Rules of Craps
Button and Table wager Descriptions
Roll
Clicking on the Roll button after placing a wager starts a new round.
Repeat
Clicking on the Repeat button will repeat all the wagers made on the previous round that can be validly placed now.
Clear
Clicking on the Clear button removes all the wagers on the table that can be removed.
Most wagers can be removed, added to, or deducted from at any time. Exceptions would be the pass and come wagers, and you cannot exceed the maximum wager on the odds.
Table Min/Max
Look here to find the minimum and maximum total of the wagers allowed.
wager Regions
When moving the cursor over the wager regions a yellow “tag” will appear that gives the name of the wager, the current amount placed for that wager, and the minimum and maximum amounts that can be placed on that wager.
If a green highlight appears in a region, that indicates this wager can be added to (changed). If a red highlight appears, this wager cannot be increased (but sometimes can be removed).
Craps wagers
The Pass Line
The pass line is the most fundamental wager in craps, almost every player at the table wagers on it. The house edge on the pass line is only 1.41%, which is not bad compared to most other wagers on the table and other games in the casino.
The pass line is an even money wager. You start by placing your wager on the pass line area on the table on a come out roll. If the come out roll is a 7 or 11 you win, which is also called a “natural”. If the come out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (craps) you lose. If any point is rolled on the come out roll if the point is rolled again before a 7 you win. If a 7 comes before the point you lose. That is all there is to it. Once you understand the pass line wager you are ready to play craps. You may want to practice using fun money a few times before playing for real money.
Buying the Odds
Have you ever wanted a wager with no house edge? Craps offers just such a wager, as long as you wager on the pass line first. Once a point has been thrown you may wager up to some multiple, usually 2 times, your pass line wager on the 'odds.' The odds are simply an additional wager that the point will be rolled before a 7. Because the probability of the point being rolled first is less than 50% you win more than you wager if it happens. Specifically if the point is a 6 or 8 the odds pay 6:5, if the point is a 5 or 9 the odds pay 3:2, and if the point is a 4 or 10 the odds pay 2:1.
The multiple you may wager on the odds is usually twice the pass line wager for points of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10.
Point |
Odds |
Wager |
Win |
Total Winnings |
4 or 10 |
2:1 |
$10 |
$20 |
$30 |
5 or 9 |
3:2 |
$10 |
$15 |
$25 |
6 or 8 |
5:6 |
$10 |
$12 |
$22 |
The table below shows the house edge when you combine the pass line and odds:
Combined house edge on the pass line and buying odds |
|
1X odds |
0.848% |
2X odds |
0.606% |
Full double odds |
0.572% |
3X odds |
0.471% |
Don’t Pass
The don't pass is almost the opposite of the pass line wager. If the come out roll is a 2 or 3 then you win, a 7 or 11 you lose. A 12 is a push. Otherwise the dice are rolled over and over until either the point or a 7 is rolled. If the 7 comes before the point you win.
A person wagering on the don't pass is not the wager of choice by many players, since this wager is wagering against the shooter. This is also called a "wrong" wagertor and is usually winning when everyone else is losing, and vice versa.
The house edge on the don't pass wager is 1.364%.
Laying the Odds
This is the opposite of buying odds, in other words wagering that a 7 will be rolled before the point.
If the point is a 4 or 10 the don't odds pay 1:2.
If the point is a 5 or 9 the don't odds pay 2:3.
If the point is a 6 or 8 the don't odds pay 5:6.
Come
Have you ever become bored waiting for a point to be thrown and didn't want to waste your money on the sucker wagers to guarantee a money flow on every throw? If so then try the come wager. It is like the pass line wager but may be made at any time. Like the pass line wager you might also put money on the odds if a point is thrown on the first roll after the come wager is placed and has a house edge of 1.41%.
There is a nuance to the come wager the player should know about. If a point is thrown and there are still active come wagers on the table waiting for a different point then special rules apply for the following come out roll. The come out roll will still apply to active come wagers but it will not apply to their respective odds wagers. In the event a come wager is resolved on a come out roll then the odds wager will be returned.
