Craps rules

Key points

• You bet on the total of two dice, and players take turns as the shooter who throws them.
• On the first roll (the come-out), a 7 or 11 wins on the Pass Line, a 2, 3 or 12 loses, and any other total (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) becomes the point.
• Once a point is set, the shooter keeps rolling until the point or a 7 comes up: the point first wins on the Pass Line, and a 7 first loses.
• The Pass Line pays 1:1, and Odds, which you can add after the point is set, pay true odds.
• The house edge is 1.41% on the Pass Line and 1.36% on Don’t Pass, and 0% on Odds.

First things

There are many bets, but you only need two to start.

• Pass Line: the basic bet, on the shooter’s side. A win pays the same amount you bet (1 to 1)
• Odds: added to a Pass Line bet after the point is set. Its house edge is 0%, the lowest on the table

The other bets can wait until these two make sense.

How a roll goes

Each round has two stages.

Stage 1: the come-out. The roll made while the puck (the marker for the current stage) is OFF.

• 7 or 11: the Pass Line wins. Another come-out
• 2, 3 or 12 (called craps): the Pass Line loses. Another come-out
• 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10: that number becomes the point. The puck is turned ON and set in that number’s box, and stage 2 begins

Stage 2: after the point is set. The shooter keeps rolling until the point or a 7 comes.

• The point comes first: the Pass Line wins. Back to the come-out
• A 7 comes first: the Pass Line loses (seven-out). Back to the come-out, and the next player becomes the shooter
• Any other number: nothing happens to the Pass Line. The shooter keeps rolling

Example. The come-out roll is 5 and 2, a 7. The Pass Line wins. Another come-out.

Example. The come-out roll is 4 and 2, a 6, so 6 is the point. The next roll, 5 and 3 for 8, does nothing. Then 5 and 1 make 6: the Pass Line wins. Back to the come-out.

Example. The come-out roll is 6 and 2, an 8, so 8 is the point. The next roll, 4 and 1 for 5, does nothing. Then 4 and 3 make 7: the Pass Line loses (seven-out). The shooter changes.

Odds

A bet added to a Pass Line (or Don’t Pass) bet after the point is set. It pays true odds, so the house edge is 0%. Odds on the Pass Line are called taking the odds, and odds on Don’t Pass are called laying the odds.

Example. With a point of 4, you take 10 in odds. If the 4 comes before a 7, you receive 20 (2 to 1). The 4 comes first 1 time in 3 (How often each total comes), so on average you neither lose nor gain.

The bet that costs least is a Pass Line or Don’t Pass bet with full odds. For the caps and the combined house edge, see Odds caps.

Signals and etiquette

• When you arrive, put cash in the Come area while the dice are in the center and say “Change, please”. Chips cannot be exchanged while the dice are moving
• Keep chips in the rail’s chip rack. Drinks go on the shelf under the rail. Only chips go on the table
• While the dice are being thrown, keep your hands clear of the table. Do not place late bets during a throw
• Handle the dice with one hand and keep them over the table
• Throw the dice against the far wall (the rubber surface). A throw that does not hit it is not valid
• Do not say “seven” while a point is on. Many consider it bad luck
• Place your Pass Line odds yourself, behind the Pass Line bet
• Do not place Place bets yourself. Put chips in the Come area and say, for example, “Place the six”; the dealer places them
• The Pass Line cannot be taken down after the point is set

How often each total comes

Two dice can land in 36 combinations. The number of ways to make each total:

7 comes most often. On the come-out the winning rolls (7, 11) have 8 ways and the losing rolls (2, 3, 12) have 4, so the Pass Line has the edge. After the point is set, 7 comes more often than any point, so the Pass Line is behind. Over both stages the Pass Line’s house edge is 1.41%.

Example. With a point of 4, the 4 has 3 ways and the 7 has 6. The chance the 4 comes before a 7 is 3 ÷ (3 + 6) = 1/3.

