Craps dice online: rules, pass line and craps odds

How to use these craps dice

In short

How do you play craps? The shooter rolls two dice. On the come-out roll, 7 or 11 wins the pass line and 2, 3 or 12 loses. Any other number becomes the point, and the shooter keeps rolling until the point comes up again (win) or a 7 appears (loss).

Come-out roll. Press Roll, or pick up both dice with your finger or mouse and let go over the tray. The page shows that you are on the come-out roll.
Instant result. A 7 or 11 wins the round. A 2, 3 or 12 loses it («craps»). Either way, a new round begins.
The point. With 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, that number becomes the point and the page displays it.
Point phase. Keep rolling. If you roll the point again before a 7, the round is won; if a 7 comes first, it is lost. Any other number does not count and you roll again.

There is no money and there are no chips: the page simply follows the pass line rules so you can see how the game works and how long a round usually lasts. Use it to learn the rules, to check the odds against your own rolls, or to play at home without betting.

Craps rules: the pass line

Craps is a casino dice game played with two six-sided dice. One player, the shooter, rolls the dice and everyone else bets on the outcome. The basic bet, and the one this page follows, is the pass line: a bet with the shooter that pays even money, 1 to 1.

Phase one: the come-out roll

7 or 11

A «natural». The pass line wins.

2, 3 or 12

«craps». The pass line loses.

4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10

That number becomes the point. At a casino table it is marked with a puck that is turned from «off» to «on».

Phase two: rolling for the point or a 7

If the shooter rolls the point again before a 7, the pass line wins.
If a 7 comes before the point, the pass line loses. This is the «seven out», and the dice move to the next shooter.
Every other number (including 2, 3, 11 and 12) settles nothing in this phase.

Notice that the 7 changes sides: on the come-out it wins, and once a point is set it loses.

Basic vocabulary

Come-out

The first roll of each round.

Natural

A 7 or 11 on the come-out roll.

Craps

A 2, 3 or 12 on the come-out roll.

Point

The 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 set on the come-out.

Seven out

A 7 rolled before the point, ending the round.

Stickman

The dealer who moves the dice with a stick and calls the results.

Don’t pass, come, don’t come and odds

The other line bets are built on the same mechanism.

Don’t pass

The opposite bet, against the shooter. On the come-out it wins with 2 or 3 and loses with 7 or 11. A 12 is a push and the bet stays as it is (the «bar 12» rule); some casinos bar the 2 instead. That push exists so that the house keeps its edge: without it, don’t pass would favour the player. Once a point is set, it wins if a 7 comes before the point.

Come

Works like a new pass line bet that starts on the next roll. It can only be made once a point is set. Whatever number comes next becomes its own point.

Don’t come

The same as don’t pass, but starting on the next roll.

Odds

Once there is a point, you can add an extra bet behind your pass line bet. It is paid at true odds: 2 to 1 on 4 and 10, 3 to 2 on 5 and 9, 6 to 5 on 6 and 8. That makes it the only bet on the table with no house edge, although it can only be made alongside a line bet that does have one.

A pass line bet cannot be taken down once a point is set. A don’t pass bet can, because at that moment it is in a favourable position.

Craps odds, calculated

Two dice give 36 equally likely combinations. The 7 is the most common total because it can be made in six ways.

Total	Combinations	Probability	Role on the come-out
2	1	2.78%	Craps (loses)
3	2	5.56%	Craps (loses)
4	3	8.33%	Point
5	4	11.11%	Point
6	5	13.89%	Point
7	6	16.67%	Natural (wins)
8	5	13.89%	Point
9	4	11.11%	Point
10	3	8.33%	Point
11	2	5.56%	Natural (wins)
12	1	2.78%	Craps (loses)

On the come-out roll you win outright 22.22% of the time (8 in 36), lose 11.11% (4 in 36), and in the remaining 66.67% a point is set.

Chance of winning with each point

Once a point is set, only two numbers matter: the point and the 7. So the chance of winning is the point’s combinations divided by those combinations plus the six ways to make 7.

Point	Chance of it becoming the point	Chance of making it	True odds payout
4 or 10	8.33% each	3/9 = 33.33%	2 to 1
5 or 9	11.11% each	4/10 = 40.00%	3 to 2
6 or 8	13.89% each	5/11 = 45.45%	6 to 5

Chance of winning the pass line

Add the outright win (8/36) to, for each point, the chance of it being set multiplied by the chance of making it: 8/36 + 2 × (3/36 × 3/9 + 4/36 × 4/10 + 5/36 × 5/11) = 244/495 = 49.29%. The chance of losing is 251/495 = 50.71%. Once a point is set, the average chance of winning drops to 40.61%.

