Craps looks like the most intimidating game in the casino: a huge layout, dozens of bets, its own vocabulary. The secret: almost all of that is optional. The core game is one bet (the Pass Line) on one question: will the shooter roll their number before rolling a 7? Learn that, and you know craps. Everything else on the table is a variation or a distraction.

The dice

Two standard dice give totals from 2 to 12, but not with equal likelihood, and that asymmetry is the entire game.

Figure 1 — The 36 combinations: 7 is the most common total, which is why it decides everything

The Pass Line: the main bet

A round has two phases. It opens with a come-out roll, which either settles the bet instantly or sets a point — and once a point is set, only two numbers matter until one of them lands.

Figure 2 — The full life of a Pass Line bet

1. Place your bet on the Pass Line before the come-out roll.
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2. Come-out roll: 7 or 11 wins instantly (1:1); 2, 3 or 12, “craps” loses instantly.
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3. Any other total (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) becomes the point, marked on the table with the puck flipped to ON.
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4. The shooter keeps rolling. Every other total is now irrelevant to your bet: if the point repeats first, you win 1:1; if a 7 lands first, you lose (“seven out”) and the round ends.
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The Odds bet: the best bet in the casino

Once a point is set, you can place an additional bet behind your Pass Line bet: the Odds. It wins and loses with your Pass Line bet, but pays at true mathematical odds: 2:1 on points of 4/10, 3:2 on 5/9, 6:5 on 6/8. The house makes nothing on it: it is the only genuinely zero-edge bet in any casino game. Tables cap how much Odds you can take as a multiple of your line bet (e.g. 3×–5×). The practical takeaway: keep your Pass Line bet small and put the rest of what you wanted to stake on the Odds: same excitement, lower blended edge.

The table

Figure 3 — The layout, simplified: the Pass Line (1) is the game; place bets (2) are the sensible extras

Come / Don’t Come: identical to Pass/Don’t Pass, but placed after a point is already set, giving you your own personal “point” mid-round.

Place bets: pick a number (6 and 8 are the only good ones at 1.52%) and win each time it lands before a 7.

Field: a one-roll bet on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. Looks generous — seven winning numbers! but the missing 5, 6, 7 and 8 are the four most common totals.

Proposition bets: the centre of the table: Any 7, Any Craps, hardways, horn bets. One-roll bets with edges of 9–17%. They exist to look exciting; skip them.

Payouts and odds

Figure 4 — House edge by bet: stay in the top half of this chart

Good to know

Every roll is a fresh 36 combinations. That’s exactly what keeps the table buzzing: hot streaks become the stories you tell, and the next roll is anyone’s.

Three bets are all you need. Pass Line (or Don’t Pass), maximum Odds behind it, and, if you want more action, a place bet on 6 or 8. That combination plays craps at close to the lowest edge in the casino. Everything else on the layout is there whenever you fancy extra action.

Come-out vs point phase matters. The puck shows which phase you’re in: OFF (come-out) or ON with the point number. Online interfaces highlight this automatically and won’t let you place phase-invalid bets.

Online craps is solo-friendly. You’re the shooter every round, no waiting for the dice, no table etiquette to learn, and the rules engine handles everything.

Ride the rhythm. Craps is the most social, celebratory game in the casino, and its streaks are the stuff of legend. Set your budget, back the shooter, and enjoy every roll.