Craps Rules Explained: A Beginner's Guide to Bets

The short answer

Craps is a dice game where you bet on the outcome of rolls made with two six-sided dice, and the core bet — the pass line — wins if the shooter rolls a 7 or 11 on the first roll, loses on a 2, 3, or 12, and otherwise wins if the "point" number gets rolled again before a 7 shows up. That's the whole game in one sentence. Everything else is variations on that idea.

It looks chaotic at a real table, with players shouting and chips flying everywhere. But craps rules are actually simpler than blackjack once you strip away the noise. You're betting on dice combinations, and the math behind those combinations barely changes from casino to casino.

What is craps, actually?

Craps is played with two dice and a betting layout printed on felt. One player, called the shooter, rolls the dice while everyone else — including the shooter — places bets on what happens next. You don't need to be the shooter to play. Most people at the table are just betting on someone else's roll.

The game has two phases: the come-out roll and the point phase (Britannica). We'll walk through both, but if you want the full step-by-step mechanics of standing at the table, placing chips, and reading dealer signals, our beginner walkthrough covers that in more depth, including what changes when you're playing at an online or crypto casino instead of a physical table.

What happens on the come-out roll?

Every round starts with a come-out roll. This is the first roll after the previous round ended, and it decides everything.

• Roll a 7 or 11: pass line bets win immediately. This is called a "natural."
• Roll a 2, 3, or 12: pass line bets lose immediately. This is "craps."
• Roll a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10: that number becomes "the point," and the round moves to phase two.

If a point gets established, a marker puck flips to the "ON" side and sits on that number on the table. That's your visual cue for where things stand. If you're not sure what that puck or any other marker on the felt means, the table layout breakdown shows exactly what sits where.

What happens during the point phase?

Once a point is set, the shooter keeps rolling until one of two things happens: the point number comes up again, or a 7 shows up first.

• Point repeats before a 7: pass line bets win.
• A 7 shows up first: pass line bets lose, and the round ends.

Any other number rolled during this phase doesn't resolve the pass line bet — it just keeps the round going. This is where craps gets interesting, because a hot shooter can roll for several minutes without a 7 appearing, and every roll in between is a chance for side bets to pay out.

What is the don't pass bet?

You can also bet against the shooter with a don't pass bet, which is nearly the mirror image of pass line. It loses on 7 or 11 during come-out, wins on 2 or 3, and pushes (ties, no win or loss) on 12. Once a point is set, don't pass wins if a 7 comes before the point repeats.

Don't pass isn't "rooting against the table" in any meaningful sense — it's just a different mathematical bet, and it actually carries a very slightly lower house edge of about 1.36% (VegasInsider) than pass line's 1.41% (Casino.com). Nobody will be upset if you bet it.

Why do odds bets matter so much?

After a point is established, you can add an "odds" bet behind your pass or don't pass wager. This is the best bet in the casino because it pays true odds with a 0% house edge (Casino.com) — the casino makes its money on the original pass line bet, not on the odds portion. The exact payout depends on the point number, and the full breakdown of every combination lives in the odds table reference.

What other bets does the table offer?

Beyond pass and don't pass, the table offers place bets, field bets, hard ways, and one-roll proposition bets in the middle of the layout. Each has a different house edge, and some are dramatically worse than others. Place bets on 6 or 8 run about 1.52% house edge (VegasInsider), while hard ways can run 9-11% (Wizard of Odds) depending on the number. We rank every single one of them, best to worst, in our bet-by-bet ranking, and if you want the full math on where that house edge comes from, the house edge explainer walks through the calculations.

If some of the terms here — "hard way," "horn bet," "yo" — sound like a foreign language, that's normal. Craps has more table jargon than almost any other casino game, and our glossary of craps terms defines all of it in plain English.

What strategies will you hear about at the table?

Ask around any craps table long enough and you'll hear about the "3-point molly," a specific betting pattern some players swear by, or various progressive betting systems that claim to beat the house edge through bet sizing alone. We cover the 3-point molly and betting systems generally in separate articles, including honest math on why no betting pattern changes the underlying odds of independent dice rolls.

You'll also hear about dice setting — controlling how you grip and throw the dice to influence outcomes. We take that claim seriously enough to test it properly in the dice-setting myth breakdown, and the short version is that the physics doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

What changes when you play craps online or with crypto?

Craps rules don't change when you move online, but the experience does. RNG (random number generator) versions simulate the dice roll digitally, while live-dealer versions stream an actual table with a real shooter, often at a crypto casino accepting BTC or ETH deposits. Our crypto versus live comparison breaks down the practical differences, and if you're wondering whether an RNG dice roll can really be trusted, the RNG fairness explainer covers how provably fair systems and independent auditing work.

A quick reference table

How do you play responsibly?

Craps moves fast, and it's easy to lose track of how much you've bet across a long roll. Set a loss limit before you sit down, and treat every roll as independent — nothing that happened on the last ten rolls affects the next one. If gambling stops being fun, that's the signal to walk away, not double down.

If you're comparing craps to other table games, see the poker hand rankings reference for a different game's fundamentals.

Ready to see it in action? Play craps or browse the full craps category on Wild.io.

A quick note on playing smart: craps math is fun to study, but the house edge never goes away no matter how well you know it. Set a budget before you sit down, treat losses as the cost of entertainment, and use Wild.io's responsible gambling tools if you ever want to set limits or take a break.

Calculate any craps payout

Once you know the bets, use our craps payout calculator to see exactly what each one pays for any wager amount.

Sources

• Wizard of Odds: Craps — house edge calculations for all standard bets (retrieved July 2026)
• VegasInsider: Craps Odds — house edge figures for pass, don't pass, place, and hard way bets (retrieved July 2026)
• Casino.com: Craps Odds, Payouts & House Edge — pass line, don't pass, and free odds house edge (retrieved July 2026)
• Britannica: Craps — game rules, come-out roll, and point phase (retrieved July 2026)
• Wikipedia: Craps — game history and rule variations (retrieved July 2026)

What's the very first bet I should make in craps?

The pass line is the standard first bet because it's simple, visible, and carries one of the lowest house edges on the table at roughly 1.41% (Wizard of Odds). You place it before the come-out roll and it stays locked until the round resolves.

Can I bet both pass line and don't pass at the same time?

Yes, and some players do it deliberately to hedge, but the two bets partially cancel each other out and you'll still pay the house edge on whichever side eventually resolves against you. It's not a way to eliminate the house edge, just a way to change your variance.

Why is the odds bet considered the best bet in the casino?

Because it's the only wager on the felt with a mathematically zero house edge (Casino.com). The casino already earns its edge from your original pass line or don't pass bet, so the odds bet behind it pays out at true probability with no additional cut for the house.

What does "seven out" mean and why does everyone react to it?

"Seven out" means a 7 was rolled during the point phase, which ends the shooter's turn and loses every pass line and come bet still on the table. It's the single most consequential phrase in the game, which is why a loud table often goes quiet the moment it happens.

Is craps rigged online the way some players worry it is?

Licensed RNG craps games are independently tested for statistical fairness by third-party labs, similar to how physical dice are weight-tested by casinos before use. See the RNG fairness explainer for how that auditing actually works.

Do betting systems like the Martingale actually beat craps' house edge?

No. Betting systems change how quickly you might win or lose and how big your swings are, but they can't alter the underlying probability of independent dice rolls. The house edge is baked into the payout structure of each bet, not into your bet sizing. Our betting systems breakdown walks through the math in detail.