Online Craps

If you go by the number of cheers, high-fives, and general rowdiness it generates, Craps is the most exciting game in the casino. One of the all-time classics, this dice game might seem complex at first, but with a basic understanding of the rules, you’ll soon be cashing in on one of the most popular casino games in the world.

How to Play Online Craps

Rounds and Rolls

Craps is, at its core, a game based on dice. A Craps round can go on for many rolls, or end after a single roll, depending on what the dice land on.

The first roll of a round is called the come out roll. If the come out roll is a 2, 3, 7, 11 or 12, the round is over. If the come out roll is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, the number rolled becomes the point, and a marker is put on that point for reference. If, on the next roll, a number other than a 7 or the point is rolled, that number in turn becomes the point. A round continues until either the current point, or a 7, is rolled.

Put more simply, after the come out roll, a player keeps rolling the dice until they roll either a 7 or the same non-7 number twice in a row, at which point the round is over.

Craps Betting

To get started, place a bet by clicking one of the denominations on the edge of the table and then click where you’d like to bet that amount on the table.

There are many many ways to bet in a game of craps, each of them with different rules and payouts. Start simple and get more adventurous as you go!

Pass Line bet

The most common bet on the first round of a game is on the Pass Line bet.

The Pass Line bet is made on the first roll of a round. It is an even money bet that wins if the come out roll is a 7 or 11. If the come out roll is a 2, 3, or 12, known as Craps, all pass line bets lose. If the come out roll is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, the round continues without a win or loss.

From that point on, two things can happen: either you’ll roll your point before rolling a 7 and win, or roll a 7 before rolling your point, and lose.

Don’t Pass bet

Placing a Don’t Pass bet reverses the rules of the Pass Line bet. On a Don’t Pass bet, a come out roll of 2 or 3 is a winner, a 12 is a push, and a 7 or 11 is a loss.

If on a Don’t Pass bet the come out roll is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, the point is established and the shooter wants to roll a 7 before rolling the point. If a 7 rolls first, the bet wins, if the point is rolled first, the bet is lost.

Buying the Odds

Once a point has been established, you can bet up to three times their Pass Line bet that the point will be rolled before a 7. If it is, your bets pays out at 2:1 if the point was 4 or 10, at 3:2 if the point was 5 or 9, and at 7:6 if the point was 6 or 8.

Laying the Odds

Once a point has been established, if you’d rather bet that the 7 will be rolled before the current point, try Laying the odds. In this case, betting a 7 will be rolled before the point pays out at 1:2 if the point is a 4 or 10, at 2:3 if the point is 5 or 9, or at 5:6 if the point is 6 or 8.

The Come bet

If a point has already been established for the table, you can still bet on what is essentially a Pass Line bet by playing a Come bet. A Come bet applies the same rules of the Pass Line bet to the next roll. That means if a 7 or 11 is rolled, you win even money. If a 2, 3, or 12 is rolled, you lose, and if a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 is rolled, that number is established as the point for your come bet as well.

Don’t Come

The inverse of a Come bet, this bet functions like a Don’t Pass bet made after the come out roll. You lose on a 7 or 11 on the first roll, or push on an 11 on the first roll, but then win if any non-7 is rolled following that.

Place bets

If you want to bet on a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 being rolled without placing a Pass Line or Don’t Pass bet, you can wager a Place bet. With a Place bet, you are betting that a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before a 7, without having had to risk a Pass Line or Don’t Pass bet. As a result of the lower risk of a Place bet, the payouts are slightly less lucrative: a Place bet on a 4 or 10 pays 9:5, a 5 or 9 Place bet pays 7:5, and a 6 or 8 Place bet pays 7:6.

Place to Lose bet

The opposite of a Place bet. In this case, you are betting that a 7 will be rolled before the specific number you’ve bet on, while not having to place a Pass Line or Don’t Pass bet. Betting on a 4 or 10 Place to Lose bet pays 5:11, betting on a 5 or 9 pays 5:8, and betting on a 6 or 8 pays 4:5.

Buy bets

Buy bets are similar to Place bets, but you pay a premium in order to get a more even payout if you win. All Buy bets cost a 4% commission that allows you to cash in at 2:1 on a 4 or 10 bet, 3:2 on a 5 or 9, and 6:5 on the 6 or 8.

Lay bets

Even Buy bets have an inverse betting option. Here, you are paying the same 4% commission to improve your odds slightly if you correctly predict a 7 will be rolled before one of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, depending on your bet. The odds improve to 1:2 on the 4 or 10, 2:3 on the 5 or 9, and 5:6 on the 6 or 8.

Hard Ways bets

Hard Way bets are for those with a little extra flair. In a Hard Way bet, you are betting that a specific even number will be rolled with two identical dice before a 7 or any other way to make that same even number. For example, a hard four bet is when you bet that two 2s will be rolled before a 7 and before a 1 and a 3.

You can also bet on a hard 6, a hard 8, or a hard 10. On a hard 4 or 10 bet, the payout is 7:1, on a hard 6 or 8 bet the payout is 9:1.

Field bets

A field bet is a one-time bet that applies to the roll after you’ve bet it only. If you lay a field bet, you win if a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 lands on the next roll. If a 5, 6, 7, or 8 lands, you lose. A field bet that wins pays even money except if the dice land on a 2, in which case the payout is 2:1, or 12, in which case the payout is 3:1.

Big 6, Big 8 bets

The Big 6 bet consists of betting that a 6 will be rolled before a 7, at any time. The bet pays even money. The Big 8 bet means betting that an 8 will be rolled before a 7, and also pays even money.

Proposition Bets

Getting even more specific, proposition bets allow you to select a single number and bet that it will be rolled on the next roll only (the bet is settled one way or another on that roll).

Proposition bets pay out as follows:

Now that you’re well-versed in the bets, there’s no better way to learn that to get in there and roll those dice!