How to play craps
A round of craps is a loop with two phases: the come-out roll that starts it, and the rolls that follow once a point is set. Learn the loop and the rest of the table is detail.
The people and the dice
One player at a time is the shooter. The shooter rolls two six-sided dice, and only the total matters. The shooter does not have to bet on their own roll to roll, but most do. Everyone else at the table, shooter included, places bets on what the next rolls will do. In a casino a dealer pays and collects the bets; in Smart Craps the game does that for you.
Phase one: the come-out roll
Every round begins with a come-out roll. The most common bet is the Pass Line, which you place before this roll. Here is what the come-out total does to it:
- 7 or 11 (a "natural"): the Pass Line wins, and the shooter rolls again for a new come-out.
- 2, 3 or 12 ("craps"): the Pass Line loses, and the shooter rolls again for a new come-out.
- 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10: that number becomes the point. A puck is turned to "ON" over the number, and the round moves to phase two.
Phase two: rolling for the point
With a point set, the shooter keeps rolling until one of two things happens:
- The point is rolled again before a 7: the Pass Line wins. The round ends and the next roll is a new come-out.
- A 7 is rolled first, called a "seven out": the Pass Line loses, the round ends and the dice pass to the next shooter.
Any other total in between changes nothing for the Pass Line; the shooter just rolls again. That is the entire main game.
The other side: Don't Pass
The Don't Pass bet is the opposite of the Pass Line. It wins on 2 or 3 on the come-out and on a seven out, and it loses on 7 or 11 on the come-out and when the point repeats. A come-out 12 is a tie (a "push"): your bet comes back. Betting Don't Pass is not rude or unlucky, it is simply betting that the shooter will fail, and its house edge is slightly lower than the Pass Line's.
Come and Don't Come
Come and Don't Come are the Pass Line and Don't Pass, started in the middle of a round. After a point is set, a Come bet treats the very next roll as its own personal come-out: 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3 or 12 loses, and any other number moves the bet onto that number, where it waits for the number to repeat (win) or a 7 (lose). This lets you build several "points" at once.
Odds behind the line
Once a Pass Line or Come bet has a number, you may add free odds behind it. They pay at the true odds of the dice, so the casino has no edge on this part of the bet. Smart Craps offers 3x on the 4 and 10, 4x on the 5 and 9, and 5x on the 6 and 8. It is the best bet at the table, which is why it appears in almost every beginner recommendation, including ours.
A round from start to finish
Roll 1 (come-out). You bet 10 chips on the Pass Line. The shooter rolls a 6. The point is 6. You add 50 chips of odds behind the line, 5x your bet, the most this table allows on a 6.
Roll 2. A 9. Nothing for your line bet; the point is still 6. Someone with a Place 9 bet is paid.
Roll 3. A 4. Nothing for you again.
Roll 4. A 6. The point repeats. Your Pass Line pays 1:1, which is 10 chips, and your odds pay 6:5, which is 60 chips. You win 70 chips and your 60 chips of bets come back to you.
The other ending. Had the shooter rolled a 7 on any of the rolls before the 6, that would have been a seven out: you would have lost the 60 chips, and the dice would have passed to the next shooter.
What else is on the table
The middle of the table holds one-roll and number bets that can be made at any time: the Field, Place bets on the numbers, hardways, and the proposition bets in the centre. They all pay according to fixed payouts, listed with their house edges on our bets page. You can ignore all of them and play only the Pass Line with odds; many experienced players do.