Main bets and payouts

“OFF” means the bet is not working then (it cannot win or lose).

House edges for Pass Line, Field and the like are per bet made; for Place they count only the bets that were decided.

When to place them.

• Pass Line, Don’t Pass: on the come-out
• Come, Don’t Come: after the point. Odds are added once the bet has moved to a number
• Field: any time. It is decided by the next roll alone
• Place: any time, but it works only after the point

How they work.

• Don’t Pass: a bet against the Pass Line. On the come-out, 2 or 3 wins, 12 ties, and 7 or 11 loses. After the point is set, it wins if a 7 comes before the point
• Come: a second Pass Line placed after the point. On the next roll after you place it, 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3 or 12 loses, and any other number moves the bet to that number. After moving, it wins if that number comes before a 7
• Don’t Come: a second Don’t Pass placed after the point. On the next roll after you place it, 2 or 3 wins, 12 ties, 7 or 11 loses, and any other number moves the bet to that number. After moving, it wins if a 7 comes before that number
• Odds on Come and Don’t Come: the cap is the same as for Pass Line and Don’t Pass odds. Come odds do not work during the come-out: if that Come bet wins or loses then, its odds are returned with no win or loss. Don’t Come odds work during the come-out too
• Field: 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 pays 1 to 1, 2 pays 2 to 1, and 12 pays 3 to 1. 5, 6, 7 or 8 loses
• Place: pays if the number comes before a 7. The bet stays up after a win

Center bets and hardways

Propositions (the center bets), hardways and BIG 6, 8 all carry big house edges.

• Any Seven, Any Craps, 2, 12 and 3, 11: any time. Decided by one roll
• Hard: wins if that number comes as a pair (3 and 3 for a hard 6) before a 7 or the same total made any other way. OFF during the come-out (some tables keep them ON)
• BIG 6, 8: wins if that number comes before a 7. It works on the come-out too (a come-out 7 loses it) and costs more than a Place 6, 8 on the same number (1.52%)

Buy and Lay

• Buy wins when the number comes before a 7, and Lay wins when a 7 comes before the number. Both pay true odds, and in return you pay a 5% commission.
• With the commission paid up front, the house edge is 4.76% on Buy and 2.44% to 4.00% on Lay.

The commission is 5% of the bet for Buy and 5% of the amount you would win for Lay. You can place them any time. Buy does not work during the come-out; Lay does.

With the default, “up front”, the commission is paid each time the bet is decided (if the bet wins and stays up, you pay again for the next time). The other choice charges it only on wins. Both stay up after a win.

The house edges.

Where the commission is taken only on wins, Lay costs the same as Buy.

On 4 and 10, Buy costs less than Place. On 6 and 8, Place costs less. On 5 and 9, Place costs less where the commission is taken up front, and Buy costs less where it is taken only on wins.

Odds caps

• The odds cap differs by table, and many tables use 3-4-5X (up to 3 times the Pass Line bet when the point is 4 or 10, 4 times on 5 or 9, 5 times on 6 or 8).
• With full odds, the combined house edge of Pass Line plus odds is 0.848% at 1X, 0.374% at 3-4-5X and 0.184% at 10X.

Take odds go up to that multiple of the Pass Line bet. Lay odds go up to the amount that would win that multiple of the Don’t Pass bet.

Example. With 3-4-5X you can lay up to 6 times the Don’t Pass bet on any point. The most you can win is 3 times on 4 and 10, 4 times on 5 and 9, and 5 times on 6 and 8; in the amount laid that is 3 × 2 = 6, 4 × 1.5 = 6 and 5 × 1.2 = 6 times (lay odds pay 1 to 2, 2 to 3 and 5 to 6).

Combined house edge with full odds.

Sources

Checked: 2026-09-29 (the date every page was confirmed to open)

• Wizard of Odds “Craps” (Basics)
• Wizard of Odds video “Craps Part 1 - Approaching the Table”
• BCLC “Rules of Play for Table Games - Craps”