Craps is the most intimidating table game in any casino. The layout is covered in dozens of betting zones, players shout over each other, and the dealer vocabulary sounds like a foreign language. But underneath the noise, craps is a straightforward dice game with some of the best odds available at any casino table. The Pass Line bet — the most fundamental bet in the game — carries a house edge of just 1.41%. Add free odds behind it and the combined house edge drops to some of the lowest figures in gambling. This guide explains how craps works and which bets are worth making.
How Craps Works
Craps is played with two standard six-sided dice. Players take turns as the shooter — the person throwing the dice. All players bet on the outcome of the shooter's rolls. In online and live dealer craps, a virtual or physical table hosts the game with the same rules as a land-based casino.
The Come-Out Roll
Each round begins with the come-out roll. Before the come-out, players can place bets on Pass Line (the shooter will win) or Don't Pass (the shooter will lose).
Possible come-out outcomes:
- Roll 7 or 11 (natural): Pass Line wins immediately, Don't Pass loses
- Roll 2, 3, or 12 (craps): Pass Line loses immediately; Don't Pass wins on 2 or 3, pushes on 12
- Roll 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10: this number becomes the point
The Point Phase
Once a point is established — one of the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 — the shooter continues rolling until one of two things happens:
- The point number rolls again: Pass Line wins, Don't Pass loses, and the round ends
- A 7 rolls (seven out): Pass Line loses, Don't Pass wins, the dice pass to the next shooter
Nothing else matters. All other numbers during the point phase are irrelevant to Pass and Don't Pass bets (though they settle other bet types placed during this phase).
The Main Bets
Pass Line
The most common bet in craps. Placed before the come-out roll. Wins on 7 or 11, loses on 2, 3, or 12, and is determined by the point if a point is established. Pays 1:1. House edge: 1.41%.
Don't Pass
The opposite of Pass Line: wins on 2 or 3 (pushes on 12), loses on 7 or 11, and wins if the shooter sevens out before making the point. The 12 push prevents Don't Pass from being a free win. Pays 1:1. House edge: 1.36% — marginally better than Pass Line, but players who bet Don't Pass are effectively betting against the shooter, which can create social friction at a physical table (not a concern online).
Come Bet
Placed after the point is established. A Come bet behaves identically to a new Pass Line bet for the player who places it: the next roll is its personal come-out roll. Win on 7 or 11, lose on 2, 3, or 12; any other number becomes the Come bet's own point. House edge: 1.41%.
Don't Come
The mirror of Come, placed after the point. Wins on 2 or 3 (pushes on 12), loses on 7 or 11. House edge: 1.36%.
Free Odds: The Best Bet in the Casino
After a point is established, players who have a Pass Line or Come bet in play can add a free odds bet directly behind it. The free odds bet is paid at true mathematical odds — there is no house edge on this portion of the wager.
The true odds payout depends on the point number:
- Point is 4 or 10: true odds are 2:1 (two ways to seven out vs one way to make the point with a pair)
- Point is 5 or 9: true odds are 3:2
- Point is 6 or 8: true odds are 6:5
Most casinos allow free odds of 2x, 3x/4x/5x, or up to 100x the original Pass Line bet. Because the free odds portion has zero house edge, a larger odds multiple reduces the blended house edge across the combined Pass Line + Free Odds wager:
- Pass Line with 1x odds: house edge approximately 0.85%
- Pass Line with 2x odds: approximately 0.61%
- Pass Line with 3x/4x/5x odds: approximately 0.37%
- Pass Line with 10x odds: approximately 0.18%
- Pass Line with 100x odds: approximately 0.02%
Free odds behind Pass or Don't Pass are the closest thing to a house-edge-free bet available in any casino.
Place Bets
Place bets can be placed at any time during the point phase on numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. A Place bet wins if that number rolls before a 7 and loses if a 7 rolls first.
Payouts and house edges for Place bets:
- Place 6 or 8: pays 7:6, house edge 1.52%
- Place 5 or 9: pays 7:5, house edge 4.00%
- Place 4 or 10: pays 9:5, house edge 6.67%
Place 6 and Place 8 are reasonable bets. Place 4 and Place 10 are not. The 6 and 8 are the most likely point numbers to roll (five ways each out of 36 combinations) and the 7:6 payout offers good value.
Proposition Bets: What to Avoid
The centre of a craps layout is covered in one-roll proposition bets. These settle on the very next roll and offer high payouts. They are also the worst bets on the table.
- Any 7: pays 4:1, house edge 16.67%
- Any Craps (2, 3, or 12): pays 7:1, house edge 11.11%
- 12 (or 2): pays 30:1, house edge 13.89%
- 11 (or 3): pays 15:1, house edge 11.11%
- Horn Bet (2, 3, 11, 12 in equal parts): house edge approximately 12.5%
- Big 6 or Big 8: pays 1:1 (compared to 7:6 for a Place 6/8 bet), house edge 9.09%
None of these bets should feature in any regular wagering plan. They are entertainingly high-variance but structurally expensive.
Field Bets
A Field bet is a one-roll bet that the next number will be 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. Numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8 lose. Most tables pay 2:1 on 2 and 12, with everything else paying 1:1. House edge approximately 5.56%. Some tables pay 3:1 on 2 (or 12), reducing the house edge to 2.78%. Worth checking before placing.
Craps Online and at Live Tables
Craps is less common at live dealer casinos than baccarat or blackjack, largely because the multi-player energy of a physical craps table is difficult to replicate in a studio format. Evolution offers a live craps table that replicates the full physical experience with a real dice throw. RNG craps is available at most UK online casinos.
Live craps table minimums typically start at £5 on the Pass Line. Odds multiples available at online tables vary — common configurations are 2x and 3x/4x/5x odds.
All UKGC-licensed sites are required to offer responsible gambling tools. Given craps' potential for fast-paced betting with multiple simultaneous wagers, setting a session budget and sticking to a simple Pass Line plus odds strategy is the most sensible approach for beginners.
A Simple Beginner Strategy
The most straightforward approach to craps:
- Bet Pass Line before the come-out
- Once the point is established, place maximum free odds behind the Pass Line
- Optionally add one or two Come bets with odds to cover additional numbers
- Avoid all proposition bets and the Field bet
- Walk away when the session budget is reached
This approach keeps the combined house edge below 0.5% and gives you exposure to multiple winning numbers without over-complicating the betting layout.
Conclusion
Craps is not as complicated as it looks. Strip away the proposition bets and the exotic side of the layout, and what remains is a dice game where the core bet carries a 1.41% house edge that can be reduced further — in some cases to near zero — by adding free odds. The vocabulary is worth learning: pass, don't pass, come, point, seven out. Once those concepts are clear, the rest of the table makes sense. Start simple, take your odds, and leave the Hard Ways and Any Seven bets for the players who prefer spectacle to value.