How to Play Craps: A Complete Beginner's Guide to Rules, Bets and Strategy

Craps is a casino dice game played with two six-sided dice. Players bet on the outcome of the dice rolls, and one player — the shooter — throws the dice. Everyone at the table can bet, and multiple people can win or lose on the same roll.

Despite its reputation for complexity, the heart of craps is one repeated question: will the shooter make their point before rolling a 7? Once you understand that rhythm, the rest of the table layout is just variations and side bets built around it.

Craps is a game of pure chance — no skill influences the dice — but it rewards players who understand which bets carry the lowest house edge. That's where this guide focuses.

The objective depends on which bet you make, but for most beginners it comes down to the Pass Line bet. You're betting that the shooter will:

1. Roll a 7 or 11 on the first roll (an instant win), or
2. Establish a point number and then roll that same number again before rolling a 7.

A 7 is your friend on the first roll and your enemy after a point is set. That flip is the single most important concept in craps.

A round of craps unfolds in two phases: the come-out roll and the point phase. The shooter keeps rolling until the round ends, and everyone bets around those rolls. Let's walk through each phase.

The come-out roll is the first roll of a new round. For Pass Line bettors:

• 7 or 11 (a "natural") — Pass Line wins immediately.
• 2, 3, or 12 ("craps") — Pass Line loses immediately.
• 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 — this number becomes the point, and the game moves into the point phase.

The shooter keeps rolling come-out rolls until a point is established.

Once a point is set, the dealer marks it with an "On" puck placed on that number. Now the shooter's job is to roll the point number again before rolling a 7.

• Point repeats — Pass Line wins, and a new round begins.
• 7 rolls first — this is a seven-out. The Pass Line loses, the dice pass to the next shooter, and a new round starts.

Any other number rolled during the point phase simply has no effect on the Pass Line — the shooter just rolls again.

Here's the full sequence from walking up to the table to collecting your chips:

1. Find a spot at the table and wait for the current round to reach a natural break.
2. Buy in by placing your cash on the layout (see below).
3. Place a Pass Line bet before the come-out roll — the simplest way to start.
4. Watch the come-out roll. 7 or 11 wins; 2/3/12 loses; anything else sets the point.
5. If a point is set, back your Pass Line with a Free Odds bet for a lower overall edge.
6. Wait for the outcome — the point repeating (win) or a seven-out (loss).
7. Collect or repeat. A new round begins and you can bet again.

When it's your turn to be the shooter, you're not obligated to — you can decline and pass the dice along.

To buy in, place your cash flat on the table layout — never hand it directly to the dealer. This is a security rule enforced at every casino; dealers aren't allowed to take cash hand-to-hand. The dealer will exchange your money for chips and slide them back to you.

Online, buying in is simpler: your account balance funds your bets directly, and you click bet areas on a digital layout.

A craps table looks busy because the layout is mirrored on both ends, so a full table can serve players from either side. The key areas you'll actually use as a beginner:

• Pass Line — the long band running around the outside; where your main bet goes.
• Don't Pass Bar — just inside the Pass Line; the opposite bet.
• Come / Don't Come — boxes for starting a new bet mid-round.
• The Point boxes (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) — used for Place bets and where the dealer marks the point.
• The Field — a one-roll bet on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12.
• Center section — Proposition and Hardway bets, managed by the stickman.

The crew running the table includes the boxman (supervises the game and bank), the stickman (moves the dice with a stick and calls the action), and two base dealers (handle bets and payouts on each end).

Stand where you can comfortably reach the Pass Line and Come areas — the bets you'll place yourself. The center prop bets are handled by the stickman, so you don't need to reach them. If the table is full, wait for a shooter to seven-out before slotting in, so you don't disrupt an active round.

Craps offers dozens of bets, but a handful cover almost everything you need. Below are the essentials, roughly in order of how useful they are to a beginner.

The workhorse bet. You wager before the come-out roll that the shooter will win (7/11 on the come-out, or the point repeats before a 7). It pays even money (1:1) and carries a house edge of about 1.41% — one of the best bets in the casino. Start here.

The mirror image of the Pass Line — you're betting with the house against the shooter. It wins when the Pass Line loses (mostly), pays even money, and has a slightly lower house edge of about 1.36%. It's statistically the best base bet, but you're rooting against the table, which can feel lonely. Both are excellent starting bets.

