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.