A pass line round lasts 3.38 rolls on average (557/165). With a point of 4 or 10, it takes another 4 rolls on average to settle.

House edge on the main bets

The house edge is what the casino expects to win on average for every unit staked. Every figure in the table comes from the probabilities above and the standard payouts at American tables.

Bet	Usual payout	House edge
Pass line and come	1 to 1	1.41%
Don’t pass and don’t come (bar 12)	1 to 1	1.36% (1.40% excluding pushes)
Odds	True odds	0%
Place 6 or 8	7 to 6	1.52%
Place 5 or 9	7 to 5	4.00%
Place 4 or 10	9 to 5	6.67%
Field (2 and 12 pay double)	1 to 1	5.56%
Field (12 pays triple)	1 to 1	2.78%
Big 6 or Big 8	1 to 1	9.09%
Hard 6 or 8	9 to 1	9.09%
Hard 4 or 10	7 to 1	11.11%
Any craps (2, 3 or 12)	7 to 1	11.11%
Any seven	4 to 1	16.67%

Pass line with odds

Because odds carry no edge, adding them lowers the edge on the total amount staked, although it never reaches zero: 0.85% with single odds, 0.61% with double, 0.47% with triple and 0.18% with 10x odds. What does not change is the expected loss in pounds on the pass line bet itself, which remains 1.41% of that bet.

History: from hazard to craps

Craps comes from hazard, a very old English two-dice game: it already appears in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in the 14th century. Charles Cotton described it in The Compleat Gamester (1674), and its rules were set out in the Hoyle editions of the late 18th century. In hazard, the caster chose a main number between 5 and 9, and some results lost straight away.

The name

In English hazard, the low throws that lost at once were called «crabs». In the late 18th century the game appears in France as «krabs», and by around 1818 the spelling «craps» is in use. Another explanation links it to the French crapaud (toad), but it is not documented.

New Orleans

According to tradition, Bernard de Marigny (1785-1868), a wealthy Louisiana Creole, brought hazard from London to New Orleans in the early 19th century. He is credited with fixing 7 as the main number, although more recent research questions this. What is on record is that a street in his neighbourhood, the Faubourg Marigny, was called Craps until it was renamed in the mid-19th century; today it is Burgundy Street.

A simpler game

During the 19th century the game was simplified in the United States into the fixed-7 version played today, and by the 1890s it was being played in casinos.

John H. Winn

In the early 20th century (around 1907 according to some sources, 1910 according to others), this Philadelphia dice maker added the don’t pass bet to the layout, letting players bet against the shooter and cutting down on cheating with loaded dice. His layout is the basis of the modern table.

20th century

Craps became hugely popular with American soldiers during the Second World War and was the leading table game in post-war Las Vegas.

A game of chance: what the maths says

Craps is a pure game of chance: each roll is independent of the ones before, and dice have no memory. A long run without a 7 does not make a 7 «due»: it still has the same probability, 16.67%.

No system removes the house edge

Combining bets, raising after a loss or lowering after a win does not change the expectation: adding up several bets with a house edge still gives a bet with a house edge.

The edge shows over time

Anything can happen in a few rounds; the more you play, the closer the result moves towards the expected loss.

Gambling with money carries risks

It can lead to financial losses and addiction. If you play for real money, do so only if you are of legal age, with a limit set in advance that you can afford to lose. If you feel gambling is causing you problems, seek professional help.

This page uses no money and no bets: it is for learning the rules, practising and checking with your own rolls that the odds in the table hold up.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play craps?

The shooter rolls two dice. On the come-out roll, 7 or 11 wins the pass line and 2, 3 or 12 loses. Any other number becomes the point, and the shooter keeps rolling until the point comes up again (win) or a 7 appears (loss).

What are the odds of winning the pass line?

Exactly 244/495, or 49.29%. The house wins 50.71% of rounds, which gives it a 1.41% edge on this bet.

What does «craps» mean?

It is the name for totals of 2, 3 and 12 on the come-out roll, which lose the pass line bet. It comes from «crabs», the name for the low losing throws in English hazard.

What is the point in craps?

The number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) rolled on the come-out that the shooter must roll again before a 7 for the pass line to win.

Why does 7 win at first and lose later?

Because they are two different phases. On the come-out roll, 7 is a natural and wins. Once a point is set, the shooter needs that number again, and 7, the most likely total, is what stops it.

Is pass or don’t pass the better bet?

Mathematically the difference is tiny: the house edge is 1.41% on pass and 1.36% on don’t pass with the bar 12 rule. Both bets have a house edge.

Which craps bet has the lowest house edge?

The odds bet, which is paid at true odds and has no edge. But it can only be made alongside a pass, come, don’t pass or don’t come bet, which do have one.