How to Play Craps

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  • Craps is a fast-paced, exciting casino game played with a pair of dice and a stack of money. Though the Craps table might look a bit intimidating at first, it's not hard to get started playing the game. Once you get used to the basic bets, you can delve into the much more complicated side of the game. This page contains an overview of How to Play Craps.

  • Lesson 1: The Craps Rundown

    • So what is Craps, anyway? Essentially, it is a game of one player rolling 2 dice and betting on the results. The other people who surround the table (besides the casino employees) are spectators who get to place their own bets on what the player will—or will not—roll. Therefore, although only one person is actually throwing the dice, everyone around the table is eagerly along for the ride, rooting for their own bets to win.
    • The betting is the most complex aspect of the game of Craps. First we will go over the rudiments of game play in order to establish some ground rules for the betting in Lesson 2.

  • The Table

    • Most Craps tables (see this diagram for a reference) are rectangular in shape and contain identical markings on either side. The playing area consists of several areas where gamblers can place different types of bets, and its mirror image layout is simply so more bettors can fit at the table. The dice are thrown from one end of the table to the opposite side.

  • Rolling the Dice

    • If you will be the player rolling the dice (known as the shooter), you should keep a few things in mind before you pick up those little cubes.
    1. Use one hand to roll. In fact, always keep the dice in one hand, even if you're going to blow on them or do any other sort of "good luck" ritual.
    2. Keeping the dice in view of the dealer (without closing your hand around them) will assure that they know you're not switching them out for "crooked" dice.
    3. Throw the dice so that they hit the opposite wall of the table. Ideally, they should bounce before they hit the wall.
    4. Take care to avoid throwing them off the table altogether. Your roll will not count and the game will be slowed down.

  • Come-Out Roll

    • "Come-out roll" is simply a fancy way of saying "first roll." The term refers to the initial roll of the dice a player makes to start off a round of Craps.
    • There will be a black disc known as a "buck" lying on the table that says "off." This means the impending roll is a come-out roll and a game is about to begin.
    • One of three scenarios can happen on the come-out roll:
    1. Shooter rolls a 7 or 11.
      • This is an automatic win. The player keeps the dice for another come-out roll.
    2. Shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12.
      • This is an automatic loss (also called "craps"). The player does not lose the dice, however, but gets another come-out roll.
    3. Shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10.
      • Any number other than 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12 on the come-out roll establishes a "point." The buck is flipped to the white "on" side and placed on the corresponding number written across the edge of the playing surface (if a 5 is rolled, for example, the buck is placed on the number 5 on the table). The game then continues on to the next stage.

  • Point

    • Once a point has been established, the rules of the come-out roll no longer apply.
    1. Get to the point. The point is now your best buddy. Your goal is to roll the same number as the point to be a winner.
    2. 7 is no longer your friend. After the come-out roll, you have a bit of a falling out with the number 7: while it meant an instant win before, it is now your enemy.
      • Your new mission is to roll the point again before you roll a 7. If you roll a 7 before the point, you lose and the game is over! (This is called a "seven out.")
    3. An example scenario:
      • You roll a 4 on the come-out roll.
      • 4 is now the point.
      • You must now roll a 4 again before you roll a 7.
      • If you roll a 4, you win! If that unlucky number 7 rears its ugly head, you lose.
      • If you roll neither a 4 nor a 7, you continue rolling until one or the other appears.
    4. Roll till you lose. The dice don't change hands until the shooter "sevens out" while rolling for a point. The come-out roll never changes the shooter.
    • That is technically all you need to know for the basics of playing Craps, but for it to be a real game, you've gotta put some money down. In the next section we'll discuss the betting process; this is where it starts to get juicy!

  • Lesson 2: Your Best Bets

    • Betting is the real heart and soul of Craps. Not only does the shooter bet, but the spectators around the table can place any number of bets on any roll of the dice. You can bet for or against the shooter, or you can bet on the odds of rolling other numbers. Here is a breakdown of the kind of bets that are at your disposal that are more likely to be winners. Sticking to the bets in this lesson will give you some of the best odds of any casino game!

  • Pass Line Bet

    • The simplest and most common bet in Craps is the pass line bet, which follows the same "win or lose" rules as the general gameplay outline in Lesson 1.
    1. On the table there is a lane designated the "pass line."
    2. To place a pass line bet, put your chips in this area directly in front of you.
    3. On the come-out roll, pass line bets are won or lost according to the chart above (win on 7 or 11, lose on craps).
    4. If a point is established, the pass line wins if the point is rolled before a 7. If a 7 is rolled first, pass line loses. If any other number is rolled, nothing happens to pass line bets.
    5. A win on the pass line pays out evenly, i.e. a $5 bet wins another $5.
    6. The shooter must place a pass line bet.
    7. The pass line bet is the best place to start when learning Craps because it is easily understood and the odds are one of the safer bets in the casino. Stick to the pass line before diving into more complicated bets.
    How to Play Craps

  • Don't Pass Bet

    • You also have the option of betting against the shooter. This is where don't pass bets come into play.
    1. Don't pass bets are essentially the opposite of pass line bets.
    2. Don't pass bets win on a come-out 2 or 3 and lose on a come-out 7 or 11.
    3. Rolling a 12 on the come-out roll does not cause a win or loss for the don't pass bet.
    4. Once a point is established, don't pass bets win with a seven out but lose if the point is rolled.

  • Come Line Bet

    • A come line bet is just like a pass line bet, only it is made after a point is established rather than on the come-out roll.
    1. Once a point is established, place a come bet in the area of the table marked "come".
    2. At this point, the next roll acts like a come-out roll for your come bet. A 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3, or 12 loses, and another number becomes the come point.
    3. Come line bets are sort of like delayed pass line bets.

