Literally Everything You Need To Know About Craps Bets
In the game of craps, there are numerous bets you can make, including the Pass Line bet, Don’t Pass Line bet, Come bet, Don’t Come bet, Free Odds bet, Place bets, Field bets, Proposition bets, and Hardways bets. You can see these on the table below.
How To Make A Bet In Craps
Each new game begins with the Come Out Roll. This happens when the previous player with the dice – known as the Shooter – either loses the roll or quits the game. The dice are then offered to the next player in line, usually in a clockwise manner around the table.
Before this new Shooter rolls the dice, all players can now make the following bets:
Bet The Pass Line
Betting the Pass Line means that you place your wager on the table layout in front of where you are standing, in the area marked “Pass Line”, as shown below.
This Pass Line wager can only be made BEFORE the Come Out roll, and once you make it, it will stay in play for the duration of this Roll and until a decision is reached.
This bet will win even money (1:1) automatically if the Shooter rolls either a 7 or 11 on the Come Out Roll. It will also lose immediately if a 2, 3, or 12 are rolled.
If neither 7, 11, 2, 3, or 12 are rolled on the Come Out Roll, then this can only mean that the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 are rolled – all of which are collectively known as The Box Numbers. That number is then designated as The Point, and it is then so marked with a hockey-puck type marker with the WHITE side up.
This now means that to win your Pass Line wager, the Shooter must roll that SAME number again BEFORE rolling any 7. If this happens, your Pass Line bet will win. But if the Shooter rolls any 7 before rolling the Point again, then your Pass Line bet will Lose. The house edge on the Pass Line bet is about 1.4%.
Bet The DON’T Pass Line
Betting the Don’t Pass Line means that you place your wager in front of where you are standing in the area marked “Don’t Pass”, as shown below.
This wager works in the opposite way to the Pass Line Bet. In essence, when you bet the Pass Line, you are said to bet WITH the Shooter, while if you’re betting the Don’t Pass, you are said to be betting against the Shooter.
For that reason, betting the “Don’t” is also referred to as betting “The Dark Side.”
On the Come Out Roll, this Dark Side bet will win if the Shooter rolls a 2 or a 3, push if the Shooter rolls a 12, and lose if the Shooter rolls a 7 or 11.
Once the Point is established, this bet will win if the Shooter rolls any 7 BEFORE rolling the Point, but will lose if the Shooter does make the Point.
The Dark Side bet is not liked by most players, because it means you are basically betting that everyone else in the game will lose (those who bet the Pass Line). The house edge on this bet is about 1.36%, which is slightly lower than the Pass Line Bet, but still not well liked.
Before The Come Out Roll
In addition to the Pass Line or Don’t Pass wagers, BEFORE the Come Out Roll, you can also make a bet on Any Craps as well as 11 – also known as: Yo-leven, Yo-11, or sometimes as just as Yo.
To make such a wager you toss your chips to the Stickman and call out what you want. For example:
“Nickel on the Yo!” – this means you want to make a $5 bet on the number 11. This is a one-roll Prop Bet which wins if the Shooter rolls an 11 on the Come Out roll. It will lose otherwise. The house edge on this wager is about 11.2%. You can make this bet any time during the game.
You can also call out: “Nickel on Any Craps!” – and this will then indicate that your want to bet $5 that either 2, 3 or 12 will be rolled on the Come Out roll. The House Edge is about 11.1%.
But you can also combine both Any Craps and 11 as a wager together, and this is called: Any Craps and 11 Split. But usually you would just call out: “$6 C&E Split” – which then means that you want to make a combination bet on 2, 3, 12 and 11, and that you want to Split it as $3 on each side: $3 on Any Craps, and $3 on the Yo. The House Edge is about 11.2%.
You can see where these wagers are marked on the table below.
Naturally, you can make these wagers in any amount you wish, from the table minimum up to the table maximum, and not just the samples we used in these examples. But it is important that you are aware that these are ALL one-roll Prop Bets, and are usually made BEFORE the Come Out Roll. In this way it kind of acts as a hedge bet.
Craps Bets After The Point Is Established
After the Point is established, there are a number of wagers which you can make.
The most important decision for you to make AFTER the Point is established is to take (place) your Free Odds behind your Pass Line wager. Or to “Lay the Odds” to the side of your Don’t Pass wager. Doing this is your best play in Craps, because it reduces the overall house edge on these bets by a significant amount.
Placing Odds
Once the Point has been established, you can now “Place Odds” for your Pass Line wager. You do this by placing the amount of your Odds bet directly BEHIND your Pass Line wager, and just outside of the pass line itself, in the space closest to you (NOT the other side of the passline).
