The popular dice-based table game of craps is thought to have originated during the Crusades in the early 11th century from a game called “Hazard”. Many centuries later it found its way to America under the French name “Crapaud,” where it evolved into the popular game enjoyed today by players at online, mobile and land casinos.
There’s a common misconception that craps is a complicated game due to its many types of bets and payouts. The reality, however, is that once you’ve got the basics down and known how to bet, craps is an easy game, as well as a highly exhilarating and lucrative one should you find yourself in the middle of a hot winning streak.
On this page you’ll find craps rules, bets, payouts and other relevant information you need to play like a pro at any top UK online casino, mobile casino or bricks and mortar casino. Plus, you’ll find listings for many of the best online casinos with the most lucrative and entertaining craps games with table limits to suit any budget.
Craps Basics and the Aim of the Game
The aim of craps is simply to try and win as many chips as you can through one or more bets on a specially laid out craps table based on the outcome of a roll or series of rolls of a pair of dice. As such, craps is considered a table and a dice game.
Whether you play craps at a land casino or at online or mobile casino, the rules, bets and payouts are pretty much the same. The only difference is that when you play virtual craps, you can play it 24/7, 365 days a year from just about anywhere.
The first thing to know about craps is the five main participants – the Stickman, the Boxman and the Dealers (these roles are combined in online craps), the Shooter (the player who throws the dice) and the rest of the players who place their bets.
In land casino craps, the first player to bet the table minimum or more on the Pass Line or Don't Pass Line is appointed as the Shooter. In online craps games, you are by default made the Shooter, as you must click ‘Roll’ each time to roll the pair of dice.
There are two phases of every round of craps – Come Out and Point. In phase one, the very first roll of a new round of craps is known as the ‘come-out roll. ’ The aim of this is to establish ‘the Point’, which is a number that plays a part in phase two.
The shooter must make one or more Come Out rolls and try not to throw a 2, 3 or 12 (known as a Craps or a Crap-out) as this will lose players their Pass Line bets. Throwing a Come Out roll of 7 or 11 (a Natural), however, will win players their Pass Line bets.
The Shooter keeps rolling until they get a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, which then becomes the Point. The On button is moved next to the Point number, indicating that phase two of the round is underway. If the Shooter rolls the Point, all bets on the Pass Line win.
If they roll a 7 (a Seven-out), all bets on the Pass Line lose and the round is over. At this point in a land casino, a new round of craps would begin with a new Shooter at the helm. In online craps, however, you just begin a new Come Out roll, and so on.
A land casino craps table is divided into two halves, each a mirror image of the other to fit up to 20 players, with a shared centre betting area. In online craps, however, you only see half the table and the centre area as they contain every type of bet.
These include Pass Line and Don't Pass line bets, Come and Don't Come bets, Odds, Place and Field bets, as well as Proposition bets in the centre area. Here is a brief explanation of all the various craps bets, along with their respective payouts...
Craps Bets and Payouts
Pass Line Bets
You place this bet on the Pass Line before the Come Out roll. You win if a 7 or an 11 is rolled and the round is over. You lose on a 2, 3, or 12 roll, and any other number rolled becomes the point. You win the Pass Line bet if the Point is rolled before a 7, and lose if a 7 is rolled before the Point.
Winning Pass Line Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 1:1 | 1.41% |
Pass Odds Bets
A Pass Odds Bet is a backup bet on a Pass bet where you can bet a maximum of 3x your original bet. This bet goes below your original Pass Line Bet.
Winning Pass Odds Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 2:1 on a 4 or 10 roll | 0% |
Pays 3:2 on a 5 or 9 roll | 0% |
Pays 6:5 on a 8 or 8 roll | 0% |
Don't Pass Line Bets
You place this bet on the Don't Pass Bar before the Come-Out roll. You win if a 2 or 3 is rolled on the Come-Out, or a 7 is rolled thereafter. You lose if a 7 or an 11 is rolled on the Come-Out, and any roll thereafter that is the Point. If the Come-Out roll is a 12, your bet is returned to you as a push (a tie).
Winning Don't Pass Line Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 1:1 | 1.36% |
Don't Pass Odds Bets
A Don’t Pass Odds Bet is a backup bet on a Don't Pass Line bet where you can bet a maximum of 3x your original bet. This bet goes above your original Pass Line Bet.
Winning Don't Pass Odds Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 1:2 on a 4 or 10 roll | 0% |
Pays 2:3 on a 5 or 9 roll | 0% |
Pays 5:6 on a 6 or 8 roll | 0% |
Come Bets
You place this bet in the Come box. You win if the next roll is a 7 or an 11 and lose if it is 2, 3, or 12 (Craps). If the Shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, the next number is the Come Point, and the bet is moved from the Come bar to the box matching the Come Point. You win the bet if the Shooter rolls the Come Point again before rolling a 7, but lose if they roll a 7 first.
Winning Come Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 1:1 | 1.41% |
Come Odds Bets
With a Come Odds bet you can bet a maximum of 3x your original Come Line bet. This bet goes to the bottom right of the respective Come Line number.