A good strategy for the player who likes constant action is to have a new wager on either the pass line or come on every throw, and to always take the maximum allowable odds.
This wager is one of the more exciting wagers to make in Craps. A lot of players use this wager to get more numbers working for them at the same time, six in all.
Don’t Come
What the don't pass is to the pass, the don't come is to the come. If the shooter rolls a 2 or 3, you win. A 12 constitutes a tie. You lose on 7 or 11. Any other number is the “come point”. You win if a seven is rolled before the come point and lose if the come point is rolled before a 7 is rolled.
The Place Number wagers
In craps the 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are known as the "place numbers." For the player who must have money on some or all of them immediately they may make certain wagers to cover any place number(s) they desire. These wagers work just like the odds but pay worse odds, with the exception of the "hard way" wagers, which are described below. Like odds wagers on top of come or don't come wagers, place number wagers are on during a come out roll. These wagers can be removed at any time.
There is a high price for impatience in craps in the form of a higher house edge. To further exploit the impatient or ignorant player there can be two or three different wagers on the exact same thing, and they will all pay different odds. You might think players would only wager on the option with the best odds but you would be quite wrong, it is routine to see players throwing their money away on the higher house edge versions of the same wager. For example the place wager on 6, the buy wager on 6, and the big 6 all are wagering that a 6 will be rolled before a 7 but pay 7:6, 24:21, and 1:1 respectively, for house edges of 1.52%, 4.76%, and 9.09%. Specific descriptions of the various wagers are below.
Big 6: A wager that a 6 will be rolled before a 7. Pays even money, house edge of 9.09%.
Big 8: same as the Big 6 only that an 8 will be rolled before a 7.
Buy wagers: This is essentially the same as the place wager, only with a different payoff. The player may "buy" any of the points (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10), which means to wager that the number will be rolled before a 7. When making a buy wager, you must pay a 4% commission and your wager will pay fair odds if it wins. Fair odds are 2:1 on the 4 and 10, 3:2 on the 5 and 9, and 6:5 on the 6 and 8. Another way to look at it is that the buy wager pays 48:25 on the 4 and 10, 36:25 on the 5 and 9, and 144:125 on the 6 and 8. The pay out on all wagers will be rounded down to the nearest quarter. The house edge on all buy wagers is 4.76%.
Hard Ways: There are four different hard way wagers. For example a hard 4 wager is wagering that a pair of twos will be rolled before a 7 or any other way to roll a total of 4. This is called "the hard way" because it is harder to roll two twos than a one and a three. Likewise you can wager on a hard 6, 8, or 10, each of which is a wager that the hard way of rolling the given number will occur before a 7 or any "easy" way.
The casino pays 7:1 on a hard 4 or 10 with a house edge of 11.11%.
The casino pays 9:1 on a hard 6 or 8 with a house edge of 9.09%.
Lay wagers: The lay wager is the opposite of the buy wager and the same as the place wager to lose but with different paybacks. The lay wagers may be placed on the 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. The wager itself is that a 7 will be rolled before the number you choose. Because the 7 is the most likely number to be rolled you will wager more than you can win. The player must pay a 4% commission on the possible winnings and the fair odds are paid on the wager itself. Fair odds are 1:2 on the 4 and 10, 2:3 on the 5 and 9, and 5:6 on the 4 and 8. Another way to look at it is that lay wager pays 12:25 on the 4 and 10, 16:25 on the 5 and 9, and 12:15 on the 6 and 8. The house edge on the 4 and 10 is 2.44%, on the 5 and 9 it is 3.23%, and on the 6 and 8 it is 4.00%. Note that the house edge on the lay wager is lower than the place wager to lose on the 4 and 10 only, if you want to make a lay wager on the 5, 6, 8, or 9 you would be advised to make a place to lose instead.
