Craps Beginner Guide: The Basic Rules

One of the attractions of Craps is that you can make it as simple or complicated as you choose. Whilst the full array of betting options on this table can seem overwhelming to the Craps newcomer, you only need to take on board a few of them to get going and have some fun with this casino classic.

The fundamental aim of Craps is to bet on the outcome of the next roll of a pair of standard, six-sided dice. The most basic bet is that placed on the Pass line, which is in anticipation that the Shooter will roll a ‘7' or'11' (i.e. the combined value of the numbers shown on the top face of the dice once they come to rest after the roll is 7 or 11). These two numbers are known as ‘The Naturals' in Craps. The first roll after these bets are made is called the ‘Come Out' roll and its outcome creates three scenarios affecting Pass bets:

1. A Natural is thrown and the Pass Bet is won paying evens money.
2. A ‘2','3' or ‘12' is thrown (‘Craps') and the Pass Bet is lost.
3. A number other than a Natural or Craps is thrown, which then becomes the ‘Point'. Pass Bets stay on the table and the Shooter takes further rolls of the dice, aiming to roll the Point again before he rolls a ‘7'. If a ‘7' is rolled before the Point is rolled again the Pass bets are lost. If the Point is rolled again before a ‘7' happens, the pass bets win.

If the ‘Come Out' roll establishes a Point, players can choose to add extra alternative bets to the table as set out in more detail below.

Once the Shooter has rolled either a ‘7' or a Point, the next roll becomes a new ‘Come Out' roll preceded by a fresh round of betting.

That's the basic sequence of play in Craps, and if that sounds like it could tickle your casino fancy, the next thing to understand is the bigger picture of all the types of bets you can make on this table...

The Pass Bet
As explained above this is the very basic bet on (a) the Shooter throwing ‘7' or ‘11' on the Come Out roll or (b) if The Shooter establishes a Point on the Come Out roll, that they will re-roll that Point before the next ‘7' is rolled. Once a Point has been established a Pass Line bet must remain on the table, unchanged, until the bet is won or lost.

The Don't Pass Bet
This bet is placed against the Shooter and is pretty much the exact opposite of the pass Bet. It wins if (a) the Shooter rolls a ‘2' or ‘3' on the Come Out roll or (b) they roll a ‘7' before re-rolling a Point established on the Come Out roll. In the event the Shooter rolls a ‘12' on the Come Out roll, the Don't Pass Bet ties and play continues.

The Come Bet
This bet can be characterized as a Pass Bet you can make after a Point has been established, allowing players to participate in betting on the next roll even if it isn't a Come Out. The Come Bet wins if the first roll after it is placed is a Natural and loses if it's Craps. Any other number sets up the player's Come Point, which must be re-rolled before a ‘7' to win.

If a Come Point is setup on a roll, the table's Boxman (the casino staff member running the Craps game) moves the bet from the Come area of the table to the corresponding box for that Come Point's value.

Similarly to Pass Bets, after placing this bet you change or withdraw it until play is completed.

The Don't Come Bet
This operates as the opposite of the Don't Come Bet, allowing players to make Don't Pass-style bets after a Point has been established on the Craps table.

The Place Bet to Win
Another bet that can be made once a Point has been established (i.e. between Come Out rolls), this lets a player bet on the Shooter rolling a specific number before a ‘7' is rolled. The choices of Place Bet are ‘4','5','6','8','9' or ‘10' with each number attracting different odds relating to the permutations of two standard dice forming that number.

The Place Bet to Lose
This bet can be made before any roll on the table, and works as the opposite of the Place To Win Bet. The bet is that the Shooter will roll a ‘7' before the selected Place number, with the odds again reflecting the differing likelihood of two dice forming that number.

The Hardway Bet
In Craps terminology there are two ways to roll a ‘4', ‘6', ‘8' or ‘10' on the table – the ‘Hardway' or the ‘Easyway'. Put more simply the Hardway is rolling these numbers with a double i.e. two ‘2s', two ‘3s' etc. Placing a Hardway bet is to back the Shooter to roll that Hardway number before he rolls a ‘7' or the chosen number the Easyway. Like Place Bets, the odds for a Hardway Bet differ according to the chosen number.

The One Roll Bet
Perhaps the simplest bet to make in Craps, the One Roll bet is a straightforward prediction of the next number to be rolled. Payouts vary for each possible number, and the bet is either won or lost on the roll that follows it being laid.

Field Bet
A variation of the One Roll Bet with a lower risk, the Field Bet wagers that any number other than ‘5' to ‘8' inclusive will be the outcome of the next roll. Craps other than ‘3' pays double.

Any Craps
Another simple bet on the next roll being one of the three Craps numbers, ‘2', ‘3' or ‘12'.

Any Seven
Guess? Yup - a bet that the next roll's outcome is ‘7'.

Horn
This bet needs four chips to be placed on the table, predicting the next roll to be either ‘2','3','12' (Craps) or ‘11'