Ethan Clive Nov 17, 2025

Last Updated: 18 November 2025

How to Play Craps: A Guide to Rules, Bets, Odds, and Strategies

Learn how to play craps with a step-by-step guide covering table layout, bets, rolls, and simple strategies for smarter decisions.

Guides

Want to learn how to play Craps? It’s one of the most exciting casino games around – fast, loud, and packed with energy. Beneath all the cheers and dice rolls is a simple game built on clear rules and smart bets. In this guide, we’ll walk you step by step through how to play Craps, from the come-out roll to the point phase, explain every betting option on the table, and share strategies that give you the best odds whether you play online or live.

What is a Craps Dice Game?

Craps is the most popular of all dice games played in casinos. A single shooter is picked in each round to roll two six-sided dice, while all other players bet on the outcome of their roll. The objective is for the shooter to roll a 7 or 11 on their first roll, but different rolls can lead to more subsequent rolls and betting.

Craps is one of the most energetic games in any casino, famous for its highly interactive nature and the rowdy crowds of players and bystanders usually gathered around the tables. While nothing can replace live Craps, the popularity of online Craps has been soaring recently, with virtual and live versions providing a semblance of the real Craps experience in an online setting.

Origins of Craps Game

The modern game of Craps has its roots in a game called Hazard, which was popular across Europe in the Middle Ages. French settlers who travelled to the Americas brought Hazard to the New World, where it was gradually simplified and adopted into modern Craps. In the 19th century, Craps became a staple of the American casino culture, and its simple betting patterns became player favorites. Today, most big casinos in the world offer Craps, and the game tends to be one of the most exciting on the entire casino floor.

Rules of Craps Casino Game

Craps is a unique casino game that can only be played on a specialized Craps table. The table often looks intimidating to new players because it features a variety of betting areas and multiple people handling the game instead of a single dealer. Yet, Craps rules are actually much simpler than you might expect. Read the following sections and learn how to play Craps in just a few minutes.

Craps Table Layout & Game Set Up

The Craps dice table is split into multiple betting areas, each corresponding to a particular bet. These include areas like Pass/Don’t Pass, Come/Don’t Come, Field, and Props. Placing chips on any of these areas signifies a particular bet. The game is played with a pair of six-sided dice and an ON/OFF puck, which indicates whether a point number is set. Whether you play in a live or online casino, the Craps table clearly indicates which bets are only active for one roll, and which ones remain active for multiple rolls.

Who Bets in Craps?

In each round of Craps, one player is chosen as the shooter. Before rolling the dice, the shooter must place a Pass or Don’t Pass bet, and then roll the dice. Other players can also place bets before the first roll. The shooter’s first roll is called the “come out roll.” With this roll, the shooter either hits the Pass or Don’t Pass line, or goes into the Point phase, which initiates further rolls. In online craps, you will act as both the shooter and the player, allowing you to bet on your own rolls in perpetuity.

Roles at the Table

A live casino Craps table features more personnel than most other casino games. A stickman stands by the table with a large stick, collecting the dice and passing them to the shooter. The boxman sells chips and pays the wins for both the shooter and the other players. The dealer handles the bets and makes sure the game runs smoothly. These roles are simplified in online Craps, as computer software handles the chips, produces random dice rolls, and automatically pays your winnings.

How to Play Craps: Step by Step

Playing Craps at CoinPoker is convenient and straightforward. We offer both live dealer and virtual Craps tables. The gameplay is simplified compared to live casinos, but the same basic concepts remain. Each round comes down to a handful of stages, starting with your initial bet and ending with the final roll.

Step 1: Place Your Bet

The first step in a round of online Craps is placing your bets. You will want to bet on either Pass or Don’t Pass line for the best odds, but additional bets such as Come/Don’t Come and Props are also available. To place your bets at any CoinPoker Craps table, simply choose a chip denomination at the bottom of the screen and click on the appropriate betting area on the Craps table.

Step 2: Come Out Roll

Once bets are placed, the come out roll will start. At virtual Craps tables, the outcome of the come out roll is randomized by the RNG, while live dealer tables use a contraption to roll actual physical dice onto the table. If the come out roll total is 7 or 11, the Pass Line bets win immediately. If the come out roll total is 2, 3, or 12, the Don’t Pass Line bets win. If the come out roll total is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, this number becomes the point. The point will be clearly indicated during the following rolls, and all Pass Line bets will remain active in the point phase.