Come and Don't Come bets work exactly like Pass and Don't Pass, but you place them after a point has already been established. The next roll acts as your personal come-out roll. This lets you have multiple numbers working at once and is a natural way to build on the Pass Line without touching high-edge bets.

The Free Odds bet is the single most important bet in craps — it's the only wager in the entire casino paid at true odds with a 0% house edge. You can only make it after a point is established, by backing your existing Pass/Don't Pass or Come/Don't Come bet.

Because it has no house edge, the Odds bet dilutes the overall edge on your money. Always take odds when you can afford to.

A Place bet lets you bet that a specific number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) will roll before a 7, without needing it to be the point. Payouts and edges vary by number — the 6 and 8 are the most player-friendly Place bets, while 4 and 10 carry higher edges. Handy for betting on a number you like, but generally worse value than a line bet backed with odds.

The Free Odds bet pays at true odds, which vary by point because some numbers are harder to roll:

These ratios exactly reflect the real probability of rolling each number before a 7 — which is why the Odds bet carries no house edge.

Most casinos cap how much you can bet on Free Odds relative to your line bet. The common standard is the 3-4-5x odds rule:

• 3x your line bet on points 4 and 10
• 4x on points 5 and 9
• 5x on points 6 and 8

This structure is designed so the potential payout is roughly uniform across points. The higher the odds multiple a table allows, the more you can lean on the 0%-edge Odds bet — which is a genuine advantage worth looking for.

There's no strategy that beats craps long-term — the dice have no memory and the house edge is fixed. But you can play the lowest-edge game possible:

1. Stick to the Pass Line (≈1.41%) or Don't Pass (≈1.36%). These are the best base bets.
2. Always back your bet with Free Odds (0% edge) up to what you can comfortably afford. This is the closest thing to a mathematically optimal play.
3. Add Come/Don't Come bets with odds if you want more action, keeping the same low-edge structure.
4. Avoid the center Proposition and Hardway bets — they're the flashiest and carry the highest house edges on the table.

By combining a low-edge line bet with the 0% Odds bet, you minimize the casino's advantage. That's smart play — not a guarantee of winning.

• Learn one bet first. Master the Pass Line before touching anything else.
• Watch a round or two before joining if you're at a physical table.
• Ask the dealer — craps dealers are used to teaching newcomers and will help you place bets.
• Ignore the shouting. Table energy is fun but has zero effect on the dice.
• Set a budget before you sit down and treat it as the cost of entertainment.
• Take your time online, where there's no crew or crowd waiting on you — a great way to learn the flow.

Decide your total session budget in advance and never chase losses. A practical approach: bring an amount you're fully comfortable losing, size your line bets so a normal run of variance won't wipe you out in a few rolls, and keep enough set aside to take Free Odds. Set both a loss limit and a win target, and walk away when you hit either. Bankroll management doesn't change the odds — it protects your money and keeps the game fun. Never gamble with money you need for essentials.

Systems like the Martingale (doubling after losses), the Iron Cross, or various "progression" schemes are heavily marketed — and none of them beat craps. Betting systems don't change the fixed per-roll odds. Adjusting how much you bet after a win or loss can shape your short-term ups and downs, but over time the house edge on each individual bet is unchanged.

The only genuinely powerful move is structural, not systematic: combine a low-edge line bet with the 0% Free Odds bet. That's it. Anything promising to "beat" craps is selling a myth.

At a physical table, a few unwritten rules keep things smooth:

• Never hand cash to the dealer — place it on the layout.
• Keep your hands clear of the table when the dice are being thrown.
• The dice must hit the back wall for the roll to count.
• Handle the dice with one hand only when you're the shooter — this is a strict anti-cheating rule.

Online craps removes all of this — the software handles the throw — but knowing the etiquette makes your first live game far less stressful.

• Shooter — the player rolling the dice.
• Come-out roll — the first roll of a new round.
• Point — the number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) the shooter must repeat before rolling a 7.
• Natural — a 7 or 11 on the come-out (Pass Line win).
• Craps — a 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out (Pass Line loss).
• Seven-out — rolling a 7 after a point is set; ends the round.
• Snake eyes — a roll of 2 (two ones).
• Boxcars — a roll of 12 (two sixes).
• Free Odds — the true-odds, 0%-edge bet backing a line bet.
• Boxman / Stickman / Base dealers — the casino crew running the table.

