How to Play Craps
Developed from an old English dice game called “hazard”, this long-term casino stalwart can sometimes be overlooked despite having a centuries-old background and an iconic place in the annals of casino gaming. With that, a lot of people wouldn’t even know where to begin when it comes to playing a game of craps.
That’s where this guide comes in, where we’ll talk you through the rules of the game from beginning to end, and the odds and house edge you can expect from it.
The Rules of Craps
Objective of Craps: To correctly predict the number that the two dice will land on. There are two main bets which include “Pass Line” and “Don’t Pass”.
The Pass Line means you believe the dice will value 7 or 11, whilst the Don’t Pass outcome is a value of 2, 3 or 12.
Below you’ll find the traditional rules you will find within games of Craps:
Step 1 - Betting: All bets are placed before the round begins.
Step 2 - The Shooter: Once all bets have been placed, the Shooter will throw the first dice in the “Come Out” phase of the game.
Step 3 - Come Bets: After the “Come Out Roll”, there is the option for Come Bets to be placed. To win, the original number must roll again before a 7 is hit.
Step 4 - Check up on Your Bets: Those Pass Line or Don’t Pass bets that you made will now have either won or lost based on the Come Out. If neither outcome is achieved - that is, the roll value was any number other than 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12 - the bet rides and will roll over into the next round.
Step 5 - The Point: If neither the Pass Line nor Don’t Pass bets came in, this means that the point has been established. This is the value that the shooter will look to achieve going forward. With every roll, they will be hoping to get that value and will continue until they have or until they roll a 7. This is called a crap-out or seven-out, and the round is over for that shooter.
Step 6 - Subsequent Bets: Now that the game has a defined point value, players will place bets on the outcome of the throws based on this. You can place a bet on whether you think the shooter will get the point again or that you expect them to crap out. This will continue until either outcome is reached. There are numerous other bets you can place, too.
Step 7 - The Game Continues: The shooter will continue to roll, and the rest of the players will place their bets. This will happen until one of the two game-ending outcomes - the point or a crap/seven-out. If they throw their point, any players with Pass Line bets win. If they throw the seven, anyone with a Don’t Pass wager from the first round wins that bet, and the game begins with another shooter.
Bet Types & Odds in Craps
There are a number of different betting options to be aware of in Crap, with the main selections being:
Big Six and Big Eight: Here, you’re betting that the shooter will roll a six or an eight. This is an Evens bet, and it comes with a high house edge of just over 9%. That means a £10 bet would return £20 if you were to win.
Come and Don’t Come: These bets are similar to the Pass Line and Don’t Pass, just after the point has been set. A Come bet would be on a 7 or 11.
A Don’t Come would be 2, 3, or 12. Then, if the shooter rolls anything else, this is your own individual point. These bets will continue to roll until they win or lose, or when a 12 is rolled, where you will neither win nor lose. Both of these wins are 1/1 payouts but their house edge is 1.41% for Come and 1.36% for Don’t Come.
Field Bets: This bet is one at the centre of the craps table and is when a player expects a 3, 4, 9, 10, or 11 to be rolled. This might seem like a solid choice, but the payout odds are 1/1, and the house edge is slightly high at 5.56%.
Place Bets: Here, you will place a bet if you believe that the shooter will roll a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Below are the odds and the house edge for each number:
- 4 or 10 - 9/5 - 6.7%
- 5 or 9 - 7/5 - 4.0%
- 3 or 6 - 7/6 - 1.61%
Hardways Bets: This is where you choose to place a bet on 4, 6, 8, or 10. The difference with Hardways, though, is that the player must roll a “hard” number. That means that both dice are the same number. So, for example, a hard 6 would be a pair of 3s, and this would win. If a 4 and a 2 are rolled, that bet would lose. These range between 7/1 and 9/1 for odds, and the house edge bounces between 9 and 11%.
Proposition Bets: A bet of this kind is one on a dice throw and they are based on a particular pattern or value being rolled. Each outcome has different odds and a slightly different house edge, so it’s worth familiarising yourself with them all prior to placing a proposition bet.