Step 3: Point Phase

If a point is set, additional rolls will commence. The point phase will continue for any number of rolls necessary until either a 7 or the point is rolled. If the point is rolled, all Pass Line bets will win. If a 7 is rolled before the point, Line Bets will lose in what’s known as a “seven out.” During the point phase, you can place additional bets, including Props, Field bets, and Come/Don’t Come bets.

Step 4: Round Ends

The point phase ends when the dealer rolls a 7 or the point number. If the point comes first, all Pass Line bets win, while Don’t Pass line bets lose. If the 7 is rolled first, Pass Line bets lose, and Don’t Pass line bets win. Most other bets are settled on a roll-by-roll basis, and they are all paid automatically by the computer. This allows for high-speed gameplay, even at the live dealer tables, where players are typically given 20 seconds to bet before every roll.

Craps Bets, Odds, and Payouts: Common Bets to Make

Unlike other casino games like Blackjack or Three Card Poker, Craps offers a variety of betting options, each with different Craps odds, payouts, and house edge. Understanding the different Craps bets is essential to making smart choices at the tables, so let’s go over all the various bets, what they mean, and what kind of returns you can expect from them.

Pass Line

The Pass Line is the simplest of all Craps bets. This bet wins immediately if the come out roll results in a 7 or 11, and loses immediately if the come out roll results in a 2, 3, or 12. If a point is set, the Pass Line bet will win if the point is rolled before a 7. The Pass Line bet pays even money and has an RPT of 98.59%.

Don’t Pass Line

The Don’t Pass Line is the opposite of the Pass Line. This bet wins if the come out roll results in a 2 or 3, and pushes if the come out roll results in a 12. If a point is set, the Don’t Pass Line wins if a 7 is rolled before the point. The Don’t Pass Line pays even money and has a high RTP of 98.64%, slightly higher than the Pass Line.

Come and Don’t Come

Come and Don’t Come bets become active after the come out roll, when a point is established. These bets are identical to the Pass/Don’t Pass Lines, and they have the same payouts and RTP. You can use the Come and Don’t Come bets to boost your initial bets or get involved in the middle of a round.

Place & Field Bets

Place bets allow you to bet on a particular number being rolled before a 7 during the point phase. Payouts for Place bets vary depending on the frequency of different rolls. Field bets are single-roll bets that win if the roll results in a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. The payout is even money for 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11, and double that for 2 and 12. The RTP of these bets is set at 94.44%, making them significantly less favorable than Pass/Don’t Pass and Come/Don’t Come.

Proposition Bets

Proposition bets (or Props) are single-roll bets that let you bet on the exact total of a particular roll. You can also bet on specific combinations or hard ways, and these bets offer payouts as high as 30:1. However, the house edge on Props is very steep, and RTP goes as low as 84%.

If you prefer a different dice game, we recommend you check out Sic Bo, where the bets are more straightforward and made purely based on roll of three dice.

What is the House Edge in Craps?

The house edge in Craps varies based on the bets you make. It ranges from around 0% (on free odds bets) to more than 16% (on high-risk proposition bets like Any 7). Most common wagers fall between 1.36% and 6.67%.

As you can see in the table below, each bet in Craps comes with a different house edge percentage. The house edge signifies the percentage of the total bets made that the house wins over the long run. While this is a theoretical number, it does tend to even out over many rolls. This is why making bets with a low house edge, such as Pass/Don’t Pass and Come/Don’t Come, is a much better choice than constantly going after Props, Field, and Place bets, which come with an exceedingly high house edge.

Bet	Payout	House Edge
Pass Line	1:1	1.41%
Don’t Pass Line	1:1	1.36%
Come	1:1	1.41%
Don’t Come	1:1	1.36%
Place 6/8	7:6	1.52%
Place 5/9	7:5	4%
Place 4/10	9:5	6.67%
Field	1:1 (2 and 12 is double)	5.56%
Props	Up to 30:1	5 to 16%

Online vs. Live Craps Compared

You can play the Craps dice game in both live and online casinos, and while the game is technically the same, there are some notable differences. At CoinPoker, you can play Craps in both a virtual and a live dealer version. In these games, you act as both the shooter and the player, and get to play through many rolls very quickly. CoinPoker gives you a chance to enjoy Craps from anywhere in the world, play on your mobile device, deposit and cash out via cryptocurrencies, and play with no KYC verification.

