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Updated Fact-checked 12 min read
Dean Calloway
Senior Craps Editor 12+ yrs
- Published
- Updated
- Fact-checked
How to play craps
Craps rules are simpler than the table looks. We walk through a round step by step, show what every section of the felt actually means, work out the odds of all 36 dice combinations, and name the three bets that will carry a beginner through their first few months.
Beginners · step by stepA round in six stepsInteractive table layoutVerified house edges
The short version of a round
Craps asks you to predict the outcome of two dice. The core bet, the Pass Line, backs the shooter: it wins on a come-out 7 or 11 and loses on 2, 3 or 12. Any other number — 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 — becomes the 'point', and from there the shooter has to repeat that number before a 7 shows up.
You are not playing against the other players: everyone bets on the same dice and roots for the same result. No amount of skill changes what the dice do — the only real choice you have is which bets to make. That single choice decides whether the house keeps 0.37% of your action or 16.67% of it.
The numbers that matter
Everything worth memorising before your first bet.
1.41% House edge on the Pass Line
1.36% House edge on Don't Pass
0% House edge on free odds
0.37% Pass Line with 5× odds, combined
16.67% Chance of a 7 (6 ways in 36)
36 Two-dice combinations
A craps round in six steps
Every round follows the same sequence, from the first chip down to the payout:
- 1
Bet before the roll
Put your chips on the Pass Line or Don't Pass before the come-out roll. The table minimum and maximum are printed on the placard at the rail.
- 2
The come-out roll
The shooter throws for the first time. This roll decides whether the round ends immediately or carries on.
- 3
Natural or craps
A 7 or 11 wins the Pass Line right away. A 2, 3 or 12 loses it — though for Don't Pass, the 12 is a push.
- 4
The point is set
A 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 becomes the point. The dealer flips the puck to ON and sets it on that number.
- 5
Back your bet
Once the point is set you can take free odds behind the line — the only bet in the casino with no house edge at all.
- 6
Point or seven-out
The shooter keeps rolling until the point repeats (Pass Line wins) or a 7 appears (seven-out, and the dice move on).
The easiest way in is not through the rules but through the table: almost every beginner question answers itself the moment you understand what each patch of felt is for.
Open the free craps table in another tab and check each step as you read — the material lands in one evening that way instead of one week.
The craps table, section by section
Craps is played on a standard printed layout: every zone of the felt is a separate bet, and a chip placed inside it is your decision. Online it works the same way — a click on the zone replaces the chip.The table is symmetrical: the two ends are mirror images so the crew can serve both halves of the rail at once. That means you only need to learn one end plus the centre box — exactly what sits in front of you. Tap the numbers to see what each part of the layout does.
1
Pass Line
The main bet and the one the whole game is built around. Put your chips down before the come-out roll: 7 or 11 wins immediately, 2, 3 or 12 (“craps”) loses. Any other total becomes the point, and from then on you need that number to repeat before a 7 shows. House edge 1.41% — one of the best numbers on the casino floor.
1 / 16
Click a number on the layout or use ← →.
The same felt everywhere
Pass Line, Come, Field, hard 8 — the wording on the layout is a worldwide standard. It reads the same in a Las Vegas pit, in Evolution’s Riga studio and in the demo table above, which is why learning one table teaches you all of them. The graphics change; the words never do.
A worked example: $10 on the Pass Line
The sequence of a round is stepped out above. An abstract sequence is hard to hold on to, though, so here is a live hand with money in it. Player bankroll $200, Pass Line bet $10, and a table that allows 5× odds.- The player puts $10 on the Pass Line.
- The come-out roll is an 8 — that becomes the point. The puck flips to
ON. - The player takes 5× odds behind the line — another $50. Total exposure this round: $60.
- A run of rolls goes by with no 7, and then an 8 lands: the point is repeated.
- Settlement: the Pass Line pays 1:1, which is $10. Odds on the 8 pay 6:5 — $60. Both bets come back.
Result: the bankroll goes from $200 to $270. Notice where the money came from: $10 from the line bet that carries a house edge, and $60 from the part the casino cannot tax at all.
The seven changes sides
In this example the 8 saved the round and a 7 would have killed it. On the come-out roll it was the other way round: there, a 7 is the best thing that can happen. This is the one detail that genuinely confuses new players, and the one worth memorising word for word.
The same example, the other way
Had a 7 arrived before the 8, the player would have lost both bets at once — line and odds. The bankroll would have dropped to $140. Odds are not “safer” than the line bet: they are paid more fairly, but they lose alongside it.
Dice math: 36 combinations
Two dice, six faces each — 36 equally likely combinations. Every roll is independent: dice have no memory, and a number that “hasn’t come up in a while” does not become any more likely.Different totals are built from different numbers of combinations, which is where the different payouts come from. The 7 is the only total that can be made six ways, and that is why it sits at the centre of every rule in the game.
