Craps looks difficult because the layout shows dozens of wagers at the same time. The underlying game is much smaller. Two dice are rolled. On the come-out roll, the Pass Line wins on 7 or 11, loses on 2, 3, or 12, and establishes a point on 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Once a point exists, the Pass Line wins if that point repeats before a 7 and loses if 7 appears first.
Everything else on the table is an additional way to price those same dice combinations.
That is the useful way to learn craps: start with the dice, then the line-bet cycle, then compare optional wagers by true probability and payout. Do not start by memorizing the whole felt.
Start with the 36 dice combinations
Two fair six-sided dice create 36 equally likely ordered combinations.
| Total | Combinations | Probability per roll |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 1/36 = 2.78% |
| 3 | 2 | 2/36 = 5.56% |
| 4 | 3 | 3/36 = 8.33% |
| 5 | 4 | 4/36 = 11.11% |
| 6 | 5 | 5/36 = 13.89% |
| 7 | 6 | 6/36 = 16.67% |
| 8 | 5 | 5/36 = 13.89% |
| 9 | 4 | 4/36 = 11.11% |
| 10 | 3 | 3/36 = 8.33% |
| 11 | 2 | 2/36 = 5.56% |
| 12 | 1 | 1/36 = 2.78% |
That table explains most of craps.
Seven is common because six combinations make it. A 4 or 10 has only three combinations. A hard 10—5-5—has only one specific combination. When a payout looks generous, the first question should be: how often can that result actually occur?
For a deeper walkthrough, use Craps Dice Combinations and Craps Probability Basics.
The Pass Line gives the game its basic rhythm
A Pass Line wager is resolved in two stages.
Come-out roll
- 7 or 11: Pass wins.
- 2, 3, or 12: Pass loses.
- 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10: that number becomes the point.
Point cycle
After a point is established, the shooter keeps rolling until either:
- the point repeats, which wins the Pass Line; or
- 7 appears first, which loses the Pass Line and ends that point cycle.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission craps rules describe the same basic Pass Bet structure: 7 or 11 wins on the come-out roll, 2, 3, or 12 loses, and the other box numbers establish the point.
The Pass Line Bet page walks through the sequence in detail.
Don’t Pass is not simply “betting against the shooter”
The Don’t Pass wager takes the opposite side of much of the Pass Line structure, but the come-out treatment is not perfectly symmetrical.
On common rules:
- 2 or 3 wins;
- 7 or 11 loses;
- 12 pushes;
- 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 establishes the point.
Once a point is set, Don’t Pass wins if 7 arrives before the point repeats.
The emotional framing—“right bettor” versus “wrong bettor”—can make the wager feel socially different from the Pass Line. Mathematically, it is simply another contract with its own rules and edge.
Read Don’t Pass Bet and Don’t Pass House Edge for the price of that contract.
Odds bets are the unusual part of casino craps
After a point is established, a player with an eligible Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, or Don’t Come wager can often add an odds bet. The maximum allowed odds varies by property and rules.
The important feature is that the odds portion is paid at true odds rather than with a built-in house edge.
For Pass/Come odds, common true-odds payouts are:
| Point | Chance point before 7 | Common odds payout |
|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 3 ways vs 6 ways | 2:1 |
| 5 or 9 | 4 ways vs 6 ways | 3:2 |
| 6 or 8 | 5 ways vs 6 ways | 6:5 |
That does not make the total wager house-edge free. The original line bet still carries its normal edge. Adding odds lowers the blended house edge relative to the total amount at risk because more of the money is placed at fair odds.
This is why craps is one of the few casino games where “bet more” can reduce the percentage edge on the combined action while still increasing the dollars exposed.
Use Odds Bet, Odds Bet House Edge, and Combined House Edge With Odds before assuming the phrase “free odds” means free money.
Come and Don’t Come create new line-bet cycles
A Come bet made after a table point is established behaves much like a new Pass Line bet beginning with its own come-out roll. If it travels to a number, that number becomes the Come bet’s personal point.
A Don’t Come wager follows the corresponding opposite structure.
This is where beginners can become confused: the table point and the Come bet’s number can exist at the same time. A 7 can therefore settle several wagers differently on one roll.
Read Come Bet and Don’t Come Bet before building multi-point strategies such as Three Point Molly.
Place bets trade simplicity for a different price
Place bets let you wager directly that 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will roll before 7.
They are easier to understand than a full line-bet cycle because the comparison is direct: the selected number versus 7.
The price depends on the number and payout.
Place 6 and Place 8 are popular because each number has five combinations against six combinations for 7, and the common 7:6 payout gives them a relatively modest house edge. Place 4 and 10, by contrast, compete with 7 from only three combinations each and are normally less attractive at standard place-bet payouts.
Use Place Bets, Place 6 and 8, and Place Bet House Edge to compare them accurately.
Buy and lay bets are not the same as place bets
A buy bet generally pays true odds on a selected number but charges a commission, usually called vigorish or vig. A lay bet takes the opposite side: you are betting that 7 will arrive before the selected number, again with a commission structure.