Winning Come Odds Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 1:2 on a 4 or 10 roll | 0% |
Pays 2:3 on a 5 or 9 roll | 0% |
Pays 5:6 on a 6 or 8 roll | 0% |
Don't Come Bets
You place this bet in the Don't Come box after the come out roll. You win if the Shooter rolls a 2 or 3, but lose if they roll a 7 or 11. If they roll a 12, the bet is a push. If they roll a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes the Don't Come Point, and the bet is moved from the Don't Come box to the box matching the Don't Come Point.
Winning Don't Come Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 1:1 | 1.36% |
Don't Come Odds Bets
With a Don’t Come Odds bet you can bet a maximum of 3x your original Don’t Come Line bet. This bet goes to the top left of the respective Come Line number.
Winning Don't Come Odds Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 1:2 on a 4 or 10 roll | 0% |
Pays 2:3 on a 5 or 9 roll | 0% |
Pays 5:6 on a 6 or 8 roll | 0% |
Place Win Bets
You place this bet beneath the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. You can place these bets at any time, but they’re ‘deactivated’ during the Come-Out roll. You win if the Shooter rolls your selected number before a 7.
Winning Place Win Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 9:5 on a 4 or 10 roll | 6.7% |
Pays 7:5 on a 5 or 9 roll | 4% |
Pays 7:6 on a 6 or 8 roll | 1.5% |
Place Lose Bets
You place this bet above the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 You can place these bets at any time, but they’re ‘deactivated’ during the Come-Out roll. You win if the Shooter rolls a 7 before your selected number.
Winning Place Lose Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 5:11 on a 4 or 10 roll | 3.03% |
Pays 5:8 on a 5 or 9 roll | 2.50% |
Pays 4:5 on a 6 or 8 roll | 1.82% |
Field Bets
You place this bet in the Field box if you think the next roll of the dice will be 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. All other numbers lose.
Winning Field Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 2:1 on a 2 or 12 roll | 5.56% |
Pays 3:1 on a 12 roll | 2.27% |
Pays 1:1 on a 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 roll | 5.56% |
Big 6 and Big 8 Bets
You place this bet in the box marked Big 6 or Big 8. You win if a 6 or 8 is rolled before a 7.
Winning Big 6 and Big 8 Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 1:1 | 9.09% |
Buy Bets
You place this bet next to the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 (labelled ‘Buy’). You can place these bets at any time, but they’re ‘deactivated’ during the Come-Out roll. You win if the Shooter rolls your number before a 7. This bet differs from a Come bet in that you’re charged a 5% vig (commission) on your winnings.
Winning Buy Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 2:1 on a 4 or 10 roll | 2.27% |
Pays 3:2 on a 5 or 9 roll | 2% |
Pays 6:5 on a 6 or 8 roll | 1.67% |
Lay Bets
You place this bet in the box above the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, (labelled ‘Lay’). You can place these bets at any time, but they’re ‘deactivated’ during the Come-Out roll. You win if the shooter rolls a 7 before your number. This bet differs from a Don’t Come bet in that you’re charged a 5% vig (commission) on your winnings.
Winning Lay Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 1:2 on a 4 or 10 roll | 1.7% |
Pays 3:3 on a 5 or 9 roll | 2% |
Pays 5:6 on a 6 or 8 roll | 2.27% |
Hard Way Bets
You place this bet on the boxes with the pictures of dice showing 4, 6, 8, or 10 as doubles. You win if the Shooter throws your selected double (2 2, 3 3, 4 4 or 5 5) before they throw a 7.
Winning Hard Way Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 9:1 on a 6 or 8 roll | 9.09% |
Pays 7:1 on a 4 or 10 roll | 11.1% |
Proposition Bets
You place this bet in the respective box where the dice add up to 2, 3, 11, or 12. You win if the Shooter rolls a 2, 3, 11 or 12 the very next throw.
Winning Proposition Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 30:1 on a 2 or 12 roll | 13.9% |
Pays 15:1 on a 3 or 11 roll | 11.1% |
Any 7 Bets
You place this bet in the box marked Any Seven. You win if the Shooter rolls a 7 the very next throw.
Winning Any 7 Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 4:1 | 16.67% |
Any Craps Bets
You place this bet in the Any Crap box. You win if the Shooter rolls a 2, 3 or 12 (craps) in the very next throw.
Winning Any Craps Bets | House Edge |
---|---|
Pays 7:1 | 11.11% |
Craps Table Limits
Depending on the casino, you’ll find craps games with a variety of table limits. In online craps games the minimum and maximum amounts are clearly marked. If you feel the craps table limits are too high or too low, simply seek out another online craps game with table limits that better suits your budget or style of play.
Craps Variants
While most land casinos of offer standard or regular craps, you may come across various other types or versions of this exhilarating dice game like Crapless Craps, Die Rich Craps, High Point Craps, Las Vegas Craps, New York Craps and others, each with varying rules, bets, odds, payouts and house advantages.
When it comes to online craps games, however, most premier UK online casinos offer just one version of craps with standard rules, bets, odds and payouts. This is actually great news because it means that once you’ve mastered this game, you can play it at pretty much any online casino you want to.