How to Play: Live Craps Tutorial

Understanding craps is all about understanding the bets you can play. That’s why we’ll go through every single wagering option available in standard craps rules and explain what each of them does.

Also, it’s important to understand that craps is a “community” game, so to speak. In a land-based casino, everyone at a craps table is playing – not just the shooter. However, the results that the shooter is getting directly affect everyone else. This aspect may or may not work differently in live online craps games.

We’ll also list the probability of winning each bet as well as its RTP. If you’re not sure what RTP means or why a high RTP means a bet is good, check out this guide.

If at any point you find yourself confused about what a certain term means, you can refer to our glossary of craps terms.

Pass/Don’t Pass Bets

Otherwise known as “Line” bets, Pass and Don’t Pass bets in craps predict whether the shooter will win or not. It’s arguably the most fundamental wager in craps and many players never really try anything else.

• The Pass bet wins if the shooter wins and pays 1:1. This can happen in one of several ways:
  • They roll a Natural (7 or 11) in the Come-Out roll
  • They set a specific number as a Point in the Come-Out roll and then roll that number again before rolling a 7.
• The Don’t Pass bet wins if the shooter loses and pays 1:1. This can also happen in several ways:
  • They roll a 2 or 3 during the Come-Out roll
  • They roll a 7 before rolling the Point during the Point phase
  • If the shooter rolls a 12 in the Come-Out roll, the Don’t Pass bet is considered a Push, otherwise known as a “tie” bet. Every player with an active Don’t Pass bet simply has their full stake returned to them, but they don’t win.

Both the Pass and Don’t Pass bets have just under 50% chance of winning. Both also have fairly high RTP compared to most other casino games, but the Don’t Pass bet is slightly better.

That said, betting on Don’t Pass is generally considered poor etiquette because you’re essentially hoping that everyone else loses. Of course, you don’t have to care about that, and not caring is a lot easier if you’re playing online.

Come/Don’t Come Bets

Come and Don’t Come bets are pretty much the same as Pass and Don’t Pass bets. However, they can only be placed after the Come-Out roll is over and the Point has been set.

The Come bet is essentially a Pass bet that you make while the round is in progress. Instead of betting on the first roll in a round, these bets simply bet on the next roll.

• Come bets in craps win if the shooter rolls a natural (7 or 11) on the next roll. It loses if the result is 2, 3, or 12. However, if it is not immediately resolved, the rolled number becomes the Come bet point. If that number is rolled again before a 7, the Come bet wins. If not, it loses.
• Don’t Come bets win if the next roll shows 2 or 3, lose if the roll shows 7 or 11, and push on 12. If not immediately resolved, Don’t Come wins if a 7 shows up before the number from the first roll.

Both bets also pay 1:1 and are mathematically identical to Pass and Don’t Pass. If you understand how Pass and Don’t Pass work, you’ll also understand how Come and Don’t Come work.

Take Odds/Lay Odds

Taking and Laying Odds in craps are wagers that can only be made after the Come-Out roll is over and the Point has been set. Their goal is simply to predict whether the shooter will hit the Point before a 7 or not.

You can think of these bets as Pass and Don’t Pass that don’t care about Naturals, 2s, 3s, 12s or other numbers. All that matters is the Point and 7.

• Take Odds wins if the shooter rolls the Point before a 7. The exact payout of this bet depends on how likely this is to happen. For example, rolling a 6 is more likely than rolling a 4, so Taking Odds when the Point is set on 4 pays more. You can check out the exact payouts in the table below.
• Lay Odds wins if the shooter rolls a 7 before they roll the Point number. Again, the payouts depend on how likely that number is to come up before a 7. For instance, Lay Odds on a Point at 10 pays a lot less than if the Point were on 6.

You can Lay or Take Odds on any unresolved Pass or Come bet Point.

Note that these wagers don’t have their own position on the traditional craps table layout. Instead, you put your chips below the relevant Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, or Come Out bets.

For example, let’s say the shooter rolls a 5 during their Come Out roll. You can then Take Odds on the Pass bet. If the shooter proceeds to hit a 5 before a 7 and win Pass bets, your Take Odds bet also wins and pays 3:2.

The same principle applies to Come bets. However, you’re betting that the shooter will hit a Come Bet Point before a 7.

Interestingly, Odds bets in craps have a 0% house edge, which is commonly known as “fair odds.” However, many casinos only allow you to Lay or Take odds if you have active Pass/Don’t Pass or Come/Don’t Come bets. Also, the stake you can use for Odds bets is limited. Typically, you can only Take/Lay Odds for 5 times your Pass/Don’t Pass stake.

Place to Win

In craps, the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are often called Place numbers. These are the numbers that Pass Bet Points and Come Bet Points can be placed on, since every other outcome resolves these wagers.

Place to Win bets in craps allow you to predict that the shooter will roll a specific number before they roll a 7. It’s a very straightforward type of bet, but it can vary a lot in terms of RTP depending on your chosen number.

To make a Place to Win bet, simply pick one Place number and put your chips on it. If the shooter rolls that exact number before a 7 comes up, your bet wins.

Much like with Odds, this wager’s payout depends on how likely the number is to be rolled. For instance, a Place to Win 8 bet pays less than a Place to Win 4 because it’s less likely you’ll hit a 4 before the round ends.

However, less risky numbers like 6 and 8 are better options because they offer a considerably lower house edge.

Place to Lose

Place to Lose bets in craps are the opposite of Place to Win, unsurprisingly. If the shooter rolls the specified number before rolling a 7, you lose.

Similarly, the payout depends on how likely your selection is to succeed. However, this means that the odds are basically inverted: the more likely a certain number is to appear, the more you stand to win if you bet on it with a Place to Lose wager.

