Craps rules and strategy: the complete guide to the only bet in the casino with zero house edge

How the pass line, come-out roll, and point phase actually work - and why the Odds bet is mathematically unlike anything else on the casino floor

Craps has a reputation for looking intimidating - a crowded table, a wall of different bet types, and a fast-moving dealer calling out numbers. The underlying game is genuinely simple once broken down, and it contains something no other casino game offers: a bet with a literal 0% house edge. This guide covers the core gameplay, the bets worth making, the ones worth avoiding entirely, and the specific mechanic that makes craps one of the mathematically best games in any casino when played correctly.

How a round of craps works

The come-out roll. Every round begins with a come-out roll. If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, Pass Line bets win immediately. If the roll is 2, 3, or 12 (known as "craps"), Pass Line bets lose immediately. Any other result - 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 - becomes the "point," and the round moves into its second phase.

The point phase. Once a point is established, the shooter keeps rolling until one of two things happens: the point number comes up again (Pass Line bets win), or a 7 is rolled first (Pass Line bets lose, and the dice pass to the next shooter). Only the point number and 7 matter during this phase - any other number rolled simply has no effect on the Pass Line bet and play continues.

The pass line bet: where almost every player starts

The Pass Line is the simplest and most popular bet at the table - roughly 90% of players place their first chip here. It pays even money (1:1) and carries a 1.41% house edge, already one of the lowest house edges of any bet in the casino before any additional strategy is applied.

Don't Pass - the mirror bet, slightly better odds. Betting against the shooter rather than with them, Don't Pass carries a marginally lower house edge of 1.36% - genuinely better mathematically, though it goes against the social convention of most craps tables, where the majority of players are betting with the shooter and rooting for the same outcomes together.

Odds bets: the only zero-house-edge bet in any casino

This is the single most important concept in craps strategy, and it's worth stating plainly: once a point is established, you can place an additional "Odds" bet behind your original Pass Line or Don't Pass wager - and this specific additional bet carries a genuine 0% house edge. It pays out at true mathematical odds, with no built-in casino advantage whatsoever.

Why this bet is genuinely unique. Every other wager in every other casino game - every slot spin, every roulette bet, every other wager at the craps table itself - carries some built-in house edge by design. The Odds bet is the sole exception across the entire casino floor, a bet where the payout precisely matches the true underlying probability with no operator margin extracted at all.

The 3-4-5x odds rule. Standard casino limits allow you to back your Pass Line bet with odds up to 3x your original stake on points of 4 or 10, up to 4x on points of 5 or 9, and up to 5x on points of 6 or 8 - commonly summarised as "3-4-5x odds." Some operators, including certain online craps platforms, extend this further, offering up to 5x-6x odds across all point numbers.

The golden rule of craps strategy: Minimum on the line, maximum on the odds. Because your flat Pass Line bet carries the house edge and your Odds bet carries none, the mathematically optimal approach is to keep your base Pass Line bet as small as the table allows and place as much as you're comfortable with on the zero-edge Odds bet behind it. A $10 Pass Line bet backed with full 3-4-5x odds produces a blended house edge as low as 0.37% - under 40 cents of expected loss per $100 wagered, among the best odds available anywhere in a casino, live dealer or land-based.

A specific live dealer figure worth citing: Evolution Gaming's First Person Craps has documented house edge figures as low as 0.27% when wagering full odds on the Don't Pass bar - genuinely competitive with, and in some configurations better than, land-based craps tables.

Come and don't come bets: pass/don't pass, after the point is set

Come and Don't Come bets work identically to Pass Line and Don't Pass, just placed after the come-out roll has already established a point for the table. A Come bet wins immediately on a 7 or 11 on the next roll, loses on 2, 3, or 12, and otherwise establishes its own individual point number that must repeat before a 7 for that specific bet to win - functioning as your own personal, independent point sequence running alongside the table's main point. Odds bets can be placed behind Come and Don't Come bets exactly the same way as behind Pass Line and Don't Pass.

Place bets: choosing a number directly

A Place bet lets you skip the come-out sequence entirely and bet directly on a specific number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) coming up before a 7. Place bets on 6 and 8 carry a reasonable house edge - only slightly worse than an equivalent Come bet backed with odds - making them a genuinely playable option for getting more numbers "working" at once. Place bets on 4, 5, 9, and 10 carry a considerably larger house edge and are generally less favourable choices.

