Craps is a casino dice game in which players wager on the totals and combinations produced by two six-sided dice. The game’s central sequence begins with a come-out roll, may establish a point, and ends when the point repeats or a 7 appears. Many other wagers can be active around that sequence.
The table looks complicated because it displays dozens of bets at once. The underlying Pass Line cycle can be learned in a few minutes.
The basic round in six lines
- A player called the shooter rolls two dice.
- The first roll of a new line-bet round is the come-out roll.
- On the Pass Line, 7 or 11 wins immediately.
- A come-out 2, 3, or 12 loses immediately.
- A 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 establishes the point.
- After a point is established, repeating that point wins the Pass Line; rolling 7 first loses it and is called a seven out.
That sequence is the structural spine of casino craps. Come bets create a similar personal point cycle after the table point is already on. Don’t Pass and Don’t Come take the opposing side with a few rule differences, including how 12 is treated under common rules.
Essential craps terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Shooter | The player currently rolling the dice |
| Come-out roll | The first roll of a new Pass/Don’t Pass cycle |
| Point | A 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 established on the come-out roll |
| Seven out | A 7 rolled after a point is on, ending the shooter’s line-bet cycle |
| Pass Line | Wagers with the shooter’s main line result |
| Don’t Pass | Wagers against the shooter’s main line result |
| Odds bet | An additional wager behind a line or come bet, commonly paid at true odds |
| Place bet | A wager that a selected box number appears before 7 |
| Proposition bet | Usually a center-table wager on a specific total or combination |
| Puck | The ON/OFF marker showing whether a point is established |
For a complete teaching route, use the main craps guide. This glossary entry is the doorway: it defines the game and the vocabulary without reproducing every payout and strategy table.
Why some bets are much more expensive than others
Craps is not one price. It is a collection of wagers sharing the same dice.
The Pass Line and Don’t Pass have relatively low standard house edges. The odds portion attached to a line or come bet is commonly paid at true odds, so the odds wager itself has no built-in percentage advantage for the house. Place bets, hardways, hop bets, horn bets, and other propositions use different probabilities and payout schedules.
That means two players standing side by side can face very different long-run costs. One may be making a line bet with odds; the other may be repeatedly betting one-roll propositions.
The basic expected-loss relationship is:
Expected loss = total amount wagered × house edge
Suppose one player makes 100 separate $10 wagers at a 1.4% edge and another makes 100 separate $10 wagers at an 11% edge:
- Total action for each player: 100 × $10 = $1,000
- Expected loss at 1.4%: $1,000 × 0.014 = $14
- Expected loss at 11%: $1,000 × 0.11 = $110
The same dice, table, and session length can therefore produce very different expected costs before short-term luck is considered.
Why 7 dominates the table
Two fair six-sided dice have 36 equally likely ordered combinations. The totals are not equally likely because some totals can be formed in more ways than others.
| Total | Number of combinations | Probability per roll |
|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 3 each | 3/36 = 8.33% |
| 5 or 9 | 4 each | 4/36 = 11.11% |
| 6 or 8 | 5 each | 5/36 = 13.89% |
| 7 | 6 | 6/36 = 16.67% |
Seven is the most common total because it can be made as 1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, or 6-1. That is why so many wagers are defined as a selected number appearing before 7. The casino does not need a mysterious table advantage; it can price the wager from the combination count and the payout.
A point of 6, for example, has five ways to appear while 7 has six. The true odds against making 6 before 7 are therefore 6 to 5, which is why the odds wager on point 6 is commonly paid 6 to 5.
The layout is also an ownership map
The printed boxes do more than name bets. Their location tells the crew:
- which wager type is active;
- which player owns a dealer-controlled stack;
- what amount is at risk;
- whether the wager is working;
- how it should be paid or collected after the roll.
Some wagers, such as Pass Line and Field, are commonly placed by the player in a self-service area. Other wagers, such as place bets and many come-number odds, are positioned by a base dealer. Center propositions are typically handled through the stickperson or under the house’s specific procedure.
Players should state the amount and destination clearly, then watch the dealer place the chips. Reaching into dealer-controlled boxes or changing a wager while the dice are moving creates avoidable disputes.
What the crew does
Traditional full-table staffing varies by jurisdiction and casino, but the recognizable roles are:
- base dealers, who book, position, pay, and collect wagers on their side;
- a stickperson, who controls the dice, calls results, and may handle center action;
- a boxperson or supervisor, who oversees procedure, the bank, and disputes.
Smaller, electronic-assisted, stadium, and mini-craps formats can divide the work differently. The operating goals remain the same: valid rolls, visible wagers, correct ownership, accurate settlement, and a clear record when an exception occurs.
Massachusetts publishes detailed Craps and Mini-Craps rules showing how a regulated jurisdiction defines wagers, valid throws, calls, and settlement. House procedures can differ, so the posted rules and dealer instructions at the table control the actual game being played.
Three misunderstandings worth removing early
“The shooter controls the probability”
A shooter can have a long winning hand, but a streak is not proof that the person has changed the dice probabilities. Valid rolls are treated as random events. Table energy can make a run memorable without making the next roll predictable.
“All bets are off on a come-out roll”
No. Working status depends on the wager and the player’s instruction. Line bets are specifically resolved by the come-out roll. Place and some other bets are often off by default on a come-out unless called working, but house rules and the exact wager matter.
“Odds has no edge, so the whole wager has no edge”
The odds portion can be paid at true odds, but it is attached to a required Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, or Don’t Come wager that still has a house edge. The blended percentage on the combined money is lower when more odds are taken, but the dollar amount at risk is also larger.
Example: point 6
A player places $10 on the Pass Line. The come-out roll is 6, so 6 becomes the point.
The round now has two main possible endings:
- 6 appears before 7: the Pass Line wins $10 at even money;
- 7 appears before 6: the Pass Line loses $10.
The player may also place odds behind the line bet. Common true-odds payment on point 6 is 6 to 5, so $10 odds would win $12. The line win and odds win are separate parts of the settlement.
The player does not need to memorize every proposition before starting. Learn Pass Line, Come-Out Roll, The Point, Seven Out, and Odds Bet first. Those terms turn the apparent chaos into a sequence you can follow.