Section 1: Introduction
Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcome of a roll, or a series of rolls, of two dice. One player — the shooter — throws, but everyone at the table bets, and most bets are on the shooter succeeding.
The game itself is traditional and in the public domain. What varies is the house: individual casinos set their own table limits, odds multiples and which side bets are offered.
Section 2: Components
- Two six-sided dice.
- A marked craps table with betting areas, in the casino form.
- Chips or an agreed stake. Street craps needs nothing but the dice and a wall.
Section 3: Setup
- Players gather at the table; one is the shooter, and the role passes clockwise.
- Before the first roll, players place a pass line or don't pass bet.
- The shooter must have a pass-line bet down to throw.
Section 4: Gameplay
The Come-Out Roll
The shooter's first roll of a round:
- 7 or 11 — "natural": pass line bets win immediately.
- 2, 3 or 12 — "craps": pass line bets lose. (On 12, don't-pass usually pushes rather than wins.)
- 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10: that number becomes the point.
Chasing the Point
Once a point is set, the shooter keeps rolling until one of two things happens:
- The point is rolled again: pass line wins, and the shooter starts a new come-out.
- A 7 is rolled ("seven out"): pass line loses and the dice pass to the next shooter.
Note the reversal: a 7 wins instantly on the come-out and loses instantly afterwards. That single inversion is the whole structure of the game.
Other Bets
- Come / don't come: the same structure, started on any roll after the point.
- Odds: an additional bet behind the pass line, paid at true odds — the only bet on the table with no house edge.
- Place, field, hardways, proposition: single-roll or standing side bets, generally at worse odds.
Section 5: Scoring & Winning
There is no cumulative score — each bet resolves in chips.
Common Payouts
- Pass / don't pass: even money.
- Odds behind the point: 2:1 on 4 or 10, 3:2 on 5 or 9, 6:5 on 6 or 8 — true odds.
- Field, hardways, proposition bets: vary widely by house; the posted table is authoritative.
Because 7 is the most probable total with two dice, bets that win on 7 before a point resolve favourably and those that need the point first do not — which is why pass-line-plus-odds is the standard low-edge line.
Section 6: Variants & House Rules
- Street craps: no table and no house — players bet against each other, and the shooter covers the wagers.
- Bank craps: the casino form described above, played against the house.
- Crapless craps: 2, 3 and 12 become points instead of instant losses — sounds friendlier, is worse value.
- High Point / New York craps: older regional forms with different come-out resolutions.