However, since rolling a 7 is technically the most likely outcome of rolling two dice, the statistics of these bets are not necessarily the same as with Place to Win. Refer to the table below for more details about probabilities and payouts.

Generally, riskier options that pay more are better in terms of RTP. This is a rare occurrence in craps, which makes Place to Lose stand out.

Big 6 and Big 8

Big 6 and Big 8 are a pair of wagers that the shooter will roll the corresponding number before a 7.

• Big 6 wins if the shooter rolls a 6 before rolling a 7 in the current round, paying 1:1.
• Big 8 wins if the shooter throws an 8 before a 7, also paying 1:1.

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice that Big 6 and Big 8 are exactly the same as making a Place bet on 6 or 8, respectively.

However, the corresponding Place bets pay 7:6 while these wagers only pay 1:1. This means that Big 6 and Big 8 are objectively inferior to Place 6 and Place 8 – they pay less despite having the exact same chance of winning. This results in a higher house edge.

Due to this crucial difference, we recommend never playing Big 6 and Big 8 bets in craps.

Hardways Bets

In craps, a “hard way” result means that the resulting roll is a combination of two identical numbers.

For example, a “hard” 8 would be two dice showing 4-4. On the other hand, a “soft” eight can be 6-2 or 5-3.

Hardways or Hard Ways bets predict that the shooter will roll a Hard number before rolling the “soft” version of the same number or a 7. In all other instances, the bet stays active for all upcoming rolls.

For example, let’s say you make a Hardways 8 bet. If the shooter throws a 4-4 before rolling a 7, you win.

However, if the shooter rolls a 6-2 or 5-3 before rolling a 4-4, you also lose.

You can place Hardways bets on any of the following numbers: 4, 6, 8, and 10. In other words, only even numbers that don’t end the round.

Interestingly, numbers that can be made using more different combinations pay more in a Hard Way bet because the bet is more likely to lose. However, since every Hardway bet wins only on a single combination, they all have the exact same probability to win – 2.78% per roll.

That’s why Hard 4 and 10 are the least risky Hardways, while 6 and 8 are the riskiest.

That said, this type of craps wager suffers from low RTP regardless of the number you pick. Refer to the table below for details about payouts, RTP, etc.

One-Roll Bets in Craps

The bets we covered above are all multi-roll wagers. This means they stick around until they are resolved, no matter how many rolls are required.

However, the following bets are all single-roll. This means that the next roll of the dice always resolves them. They either win or lose the next time the shooter throws the dice.

One-Roll craps bets are very simple – they predict a certain outcome, and that’s pretty much it. If the shooter doesn’t hit the target number(s) on the next roll, the bet immediately loses.

Hop Bets

Hop Bets in craps are a type of one-roll wager that predicts that the next roll will result in a specific set of numbers.

For example, a 3-4 Hop bet wins if the shooter throws a 3 and a 4. It loses in all other cases.

You can pick any two numbers between 1 and 6 and make a Hop bet on the combination, including picking the same number twice. This means that there are two types of Hop bets in craps:

• Easy Hop bets predict two different numbers on the next roll, paying 15:1 if successful. There are many possible combinations of Easy Hops – from 1-2, 1-6, 4-5, 3-6, and so on. Easy hops always have the same probability, payout, and RTP, regardless of the numbers you pick.
• Hard Hop bets predict that the shooter will roll the same number on both dice on the next throw. For example, a 5-5 Hop bet is a Hard hop. Hard hop bets are less likely to win but pay 30:1. All numbers have the same (low) chance to win a Hard Hop bet, so the payout, RTP, and probability are the same regardless of your choice.

Hop bets have some of the biggest payouts at a craps table, but they’re also some of the riskiest wagers available. However, their real problem is the high house edge you’ll encounter across the board. Even tables with above-standard payout rates for Hop bets offer poor RTP for these wagers.

Other One-Roll Bets

Alongside Hardways, One-roll bets are usually called Proposition or Prop bets. However, people who usually use the term “prop bet” refer to one-roll bets that aren’t Hop wagers.

There are several other kinds of One-Roll bets in craps, including:

• The Field bet wins if the next roll shows 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. Otherwise, it loses. Field bets pay 1:1 unless the winning number is 2 or 12, in which case it pays 2:1.
• Seven only wins if the next rolled number is a 7, paying odds of 4:1.
• Craps wins if the shooter rolls 2, 3, or 12 on the next roll and pays 7:1.
• Aces or Crap 2 wins if the next number is 2, paying 30:1.
• Any Deuce or Crap 3 wins if the next roll is a 3 and pays 15:1
• Boxcars or Crap 12 wins if the following roll is exactly 12 at odds of 30:1.
• Elevens predicts that the next roll will be 11, paying 15:1
• C & E, otherwise known as the Horn bet, combines the last 4 bets into one. It wins on 2, 3, 11, or 12 and pays 3:1. If the winning roll is an 11, the Horn bet pays 7:1.

Summary of All Bets in Craps

Finally, we’re going to list all of the above bets in a single comprehensive table. The table also provides RTP rates for all possible options as well as quick highlights about the bet or what it’s good for.

*Odds bets cannot be placed without an active Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, or Don’t Come bet. As such, the overall RTP is never truly 100%.

Craps Statistics and Bet Payouts

Finally, we can summarize all of the information about craps bets into one big reference sheet. It lists the payouts, probabilities, and house edge for every bet you can make in the game of craps.

If you ever need any help choosing what to stake your money on next time you’re at a craps table, you can easily pull up this table and make an informed decision.

*Odds bets cannot be placed without an active Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, or Don’t Come bet. As such, the overall house edge is never truly 0%.