How to Play Craps

Craps involves the collaboration of a couple of casino employees. The boss of the table is “the Boxman,” who sits on one side with all the house chips. The boxman rules on all questions on the table, including whose bets belong to whom, what the payoffs are, and when the throw of the dice is valid or not (a “no roll.”) On each side of the boxman stands a dealer, whose job is to sell chips to the people on his or her end of the table, and to collect losing bets and pay off winners, in accordance with the boxman’s directions. The “stickman” handles the dice, retrieving them and inspecting them, particularly if they fall from the table, and delivering them to the shooter. Every 20 minutes or so the rolls of the casino employees shift.

A full size table comfortably accommodates 12 players. As many as 16 players can participate at a time, and 20 is probably the upper limit. Even if more could squeeze around the table, it would be hard to keep track of all the betting with so many people.

The shooter or thrower is the player whose turn it is to throw the dice. The shooter is said to have “control” of the dice. Control moves from person to person clockwise around the table.
Dice must be thrown using one hand only. They are thrown across the craps layout and must hit the walls on the opposite end of the table from where the player is. If they go elsewhere or hit chips, the boxman will declare “no roll” and the dice are thrown again.

A player may choose to throw the dice when control passes to him or her, or pass. It is not required to throw dice in order to bet on the play. Once a player has control of the dice, he or she keeps rolling until control is lost by throwing craps, not making a “point,” or voluntarily passing control to the next player after making a “point.”

The first roll of the dice by a new shooter is called the “Come Out roll,” or just the “Come Out.” It signals the beginning of a new game in Craps, which means a new betting round. A Come Out roll occurs for the first time for the new shooter once the prior shooter has failed to make a winning roll or when (as sometimes happens) the previous shooter has had a winning roll and wants to pass control of the dice anyway. A shooter who has just won a game, either by rolling a natural or by “making the Point,” has the right to keep the control of the dice. In that event the game will continue with the old shooter and a new roll to establish a new point.

The Come Out roll can have one of three outcomes:

• It can result in "craps," in which case the shooter loses and passes the dice. The game is over. Craps is a two ("snake eyes"), a three or a twelve ("boxcars").
• It can result in "a natural," that is, an automatic win, which is 7 or 11. In this case the shooter wins the game, and maintains control over the dice.
• It can result in a four, five, six, eight, nine, or ten. In this case the number rolled gives the shooter a "Point" to aim for in subsequent rolls. A large sign or marker is then placed on the layout to indicate which is the Point. If, while making additional rolls, the shooter repeats the Point, the shooter wins and the game is over. If, however, the shooter rolls a seven first, the shooter does not "make the Point" and the game is lost.

The Craps Betting Structure

The essence of craps is the betting that may be made about what the shooter will do. Some bets (called "right bets") are placed on the success of the
shooter, while others (called “wrong bets”) are placed against the shooter’s success.

Players other than the shooter are not required to bet on anything, but if a bet is placed, it must be at least the minimum bet. There are also maximums, but for “high rollers” only. The shooter, however, is obliged to bet on the Come Out roll. Most boxmen permit a shooter who has placed the bet to delegate shooting to a significant other (temporary or otherwise) for good luck. The minimum bet will be established by a sign at the table. In Las Vegas, $5 is about the lowest minimum bet available, though some off-strip casinos periodically will offer lower minimums.

The craps layout has three sections. The two side areas are mirrors of each other for the convenience of the players on either end of the table. These areas are separated by a single layout in the middle. The side areas are for the principal bets in craps. The middle area is for “Proposition Bets.” Players may “place” bets in the side areas if it is convenient, but only dealers are allowed to place bets in the middle area for the players. As a newcomer, it might be wise to ask the dealer to place all bets for you, until your sense of the layout and the flow of action at the table is more comfortable.

Five different types of bets can be placed in the side areas: The main one is the “Pass Line” (with a space for its opposite, “Don’t Pass”). There is also “Come” (with a space for Don’t Come), and then spaces for Odds bets, Place bets and Field bets.

