The Craps Table
The craps table may look intimidating to someone who is a virgin to the dice, but looks can often be deceiving in the world of gambling. With the help of this website and a few rounds of our free craps game, you’ll be ready to play.
In this section, the different areas of the craps table will be identified in order to aid you in placing your bets, but the details of particular bets can be explored further in the other areas of this website. The How to Play Craps, Craps Bets and Craps Odds sections explore the basics of the game, what exactly each bet entails (including the odds of each bet), which bets are good and which bets to stay away from.
Pass Line
The pass line runs from the bottom of the table to the left hand side with the large words “PASS LINE”. The pass line bet is the most popular bet on the craps table (to learn why, check out our Craps Tips section). It can only be made on the come out roll. If a 7 or 11 is rolled (known as a "natural"), it's an immediate winner. If a 2, 3 or 12 is rolled (known as “craps”), it loses. Any other number which is rolled becomes your “pass line point” and this number must repeat before a 7 is rolled in order for the pass line to win.
Don’t Pass
This is essentially the opposite of the pass line bet. Found just above and along the pass line bet in the “Don’t Pass Bar” box, it is considered bad luck to make this bet. It can also only be made on the come out roll. If 2, 3 or 12 is rolled on this bet, it wins and if 7 or 11 is rolled, it loses. If any other number is rolled it becomes your “don’t pass point” and a 7 must be rolled before that number in order for the bet to win.
Come
This area of the table is quite conspicuous. Right in the middle of the table in a large box marked “COME”, this bet is made after the dealer establishes the point number. If the shooter tosses either a 7 or 11 on the next roll of the dice, you win. If the shooter rolls a 2, 3 or 12, you lose. If none of these numbers is rolled, whatever number is rolled becomes your “come point number” and your bet is moved to that number at the top of the table. From that point on, the bet will win if your come point number is rolled before 7. Otherwise, it will lose. For more info, check out our Come Bet section.
Don’t Come
Just the opposite of the come bet. If the shooter rolls 2, 3 or 12 you win on the next toss. If 7 or 11, you lose. If anything else, the shooter must roll a 7 before that number in order for the bet to win.
Place Bets
Place bets are the most popular types of bets at the craps table. They can happen only after the come out roll and can be placed on the 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. They are placed on these corresponding numbers, which can be found in large boxes at the top of the layout. Place bets win if the number they are placed on is thrown before a 7.
Field Bet
The field area is a large area under the come box. It’s large for a reason: the casino has a 5.5 percent advantage on all bets placed here. Field bets are a one roll of the dice bet. If a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 is thrown (the numbers listed in the field area), this bet wins, while a 5, 6, 7 or 8 will cause this bet to lose.
Big 6 & Big 8
These betting areas are side by side and can be found between the two don’t pass areas. They are below and attached to the field bet area. They are also given a large space on the craps table layout, as the casino has a 9.09 percent edge on these bets. The Big bets can be placed at any time and they win if a six or an eight is thrown before a seven.
Hard Ways
These bets can be found to the right or the left of the main area in a smaller box with various dice combinations pictured in it. The four smaller boxes within this larger box that have two die with 3’s, two with 5’s, two with 4’s and two with 2’s are known as the hard way bets because you are betting that this particular number will be rolled the “hard way”, with doubles. These bets, along with the other one roll bets detailed below, are known as “Proposition Bets”.
Any Seven
This bet is found in a rectangular box marked “Any Seven” running along the top or bottom of or through the one roll bets depicted with dice. A bet on the Any Seven is a bet that the next roll will be a 7.
Any Craps
This bet, also found in a rectangular box marked “Any Craps” running along or through the one roll bets depicted with dice, is a bet that the next roll will be a 2, 3 or 12.
Bet the 2, 12, 3 or 11
These bets are found in boxes with the rolled dice depicting these numbers. A bet on any of these numbers is a bet that the next roll will be that number. If it is any other number, you lose.
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