Craps Rules

Craps is a very easy and lively game to play, but its rules can seem complicated. The game involves predicting which numbers will be rolled on a pair of dice. The first roll of the dice in a craps round is known as the "come out roll." The opening wager is placed just prior to the come out roll, and is referred to as the "pass line bet." Pass line wagers are instant winners when the shooter's (person tossing the dice) come out roll totals seven or 11, and lose when the come out roll is 2, 3 or 12. Should 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 be rolled on the come out roll, that number becomes "the point." Once the point's been established, a plastic disc labeled "ON" is placed upon the table over the box for the number rolled as the point

Types of Bets
Before rolling the dice, bets may be placed in various fields on the craps table.

Pass Line Bets
A pass line bet is put on the field labeled "PASS LINE" on the craps table before the come out roll. A wager on the pass line wins should the come out roll is 7 or 11, and loses if 2, 3 or 12 comes up. Should 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 be rolled, that number becomes "the point." To win the pass line bet, a shooter must roll the point again before rolling a 7. If a shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again, your pass line bet loses. Winning pass line bets pay even money (1 to 1). Once the point's been established, unresolved pass line bets cannot be removed nor reduced. They can only be resolved by a roll of the point or 7.

Don't Pass Line Bets
A don't pass line bet is basically the reverse of a pass line bet, and is placed upon the craps table in the "DON'T PASS BAR" prior to the come out roll. If a shooter rolls 2 or 3 on the come out roll, a don't pass line bet wins. But if the come out roll is 7 or 11, don't pass line bets lose. If the come out roll is twelve, a don't pass line bet is returned to the player in a push. Should the come out roll be 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes the point. Once the point has been determined, don't pass line bets win if a shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again. If a shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7, don't pass line bets lose. Winning don't pass line bets pays even money (1 to 1).

Come Bets
A come bet is placed in the "COME" bar upon the craps table before any dice are rolled, once the point has been determined by the come out roll. The rules for come bets are virtually the same as pass line bets. Come bets win if a shooter's next roll is 7 or 11, & lose if the roll is 2, 3, or 12. If a shooter rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes "the come point," and the dealer moves the come bet from the "COME" bar upon the craps table to the box corresponding to the come point: "4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10." If a shooter rolls the come point again before rolling a 7, the come bet pays even money. The come bet will remain in place until the come point or a 7 is rolled. Similarly to the pass line bet, unresolved come bets shall neither be removed nor reduced. They may only be resolved by a roll of the come point or 7.

Don't Come Bets
A don't come bet is basically the opposite of a come bet, which is placed following the come out roll in the "DON'T COME" bar on the craps table. Don't come bets win if the shooter's next roll is 2 or 3, and lose should the roll result in a 7 or 11. If the shooter rolls a twelve, the wager shall be returned to the player in a push. Should the roll result in a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes "the come point," and the dealer shall move the don't come bet from the "Don't Come Bar" to the left corner of the narrow, topmost bar over the box corresponding to the come point: "4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10". After the come point is determined, don't come bets win even money if 7 is rolled & lose if the come point is rolled. Don't come bets will remain in place until the come point or a 7 is rolled. However, don't come bets not resolved can be removed.

Odds Bets
The "odds" bet is a "back up" wager on an original pass line bet, don't pass line bet, come bet, or don't come bet. The maximum odds bet is three times your original bet.

Pass Line Odds Bets
After the point has been determined, a pass line odds bet is made by placing a bet near the "PASS LINE" bar, beneath your original pass line bet. The winning pass line odds bet pays true odds: 2 to 1 on a roll of 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on a roll of 5 or 9, & 6 to 5 on a roll of 6 or 8. Unlike the original pass line bet, a pass line odds bet not resolved can be removed.

Don't Pass Line Odds Bets
Once the point's been determined, a don't pass line odds bet is put on the "DON'T PASS BAR" area beside your don't pass line bet. Winning don't pass line odds bets pay true odds: 1 to 2 on a roll of 4 or 10, 2 to 3 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 5 to 6 on a roll of 6 or 8. A don't pass line odds bet not resolved can be removed.

Come Odds Bets
After the come point has been established, a come odds bet may be placed directly beneath your come bet in the box which corresponds to the come point: "4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10." Winning come odds bets pay true odds: 2 to 1 on a roll of 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on a roll of 5 or 9, & 6 to 5 on a roll of 6 or 8. Different from the original come bet, an unsettled come odds bet can be removed.