Bets placed in the Pass Line will win with the shooter, when the Come Out roll is a seven or eleven. Pass Line bets lose when the Come Out roll is craps (2, 3 or 12). “Don’t Pass” is the reverse, except that a 12 (usually) is considered a “push.” This is indicated by a “Don’t Pass Bar.”

If anything other than a natural or craps is thrown, it becomes the Point and must be repeated in a subsequent throw before a seven is rolled. If the shooter makes the Point, the Pass Line bet wins. If a seven occurs first, the Pass Line bet loses, and the Don’t Pass bets win. Bets on the Pass Line can be increased during a game, but not decreased. The reverse is true for Don’t Pass.

“Odds on Pass Line” is an additional bet, in a multiple of the amount wagered on the Pass Line. It is made after a point has been established in a Come Out roll (i.e., the Come Out roll did not end with craps or a natural).

“Odds” bets win if the point is made. These bets are also called “Full Odds” or “Free Odds” bets because the payoffs vary in accordance with the Point number, and the payoffs reflect exactly the true odds of rolling that number. This means the bet is made with a house edge of zero. Thus, the higher the multiple of the Pass Line bet that is made on the Free Odds bet, the lower is the house’s edge (on average) for the money wagered. For example, if a bet of $5 on pass line is followed up by a $15 bet on Free Odds, the player has 25% bet with a house edge of around -0.925% and 75% with no house edge, so the average house edge is -0.47% on all $20. The layout does not have a specific place for Free Odds bets. The chips are just placed behind the chips on the Pass Line, at the appropriate time.

Come Bets are like Pass Line bets, except that they can be made only after the Pass Line bets have been resolved and the Point on the pass line has been made. In other words, the Come bets occur when the shooter has already made and won his or her Come Out. The “Come Point” refers to additional rolls of the shooter after getting past the Pass Line point. Come bets must be placed after resolution of the Pass Line bet, and before the next roll. Like Pass Line bets, Come bets win with a natural, lose with craps, win with a repeat of the come point, and lose with a seven. “Don’t Come” bets work just like “Don’t Pass” bets. “Odds on Come” bets are zero-edge bets that pay just like “Odds on Pass Line” bets.

Place Bets are bets on a particular number, made after the shooter has determined the Point. The bet is that a specific number (from among the possible Points of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 & 10) will be thrown before a seven. The payoffs vary according to the number bet upon.

Field bets are for one roll of the dice only. If the dice come out with 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12, the bet is won. If the dice come out 5, 6, 7 or 8, the bet is lost. The payoff schedule varies with the number thrown. Also available are “Big Six” and “Big Eight” bets. They are bets that a 6 or an 8, respectively, will be thrown before a 7 is thrown.

Proposition Bets are bets that can be made at any time by handing chips to a dealer and asking that they be placed on the table in the middle of the layout. With just one exception, they are all single roll bets.

• Any Craps pays 8:1 if craps is rolled.
• Any Seven pays 5:1 if a seven is rolled.
• Eleven pays 16:1 if an eleven is rolled.
• Ace Deuce pays 16:1 if a 3 is rolled.
• Aces or Boxcars pays 30:1 if a double ace or double six is rolled.
• Horn Bet is a set of four bets on 2, 3, 11 & 12. The payoff will vary according to which number is rolled, and the other three bets will lose. If the number is something else, of course, all four bets lose.
• Hardways is a multi-roll prop bet. It is that a given number will be "thrown hard" before it is "thrown easy" or a seven is thrown. Hardways bets can only apply to results that are even numbers because rolling a number "the hard way" means as a pair, like 2-2, 3-3 and so on. The "easy way" means any other combination totaling the same amount, as 3-1, 4-2, and so on. Double ace and boxcars are not included, obviously, there is no easy way to roll a two or a twelve. Payoffs vary.