Table Game Rules: Craps Rules

The Basics

Craps is the classic dice game that's a staple of both real-world and online casinos throughout the world. Like all the best casino games it has a simple premise – the aims is to predict the outcome of the roll of two standard dice - but adds a nice complexity to challenge players with a range of betting permutations that are possible. These bets are explained in more details below.

Details of Play

The different permutations of bets possible in Craps means play can be as simple or as complex as a player wishes to make it. The beauty of Craps is that a player needs only to understand a handful of bet types to get involved and have fun with it, but can progress to more sophisticated play using a wider palette of bets as they become more experienced with its rules.

As mentioned previously the central event of a Craps game is the roll of two dice. This is done by one of the players at the table, who is designated ‘The Shooter'. The most basic bet to make, called the Pass Bet, is a prediction that the Shooter will achieve a ‘7' or ‘11' on the first roll in a game – this, incidentally is called the ‘Come Out' roll. Three outcomes are possible:

1. The Shooter does roll a ‘7' or ‘11' (called the ‘Naturals' in Craps) and the Pass Bet is won.
2. The Shooter rolls ‘Craps' i.e. a ‘2','3' or ‘12' and the Pass Bet is lost. ‘Craps' are the three numbers that can only be rolled one way with two dice.
3. The Shooter establishes a ‘Point' by rolling any other number. The Pass Bets stay on the table and play proceeds as follows.

If the third outcome happens, the Pass Bet will win only if the Shooter can roll the Point value again before they roll a ‘7'. Only once a Point or ‘7' has been rolled does the next roll become a ‘Come Out' roll.

Some Craps bets, such as the Pass Bet, can only be made before a Come Out roll, whereas others may be placed at any time after a Point has been established. The betting options if craps are:

The Pass Bet
Explained above, the Pass bet is the primary bet of a Craps game. It predicts a ‘Natural' on the ‘Come Out' roll, and should a Point be established instead changes to predict that point being re-rolled before a ‘7'. These bets, placed on the Pass Line of the Craps table layout, cannot be removed or changed until they are won or lost.

The Don't Pass Bet
A contrary prediction to the Pass Bet, the Don't Pass Bet wins if a ‘Craps' other than ‘12' is the outcome of the ‘Come Out' roll or the Shooter fails to make a Point by rolling a ‘7' too soon. What if the Shooter rolls a ‘12' on the ‘Come Out'? This bet ties and play continues.

The Come Bet
Similar to the Pass Bet, the Come Bet can only be made if a Point is the ‘Come Out' rolls outcome. This allows new bets to be added to the Craps game between ‘Come Out' rolls, keeping the action flowing. Like the Pass Bet, this wins if the roll following its selection is a ‘Natural' and loses if it's ‘Craps'. Any other result establishes a Come Point which must be re-rolled by the Shooter before a ‘7' occurs to win.

The Don't Come Bet
The contrary bet to the Come Bet, to enable a Don't Pass-style wager to be placed on the Craps Table between ‘Come Out' rolls.

The Place Bet to Win
After a Point is established by the Shooter, the Place Bet To Win is a bet that they will roll a specific number that is neither a ‘Craps' nor a ‘Natural' (the ‘place' number) before a ‘7'. The payoff for winning this bet differs according to which number the bet is on, since each Point has different mathematical odds of being rolled with two dice.

The Place Bet to Lose
The contrary bet to the Place Bet To Win, predicting a ‘7' will be rolled before the ‘place' number. Like the Place Bet To Win, the ‘place' number the player chooses to bet against affects the odds for that bet.

The Hardway Bet
In Craps a Hardway number is one that is rolled with a double, excluding the Craps ‘2' and ‘12'. A Hardway Bet is that the Shooter will roll a selected number – ‘4','6','8' or '10' – with a double before they either roll a ‘7' or the selected number the Easyway (that is, the roll is not a double). Each Hardway number attracts different odds according to the chances of it winning.

The One Roll Bet
Perhaps the simplest bet in Craps, the One Roll Bet is a straight prediction as to the value of the very next roll. Each possible number attracts a different payout according to its mathematical odds of occurring.

Field Bet
The Field Bet is another straight prediction on the next roll of the dice, but with a lower risk than the One Roll Bet. The bet predicts the outcome of the roll will be any number other than ‘5' to'8' inclusive. A ‘2' or ‘12' multiplies a winning Field Bet by two.

Any Craps
This is a further variation of the One Roll Bet that predicts the Shooter's next roll will be ‘Craps'.

Any Seven
Take a guess? Correct – a simple bet that the next roll will produce a ‘7'

Horn
Four chips are bet to cover a prediction that the subsequent roll will produce the outcome ‘2','3','11' or ‘12'.

PLAYING ONLINE

Craps has translated extremely well from the real-world to online casinos, and the modern gaming software used by the best UK online casinos creates very convincing simulations of the true experience of playing a real Craps table. The rules we've explained above will give you the core know how to play the game, but having a look at a selected online casino's game guides will always be helpful to learn the specific player controls of that casino's Craps software, so it's clear how to place bets and initiate rolls. Demo and freeplay versions of an online casino's games can also be a valuable time-saver when it comes to learning the ropes before betting with real money, so do take advantage of having a fiddle with those if they are offered!