2 1/36 · 2,78%
3 2/36 · 5,56%
4 3/36 · 8,33%
5 4/36 · 11,11%
6 5/36 · 13,89%
7 6/36 · 16,67%
8 5/36 · 13,89%
9 4/36 · 11,11%
10 3/36 · 8,33%
11 2/36 · 5,56%
12 1/36 · 2,78%
How often each total appears among the 36 combinations of two dice. The 7's bar is set to 100%.
| Total | Combinations | Probability | Odds against |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 or 12 | 1 each | 2.78% | 35:1 |
| 3 or 11 | 2 each | 5.56% | 17:1 |
| 4 or 10 | 3 each | 8.33% | 11:1 |
| 5 or 9 | 4 each | 11.11% | 8:1 |
| 6 or 8 | 5 each | 13.89% | 6.2:1 |
| 7 | 6 | 16.67% | 5:1 |
Where 1.41% comes from
Everything in the game falls out of this table. The Pass Line wins 244 times out of the 495 possible round outcomes — and the gap between 251 losses and 244 wins is exactly the 1.41% house edge.
Your first three bets
The full layout offers more than thirty options; a beginner needs three. They will carry you through your first months of play, and they carry the lowest house edges anywhere on the table.Pass Line
1.41%- Pays
- 1:1
- Type
- Before the come-out
The foundation of the game. Betting with the shooter: 7/11 wins, 2/3/12 loses, otherwise repeat the point.
Don't Pass
1.36%- Pays
- 1:1
- Type
- Before the come-out
The mirror of the Pass Line. A come-out 12 is a push, and that barred 12 is what makes it marginally cheaper.
Free odds
0%- Pays
- 2:1 / 3:2 / 6:5
- Type
- After the point
The only bet in a casino with no house edge. Paid at true odds — take the maximum you can afford.
Pass Line — a bet that the shooter runs good. It wins on a come-out 7 or 11 and loses on 2, 3 or 12. Once a point is set, it wins if the point repeats before a 7.
Don’t Pass — the opposite view: it predicts that the shooter fails. On the come-out a 7 or 11 kills it, a 2 or 3 pays, and a 12 is declared a push1 so the math does not tip in the player’s favour. That barred twelve is exactly why the house edge here is 1.36% against the Pass Line’s 1.41%.
Odds — not a bet in its own right but an amplifier for the line bet. It goes behind the line once the point is set2 and is paid at true odds: 2:1 on the 4 and 10, 3:2 on the 5 and 9, 6:5 on the 6 and 8. Its size is set as a multiple of the line bet, typically 2× to 10× depending on the table.
The one habit every craps player needs
Bet small on the line and big on the odds. With 5× odds the combined house edge across both bets falls to 0.37% — the best number available to a casino player anywhere, better than blackjack played by basic strategy.
From here it is worth moving on to the rest of the layout: we have a full breakdown of every craps bet and a payout chart with every price and house edge in one place.
Five first-night mistakes
Bad bets are easy to spot — they are labelled on the felt. The expensive mistakes are the ones you make with the right bets: the interface allows them, the dealer will not stop you, and the cost accumulates quietly.- Betting the line after the point is already set. The table will let you, but the winning phase — a come-out 7 or 11 — has gone by without you. That wager is called a put bet and costs several times more than a normal Pass Line at 1.41%. The correct move is to wait for the next round.
- Skipping the odds. The only zero-edge position in the casino does not place itself: you have to add it by hand once the point is known. Miss it and you are playing at 1.41% instead of 0.37%.
- Trying to pull the line down on a bad run. A Pass Line bet cannot be taken back once it has a point — it is a contract bet. The odds behind it, however, can be reduced or removed at any moment, and that is the part most beginners do not know: they try to move the rigid piece instead of the flexible one.
- Expecting a Place bet to pay during the come-out. Place bets are off by default until a new point is set. The number hits, nothing pays — because the bet was not working on that roll. You switch it on by telling the dealer “my bets are working”, or with a toggle in an online interface.
- Walking away with your numbers still up. An online table does not clear Place bets for you: the chips stay on the felt until the next 7 finds them. Close the tab with numbers working and you have left money in the game without you.
What can come down and what cannot
Cannot be removed: Pass Line and Come bets once they have a point. Can be removed at any time: the odds behind either of those, and any Place bet. Can be, but shouldn’t: Don’t Pass and Don’t Come after a point — by then they are statistically ahead, and taking them down hands that advantage back to the house.
Craps in a land-based casino: etiquette and table rules
Online the interface handles everything; in a live pit there is a set of written and unwritten rules. They are worth knowing even if you only play on the web, because half the vocabulary of the live table carried straight over into live-dealer casinos.- Four staff work the table. The boxman sits at the centre, guards the chips and settles disputes. The stickman moves the dice with a curved stick and calls each roll. Two dealers, one on each side, take the bets and pay the winners.
- Both dice must reach the far wall. The pyramid rubber surface scatters them unpredictably — that is what makes the throw random. A roll that falls short is usually not counted.