Whether the commission is charged when the bet is made, only when it wins, or under another property rule can materially change the effective edge.
That is why a craps wager cannot be judged from its name alone. Payout plus commission rule plus number selected determines the price.
See Buy Bets and Lay Bets for the calculation.
The Field is simple because it resolves in one roll
The Field bet wins or loses on the next roll only. Common layouts pay on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12, with special enhanced payouts on 2 and/or 12 depending on the table.
That last detail matters. A Field bet that pays double on both 2 and 12 is not priced the same as one that pays double on one extreme and triple on the other.
“Field bet” is therefore not enough information. Read the layout.
The Field Bet and Field Bet House Edge pages compare the common versions.
Center-table proposition bets sell excitement at a price
The middle of the table contains many visually attractive wagers:
- Any 7;
- Any Craps;
- 2, 3, 11, or 12 individually;
- Horn and Horn High wagers;
- hardways;
- hop bets;
- world bets and other combinations;
- property-specific bonus wagers.
These bets can produce large payouts from small chips because the winning events are relatively rare. The payout board can therefore look generous while still paying less than true odds.
For example, 11 has two combinations out of 36. Once only 11 and “not 11” matter, fair net odds would be 17:1. A common Yo payout of 15:1 is lower than those fair odds, creating the house edge.
That is the right way to evaluate proposition bets: count the combinations, then compare the casino payout with fair odds.
Use Proposition Bets Ranked, Yo Bet, Hardways, and Horn Bet for individual prices.
Hardways are multi-roll wagers, not just “double numbers”
A hardway on 4, 6, 8, or 10 wins when the number appears as doubles before either:
- the same total appears the easy way; or
- 7 appears.
For Hard 10, for example, 5-5 wins. The easy 10s—4-6 and 6-4—and the six combinations making 7 lose the wager.
That gives one winning combination against eight resolving losing combinations. Fair net odds would therefore be 8:1, while a common 7:1 casino payout creates an 11.11% house edge.
That is very different from Place 10 or Buy 10 even though all three wagers contain the number 10.
Betting systems change the path, not the edge
Craps attracts progression systems because results come in visible runs and the table offers many ways to press, regress, cancel, or spread wagers.
Martingale, Fibonacci, regression systems, Iron Cross, Three Point Molly, and other structures can change:
- average wager size;
- volatility;
- bankroll requirements;
- how often a session shows a small win;
- exposure to a bad sequence.
They do not make an underpaid casino wager fair.
A progression is a bet-sizing rule, not a probability engine. Read Betting Systems Debunked and Betting Progressions Compared before treating a smoother session pattern as a mathematical advantage.
Dice setting is not proof of dice control
Craps feels more controllable than many casino games because a player physically throws the dice.
That creates a natural temptation: if you can set the dice, grip them consistently, and throw them softly, perhaps you can change the distribution enough to beat the game.
A reproducible advantage would need measurable evidence that the shooter changes outcome frequencies enough to overcome the relevant house edge under real table conditions and enforcement of valid-roll procedures.
A hot hand is not proof. A carefully arranged starting face is not proof. A video of a short winning session is not proof.
See Dice Control Myth, Controlled Shooting Reality, and Are Craps Dice Random?.
Table procedure matters because craps has many simultaneous obligations
Craps is operationally demanding. A traditional table may involve a boxperson, stickperson, and base dealers, with procedures varying by property and jurisdiction.
The crew must manage:
- dice selection and movement;
- valid-roll calls;
- verbal wagers;
- self-service and dealer-controlled betting areas;
- presses and reductions;
- odds and commissions;
- fast multi-player payouts;
- disputed bets;
- fills and credits;
- chip security and game protection.
That is why a beginner should not assume a dealer can infer an ambiguous wager after the dice are in the air. Place the bet clearly, confirm the amount, and learn which areas are self-service versus handled by the dealer.
For the operating side, read Dealer Procedure, Payout Procedure, Stickman Role, Base Dealer Role, and Game Protection.
A practical learning order
If you are new to craps, use this order rather than trying to decode the full table at once:
- Learn the 36 dice combinations.
- Learn the Pass Line cycle.
- Learn Don’t Pass.
- Understand odds behind line bets.
- Add Come and Don’t Come.
- Compare Place 6 and 8 with line-bet alternatives.
- Learn how buy and lay commissions work.
- Read the Field payout printed on the table.
- Price proposition bets individually before playing them.
- Ignore progression systems until you understand the base wagers they are changing.
The How to Play Craps page is the best next step for table flow, while Craps Bets Explained is the map of the wager families.
The central craps lesson
Craps is not difficult because the dice math is advanced. It is difficult because many differently priced bets are presented together in a fast, social environment.
The player who understands only a few wagers but knows their price is in a stronger position than the player who knows every stick call but cannot distinguish true odds from a high-edge proposition.
You do not need to predict the shooter. You do not need to copy the loudest player. You do not need a progression.
You need to know what event you are buying, how often it can occur, what the casino pays, and how much total action you are putting through the table.
That is the foundation for everything else in this craps section.