THE GAME

An understanding of the basics of the game and how to make a passline bet with odds, is really all you need to know to get started.

Craps Rules

When you are rolling the dice you are the "shooter". Your first toss in a round of Craps is called the Come Out roll. If you roll a 7 or 11, you win and the round is over before it started. If you roll a 2, 3, or 12 that's a Craps and you lose: again, it's over before it started. Any other number becomes the Point. The purpose of the Come Out roll is to set the Point, which can be any of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. The Dealer places a puck marked "On" above the Point number printed on the table.

Objective Of The Game

The basic objective in Craps is for the shooter to win by tossing the Point again before he tosses a 7. That 7 is called Out 7 to differentiate it from the 7 on the Come Out roll. If the Point is tossed, the shooter and his fellow bettors win and the round is over. If the shooter tosses Out 7, they lose and the round is over. If the toss is neither the Point nor Out 7, the round continues and the dice keep rolling.

Betting and payoffs

Pass bets

The simplest bet is a Pass bet. It is placed on the Pass Line before the Come Out roll. Assuming that the round goes past the Come Out roll, you're betting on the chance that you'll roll the Point again before you roll an Out 7. Pass bets win at odds of 1:1.

Pass bets are generally betting with the shooter, Pass bettors are therefore referred to as betting "right". They are supporting the shooter in his attempt to win to the game.

Win: If on the Come Out roll if the dice show 7 or 11. Win on any subsequent roll if you roll the Point.

Lose: If on the Come Out roll if the dice are Craps (2, 3, or 12). Lose on any subsequent roll if it's an Out 7.

Don't Pass bets

A bet placed on the Don't Pass line is the opposite of a Pass bet. Assuming that the round goes past the Come Out roll, you're betting that the shooter will roll Out 7 before making the Point.

In don't pass bets you're betting against the shooter and this is called a "wrong" bet.

Win: If on the Come Out roll if the dice show Craps (2, 3 or 12). Win on any subsequent roll if it's an Out 7.

Lose: If on the Come Out roll of 7 or 11. Lose on any subsequent roll if it's the Point.

Come/Don't Come bets

Come and Don't Come bets are basically the same as Pass and Don't Pass except they are placed while a round is in progress. They are there for players who join the game late. The same rules apply: win if the next roll is 7 or 11, lose if it's Craps. Otherwise the roll becomes the Come Point.

Odds bets

An Odds bet is a backup bet on a Pass/Don't Pass/Come/Don't Come bet already on the table. They're usually limited to two or three times (2x or 3x) the original bet and pay off at true odds: the payoff truly reflects the probability of the dice's roll and there's no additional house edge involved. Unlike original Pass/Don't Pass/Come/Don't Come bets.

Pass Odds / Come Odds payout 2:1 on a roll of 4 or 10, 3:2 on 5's and 9's, and 6:5 on 6's and 8's.

Don't Pass Odds / Don't Come Odds payout 1:2 on a roll of 4 or 10, 2:3 on 5's and 9's, 5:6 on 6's and 8's.

Other bets

Now for the rest of the table, the Place Number bets and Proposition bets. Unfortunately the odds against you here are dreadful and the only winner is the house

A Place Number bet is where you are betting that a particular number will roll before a 7 does, or vice versa. These include the Place, Buy, Lay and Lose bets, the Big 6 and Big 8, and finally the Hard 4, Hard 6, Hard 8 and Hard 10.

The Proposition bets are where you bet that the next roll will be a specific number. These include the 2, 3, 7, 11, and 12 bets, the Any Craps bet, the Field, Hop and Horn bets.