- Pays
- 30 to 1 on 2 or 12, 15 to 1 on 3 or 11 (one unit each)
- House edge
- 12.50%
- Decided by
- One roll
- Can be made
- Any roll
What are prop bets in craps?
Proposition bets are the one-roll and short-lived wagers printed in the center of the layout, between the two dealer sections. They cover specific totals or combinations: any seven, any craps, the 2, 3, 11 and 12, and groups of those like the horn. Most are decided by the very next roll, win or lose, and nothing carries over.
The hardways sit in the center too but last more than one roll, so they get their own page. Everything below is a single-roll bet. You cannot place these chips yourself at a live table. You toss them to the center or hand them to a dealer, call the bet, and the stickman sets them in the right spot.
The stickman’s role
The stickman runs the center of the table. Besides moving the dice to the shooter and calling each roll, the stickman books every proposition bet, places the chips on the right box and tells the boxman and dealers which bets won. Calls listed in our craps terms glossary, like “yo eleven”, double as announcements of which props just paid.
It is also the stickman’s job to sell them. Between rolls you will hear lines such as “get your horn bets in” or “C and E, C and E”. That patter is part of the show from the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas to Atlantic City, and it points your chips at the priciest boxes.
Any seven and any craps
Any seven wins if the next roll is any 7, and pays 4 to 1. There are six ways to roll a 7 and 30 ways not to, so the fair price is 5 to 1, giving Any Seven the worst edge on the table: 16.67%. A $5 bet that hits pays $20. Old dealers call it “Big Red”.
What does any craps mean?
Any craps is a one-roll bet that the next total is 2, 3 or 12. Those three numbers roll four ways out of 36, true odds of 8 to 1, and the bet pays 7 to 1, an 11.11% edge. Pass line players often add it on the come-out as a hedge against craps, an expensive one.
Aces, ace-deuce, yo and boxcars
Four boxes cover one total each. Aces, or snake eyes, is the 2 (1-1), and boxcars is the 12 (6-6). Each rolls one way only, true odds of 35 to 1, and pays 30 to 1 for a 13.89% edge. Ace-deuce (the 3) and the yo (the 11) roll two ways each and pay 15 to 1.
What is a yo in craps?
The yo is the 11, and a yo bet wins only if the next roll is 5-6 or 6-5. It pays 15 to 1 against true odds of 17 to 1, so the edge is 11.11%. The name exists because “eleven” shouted across a noisy table sounds too much like “seven”. Dealers say “yo-leven” to keep the two apart.
| Bet | Wins on | Ways out of 36 | Pays | True odds | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Seven | any 7 | 6 | 4 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 16.667% |
| Any Craps | 2, 3 or 12 | 4 | 7 to 1 | 8 to 1 | 11.111% |
| Aces (2) | 1-1 | 1 | 30 to 1 | 35 to 1 | 13.889% |
| Ace-Deuce (3) | 1-2 | 2 | 15 to 1 | 17 to 1 | 11.111% |
| Yo (11) | 5-6 | 2 | 15 to 1 | 17 to 1 | 11.111% |
| Boxcars (12) | 6-6 | 1 | 30 to 1 | 35 to 1 | 13.889% |
What is a horn bet in craps?
The horn bet in craps is four bets in one: equal amounts on the 2, 3, 11 and 12, which is why it is made in multiples of four. If the next roll is one of those numbers, that quarter of the bet pays its own odds and the other three quarters lose. Any other roll loses the lot.
Take a $4 horn. On a 12 the $1 on boxcars pays 30 to 1, you lose the other $3, and you net $27. On an 11 the $1 on the yo pays 15 to 1 and you net $12. The combined house edge on the craps horn bet is 12.5%, and it loses on 30 of every 36 rolls.
Horn high
A horn high is a five-unit bet with the extra unit on a number you name, as in “horn high yo” for $5. The extra chip moves the edge. On the 2 or 12 it rises to about 12.78%, because those pay the worse 30 to 1. On the 3 or 11 it falls to about 12.22%.
