Craps is a dice game where players bet on the outcome of rolls. One player (the shooter) rolls two dice, and everyone at the table can bet on the results. The energy is electric, and when things go hot, the whole table wins together.
The game has one of the lowest house edges in the casino, as low as 1.41% on the best bets, compared to 5.26% on American roulette. That is why it is worth learning.
📋 How a Round Works
Come-Out Roll
The first roll of a new round. Instant wins, losses, or a point is set.
→
Point Phase
Shooter keeps rolling until they hit the point (win) or roll a 7 (lose).
Phase 1: The Come-Out Roll
The round starts fresh. If you have placed a Pass Line bet, here is what happens instantly:
7 or 11
Natural -- You Win!
2, 3, 12
Craps -- You Lose
4·5·6·8·9·10
Point is Set
Phase 2: The Point Phase
Once a point is established (say, the shooter rolled an 8), a puck is placed on that number. The shooter keeps rolling:
Roll the point number again: Pass Line wins! New come-out begins.
Roll a 7: "Seven out." Pass Line loses. A new shooter takes over.
Any other number: Roll again. Nothing happens to the main bet.
Joining a Live Table
You can join at any time. Wait for a break between rolls, place your cash on the felt (do not hand it to the dealer), and they will exchange it for chips. You do not have to bet on every roll. A good first move is to watch a few rounds before placing any money down.
🎲 Roll Simulator
You start with $200. Each round you bet $10 on the Pass Line. When a point is set, you will be offered the chance to take Free Odds. It's the one bet in the casino with zero house edge. See how long your stack lasts!
Bankroll
$200
Net P/L
$0
Rounds
0
W / L
0 / 0
Phase: Come-Out Roll
Ready to Play
Each round costs $10 on the Pass Line. Tap Roll to begin!
Take Free Odds?
Point is set. You can place an extra bet behind your Pass Line with ZERO house edge.
Watch a scripted run
Auto-plays a scripted session — Pass Line + Free Odds — so you can see what a great run (or rough stretch) actually looks like.
Your session log will appear here.
💰 Understanding the Bets
Craps has many bets, but most of them are traps. Here is the full picture so you know what to play and what to skip.
Bet
House Edge
Notes
Pass LineBest
1.41%
Always. Your primary bet as a new player.
Don't Pass Line
1.36%
Marginally better odds, but you are betting against the shooter, which is socially unpopular at a hot table.
Odds Bet (Free Odds)Best
0%
The only 0% house edge bet in the casino. Take maximum odds after a point is set.
Come Bet
1.41%
Like a Pass Line placed during the point phase. Good once you are comfortable.
Place 6 or 8
1.52%
Acceptable. Pays 7:6 on the most common point numbers. Bet in multiples of $6.
Place 5 or 9
4%
Mediocre. Skip unless you love action.
Place 4 or 10
6.67%
Avoid. High house edge.
Field BetAvoid
2.78–5.56%
Looks attractive and hits often, but terrible odds long-term.
Big 6 / Big 8Avoid
9.09%
Never. Same as Place 6/8 but pays worse. A sucker bet in disguise.
Proposition BetsAvoid
11–16%
Terrible. These exist to drain your bankroll. Dealers sometimes call them sucker bets.
HardwaysAvoid
9–11%
Fun to look at on the layout, brutal to bet on.
🌟 The Free Odds Bet
After a point is set, you can place an additional bet behind your Pass Line bet called "Taking Odds." It pays true mathematical odds with zero house edge, the only such bet in any casino.
Point is 4 or 10: Odds pay 2:1
Point is 5 or 9: Odds pay 3:2
Point is 6 or 8: Odds pay 6:5
Most casinos allow 2x, 3x-4x-5x, or even 10x odds. Always take the maximum odds offered.
🧠 Playing Smart
✅
The Beginner's Setup: Stick to Pass Line plus maximum Free Odds. That is it. This keeps your house edge under 0.5% on total money risked and makes the game easy to follow.
✅
Add Come Bets for more action: Once comfortable, place Come bets after the point is set. They work like a mini Pass Line, setting their own point, and you can take odds on them too.
