Craps

Overview and object of the game

Craps is a game played with two dice. One player — the shooter — rolls the dice, and everyone at the table bets on the outcome of the rolls. Some bets are settled by a single roll, others by a series of rolls until a given number or a seven appears. All bets are against the house.

Table, dice and crew

• Two dice; the result is the total, from 2 to 12. The shooter throws the dice with one hand so they hit the far wall of the table.
• The layout is the same at both ends: Pass Line, Don't Pass Bar, Come, Don't Come, Field, the place-number boxes 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and Big 6/Big 8. The proposition bets and the hardways are in the centre.
• The stickman runs the game, passes the dice to the shooter and handles the centre bets; the base dealers on each side take and pay the other bets; the boxman supervises the table.
• The puck shows the phase of the game: OFF — a come-out roll is next; ON on a number — that number is the point.

The game: come-out roll and point

• Come-out roll. Before it players bet on the Pass Line or Don't Pass. The puck is OFF.
• If the come-out is 7 or 11 (a natural), the Pass Line wins and Don't Pass loses. The next roll is again a come-out.
• If the come-out is 2, 3 or 12 (craps), the Pass Line loses. Don't Pass wins on 2 and 3 and pushes on 12 (bar 12). The next roll is again a come-out.
• If the come-out is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, that number becomes the point. The dealer moves the puck onto it, ON side up.
• The shooter then keeps rolling until the point or a 7 appears. Point before seven — the Pass Line wins and Don't Pass loses. Seven before the point (seven-out) — the Pass Line loses, Don't Pass wins, and the dice pass to the next shooter.
• Other numbers during the point do not settle the line bets but may settle other bets on the table.

Line bets and Come bets

• Pass Line — pays 1 to 1. Once a point is established the Pass Line bet cannot be taken down.
• Don't Pass — pays 1 to 1, the reverse of the Pass Line (12 on the come-out is a push).
• Come — the same bet as the Pass Line, but made after a point is established. Its next roll acts as its own come-out: 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3 or 12 loses, and any number 4–10 becomes its own point — the dealer moves the chips onto that number. From then on the Come bet wins 1 to 1 if its number repeats before a seven, and loses on 7.
• Don't Come — the reverse of Come: on its first roll 2 and 3 win, 12 pushes, 7 and 11 lose; once moved to a number it wins 1 to 1 on a 7 and loses if the number rolls.

Odds bets

Once a point is established a player may back a Pass Line or Come bet with an Odds bet (taking odds), placed behind the line; it wins or loses with the line bet but pays at true odds. Behind Don't Pass / Don't Come the player lays odds at the reverse payouts. The casino sets the maximum odds as a multiple of the line bet (for example 3-4-5x: 3x on 4 and 10, 4x on 5 and 9, 5x on 6 and 8).

Odds may be taken down or changed at any time. Come odds are off on the come-out roll by default unless the player asks otherwise.

Place, Big 6 / Big 8, Field, Hardways

• Place — a bet on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10: wins if the number rolls before a seven, loses on 7. Payouts: 4 and 10 — 9 to 5, 5 and 9 — 7 to 5, 6 and 8 — 7 to 6. It may be taken down at any time and is normally off on the come-out. After a win the bet stays up.
• Big 6 / Big 8 — a bet that 6 (or 8) rolls before a seven. Pays 1 to 1.
• Field — a one-roll bet. Wins on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12; loses on 5, 6, 7, 8. Payouts: 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 — 1 to 1, 2 — 2 to 1, 12 — 3 to 1 (some casinos pay 2 to 1 on 12).
• Hardways — a bet that 4, 6, 8 or 10 rolls as a pair (the hard way: 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5) before it rolls any other way (easy) or a seven. Payouts: hard 6 and hard 8 — 9 to 1, hard 4 and hard 10 — 7 to 1. Whether hardways work on the come-out depends on the casino.

One-roll proposition bets

• Any 7 — the next roll is a 7. Pays 4 to 1.
• Any Craps — the next roll is 2, 3 or 12. Pays 7 to 1.
• 2 (aces) or 12 (boxcars) — pays 30 to 1.
• 3 (ace-deuce) or 11 (yo) — pays 15 to 1.

Many casinos mark these bets "for 1" (for example "30 for 1" = 29 to 1, "15 for 1" = 14 to 1), meaning the payout includes the bet. The trainer uses the "to 1" payouts listed above. Other bets exist — Buy and Lay (paid at true odds with a 5% commission), Horn, Hop, C&E — but they are not part of the trainer.

Pay table

Pay tables vary between casinos; below is the one used in the trainer. Payouts are net winnings and the bet stays with the player. Trainer bets are multiples of the payout denominator (e.g. place 6 in multiples of 6), so payouts are always whole.

Examples

Rules and pay tables are checked against wizardofodds.com. Casinos may differ — see Variants and differences.