Craps Table Explained

  1. Craps For Dummies and er.You! Craps can seem intimidating. It’s littered with strange words, odds, and numbers that seem out of context. Meanwhile, practiced players stand around the table cheering, groaning and yelling words that seem to make little sense.
  2. Payout Odds Table For All Craps Bets Dice Probability Odds and Combinations The C&E bet is actually a combination of the any craps bet and the yo bet. Basically when you bet on C and E, you are wagering that the shooter will roll any craps numbers (2, 3, or 12) and 11.
Craps table bets explained

Learning how to play craps isn’t as difficult as you might think. People are often steer away from playing the game because they think its too complex, but the only particularly complicated aspect is all the different types of bets that can be placed.

You don’t actually need to learn all of them to start playing and you can just stick to the simplest ones if you like.

You do, however, need to understand how the game is played.

Click on the image above to instantly practice and play free craps in your browser. (Opens in separate window in full screen.). As of 2020, US players are unable to play the craps game listed above. US players please click the banners on the left side (or below for mobile users) to visit free and real-money craps games at US-friendly casinos. Payout Odds Table For All Craps Bets Dice Probability Odds and Combinations The C&E bet is actually a combination of the any craps bet and the yo bet. Basically when you bet on C and E, you are wagering that the shooter will roll any craps numbers (2, 3, or 12) and 11.

This article will help as we cover everything you need to know to play craps in a live casino or online.

We explain the main objective of the game, the craps table, the betting layout, and the basic rules. We also introduce the different types of bets.

Game Objective in Craps

The main objective in craps is really quite straightforward. Basically you are just betting on the outcome of the roll of two dice.

Craps is pure chance since you can’t affect the outcome in any way, but you do have the choice of several wagers. The majority of these wagers are ultimately based on what combination of dice will be rolled.

The goal in craps is therefore to try to correctly predict which numbers will come up on the next roll. This is, of course, guesswork, but it doesn’t stop the game being a lot of fun.

Craps is played on a specially-designed table that features a betting layout where players can place their wagers. In a live casino, a table would look something like this.

The dice are rolled on the table by one of the participating players, referred to as the shooter. Typically, a new player will become the shooter at the end of each round, although one player may remain as the shooter for several in a row.

Anyone at the table, including the shooter, can make wagers by placing their chips in the appropriate spot on the betting layout.

A craps table requires the attention of several casino employees. You’ll usually find the following people running a table.

  • Boxman
  • Stickman
  • Base Dealers

The boxman is in charge of the chips at the table. He (or she) will exchange cash into chips for players and swap them for different denominations if required. He’s also responsible for supervising the dealers and generally ensuring that the game runs smoothly.

The stickman is in charge of the dice. He moves them around the table with the use of a stick (hence the name), passing them to the shooter at the start of each roll. He will also announce the outcome of each roll.

A craps table usually features two base dealers, one standing on either side. They are responsible for collecting losing bets and paying out winners. When requested to do so, they can also place certain bets on behalf of players.

The rules of craps are the same regardless of whether you are playing in a live setting or online. However, things are a lot simpler online. There’s no allocated shooter, as technically you are the shooter every time you play.

The diced are rolled automatically when you press the relevant button, and you place your bets by clicking in the appropriate place on the betting layout.

The following is an example of what an online craps table looks like:

Basic Rules

Each round in craps starts with what is known as the come-out roll. Most casinos will require that the shooter place a bet before making this roll on either the pass line or the don’t pass line.

If the combined value of the two dice on a come-out roll equals 2, 3, or 12, then this is “crapping out” and the round is over. Players will lose pass line bets and win don’t pass bets. If the come-out roll is 7 or 11, the round is also over.

Players win pass line bets and lose don’t pass bets.

If any other value is rolled on the come-out roll i.e. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, then a point is established, equal to the value rolled, and the round continues into the next stage.

The shooter continues to roll with players betting on the outcome of each, until they roll either a 7 or the point value that has been established.

Following a roll of either 7 or the point value, the round is over and a new come-out roll is required. It’s standard practice for the shooter to pass the dice to another player if a round ends with a 7, and to stay as shooter if the round ends with the point value being rolled.

This is essentially all there is to the basic rules of craps. What makes the game more complex are all the different bets that can be placed.