✅
Place the 6 and 8: If you want more numbers working, Place bets on 6 and 8 are decent. Bet in multiples of $6 so the 7:6 payout works correctly.
⚠️
The center of the table is a trap. All those colorful proposition bets in the middle? Hard 6, Any Craps, C&E? Ignore them. They carry 10%+ house edges and are designed to look exciting while draining your chips.
⚠️
Streaks are an illusion. A "hot shooter" does not change the probability of any roll. Past results do not influence dice. Play the math, not the mood.
💡
Bankroll rule of thumb: Bring at least 30x your Pass Line bet. Betting $10 Pass with 3x odds? You want roughly $300 to $400 at the table to ride out variance.
💡
Craps vs. other games: Blackjack with basic strategy runs about 0.5% edge, similar to craps with full odds. Slots are typically 5 to 12%. Craps is genuinely one of the better games in the building, but only if you play the right bets.
🎯 Optimal Strategy (TL;DR)
Bet the Pass Line before every come-out roll
Once the point is set, take maximum Free Odds
Optionally add Come Bets with odds for more action
Ignore everything else on the table layout
Tip the dealers occasionally. It's good for the table vibe
🗣️ Table Talk
Walk up knowing the language. The dealers will respect you for it, and you will not look lost.
Shooter
The player rolling the dice. Rotates clockwise around the table.
Come-Out Roll
The first roll of a new round. The puck is "OFF."
Natural
Rolling 7 or 11 on the come-out. Instant Pass Line win.
Craps
Rolling 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out. Pass Line loses.
The Point
4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 rolled on the come-out. Sets the target.
Seven Out
Rolling a 7 in the point phase. Ends the shooter's turn.
Make the Point
Hitting the point number before a 7. Pass Line wins!
Free Odds / Taking Odds
Additional bet behind Pass Line with 0% house edge.
Stickman
Dealer who moves the dice with a hooked stick and calls outcomes.
Boxman
Supervisor at the table center, overseeing chips and disputes.
Puck
Disc showing ON/OFF. Placed on the point number when active.
Color Up
Exchange small chips for larger denominations when leaving.
Hardway
Rolling a pair to hit a number, e.g., 4+4 for Hard 8.
Yo (Yo-Leven)
Slang for 11, said "yo" to avoid confusion with "seven."
Press It
Increasing or doubling a bet after a win.
Buy In
Exchanging cash for chips. Place bills on the felt; do not hand to the dealer.
🎓 Pro Tips
You know the rules and the bets. Here is what separates a confident player from a nervous one: what to do your first 30 minutes at a live table, how odds multipliers work across casinos, and a no-nonsense debunking of the myths you will absolutely hear at the table.
The rules are the easy part. Here is the physical and social stuff nobody tells you.
Find a low minimum table.Look for $5 or $10 minimums. The Strip skews higher; downtown casinos and off-strip properties are more beginner-friendly. The minimum is posted on a small placard at the table edge.
Wait for the right moment to buy in.Do not walk up mid-roll and drop cash on the table. Wait until the dice are in the center or after a seven-out. Place your cash flat on the felt and say "Change, please." Do not hand it directly to the dealer.
Pick your spot.Standing near either end of the table is fine. The Pass Line runs along the entire edge closest to you. There is no wrong choice here.
Announce dealer-placed bets.For the Pass Line you place your own chips. For bets requiring the dealer to position them, hand over your chips and say what you want. They handle the rest.
Collect your winnings promptly.When you win, the dealer pushes chips to you. Grab them before the next come-out or they may be treated as a new bet. Leaving them is called "letting it ride". Which is fine on purpose but rough by accident.
Place your Free Odds bet yourself.After the point is set, place your odds chips directly behind your Pass Line bet, just outside the Pass Line area. No announcement needed. The dealer will confirm.
One hand for the dice.Shooters use one hand only. Keep your drink back from the table edge. If the dice hit your hand mid-roll, you will hear about it.
Tip the crew.Place a chip on the Pass Line and say "for the dealers." They will appreciate it and the table energy will thank you.
Do not stress the etiquette.Dealers deal with beginners constantly and are glad to help. "Is now a good time to buy in?" gets a friendly answer 99% of the time.