  • Don't Come Bet

    • By this point you've probably used your noodle to figure out that the don't come bet works just like the don't pass bet, only it applies to the come line. Easy, right? If you didn't figure that part out, you might want to just stick to the pass line for a while before you dive into more complicated bets!

  • Odds Bet

    • In addition to the pass line bet, you can place an odds bet after the shooter establishes a point.
    1. This is placed behind your pass line bet, outside the pass line area of the table (or you can tell the dealer you're betting the odds of your come bet).
    2. While the pass line and come bets are paid out evenly with the amount you placed, an odds bet is paid out according to the official odds of rolling the point:
      • A 4 or 10 has 2:1 odds.
      • A 5 or 9 has 3:2 odds.
      • A 6 or 8 has 6:5 odds.
    3. Many casinos allow double odds, meaning you are able to double your pass line bet for your odds bet (if you put $5 on the pass line, you can bet another $10 on the odds).
    4. An odds bet in combination with a pass or come bet gives you some of the best odds of any casino game.

  • Place Bet

    • After a point is established, you can place a bet on a specific number.
    1. Choose any point number on the table (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10).
    2. If that number is rolled before a 7, you win.
    3. The payout is made with odds as opposed to an even 1:1 win like pass line or come line bets.
    4. Place bets can be canceled at any time during play.
    5. A "buy" bet is similar to place but offers true odds with a 5% commission for the house, while a place bet offers slightly worse than true odds.

  • Lesson 3: Other Bets

    • There are several betting options in Craps that have much worse odds than the ones discussed in Lesson 2. Though the nice payout might seem tempting, these bets should be made at your own risk. The odds are stacked against you, and they basically exist to entice gamblers into placing bad bets. Don't say we didn't warn you!

  • Field Bet

    • There is an area marked "Field" with the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12. This is a one-roll bet, paying out even for any of these numbers rolled except 2 and 12 (which pay double or triple, depending on the casino). However, although it seems like there are many ways to win, there are still many more chances to lose. Bettor beware of all single-roll gambles!

  • Big 6 and Big 8 Bets

    • In the corner of the table are a large 6 and 8 (called, appropriately, big 6 and big 8). If you bet on one of these, you win if a 6 or 8 (depending on which number you bet on) is rolled before a 7. This is generally considered an unfavorable Craps bet considering putting a place bet on the regular 6 or 8 just inches away pays out with odds.

  • Hard Way Bet

    • There are four hard way bets that involve betting on a roll of matching numbers (roll a 6 with two 3s, a 10 with two 5s, etc.) before a 7. These bets are placed after the point is established. These bets are placed on the diagram that looks like little dice in the center of the table.
    • Once again, the odds are against you winning this kind of bet. Hard way bets do, however, tend to be played a bit more than their even worse alternative: the proposition bet.

  • Proposition Bet

    • The proposition bets are displayed directly under the hard way bets. They involve single-roll bets on very specific outcomes (a 5 and a 6, snake eyes, etc). They look awfully tempting with their odds payouts of 15 to 1 and 30 to 1, but the fact is that the odds are stacked so heavily against you to actually roll one of those combinations (in one try, no less), it is pretty much never a worthwhile bet. You'll have to be feeling really lucky to risk blowing cash on a proposition!

  • Any Craps and Big Red Bet

    • Above and below the hard way and proposition bets are the any craps and "big red" seven bets. These are both single-roll bets that win any time a craps (2, 3, 12) is rolled or a 7 is rolled, respectively. Again, this is not recommended if you're not a fan of losing money quickly.

  • Lesson 4: Lingo

    • The final piece of the puzzle is keeping up with all the Craps-speak that will be thrown around at the table! Here are some common terms to familiarize yourself with.
    1. Big Red - Also known as "any 7," a bet that the next roll will add up to 7.
    2. Boxcars - A term used for a roll of two 6s (craps on a come-out roll).
    3. Boxman - The casino employee who hands out the chips at the Craps table.
    4. Buck - The disc that says "on" on one side and "off" on the other. It is used to denote a come-out roll or establish the point.
    5. Come Line - One of the basic bets of Craps, similar to the pass line but can be played at any point in a round.
    6. Craps - A roll of 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll. An automatic loss for the pass line.
    7. Dealer - The casino employee who collects and distributes chips to and from bettors.
    8. Double Odds - The ability to place double your pass line bet on the odds.
    9. Pass Line - The basic bet of Craps, it is a strip of space directly in front of the bettors where the initial bets of a round are placed.
    10. Point - One of the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 rolled on a come-out roll. Once the point is established, it must be rolled before a 7 for the pass line bet to win.
    11. Push - A "tie" with the house, when a 12 is rolled on the come-out roll, don't pass/don't come bets neither win nor lose money.
    12. Seven Out - When a point is established, if a 7 is rolled before the point comes up again, it is considered a seven out.
    13. Shooter - The player throwing the dice.
    14. Snake Eyes - A term used for a roll of two 1s (craps on the come-out roll).
    15. Stickman - The casino employee who calls each roll and retrieves the dice with a stick.

  • Conclusion

    • By now you should be feeling ready to tackle the Craps table. Try practicing by playing an online game to be sure you understand the many bets and rules. In the actual casino, you'll quickly learn some Craps etiquette as you play. Hopefully you'll also learn how to win some money—or at least hang onto what you have! Good luck with those dice!

  • Resources for How to Play Craps


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