The amount of these Odds is up to you, but the standard best-place method is what’s called the 3-4-5 rule: This means you can place 3x your Pass Line wager when the Point is either 4 or 10, 4x your Pass Line wager when the Point is 5 or 9, and 5x your Pass Line wager when the Point is either 6 or 8.
Odds bets are paid at True Odds, and that’s why they are called Free Odds.
Laying Odds When Betting The Dark Side
This is similar to the pass line method, except here you are laying your Odds wager over your Dark Side bet, by placing your Odds wager slightly over the edge of your chips on the Don’t Pass line.
The Pass Line wager has a house edge of around 1.4%, while the Don’t Pass wager has a house edge of around 1.35%. But the odds are at true odds, and that’s why it is always a good bet to place the maximum Odds on your Pass Line wager, and also to Lay the maximum Odds on your Don’t Pass wager.
This also applies to Come Bets and Don’t Come bets, which play in a similar manner to the Pass Line and Don’t Pass wagers.
Craps Proposition Bets
Prop Bets in craps are divided on the Table Layout into two groups: The Hardways, and the one-roll Prop Bets, where you are betting on the outcome of a specific event for ONE Roll only.
These Prop Bets are displayed on the craps table layout in the Center, and are used for wagers from players on both sides of the table.
Hardways Bets
Hardways bets in craps are made on specific combinations of the two dice.
A a Hard-4 is a combination of 2 on one of the dice plus a 2 on the other. Similarly so for the Hard-8, which is 4+4, the Hard-6 which is 3+3, and the Hard-10 which is 5+5. You can see these in the above image.
The Hard-6 and Hard-8 have a house edge of about 2.8%, and they typically pay 9:1, though the best craps games will offer 10:1.
The Hard-4 and the Hard-10 also have a house edge of about 2.8% and typically pay 7:1. The best game will offer 8:1.
Hardways are usually made after the Come Out Roll, and they will stay in play until they are either rolled that way – the “Hardways Win” – or are rolled “Soft”, in which case that specific Hardways bet will lose. You will now be asked if you want to “Go Back On” – which means you’ll have to toss a replacement wager to the Stickman to be back in action on that Hardways bet.
You can also call your Hardways “Off” for a while, if you feel like the Shooter is rolling too many “Soft” numbers. You do this by calling out to the Stickman: “Hardways Off,” and this means the Stickman will now place a marker which says “Off” over your Hardways.
If you want them back in action, you then can call them as “Working,” and you do this by calling out to the Stickman: “Hardways working,” or sometimes as: “Hardways back on.”
You can also call your Hardways bets “Down,” if you no longer want them there. You can do this in between rolls of the dice, and you do it by calling out to the Stickman: “Hardways Down.” Your wagers will now be returned to you.
Center Prop Bets
These are the one-roll wagers shown on the table layout in the center, under where the Hardways are shown.
These bets are:
- Any-7 which pays 4:1 and has a house edge of about 17%
- Any-Craps which pays 7:1 and has a house edge of about 11.1%
- Craps-Ace-Deuce which pays 15:1 and has a house edge of about 11.1%
- Snake-Eyes (1+1) which pays 30:1 and has a house edge of about 14%
- Boxcars (6+6) which pays 30:1 and has a house edge of about 14%
Other Bets In Craps
There are many other bets in craps, so here is a quick list detailing what they are, how to make them, and their house edge.
Come Bet and Don’t Come Bet
These are wagers which can be made after the Come Out Roll, and work pretty much the same as the Pass Line or Don’t Pass wagers.
Field Bet
This is a wager on the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12 in the area on the table layout marked as Field. Read more about Field bets here.
Odds Bets
These are the “Odds” wagers which you can make behind your Pass Line wagers, or “Lay” on your Don’t Pass bet, as well as on the Come and Don’t Come, as we mentioned earlier.
Place Bets
Place Bets can be made on the craps table at any time, usually after the Come Out Roll. They are wagers on the Box Numbers, which are: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. You make these bets by tossing your chips to the Dealer and calling out where you want the bet to go. For example: “Place the 5 for a nickel,” – and this means that you want to “Place the 5” for a $5 wager.
The numbers 4, 5, 9 and 10 are usually made in equal increments of $5 – meaning you’ll bet either $5, or $10, or $15, and so on.
The numbers 6 and 8 are usually made in increments of $6 each – which means you can start with $6, or $12, or $18, or $24, and so on. Naturally, if your table has a minimum wager of $10, then you would start with $12, and so on.