Place wagers: This is very similar to laying odds. You may wager on a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. If the number you wager on is rolled before a 7 then you win according to payoff schedule below. Unlike laying odds you don't need to have a pass line wager, you don't have to wager on the point, but there is a house edge.
A place wager on 4 or 10 pays 9:5 with a house edge of 6.67%, you wager $10, win $18
A place wager on 5 or 9 pays 7:5 with a house edge of 4.00%, you wager $10, win 14
A place wager on 6 or 8 pays 7:6 with a house edge of only 1.52%, you wager $12, win $14
When a place wager wins, you are paid your winnings and your original wager is returned. You may take back an active place wager at any time.
The table below is a summary of the various place number wagers for quick comparison
Wager |
Description |
Pays |
House Edge |
Big 6 |
6 before 7 |
1:1 |
9.09% |
Big 8 |
8 before 7 |
1:1 |
9.09% |
Buy (4) |
4 before 7 |
48:25 |
4.76% |
Buy (5) |
5 before 7 |
36:25 |
4.76% |
Buy (6) |
6 before 7 |
144:125 |
4.76% |
Buy (8) |
8 before 7 |
144:125 |
4.76% |
Buy (9) |
9 before 7 |
36:25 |
4.76% |
Buy (10) |
10 before 7 |
48:25 |
4.76% |
Hard 4 |
Hard 4 before 7 or easy 4 |
7:1 |
11.11% |
Hard 6 |
Hard 6 before 7 or easy 6 |
9:1 |
9.09% |
Hard 8 |
Hard 8 before 7 or easy 8 |
9:1 |
9.09% |
Hard 10 |
Hard 10 before 7 or easy 10 |
7:1 |
11.11% |
Lay (4) |
7 before 4 |
12:25 |
2.44% |
Lay (5) |
7 before 5 |
16:25 |
3.23% |
Lay (6) |
7 before 6 |
12:15 |
4.00% |
Lay (8) |
7 before 8 |
12:15 |
4.00% |
Lay (9) |
7 before 9 |
16:25 |
3.23% |
Lay (10) |
7 before 10 |
12:25 |
2.44% |
Place (4) |
4 before 7 |
9:5 |
6.67% |
Place (5) |
5 before 7 |
7:5 |
4.00% |
Place (6) |
6 before 7 |
7:6 |
1.52% |
Place to (8) |
8 before 7 |
7:6 |
1.52% |
Place to (9) |
9 before 7 |
7:5 |
4.00% |
Place to (10) |
10 before 7 |
9:5 |
6.67% |
Field wager
A field wager is a one-roll wager. If the shooter rolls a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12, you win even money with the exception of 2 which pays 2:1 or 12, which pays either 2:1 or 3:1. Please see below for more explanation on field wagers under Proposition wagers.
The Proposition wagers
Proposition wagers either win or lose on the very next throw. In general these have the highest house edge of all the craps wagers. Specific descriptions of the various wagers are below.
Craps 2: A wager that a 2 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 30:1. House edge 13.89%.
Craps 3: A wager that a 3 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 15:1. House edge 11.11%.
7: A wager that a 7 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 4:1. House edge 16.67%.
11: A wager that an 11 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 15:1. House edge 11.11%.
Craps 12: A wager that a 12 will be thrown on the next roll. Pays 30:1. House edge 13.89%.
Any Craps: A wager that the next roll will be a 2, 3, or 12. Pays 7:1. House edge 11.11%.
Field wager: This is a one time wager that the next roll will be a 2,3,4,9,10,11, or 12. The 3,4,9,10, and 11 pay even money. The 2 pays 2:1. The 12 usually pays 3:1 but some tight casinos only pay 2:1. If the 12 pays 2:1 the house edge is 5.56%, if the 12 pays 3:1 the house edge is 2.78%. On the surface this seems like a great wager because 7 numbers win and only 4 lose. However the 4 that lose are much more likely to be rolled.
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