2 or 12 would be 1 in 36. If you would like to find the percentage value of rolling these combinations, just use a calculator to divide the fraction 1/36 = 0.028 = 2.8%. The probability of rolling a 7 would be 6/36 = 1/6 = 0.167 = 16.7%!

Another way of thinking about the craps game is thinking that since there is a 1 in 6 chance that a 7 will be rolled, there is a 5 in 6 chance that a 7 will not be rolled. So betting on a point number in this case or betting for the shooter to not roll a 7 is a great bet as 5 out of 6 rolls will not be a lucky seven.

Craps table

House Edge Craps Odds

True odds are defined to be the fair odds where the player and the house have equal odds. When the player has true odds, this means the house has a 0% edge and the edge is eliminated. Usually the house always has an edge, which is calculated to be the difference between what odds the house pays out and the true odds. For instance, when a player rolls a 12, the odds should be paid out 35 to 1 according to the probability charts above. This is actually the true odds.

If the casino pays less than $35 for every $1 bet when a player rolls a 12, then the house would be making a profit in the long run since it's not paying true odds. This would be an example of the house edge, which almost always happens in every game in the casino because a casino is a business that eventually takes in a profit. Craps is one of the only games around where the house edge can be eliminated. By knowing the true odds and all the combination probabilities, you can really improve your strategy and make some powerful money making bets! With no house edge, you can easily play all night long without having to worry about your bankroll running out quickly either.