Line bets: the base of every craps game
Line bets are the craps bets that follow the shooter through a whole hand. The pass line wins on a 7 or 11 on the come-out and on the point repeating before a seven. The don’t pass bets the other way. Both pay even money and carry edges of 1.41% and 1.36%.
The come bet and don’t come are the same bets made later, after a point is set, with the next roll acting as their own come-out. They let you add line action to a hand in progress without making a put bet. Together these four are the cheapest flat bets on the layout, and the platform for everything below.
Odds: the bet with no house edge
Once a line or come bet has a point, back it with an odds bet. It pays true odds, 2 to 1 on 4 and 10, 3 to 2 on 5 and 9, 6 to 5 on 6 and 8, so the house has no edge on it. Casinos cap it as a multiple of the line bet, commonly 3-4-5x.
- Pays
- 1 to 1
- House edge
- 1.41%
- Decided by
- Several rolls
- Can be made
- Come-out roll
Place, buy and lay bets on the numbers
Place bets pick a number and bet it rolls before a seven, at any time you like. Place bets on 6 and 8 cost 1.52%, on 5 and 9 cost 4%, and on 4 and 10 cost 6.67%. The price gap is why most sensible players place the six and eight and leave the outside numbers alone.
Buy and lay bets pay true odds for a 5% commission. Buying the 4 or 10 with the vig collected on wins costs 1.67%, far cheaper than placing those numbers. A lay bet is the reverse, betting a seven comes first, and suits don’t players who want action against one number. Always ask how your table charges the vig.
The field, Big 6 and Big 8
The field bet is a one-roll bet on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. It looks generous, seven numbers against four, but the missing totals are the common ones. With the 2 and 12 paying 2 to 1 it costs 5.56% of each bet, and 2.78% at tables that pay 3 to 1 on the 12.
The Big 6 and Big 8 bet the six or eight before a seven at even money. That is the same event as a place bet on the number, which pays 7 to 6. The Big 6 costs 9.09%, the place bet 1.52%. It is one of the clearest traps in the casino, and many layouts have dropped it.
Hardways and the proposition box
The hardways bet that 4, 6, 8 or 10 comes as a pair before the easy version or a seven. Hard 6 and 8 pay 9 to 1 at a 9.09% edge, hard 4 and 10 pay 7 to 1 at 11.11%. They stay up across rolls, so a small hardway bet can ride through a long hand.
The center box holds the one-roll proposition bets: Any Seven at 4 to 1, Any Craps at 7 to 1, aces and boxcars at 30 to 1, ace-deuce and yo at 15 to 1, the horn, C and E and the hop bets. Their edges run from 11.11% to 16.67%, and every one is settled on the next roll.
Those big numbers pull players in. A $5 yo that hits pays $75, which feels like a real win, but the bet is decided every single roll, so its cost adds up far faster than a line bet’s. Stickmen call the props all night for a reason: they are the most profitable part of the table for the house.
Side bets: Fire Bet and All Tall Small
Some casinos add side bets that track a whole shooter’s hand. The Fire Bet pays when a shooter makes four, five or six different points, at 24, 249 and 999 to 1. The All Small, All Tall and Make ‘Em All ask for every number in a range before a seven, paying 34 to 1 and 175 to 1.
The payouts are enormous and so are the edges. The Fire Bet costs about 20.76% at the standard pay table, the All Tall Small bets around 7.5% to 7.8%. A dollar on the Fire Bet is a lottery ticket that runs for a whole hand, and most players who make it treat it as exactly that.
