Craps rules and house edge

Craps is a dice game played with two six-sided dice. Many bets can be made at once, which is why a live table looks busy. You do not need to learn every bet in order to understand the math: a few wagers have relatively low house edges, and many of the one-roll “proposition” bets have very high ones.

The pass line is the most common bet. On the come-out roll, 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3, or 12 loses, and any other total becomes the “point.” Once a point is set, the pass line wins if that point is rolled again before the next 7. The standard house edge on a pass-line bet is 1.41 percent.

Don’t pass is roughly the opposite, with a usual exception that 12 (and sometimes another specified total) is a push on the come-out rather than a win, so the house keeps a small edge. The standard house edge on don’t pass is about 1.36 percent. Come and don’t come bets, once a point is established, follow the same idea on later rolls.

Players are sometimes allowed to add “odds” bets behind a pass or come bet after a point is set. When a casino pays true odds on that additional bet, the odds portion has no house edge of its own. The overall edge on the money combined with the original pass or come bet is then lower than the edge on the line bet alone, because part of the total is being wagered at even math. That is a rules description, not a recommendation to increase your stake.

Many other craps bets are much worse. A one-roll “any 7” bet, for example, has a house edge of 16.67 percent. Other proposition bets often sit well above the pass-line figure. The field bet is better than those propositions but still usually worse than pass or don’t pass; the exact field edge depends on whether 2 and 12 pay double or triple. Read the layout.

No system of pressing or pulling bets after a win changes the fact that each wager carries its own edge. Come and don’t come bets work like pass and don’t pass after the come-out, so their standard edges match those line bets when the rules are the usual ones. Place bets, buy bets, and lay bets have their own posted pays and edges; some are closer to the line bets, and some are not. A crapless or similar layout changes the come-out rules so that some losing totals become points instead. That change is marketed as friendlier, but it typically increases the house edge on the pass-style bet. Read the posted rules rather than the nickname. If you play at all, use a licensed U.S. site only in a state that has authorized internet gaming. See the state legality guide.

See also: all game guides, where online casinos are legal, and responsible gambling help.