The following is a list of the different wagers you can place when playing craps.

  • Pass Line
  • Don’t Pass
  • Come
  • Don’t Come
  • Pass Line Odds
  • Don’t Pass Odds
  • Come Odds
  • Don’t Come Odds
  • Place Win
  • Place Lose
  • Buy
  • Lay
  • Big 6
  • Big 8
  • Hardways
  • Field
  • Any 7
  • Any 11
  • Any Craps
  • Ace Deuce
  • Aces
  • Boxcar

As you can see, there are numerous different bets in craps. Please don’t let this steer you away from playing the game as you really don’t need to learn them all.

They are pretty simple overall; it just takes a little time to familiarize yourself with each one.

You can read about all these bets in more detail here.

If you’re ready to put what you’ve learned here into action, you might want to consider trying out an online casino. You can play craps at most of the top online casinos that we recommend. If you want to play for real money, you’ll get a bonus for signing up and making your first deposit. And if you prefer to just play for fun, that’s an option at most places, too. Here are some of the online casinos we recommend playing at.

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Sep 03, 2019

There’s no getting around it: Craps is one of the more difficult casino games for casino beginners to learn. But it’s also one of the most exciting casino games to play, and once you get the hang of it, you don’t have to think too hard about Craps game strategy – just roll the dice and see what happens, online or live.

To make Craps a bit simpler, we’ve got a new, streamlined online Craps layout here at Ignition's online casino. The Classic game version is still available, and many online players will prefer to keep it old-school, but if you’re new to Craps, online or live, consider starting with the newer casino game version. We’re going to use this new casino game version as a reference in this online Craps guide, which explains the various Craps bets and where they can be found on the Craps table. Once you understand how a Craps table works, it becomes much easier to play Craps for real money.

While this online Craps casino game guide will acquaint you with several of the most popular Craps bets, casino beginners may need a more in-depth Craps explanation, which you can find in our Beginners Guide to Craps.


Craps Table Basics

Before beginning to play online Craps games, it’s helpful to get a run-down of the Craps table game basics. On the welcome bar at the top of the online Craps casino game table, you can see your real money bankroll and how much you’re betting. The menu at the top left will take you to a set of online casino player controls where you can toggle the sound on and off, view the rules for Craps games, and make real money deposits. The different denominations of chips ($1 to $500) are available at the far left, along with a “REBET” button to speed up the game when you’re using a standard Craps bet size.

Where to Find the Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line

The middle section of the Craps casino game layout is where most of the magic happens. This is where you’ll find the basic line play bets, including with the Pass Line and Don’t Pass Bar. New Craps players are recommended to start with Pass Line wagers, where you’re betting on the shooter (you, in this case) to win. Drag and drop your online chips on the Pass Line, which is the bottom row on the casino Craps table. Then when you’re ready, roll the dice.

The Pass Line pays even-money if you land a 7 or 11, and loses with a 2, 3, or 12; rolling anything else results in a Point. If you establish a Point, you’ll see the ON/OFF button at the top of the layout flip to the ON side and slide across to the number you’ve rolled (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) to make it easy to remember. With Pass Line bets, you want to re-roll the Point—not a 7.

Craps table odds explained

The Don’t Pass Bar is wedged between the Don’t Come Bar and the Don’t Pass Odds. This casino play bet is available only at the start of the round and pays when you land a 2 or 3 on the come-out. Rolling a 7 or 11 results in a loss, and a 12 is a push. All other numbers establish a Point Round, with the number you rolled being designated the Point number. To win your Don’t Pass bet during the Point Round, you must roll a 7; re-rolling the Point results in a loss.

Where are the Come, Don’t Come Bets?

When a Point is established, Come bets become available. This even-money bet initiates a mini round, making the next roll a secondary come-out roll. Just like with the Pass Line, if the outcome is a 7, or 11, the Come bet pays immediately. A 2, 3, or 12 results in a loss. Rolling a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 starts a Point Round for the Come bet, where you want to re-roll the Point before rolling a 7.

The Don’t Come Bar follows the same rules as the Don’t Pass Bar, and is available only during a Point Round. If you bet the Don’t Come, the next roll (the secondary come-out roll) pays if you land a 2 or 3, loses if you land a 7 or 11, and ties with a 12. All other outcomes initiate a Point Round for the Don’t Come bet, at which point, you’re hoping to roll a 7 before rerolling the Point.

