The casino game of Craps is played with a set of two perfectly balanced dice. The game is played by tossing the dice from one of the short ends of the table to the other.

Casino Craps Rules

Craps is played with two dice which are thrown by a 'shooter' on a long table with boards from one to two feet high surrounding the table. The basic idea behind Craps is to establish a "point" number and roll that number again before rolling a 7 (craps). On the whole, Craps rules sound complicated and scary, but really it is one of the easiest casino games to learn once you get into it.

The first toss in a round of Craps is called the Come Out roll. The come-out roll is the most important roll in the playing Craps game, since it determines the point that must be repeated before a seven is rolled. A come-out roll occurs under the following conditions:

If the player rolls a 7 or 11, he wins and the round is over before it started. If he rolls a 2, 3, or 12, that's a Craps and he loses; again, it's over before it started. Any other number becomes the Point. The purpose of the Come Out roll is to set the Point, which can be any of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. The Dealer places a puck marked "On" above the Point number printed on the table.

The basic objective in Craps is for the shooter to win by tossing the Point again before he tosses a 7. That 7 is called Out 7 to differentiate it from the 7 on the Come Out roll. If the Point is tossed, the shooter and his fellow bettors win and the round is over. If the shooter tosses Out 7, he loses and the round is over. If the toss is neither the Point nor Out 7, the round continues and the dice keep rolling.

Pass Line bet is the typical and simplest bet. It is placed on the Pass Line before the Come Out roll. Assuming that the round goes past the Come Out roll, you're betting on the chance that you'll roll the Point again before you roll an Out 7. Pass Line bets win at even odds, 1:1. Since Pass Line bets are typically betting with the shooter, Pass Line bettors are said to be betting "right", as they're supporting the shooter in his attempt to win.

Don't Pass Line bets are the opposite of Pass Line bets. Assuming that the round goes past the Come Out roll, you're betting that the shooter will roll Out 7 before making the Point. Because you are betting against the shooter, it's called a "wrong" bet.

Come bets become available once the Point has been established. Rules are similar to Pass Line bet. To place a come bet, put your chips in the box labeled Come. The Come bet pays even money 1 to 1.

If the shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, then that number becomes the Come Point, and the Come bet is moved from the “COME” bar to the box corresponding to the Come Point. Once Come Point is established, original bet may not be removed or altered.

Otherwise the roll becomes the Come Point.

Don’t Come bets are the reverse of betting on the Come.

Here you will win, if 7 rolls before the Don't Come Point is repeated, and lose, if the Don't Come Point is made before a 7 is rolled.

An Odds bet is a backup bet on a Pass/Don't Pass/Come/Don't Come bet already on the table. They're usually limited to two or three times (2x or 3x) the original bet and pay off at true odds: the payoff truly reflects the probability of the dice's roll and there's no additional house edge involved. Unlike original Pass/Don't Pass/Come/Don't Come bets, unresolved Odds bets can be removed from the table during play.

Pass Line Odds bet is placed on the craps table outside of the “PASS LINE” bar, under the original Pass Line bet. A winning Pass Line Odds bet pays true odds: 2 to 1 on a roll of 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 6 to 5 on a roll of 6 or 8.

Don’t Pass Line Odds bet is placed on the right side of the original bet in the Don’t Pass Bar, exactly on the 6x6 dice image. A winning Don’t Pass Line Odds bet pays true odds: 1 to 2 on a roll of 4 or 10, 2 to 3 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 5 to 6 on a roll of 6 or 8.

Come and Don’t Come Odds bets are placed beneath the Come and Don’t Come bets, after they have been moved to the point’s box. A winning Come Odds bet pays: 2 to 1 on a roll of 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 6 to 5 on a roll of 6 or 8. A winning Don’t Come Odds bet pays: 1 to 2 on a roll of 4 or 10, 2 to 3 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 5 to 6 on a roll of 6 or 8.

Field bet is a bet that any one of a group of numbers (2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12) will be rolled on the next roll. Payoff depends on the number rolled. It loses if the shooter rolls a 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9. Bet remains on the table, if following a win, however the player may remove it from the table at any time.

Big 6 and Big 8 bets are placed in the box marked Big 6 or Big 8. If the number you select is rolled before a 7, you win even money (1 to 1).

Place bets are made on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. To make this bet, place your chips in the box underneath these numbers. Place bets can be made at any time. You win if the shooter rolls the number before a seven. Winning Place bets are paid: 7 to 6 on numbers 6 and 8, 7 to 5 on numbers 5, and 9, and 9 to 5 on numbers 4 and 10.

A Buy bet is the same as a Place bet with the exception being the payout. To distinguish the Buy bet from a Come bet, the Buy bet is labeled with a “BUY” marker. When winning a Buy bet, a 5% commission (vig.) is charged. Winnings are paid at true odds: 6 to 5 on numbers 6 and 8, 3 to 2 on numbers 5 and 9, and 2 to 1 on numbers 4 and 10.

A Lay bet is the opposite of a Buy bet. A Lay bet is labeled with a “LAY” marker. It bets that a 7 will be rolled before a 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10. It is a bet against the dice, which means you win if a 7 is rolled before the number you selected. When winning the Lay bet, a 5% commission (vigorish) is charged. Lay bet winnings are paid at true odds: 5 to 6 on numbers 6 and 8, 2 to 3 on numbers 5 and 9, and 1 to 2 on numbers 4 and 10.

This bet is placed in the area “Seven”. You win this bet, if a 7 is rolled on the next toss of the dice. This bet pays 4 to 1.

This bet is placed in the box with the two dice that add up to 11. You win this bet if an 11 is rolled in the next toss of the dice. If 11 is rolled, you win 15 times your bet.

In any craps bet, you win if one of the craps numbers (2, 3, or 12) is rolled in the next toss of the dice. The Any Craps bet is placed in the “Any Craps” box. This bet pays 7 to 1.

The letters C and E represent two different bets:

Horn bet is placed in the box where the two dice add up to 2, 3, 11, or 12. The Horn bet wins if the shooter rolls a 2, 3, 11 or 12 on the next toss of the dice. A winning Horn bet pays 15 to 1 on the numbers 3 and 11 and 30 to 1 on numbers 2 and 12.

A Hardway bet bets that the shooter will roll a 4, 6, 8, or 10 as doubles (2+2, 3+3, 4+4, or 5+5) before rolling a 7. The Hardway bet is placed in the box on the craps table that contains the two dice that correspond to the number the doubles. Rolling a number by doubles is said to be rolling the number “the hard way.” An example is rolling a 4 with a 2 and a 2. An example of an easy way is rolling a 4 with a 3 and a 1. A winning Hardway bet pays 7 to 1 on numbers 4 and 10 and 9 to 1 on numbers 6 and 8.

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