Online Craps Guide: Rules and Strategy

Craps Rules: Hitting the Come Out Roll

Before a game can commence, a correct 'come out' roll must be thrown. If a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 is rolled, 'the point' is set. If the number is a 2, 3, 7, 11 or 12, the next shooter has a turn.

Placing bets is easy: just drag chips to the area of the table you want to gamble on. These all relate to the outcome of the dice relative to the 'Point' number.

For example, a 'Don't Pass Line' bet is made before the Come Out roll. If a 7 is rolled before a valid Point number is rolled, the player wins a 1/1 bet.

Placing Craps Bets

Players have a range of bets to make before or after the Point is set. Let's take a look at the main wagers:

Pass Line

Pays: 1/1

Placed before the Come Out roll. If a 7 or 11 is rolled you win. However, if a 2, 3 or 12 comes out, you lose.

Don't Pass Line

Pays: 1/1

Placed before the Come Out roll, this is the opposite of the Pass Line bet. You win if a 7 comes out before the point does.

Come

Pays: 1/1

This bet wins an even-money payout for the player if the next roll is 7 or 11. Look for the 'Come' box on-screen as this is where your chips go. If 2, 3 or 12 comes (Craps), you lose. Hit a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, however, that number becomes the 'Come Point' and your bet is moved to the corresponding box. If the Come Point appears before a 7, you win an even-money bet.

Don't Come

Pays: 1/1

This is the opposite to the Come bet. If a 3 or 2 is rolled, you win.

Field

Pays: 1/1

Place this bet on the Field section, and if the next number is a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12, you win. 2 pays 2/1, 12 gets you 2/1 also. Everything else wins the player 1/1 (even money).

Place Win

Pays: 7/6 for 6 & 8, 7/5 for 5 & 9, 9/5 for 4 & 10

These are great bets for hitting totals. Place your wagers on totals of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Hit those totals before the 7 comes and you win.

Place Lose/Lay Bet

Pays: 4/5 on 6 & 8, 5/8 on 5 & 9, 5/11 on 4 & 10

Similar to the Place Win bet, you win if the opposite happens, namely a 7 comes before your total appears.

Any Craps Bet

Pays: 7/1

A fun 7/1 wager wins the player a big prize if a 2, 3 or 12 total is rolled next.

Hardway

Pays: 7/1 or 9/1

"Hardway" wagers are bets on the next roll coming out as double which totals 4, 6, 8 or 10 (e.g. two 2s, two threes, two fours, etc).

Understanding Sensible Strategy

It's important to understand which bets to avoid and which to go for in Craps. Online casinos offer a massive range of bets to make. Some have massive house edges and should be avoided. But with a sensible bankroll strategy, you can avoid unwise bets and come out a winner.

Typical house edges for Craps include:

• Pass/Come: 1.41 percent
• Don't Pass / Don't Come: 1.36 percent
• Pass Odds / Come Odds: 0 percent
• Don't Pass Odds / Don't Come Odds: 0 percent
• Field: 2.78 percent
• Big 6 / Big 8: 9.09 percent
• Lay Bet 5 & 9: 3.23 percent
• Lay Bet 4 & 10: 2.44 percent
• Lay Bet 6 & 8: 4 percent

As you can see, a Big 6 or Big 8 bet has a whopping 9 percent house edge. Compare that to the zero percent on the Pass/Don't Pass and Come/Don't Come areas and you can see the difference.

One system to try is the 'Increase Odds' method. Bet on the Pass line to begin with. And if the Point is made at 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, make a further bet on the Pass line plus a Come bet for an equal dollar amount. This helps cover all bases when the Come bet number is set.

Finding the Best Online Casino Craps Games in 2023

Craps is about testing the betting layouts and trying a system. Don't go diving in at the deep end, however. Most online casinos let you try the tables out for free first. All of our top-rated picks have free-play games so you can give the Craps online a try and see what bets work for you.

Give our sites a try today. You can make a small first deposit and let your Craps casino play contribute towards a generous welcome bonus. Download or play in the browser. Whatever your device, there's a gaming site out there just for you.