Craps is a game played by placing wagers against the house on the outcome of the roll of 2 dice.. Wagers are made by placing casino chips on a number of different places on the craps table. Wagers can be placed by the player throwing the dice (the shooter), or by the other players watching the shooter.   The result of the roll determines which wagers win or lose. For many different types of wagers it can take a number of rolls to determine if the wager wins or loses.

In the game of craps there are two types of rolls, a passing roll or a not passing roll.

The initial roll (the come out roll)

The 1st roll is called the come out roll.

If the player rolls dice that total 2, 3, or 12 on the come out roll, which is also referred to as crapping out, the player does not pass, wagers are paid out and the turn ends.

If the player does not roll a craps (7 or 11) on the come out roll, or roll a 2, 3, or 12 the total rolled becomes the point number. A marker labeled "ON" is placed on the point number on the table or game screen to remind the players what the point number is. It then becomes the players goal to roll the point number again before rolling dice totaling 7.

Subsequent rolls

If the player does not roll a craps on the come out roll, the player continues to roll until either the initial point number is rolled again, or a 7 is rolled.

If the player rolls the point number, the player passes, wagers are paid out, and the turn ends.

If the player rolls a 7, the player has sevened out and does not pass, wagers are paid out, and the turn ends.

For any other roll, wagers are paid out, and the player rolls again, hoping for the point number.

After the player passes or does not pass, a new turn begins.

 

Types of Craps bets

There are many different types of wagers that can be placed on a craps table. All of the different types of wagers are further described below.

Pass Line and Don't Pass bets

Wagering on the Pass Line means betting that the player will pass on his or her current roll by rolling a 7 or 11.  Wagering on the Don't Pass Bar means betting that the player will not pass on his or her current roll, by rolling a 2, 3, or 12.  Note: if the player rolls a 12 on the come out roll, the player does not win with a Don't Pass wager.

Free odds

Suppose a player makes a Pass Line or Don't Pass wager and a point number is established on the come out roll. The player now has the option of "backing up" his or her Pass Line or Don't Pass wager with free odds wager. Free odds wagers are placed behind the players original wager.

Come and Don't Come wagers

These wagers are very much like Pass Line and Don't Pass wagers. Basically, they are like starting a Pass Line or Don't Pass wager after the player has already established a point number on the come out roll.

For example, a player makes a Pass Line wager and the player rolls a 9 on the come out roll, the Pass Line wager will win if the player can roll another 9 before rolling a 7 on the following rolls. But now, after the initial 9 was rolled, supposed the player made a Come wager by placing chips in the box marked COME.  The Come wager is like starting a Pass Line wager in the middle of the players turn. Specifically, on the roll after the player makes the Come wager.  If the player rolls a 7 or 11, the Come wager wins; if on this roll the player rolls a 2, 3, or 12, the Come wager loses. If the player rolls any other number, for example a 6, the Come wager moves to the corresponding numbered box at the top of the table.

Don't Come wagers are just the opposite of Come wagers, betting that the player won't Come.  On most craps tables the top row of boxes is used for the Don't Come numbers. Note: if the player rolls a 12 on the initial roll after placing a Don't Come wager, the player does not win.

Free odds

Free odds can be placed on Come numbers and Don't Come numbers, just as they can on Pass Line and Don't Pass bets. 

Place bets

Place bets are made on one of the numbers at the top of the table. The player is simply betting that the place number will be rolled before a 7.

Buy bets

Buy bets are basically just a type of Place bet. Buy bets are positioned in the upper-third portion of the Place numbers boxes and are shown with a "B". When the player buys a bet, he or she must pay a non-refundable 5% of the wager amount to the house.

Don't Place bets

Don’t Place bets are basically just the opposite of Place bets, the player is betting that a 7 will be rolled before the Place number is rolled.

Lay bets

Lay bets are very similar to Don't Place bets. They are positioned in the upper-third portion of the Don't Place numbers boxes and are indicated with an "L". When the player makes a lay bet, he or she pays a non-refundable 5% of the bet amount to the house.

One roll bets

There are a number of places on the table where the player can wager that the next roll will have a certain value.

These include:
 
The wager in the area marked ONE ROLL BETS.  These include wagering on a 7, on a craps, on a 2, 3, or 12, on a roll of 2, a roll of 3, a roll of 11, or a roll of 12. Placing a bet on the area marked HORN BET is equivalent to placing one fourth of the wager on each of the adjacent number wagers.
 
The wager areas marked C and E are a different way to wager on a craps or an 11.

Making a wager in the box marked FIELD is wagering that the next roll will be from 2-4 or from 9-12.

Big 6 and Big 8

The player is wagering that a 6 or 8 will be rolled before a 7.

Hardways

In the box labeled HARDWAYS the player can wager that a certain number will be rolled as a double before a 7 is rolled, or before that number is rolled as a non-double. For example, a Hardway wager on double 4’s wins when double 4’s are rolled, but loses when a 7 or any other 8 is rolled, such as a 6/2 or 5/3 combination.