Not all casinos offer the same odds multiplier. The higher the multiplier, the more of your total action sits on a 0% edge bet.
Casino Offer
Pass Line
Max Odds
Combined Edge
1x Odds
$10
$10
0.85%
2x Odds
$10
$20
0.61%
3-4-5x Odds
$10
$30-50
0.37%
5x Odds
$10
$50
0.33%
10x Odds
$10
$100
0.18%
100x Odds
$10
$1,000
0.02%
3-4-5x is the most common offer at major casinos: 3x on the 4 and 10, 4x on the 5 and 9, 5x on the 6 and 8. Those multipliers normalize the max payout to exactly 6x your Pass Line bet regardless of the point, keeping dealer math clean.
Higher odds do not change your expected loss per hour. The only money the casino profits from is your flat Pass Line bet. Everything behind it is pure math in your favor. Higher multipliers just shift more of your total action onto the 0% bet, giving bigger swings in both directions.
Budget tip: a $5 table with 2x odds beats a $25 table with 10x odds every time. The table minimum is always your biggest cost driver.
You will hear all of these at a real table. Some are harmless superstitions. Some will cost you money.
🎲
Myth
"Dice setting and controlled shooting can change your odds."
This is the big one. Casino physicists, mathematicians, and independent testers have studied this extensively. On a regulation table where dice must hit the back wall, controlled shooting has no statistically demonstrated edge. Casinos require that back-wall bounce specifically to neutralize spin control. The people selling "dice setting courses" make their money selling courses, not at the tables.
🚫
Myth
"Never say the word 'seven' at the table."
Pure superstition. The dice have no ears. That said, you probably should not say it anyway because the players around you genuinely believe it and you will get dirty looks. Call it "the devil" if you must.
📉
Myth
"After a long roll, a seven-out is 'due.'"
Classic gambler's fallacy. Each roll is an independent event. After 30 rolls without a seven, the probability of rolling a seven on the next roll is exactly what it has always been: 6 out of 36, about 16.7%. The dice have no memory. The table has no memory. The only thing that remembers is your bankroll.
💸
Myth
"Pressing your bets when you are hot is a winning strategy."
Pressing (doubling up after wins) feels great during a streak. But it does not change the house edge on the underlying bet. You are just putting more money at risk on a bet that still has a built-in house advantage. What pressing does is increase variance: bigger highs, faster crashes. Enjoy it if you like, just do not call it a strategy.
✅
Actually True
"A new shooter changes the energy at the table."
Not mathematically true, but socially true. A confident new shooter who throws well genuinely changes the mood of a craps table in a way that is real and fun. That shared experience is one of the best things about the game. Just do not bet your bankroll on the vibes.
Craps is a casino dice game with two phases. On the come-out roll, rolling 7 or 11 wins the Pass Line instantly, while 2, 3, or 12 loses. Any other number sets the point. In the point phase, the shooter keeps rolling until they hit the point (Pass Line wins) or roll a 7 (Pass Line loses).
What is the best bet in craps?
The best bets are the Pass Line (1.41% house edge) combined with the Free Odds bet, which has 0% house edge. Always take maximum odds after a point is set.
What is the Free Odds bet in craps?
Placed behind your Pass Line bet after a point is set. Pays true mathematical odds with zero house edge: 2:1 for points 4 or 10, 3:2 for points 5 or 9, 6:5 for points 6 or 8.
What bets should you avoid in craps?
Avoid proposition bets (11-16% house edge), Hardways (9-11%), Big 6 and Big 8 (9.09%), and the Field bet. Stick to Pass Line and Free Odds.
What does seven out mean in craps?
The shooter rolled a 7 during the point phase before hitting the point. This ends the shooter's turn and all Pass Line bets lose.
What is a come-out roll in craps?
The first roll of a new round. Rolling 7 or 11 is a Natural (Pass Line wins). Rolling 2, 3, or 12 is Craps (Pass Line loses). Any other number sets the point.
Is craps a good casino game?
Yes, with Pass Line and Free Odds the house edge can be under 0.5%, comparable to blackjack with basic strategy and far better than slots or roulette.