The world bet, or whirl
The world bet in craps, or whirl, is a horn plus an Any Seven, five units in all. The horn numbers pay as usual, less the other four units. A 7 pays the Any Seven at 4 to 1, which exactly covers the four losing horn units, so a 7 is a push. Every other number loses all five units.
That push on the 7 makes the world feel safer, but the Any Seven unit is the worst bet on the table. Worked through the dice, a $5 world costs about 13.33% of each bet, more than a plain horn. It is a louder way to spend more. If you want the horn, bet the horn on its own.
| Bet | Pays | House edge | Per roll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| Any Seven | 4 to 1 | 16.67% | 16.67% |
| Any Craps | 7 to 1 | 11.11% | 11.11% |
| Yo (11) | 15 to 1 | 11.11% | 11.11% |
| Aces (2) | 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% |
What is C and E in craps?
C and E stands for craps and eleven: a two-unit bet split between Any Craps and the yo, placed in the small circles beside the proposition bets. On a 2, 3 or 12 the craps half pays 7 to 1 and the eleven half loses. On an 11 the yo half pays 15 to 1 and the other half loses.
Dealers quote the whole bet net: 3 to 1 on any craps, 7 to 1 on an 11. A $2 C and E returns $6 on a craps and $14 on a yo. The combined house edge is 11.11%, the same as its two halves. It wins six rolls in 36.
What is a hop bet in craps?
A hop bet is a one-roll wager on one exact combination of the dice. To hop a number is to bet it shows, a particular way, on the next roll. A 5-4 hop wins on 5-4 or 4-5. Those are two of the 36 outcomes, so an easy hop pays 15 to 1 and costs 11.11%.
A hard hop is a pair, such as 3-3, which comes up one way only. It pays 30 to 1 against true odds of 35 to 1, a 13.89% edge. Most layouts have no box for hop bets in craps. You call them to the stickman, say “hop 4-4”, and the stickman sets the chips.
Hops can be stacked into bigger combinations. “Hop the sevens” spreads three chips over 1-6, 2-5 and 3-4; booked at 15 to 1 each, that costs 11.11%, less than Any Seven. Hopping a hardway is the one-roll twin of the hardways, and it costs more per roll than the ordinary hard 6 or hard 8 does per decision.
“To 1” and “for 1”: read the payout wording
Proposition bets are where payouts most often read “for 1” instead of “to 1”. The difference is your own chip. At 30 to 1 a $1 winner pays $30 and you keep the $1. At 30 for 1 you get $30 back in total, including the $1 you bet, so you win $29: 29 to 1.
The cut is big. Aces or boxcars at 30 for 1 cost 16.67%, against 13.89% at 30 to 1. A yo at 15 for 1 is really 14 to 1, and its edge rises from 11.11% to 16.67% too. Any Seven at “5 for 1” is just 4 to 1. Always check our craps payouts table before trusting the felt.
What proposition bets cost per roll
Every prop settles on the next roll, so its full edge is charged on every throw. A $5 Any Seven costs about 83 cents per roll on average; a $4 horn costs 50 cents. A $10 pass line bet costs about 4 cents per roll. A dollar on the yo every roll soon outspends your line bets.
The one-roll structure also makes the swings violent. A 30 to 1 bet can go 60 rolls without hitting, then pay once and feel like a win. Over a long session the arithmetic always catches up. The field bet is also a one-roll wager, and at 5.56% it is less than half the price of the cheapest prop.
Which proposition bets, if any, make sense?
None is a good bet. The cheapest are the 11.11% group: Any Craps, the yo, ace-deuce, C and E and easy hops. The horn sits at 12.5%, aces and boxcars at 13.89%, the world 13.33%, and Any Seven at 16.67% is the priciest in the center. Every dollar moved to the odds plays at no edge.
If you still want a chip in the middle, keep it small and pick a “to 1” table. The same bets appear in licensed online craps in New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where the rules screen shows the exact payout. At a live table, watch the stickman place your chip before the dice go out.