Craps Explained: The Most Intimidating Table That's Actually the Most Player-Friendly
Craps looks chaotic. The basic bets are simple. With proper Pass Line + Odds play, craps has the second-lowest house edge of any common table game. The intimidation factor is the only barrier.
Craps's basic bets are simple. Pass Line: 1.41% house edge, the default bet. Add Odds behind your Pass Line bet (no house edge!) for an effective combined edge of 0.85% (3-4-5 odds) or as low as 0.32% (10x odds). The chaotic-looking bets in the middle of the table (Field, Hardways, Big 6/8) are sucker bets with 5-17% house edge. Stick to Pass Line + Odds and Don't Pass + Odds and craps is the second-lowest-edge game in the casino.
The craps table looks chaotic — 8-10 players, dealers calling out bets, chips moving in every direction, a stickman pushing dice with a long stick. First-time visitors usually walk past without joining. They're missing the second-best house edge in the casino.
How craps works (basic version)
A "shooter" rolls two dice. The first roll is the come-out roll.
- Come-out 7 or 11: Pass Line bets win immediately
- Come-out 2, 3, or 12: Pass Line bets lose immediately ("crap out")
- Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10): that becomes the point
If a point is established, the shooter keeps rolling until either:
- The point number rolls again (Pass Line wins)
- A 7 rolls first (Pass Line loses)
That's it. The complicated table layout is for additional bets, but the core game is Pass Line.
The Odds bet — the casino's only zero-edge bet
After a point is established, you can place an Odds bet behind your Pass Line bet. This bet has zero house edge. The casino pays true odds.
The amount you can bet on Odds is a multiple of your Pass Line bet — typical limits:
- 2x odds (older properties)
- 3-4-5x odds (most Strip properties): 3x on point of 4 or 10, 4x on 5 or 9, 5x on 6 or 8
- 10x or 100x odds (specific locals casinos)
The combined house edge of Pass Line + Odds:
- 1.41% with no odds
- 0.85% with 3-4-5 odds
- 0.32% with 10x odds
This is dramatically lower than blackjack basic strategy (~0.5% house edge). Craps with maximum odds is one of the lowest-edge games in the casino.
Don't Pass — betting against the shooter
The mirror image of Pass Line is Don't Pass. Don't Pass wins when Pass Line loses (and vice versa, mostly).
- Don't Pass house edge: 1.36% (slightly better than Pass Line)
- Don't Pass with full odds: 0.46% combined edge
- Etiquette: betting Don't Pass is technically betting against the table. Some craps players consider it bad form. (You're allowed to do it. They might just not cheer for you.)
The bets to avoid
The middle of the craps table has dozens of bets. Most are awful:
Place bets — the second-tier good bet
After Pass Line + Odds, the next-best bets are Place bets on 6 and 8 (1.52% house edge). You place a $6 bet on 6 or $6 on 8 (must be in multiples of $6 to get full payout). When that number rolls, you win.
Place 6/8 is a solid alternative to Pass Line + Odds for players who want more action without the variance of waiting for the come-out roll.
The craps table is a "2-bet game" hidden inside a "30-bet game." Stick to Pass Line + Odds (and maybe Place 6/8) and you're playing one of the best games in the casino. Drift toward the proposition bets and you're playing one of the worst.
How to actually play
Walking up to a craps table for the first time:
- Wait for the dice to be in the middle (between rolls)
- Place cash on the felt and say "color me up" when the dealer can grab it
- Place a Pass Line bet at the minimum
- Wait for the come-out roll
- After the point is established, the dealer will say "odds bet" or you can ask "what's max odds?" — place that amount behind your Pass Line bet
- Stay quiet until you understand the flow
- Tip the dealers $1-5 per shooter (place a "for the boys" bet on Pass Line)
For our take on tipping at all table games: optimal casino tipping.
Topics
- craps
- strategy
- table-games