Don't Come Odds Bets
Following the come point's establishment, an odds bet may be placed beneath your don't come bet within the narrow, topmost bar. This bar is above the box which corresponds to the come point: "4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10." Winning don't come odds bets pay true odds: 1 to 2 on a roll of 4 or 10, 2 to 3 on a roll of 5 or 9, and 5 to 6 on a roll of 6 or 8. An unsettled don't come odds bet can be removed.

Field Bets
A field bet is a wager that the next roll of the dice will be 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. It's placed in the "FIELD" bar on the craps table prior to any roll of the dice. If the next roll is 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11, the field bet wins even money. If two is rolled, the field bet wins 2 to 1. If twelve is rolled, the field bet wins 3 to 1. If 5, 6, 7, or 8 is rolled, the field bet is lost.

Big 6 and Big 8 Bets
A big 6 bet is a wager that 6 will be rolled before 7. Similarly, a big 8 bet is a gamble that 8 will be rolled before 7. A big 6 or a big 8 bet is put in either the "6" or "8" box that is located in the crap table's left corner. A big 6 or big 8 bet wins even cash should the shooter roll a 6 or 8 before rolling 7. Unresolved Big 6 & big 8 bets can be removed.

Place Bets
There are 2 sorts of place bets:
A place win bet is a wager that either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before a 7. A place win bet is put in the narrow, unlabeled bar located just beneath the box with the corresponding number on the craps table: "4, 5, six, 8, nine, or 10." Winning place win bets are paid in accordance with the following ratios: 7 to 6 on numbers 6 & 8, 7 to 5 on numbers 5 and 9, and 9 to 5 on numbers 4 and 10.

A place lose bet is a gamble that 7 will be rolled prior to either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. A place lose bet is positioned in the right-hand side of the narrow, unlabeled bar located just over the box with the representative number on the craps table: "4, 5, six, 8, nine, or 10". Winning place lose bets are paid in accordance with the following ratios: 4 to 5 on numbers 6 & 8, 5 to 8 on numbers 5 & 9, and 5 to 11 on numbers 4 & 10.

Buy Bets
A buy bet is a bet that either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before 7. A buy bet is placed in the box (labeled "BUY") corresponding to the number on the craps table: "4, 5, six, 8, nine, or 10". A vigorish (vig.) of 5% is charged on your profit from this bet. Buy bet winnings are then paid at true odds: 6 to 5 on numbers 6 and 8, 3 to 2 on numbers 5 and 9, and 2 to 1 on numbers 4 and 10.

Lay Bets
A lay bet is essentially the reverse of a buy bet. A lay bet is a bet that 7 will be rolled before 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. The lay bet is placed in the top bar (labeled "LAY") above the box corresponding to the number on the craps table: "4, 5, six, 8, nine, or 10". A vigorish (vig.) of 5% is charged on your profit from this bet. Lay bet winnings are then paid at true odds: 5 to 6 on numbers 6 and 8, 2 to 3 on numbers 5 and 9, and 1 to 2 on numbers 4 and 10. Unresolved lay bets may be removed.

Any 7 Bets
An "any 7" bet is a wager that the next roll of the dice shall be a 7. It's placed on any roll of the dice in the "SEVEN" field on the craps table. If 7 is rolled, the player wins 4 times their bet.

Any Craps Bets
An "any craps" bet is a wager that the next roll of the dice will be 2, 3, or 12. It's placed on any roll of the dice in the "ANY CRAPS" field on the craps table. If 2, 3, or 12 is rolled, the player win 7 times their bet.

Horn Bets
A horn bet is a wager that the next roll of the dice shall be either 2, 3, 11, or 12. It's placed on any roll of the dice in the box on the craps table containing the 2 illustrated dice which add up to either 2, 3, 11, or 12. A winning horn bet pays 15 to 1 on numbers 3 & 11 and 30 to 1 on numbers 2 & 12.

Hardway Bets
A hardway bet is a wager that the shooter will roll either a 4, 6, 8, or 10 as doubles (2+2, 3+3, 4+4, or 5+5) before rolling a 7. The hardway bet is putin the box on the craps table containing the 2 illustrated dice corresponding to the number. Rolling a number by doubles is referred to as rolling the number "the hard way." For example, a roll of 4+4 is a named a "hard 8," while a roll of 5+3 or 6+2 is called an "easy 8." A winning hardway bet pays 7 to 1 on numbers 4 & 10 and 9 to 1 on numbers 6 & 8. If you roll an "easy" prior to rolling a "hard" you lose your bet. Unresolved hardway bets can be removed.

Print Send to friend