Ready to make a Come and Don’t Come bet? On the online Craps casino game board, look below the black puck that says OFF for the Don’t Come Bar. You can drag and drop chips onto the rectangle to wager on it. As for the Come bet, look right above the field for the row that says Come. Drop chips anywhere on that row during a Point Round. At Ignition, the allowable betting range is $1-$100 for individual Craps bets, including Come bets.

Where to Find Big 6 and Big 8 Bets

Craps Table Layout Explained

The Big 6 and Big 8 bets are located at the bottom-left corner of the Craps casino game table. These are two separate bets that pay even-money if you land a 6 or 8 (depending on which bet you take) before rolling a 7. These online Craps play bets are available once a Point is established.

Where to Find Odds Bets

With zero casino house edge attached, the play odds are the best Craps bet in the online house. These are available only during a Point Round, and bolster your Pass Line or Don’t Pass bet. When you get Pass Odds, they pay when you roll the Point, and lose when you roll a 7. With Don’t Pass Odds, they pay when you roll a 7, and lose if you re-roll the Point. The real money payout depends on the Point number.

Where to Find Place to Win and Place to Lose Bets

Place to Win and Place to Lose bets become available during the Point Round and can be removed after any roll. Place to Win involves choosing a Point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) that you think will be rolled before a 7. Place to Lose involves choosing a Point number, and hoping that a 7 is rolled before that Point number.

The Place to Win and Lose betting rectangles are immediately above and below the Point numbers on the online Craps casino game board. Grab an online play chip and hover it over the top of the number, and you’ll see Place to Lose pop up; Place to Win will appear when you hover just below any of the Point numbers.

Where to Find Buy and Lay Bets

Craps Board Layout

Buy and Lay online play bets are the same as Place to Win and Place to Lose except for the payout. Once a Point is established, you can Buy a number, which means you’re betting that the number purchased will be rolled before a 7. Laying a bet involves choosing a Point number and betting that a 7 will be rolled before that chosen number is rolled. Both bets pay at true odds, but charge a 5% commission at the time of purchase.

Craps Strategy - Beginner Craps Rules To Advanced Craps Strategy

To take a Buy bet, drag and drop chips on the rectangle between the Come Bar and the Place to Win rectangle. When you hover over it, you’ll see BUY followed by whichever number you’re buying. As for the Lay bet, it’s in the rectangle above the Place to Lose area.

Where to Find Field Bets

Between the Come Bar and the Pass Line, you’ll see a rectangle that says FIELD. In the rectangle, there are numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12, with DOUBLE written over the 2, and TRIPLE written over the 12. These are your Field bets.

A Field bet is a single-roll wager on one of the numbers included in the field being rolled next. It pays when a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 is the next roll, and loses if a 5, 6, 7, or 8 is rolled next. If a 2 is rolled, the real money payout is doubled, and if a 12 is rolled, the real money payout is tripled. All other winning Craps play numbers result in a 1:1 payout.

Craps Table Explained Chart

Where to Find Proposition Bets

The Proposition bets are found in the bottom-right corner of the Craps play table, and they include both single-roll bets, which are resolved with a single roll of the dice, like Yo (11) and Any Craps (2, 3 or 12), and multi-roll bets, like the Hardway bets.

Cached

The Hardway online play bets are when you a roll a number with two identical dies. For example, rolling a 6 the hard way means rolling two Threes. Rolling 8 the hard way means rolling two Fours. Rolling 8 with a Five and Three is rolling it the easy way. You must roll the selected number the hard way in order to win; if you roll a 7, or roll the selected number the easy way, you lose. You keep rolling until one of these outcomes is achieved.

All other Craps play bets in the Proposition Bet section are single-roll bets that pay if you land the selected number on the next roll. Just drag and drop any number of Craps casino chips, up to the maximum $100, on the space that represents the bet you want to place, then hit the Roll button.

You’ll get a better understanding of how these Craps casino bets work by playing Craps in Practice Play mode for free. The more you understand the game, the more fun Craps is to play, so roll the bones and let us know what you think.