Place bets on 6 and 8 usually pay at 7:6 and face a house edge of about 1.5%
Place bets on 5 and 9 usually pay at 7:5 and face a house edge of about 4%
Place bets on 4 and 10 usually pay at 9:5 and face a house edge of about 6.8%
Buy Bets
Buy Bets in craps are really the same as Place Bets, except you are paying a 5% commission to the house at the time of the wager, and this then gives you a payout at true odds. These Buy Bets are usually not in action on the Come Out Roll, unless you call them “On,” or as “Working.”
Buy Bets are only worth money on the 4 and 10. There are many reasons for this, but the main one is that it is possible to significantly lower the house edge on these bets.
A Place Bet on the 4 and 10 has a house edge of about 6.8%, but a Buy Bet can lower this to about 4.8%. And – depending on the casino and its rules – sometimes it is possible to “Shave the Odds” even lower, to about 1.8%. But that’s a bit more complex, and not always possible in most casinos.
So your best bet is to Buy only the 4 and 10, and Buy it for at least a minimum of $20 each
Big Six And Big 8
These are the worst bets in craps! That’s because the Big-6 and Big-8 pay only even money 1:1, while a Place Bet on the 6 and 8 pay at 7:6.
This means that the Big-6 and Big-8 have a house edge of a huge 9.1%, while the Place Bet on these SAME numbers has a house edge of only about 1.5%. Need we say more? This bet is so bad that even the casinos have simply eliminated it from their table layouts. Not always, of course, but in many land-based and online casinos today, it’s simply no longer shown.
Horn Bet
A Horn Bet in craps is usually also marked on the table layout among the center Prop Bets, although it is sometimes not identified. It’s simply an empty spot, but everyone knows that’s the Horn Bet area. There are several Horn Bets possible in Craps:
Straight Horn
This is a one-roll prop bet which means you are betting that the numbers 2, 3, 11 or 12 will be rolled on the next roll. If the roll is 3 or 11 the payoff is usually 15:1. If the roll is 2 or 12, the payoff is usually 30:1.
On a Straight Horn bet it’s always better to bet amounts which can be divided by 4. So, for example, a $20-Horn means you are betting $5 on each of the four possible numbers. And so on. This is because of incremental payoffs on the odds, which is a discussion for another time.
Horn-High Yo
This is a wager where you bet the Horn, but add an extra amount for the Yo-11. So, if your bet was the $20 as in the above example, then this wager will be $25, because you are pressing your Horn-High-Yo by that extra $5 on the 11.
Horn-High 12
This is the same as the Horn-High-Yo, except here you want your press to be on the 12, instead of the 11.
Horn-High Ace
This is the same as the Horn-High-Yo and Horn-High-12, except here you want your press to be on the 2, instead of the 11 or 12. Sometimes this is also called Horn-Ace-Low.
Horn-Craps-Low
This is the same as the Horn-High-Yo, Horn-High-12 ,and Horn-High-Ace, except here you want your press to be on the 3, instead of the 11, 12 or 2. Sometimes this is also called Horn-Low-3.
Fire Bet
This is an optional side bet in craps, offered on some games, but not all. Here you are betting that the Shooter will make at least four separate and individual Points before a 7-out.
But these must all be DIFFERENT points, meaning that if the Shooter rolls the point twice on, say, 5, this only counts as ONE for the Fire Bet. And so on. This is a stupid wager where the house edge is 20.9%! Stay away from it, and you’ll save a lot of money.
World Bet
This is a bet on Any-7 plus the Horn. Also known as “Around the World,” or “Whirl.” The house edge is about 13.4%.
Any-7 – also known as Big Red
This is a bet that the next roll will be any-7. It pays 4:1, and if you win, your bet will stay in action. The house edge is nearly 17%, so this is NOT a good bet.
Hop Bets
Also known as “On the Hop” or “Hopping”, these are one-roll wagers on any of the Box Numbers: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.
For example, you can call out “Three-Two On the Hop!” and this then means that you are betting that on the next roll the dice will display a 3 and a 2 for a total of 5, which is one of the Box Numbers. If the number hits, the Hop Bet will pay at 15:1.
You can also do this for the Hardways. If the Hardways are rolled “On the Hop” then the pay is at 30:1. The house edge on the soft rolls for the Hop-Bets is about 11.1%, and about 13.9% for the Hardways.
Uptown Bet
This is a Place Bet wager on 8, 9 and 10. It really is that simple. The house edge varies. These are bets that old-timer Craps players would usually call out and rarely used today.
Downtown Bet I
This is a Place Bet wager on 4, 5 and 6. As above, it really is that simple.
Craps Bets Strategy
The best craps bets strategy is to stick to the Pass Line wager with Full Odds, Come Bets with Full Odds, and Place Bets on the 6 and 8. That’s it. And once you get more comfortable, try the Buy Bet on the 4 and 10, but wager at least $20 on each. Otherwise it’s not worth the cost.