Here is a quick look at how online Craps at CoinPoker compares to playing the game in a live casino setting:

Feature	Online Craps	Live Craps
Dice Rolls	RNG-powered, provably fair	Rolled by a live shooter
Game Speed	Very fast	Quite slow
Player’s roll	Single shooter and player	Separate shooter and player
Atmosphere	Private, relaxed, no pressure	Social, exerts great pressure
Dealer Errors	Impossible	Somewhat common
Bets	One-click bets	Clunky betting with physical chips
Accessibility	Instant access via mobile or desktop device	Only available in a live casino
Verification	No KYC needed	ID checks are common

Craps Strategy

Craps is a game of chance, but that doesn’t mean there is nothing you can do to boost your odds. If you want to be successful at Craps, you should focus mainly on bets with a low house edge and follow the best betting patterns. Check out our Craps strategy for more details, or follow these simple strategy tips to start playing immediately.

Combine Pass Line and Odds

Smart Craps players combine the Pass Line bet with the special Odds bet to boost their chances. The Odds bet becomes available once the point is set, and it comes with no house edge attached to it. Any chips you put on the Odds bet (behind the Pass Line), will boost your Pass Line bet, and this bet will pay true to the odds (2:1 for 4 or 10, 3:2 for 5 or 9, 6:5 for 6 or 8). Using the Odds bet can diminish the house edge in Craps even further.

Use Place Bets on 6 and 8 to Build Profitable Sessions

While all bets besides Pass/Don’t Pass, Come/Don’t Come, and Odds are not favorable for the player, the Place 6 and 8 bets have the lowest house edge of them all. These numbers roll more often than others, and a Place 6 or 8 bet pays 7:6 with a house edge of 1.52%.

Avoid High-House Edge Prop Bets

Avoiding Prop bets is the most important Craps strategy you should remember. While you will surely see other players placing Prop bets and gambling it up, you should avoid those at all costs. Instead of putting chips on “Any 7” or “Hard 4,” simply pile the chips on the Odds bet and enjoy the game. The house edge on Prop bets climbs to over 10%, which makes them absolute bankroll killers.

Master Craps with CoinPoker

In this quick guide, we taught you how to play Craps, what bets to place, and which basic strategies to apply. All that’s left is to try these in action, and there is no better place to do so than CoinPoker. Sign up with CoinPoker now and join our Craps tables with bets as low as $0.50 per roll. Pick between the virtual and live dealer versions of Craps and enjoy the fast-paced action and the highest Craps payouts available anywhere.

Similar Games to Craps You can Explore

CoinPoker is home to hundreds of different casino games, and if you ever grow tired of playing Craps, there are plenty of alternatives. Here is a look at a few other casino games Craps fans are often attracted to:

Crash Games: Crash games have revolutionized the casino industry with their fast-pace and simple gameplay that anyone can get accustomed to in just minutes.
Plinko: For the fans of arcade gaming, Plinko is the optimal choice, as it mixes the thrill of casual gaming with a chance to win real money in every round.

FAQs

What are the basic rules of Craps?

The shooter rolls two dice in a come out roll. If the result is 7 or 11, players who bet on the Pass line win. If the result is 2, 3, or 12, the Pass Line loses. On other results, the number becomes the point, and more rolls are initiated.

Who makes bets in Craps?

Any player at the table can make bets, but only one player is chosen to be the shooter in every round.

What does the ON OFF puck mean?

If the puck is ON, the game is in the point phase, and the point number is clearly marked. If the puck is OFF, the game is in the come out roll.

Which bets have the lowest house edge in Craps?

Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line, and Odss bets have the lowest house edge in Craps.

What are hardways bets in Craps?

Hardway bets are bets on the exact outcome of the next roll. These bets only win if the shooter rolls the particular number the “hard” way. You can bet on hard 4 (two 2s), hard 6 (two 3s), hard 8 (two 4s), and hard 10 (two 5s).

What is the best Craps strategy for beginners?

Stick to the Pass/Don’t Pass bets and bet additional money on Odds whenever a point is set.

Ethan Clive