Every craps payout traces back to how likely each dice total is. With two dice, a total of 7 is the most common (six ways to roll it), which is why it's the pivotal number in the game.

Probability of each dice total:

House edge by key bet:

Because the Odds bet has no house edge, backing a Pass Line bet with odds pulls the combined edge on your total wager below 1.41% — the more odds you take, the lower it goes. That's why craps, played correctly, offers some of the best value in the casino. Note that even the best play still has a house edge overall: RTP is high but never 100%.

• Chasing proposition and hardway bets. The center-of-table bets look exciting but carry the highest edges. Beginners lose fastest here.
• Skipping the Odds bet. The single biggest missed opportunity — it's free value with a 0% edge.
• Believing in "hot" or "cold" dice. Each roll is independent; past rolls don't predict future ones.
• Thinking a betting system beats the game. It doesn't — the per-roll odds are fixed.
• Over-betting the bankroll. Loading up on multiple numbers feels active but drains funds fast.
• Reading snake eyes as a jinx. It's simply the least likely single total; it only matters for specific bets.

"Snake eyes" is a roll of 2 (two ones) — the rarest total, at just 1 in 36 rolls. Whether it's good or bad depends entirely on your bet:

• On the come-out roll, a 2 is craps and the Pass Line loses — bad news.
• If you bet the 2 as a proposition bet, it pays big when it lands — but those prop bets carry a steep house edge, so they're bad value over time.

For a standard Pass Line player, snake eyes is simply an unlucky come-out.

Crapless craps is a variant where the numbers 2, 3, 11, and 12 don't lose on the come-out roll — instead, they become point numbers. It sounds friendlier because you can't "crap out" on those, but there's a catch: giving up the 11 as an automatic come-out win raises the Pass Line house edge compared to standard craps. It's a fun novelty, but standard craps with a Pass Line and Free Odds remains the better-value game.

You don't need a felt table to play. Street craps is a simplified home version: one player is the shooter and bets are made directly between players on whether the shooter rolls a natural (7/11 win), craps (2/3/12 loss), or makes their point.

To play at home you need only two dice and a flat surface (or a wall to bounce the dice off, mimicking the back wall). Note that home/street craps skips the elaborate layout and side bets — it's just the Pass/Don't Pass core. Rules for side wagers are informal and agreed among players. If you're learning, a free online craps simulator is the safest, clearest way to practice the flow before betting real money.

Craps has moved online in three formats, each with trade-offs:

• RNG (software) craps — a random number generator throws the dice. Fast, solo, and ideal for learning at your own pace. Look for independently certified RNG fairness.
• Live-dealer craps — a real dealer and real dice streamed to you, with digital betting. Closest to the land-casino feel, with genuine physical rolls.
• Land-based craps — the full crew, crowd and etiquette described throughout this guide.

The underlying rules, bets and odds are identical across all three. The differences are pace, atmosphere and minimums — online games often have lower table minimums, which is great for beginners. Always play at a licensed operator that publishes its game fairness certification.

Choose an online casino the same way you'd choose any place to put your money — on verifiable trust signals, not marketing. Look for:

• A valid license from a recognized regulator, clearly displayed.
• Independent RNG or game-fairness certification for software craps (e.g. testing lab seals).
• High-quality live-dealer craps with a reputable studio provider, if you want real dice.
• Clear rules and bet limits, including whether the table offers 3-4-5x odds or higher.
• Transparent terms — read the T&Cs before depositing.
• Responsible-gambling tools like deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion.

We describe selection criteria in prose rather than pushing a specific offer — always verify a casino's licensing and eligibility for your location before playing. 18+ only. T&Cs apply.

Craps can move fast, so guard-rails matter. Set a fixed budget, use deposit and loss limits, and treat any winnings as a bonus rather than expected income. Never chase losses, never borrow to play, and step away the moment it stops being fun.

Remember: no strategy makes craps a positive-expectation game. Play for entertainment, within your means. 18+ only. T&Cs apply. If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling, free confidential support is available — for example, GamCare, the National Council on Problem Gambling, or your local helpline. You can also use self-exclusion tools like GAMSTOP.