- Throw with one hand. No switching hands, no leaning on the table with the other. The dice should fly, not be rolled.
- Cash is not passed hand to hand. Put the money on the felt, take your hands away, and call out that you want change.
- Nobody says “seven” once a point is set. The table calls it Big Red instead — superstition, but it is universally observed.
Advice for a first-timer
Tell the dealer straight out that it is your first time. The crew will show you where to put your chips, tell you the table limits and correct you without any fuss if you get something wrong. That is a normal thing to do, not an admission of weakness.
What to avoid from day one
The centre of the layout, run by the stickman, is full of one-roll bets with big payouts. They look exciting, and that is exactly where the casino earns most.Field
5.56%- Pays
- 1:1 (2 and 12 pay more)
- Type
- One roll
It looks like seven of eleven numbers are covered, but by combinations that is only 16 of 36.
Big 6 / Big 8
9.09%- Pays
- 1:1
- Type
- Multi-roll
Identical to Place 6 / Place 8 but paid even money instead of 7:6. Never take it if Place is available.
Any Seven
16.67%- Pays
- 4:1
- Type
- One roll
True odds are 5:1. The worst bet on the entire layout, without exception.
How a bad bet hides
The bigger the payout, the rarer the event — and the easier it is to bury a few percent in the difference. Hardways pay 7:1 and 9:1 and cost 9.09–11.1%; Any Craps pays 7:1 and costs 11.1%; horn bets run 12.5%. Not one of them is profitable over any distance.
Where to go next
The basics are covered — from here there are three sensible directions.- Practise for free. Our free table needs no signup and no deposit: same rules, same payouts, virtual credits instead of cash.
- Learn the rest of the bets. The full bet breakdown explains every position on the layout, and the payout chart collects the prices and house edges into a single reference.
- Move to real money. Once the rules are second nature, pick a site from the craps casino rankings — or from the live-dealer shortlist if you want real dice and a croupier on camera.
While you are at it, look through the craps strategy guide. Strategies guarantee nothing and remove no house edge, but they help you manage a bankroll deliberately — and that is the only thing in this game you actually control.
Craps for a beginner — the honest verdict
Pros
- One of the lowest house edges on the floor — 1.41%, and exactly 0% on free odds
- The basics take one evening: three bets and six steps
- A proper demo mode exists, so you can learn without risking a cent
- Bet selection genuinely changes the math, not just the mood
Cons
- The layout is intimidating the first time you walk up to it
- The centre bets cost 9–17% and are the ones pushed hardest
- The pace makes discipline harder: an hour holds far more decisions than it feels like
Common questions about craps rules
How does a round of craps work?
Players bet the Pass Line or Don't Pass before the first roll. Pass Line wins on a 7 or 11 and loses on 2, 3 or 12; Don't Pass is the reverse, except that a 12 is a push. Any other number becomes the point, and the round runs until either the point repeats (Pass Line wins) or a 7 rolls (Don't Pass wins).
What happens after the come-out roll?
The round either ends immediately — on a natural (7 or 11) or craps (2, 3 or 12) — or continues with a point established. Once the point is set, players can add a free-odds bet behind the line, and the dice keep rolling until the point repeats or a 7 arrives.
What is the point in craps?
The point is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 rolled on the come-out. It does not settle anything by itself; it sets the target for the rest of the round, which then hinges on whether the point or a 7 shows first. The dealer marks it with the white ON side of the puck.
What does seven-out mean?
A seven-out is a 7 rolled after the point is established but before the point repeats. The Pass Line and most other bets lose, the table is swept, and the dice pass clockwise to the next player. Don't Pass wins at that moment.
Is craps hard to learn?
No. Craps only looks complicated because of how much is printed on the felt. To start you need three bets and the six steps of a round, which takes minutes to absorb. The rest of the layout is for experienced players, and a good half of it is not worth your attention at all because of the house edge attached.
What are the odds of rolling a 7?
The 7 is the most common number in craps: 6 of the 36 combinations make it, or 16.67% — roughly one roll in six. No other total can be made more than five ways. That is precisely why a 7 wins instantly on the come-out and ends the round once a point is set.
Which bets are best for a beginner?
The Pass Line (1.41%) or Don't Pass (1.36%), always backed with the maximum free odds (0%). With 5× odds the combined house edge drops to 0.37% — the best number available to a casino player anywhere on the floor. Place 6 and Place 8 (1.52%, paying 7:6) are acceptable too.
Can you influence the dice?
There is no reliable evidence for it. At a regulation table the shooter must hit the far wall, whose pyramid surface randomises the bounce, and no controlled test has ever shown a repeatable edge from throwing technique. In online and bubble craps the result comes from a certified random number generator, so dice control is impossible by design.
Can you play craps for free?
Yes. Random-number-generator versions almost always offer a demo mode with no signup and no deposit — same rules, same payouts, virtual credits instead of money. There is a free table on this site as well. Live-dealer craps never has a demo mode: a real dealer and a real table are involved.