Craps payout chart: every bet and its house edge
This craps payout chart puts every bet on the layout in one place, from the cheapest group to the dearest. The house edge is the share of each bet the casino keeps over time. The per-roll column spreads it over the rolls a bet stays up, the fairest way to compare a line bet with a one-roll prop.
| Bet | Pays | House edge | Per roll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass Line | 1 to 1 | 1.41% | 0.42% |
| Come | 1 to 1 | 1.41% | 0.42% |
| Don't Pass | 1 to 1 | 1.36% | 0.40% |
| Don't Come | 1 to 1 | 1.36% | 0.40% |
| Odds on 4 | 2 to 1 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Odds on 5 | 3 to 2 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Odds on 6 | 6 to 5 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Lay odds against 4 | 1 to 2 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Place 4 | 9 to 5 | 6.67% | 1.67% |
| Place 5 | 7 to 5 | 4.00% | 1.11% |
| Place 6 | 7 to 6 | 1.52% | 0.46% |
| Buy 4 | 2 to 1 less 5% | 1.67% | 0.42% |
| Buy 5 | 3 to 2 less 5% | 2.00% | 0.56% |
| Buy 6 | 6 to 5 less 5% | 2.27% | 0.69% |
| Lay 4 | 1 to 2 less 5% of the win | 2.44% | 0.61% |
| Lay 5 | 2 to 3 less 5% of the win | 3.23% | 0.90% |
| Lay 6 | 5 to 6 less 5% of the win | 4.00% | 1.22% |
| Field | 1 to 1; 2 pays 2 to 1; 12 pays 2 to 1 | 5.56% | 5.56% |
| Big 6 | 1 to 1 | 9.09% | 2.78% |
| Hard 4 | 7 to 1 | 11.11% | 2.78% |
| Hard 6 | 9 to 1 | 9.09% | 2.78% |
| Any Seven | 4 to 1 | 16.67% | 16.67% |
| Any Craps | 7 to 1 | 11.11% | 11.11% |
| Aces (2) | 30 to 1 | 13.89% | 13.89% |
| Ace-Deuce (3) | 15 to 1 | 11.11% | 11.11% |
| Yo (11) | 15 to 1 | 11.11% | 11.11% |
| Boxcars (12) | 30 to 1 | 13.89% | 13.89% |
| Easy hop (one combination, e.g. 5-4) | 15 to 1 | 11.11% | 11.11% |
| Hard hop (a pair, e.g. 3-3) | 30 to 1 | 13.89% | 13.89% |
| Horn | 30 to 1 on 2 or 12, 15 to 1 on 3 or 11 (one unit each) | 12.50% | 12.50% |
| C & E | 3 to 1 on craps, 7 to 1 on 11 | 11.11% | 11.11% |
| Fire Bet | 4 points 24 to 1; 5 points 249 to 1; 6 points 999 to 1 | 20.76% | — |
| All Small | 34 to 1 | 7.76% | — |
| All Tall | 34 to 1 | 7.76% | — |
| Make ’Em All | 175 to 1 | 7.46% | — |
For the dollar amounts a dealer actually pays on each bet, with worked examples on typical stakes and the unit sizes that pay cleanly, see the full craps payouts page. It also explains the “for 1” wording on some older layouts, which quietly trims one unit from every winning proposition bet.
The best and worst craps bets
The best craps bets are line bets with full odds behind them. Don’t pass with 3-4-5x odds laid costs 0.27% of everything wagered, and the pass line with 3-4-5x odds costs 0.37%. After that come place bets on 6 and 8 at 1.52% and buying the 4 or 10 at 1.67%. Every craps strategy worth using builds on them.
The worst are the Fire Bet at about 20.76%, Any Seven at 16.67% and the aces, boxcars and hard hops at 13.89%. None of them is illegal to enjoy, and a dollar on the yo now and then will not ruin a trip. Just know that the fun money in the center costs many times what the line does.
Put numbers on it with the calculator. Choose a bet, a stake and a table speed, and it shows what that bet costs you per hour on average. A $10 pass line bet at 100 rolls an hour costs about $4.19 an hour. The same $10 on Any Seven every roll costs about $166.67.
How to bet craps at a real table
Most craps bets you set down yourself: the pass line, don’t pass, come, don’t come and field sit in front of you. Place, buy and lay bets go to the base dealer, and the center props go to the stickman, who calls them back to confirm. Our craps table layout page shows which dealer handles which box.
Start with the pass line and odds, then learn the come bet, and add place bets on 6 and 8 for more action. Try each one on the free craps table first. Online in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan or West Virginia the rules match, but at a live table the dealer must hear your bet before the dice fly.