Proposition bets: the ones to avoid

The bets in the centre of the craps layout - proposition or "prop" bets - offer large single-roll payouts and correspondingly terrible odds. "Any Craps" (betting the next roll will be 2, 3, or 12) pays 7:1 but carries an 11.11% house edge. "Any 7" pays out at odds that don't come close to compensating for the roughly 16.67% true probability against you on a single roll. As a general rule for craps strategy: the more visually dramatic and high-paying a bet looks on the layout, the worse its underlying mathematics almost always are. Hardways bets (wagering a specific number rolls as an identical pair before it rolls any other way, or before a 7 appears) fall into a similar high-house-edge category, alongside more exotic options like lay bets and fire bets.

Lay odds: the don't pass side's equivalent of free odds - and an even lower combined edge

Everything covered above about the Odds bet applies to backing the shooter (Pass Line and Come). If you're betting the Don't Pass or Don't Come side instead, the equivalent additional bet is called Lay Odds, and it produces a genuinely even lower combined house edge than the Pass Line + Odds combination covered above.

How Lay Odds work. Once a point is established, a Don't Pass or Don't Come bettor can "lay odds" - an additional wager, exactly like taking odds on the Pass side, that a 7 will come before the point number. Because you're now betting on the statistically more probable side of that specific race (a 7 is the single most common two-dice roll), Lay Odds pay out at less than even money on your additional stake, precisely reflecting your improved probability of winning that bet.

The combined house edge, precisely. Don't Pass alone carries a 1.36% house edge - already marginally better than Pass Line's 1.41%. Backed with maximum lay odds (commonly 3x-4x-5x, matching the same table limits as the Pass side), the combined effective house edge on Don't Pass drops to approximately 0.27%, and can fall as low as 0.12% to 0.18% with higher odds multiples (10x, where offered). This is mathematically the single lowest house edge combination achievable in craps - lower even than Pass Line with maximum odds.

The genuine trade-offs that keep most players on the Pass side anyway. Betting Don't Pass means betting against the shooter - a position sometimes described as playing the "dark side," which can feel socially awkward at a table where most players are rooting together for the shooter to succeed. You also lose more often on the come-out roll specifically: a 7 or 11 (8 total ways to roll across two dice) beats a Don't Pass bet immediately, versus only 3 ways (a 2 or 3, since 12 typically pushes) to win immediately on that same come-out roll. For players comfortable with both the mathematics and the social dynamics, Don't Pass with maximum Lay Odds is the more efficient bet; for most players, Pass Line with maximum Odds remains the popular default specifically because it avoids betting against the table.

The field bet: a one-roll wager covering most of the table

The Field is a single-roll bet resolved on the very next roll, covering seven of the twelve possible two-dice totals: 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12. It's an easy bet to place (no point needs to be established first) and it resolves immediately, which is part of its appeal.

House edge varies by the specific table's payout structure for 12. Most standard tables pay 2:1 on a 12, producing a Field house edge of 5.56%. Tables that pay 3:1 on a 12 specifically (sometimes also boosting the payout on 2) reduce the Field's house edge to 2.78% - genuinely worth checking the specific paytable posted at your table before relying on the Field regularly, since this single detail roughly doubles or halves the bet's cost depending on which version you're playing.

Best used as a supplement, not a standalone strategy. The Field is the anchor bet of the Iron Cross strategy (covered below), where it's combined with Place bets to cover nearly the entire table. As a standalone bet on its own, its house edge is meaningfully worse than the Pass Line, Come, and Odds family covered earlier in this guide.

Buy bets: paying a commission for true odds on 4 and 10 specifically

A Buy bet lets you wager on a specific number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) coming before a 7, similar to a Place bet, but pays out at true mathematical odds in exchange for a 5% commission (vig) charged on the bet, typically collected upfront or deducted from winnings depending on the specific casino's house rules.

Where Buy bets genuinely beat the equivalent Place bet. On the 4 and 10 specifically, the true-odds payout structure of a Buy bet, even after the 5% commission, produces a meaningfully better house edge (approximately 1.67%) than the equivalent Place bet on the same numbers (which runs considerably higher, since Place bets on 4 and 10 pay at a less favourable ratio than their true odds would suggest). On 5, 6, 8, and 9, the standard Place bet is generally the better choice, since the commission on a Buy bet at those specific numbers isn't offset by a large enough odds improvement to be worth it.

The practical rule: Buy the 4 and 10 specifically if you want exposure to those numbers; Place the 5, 6, 8, and 9 rather than buying them.

Bets to actively avoid: big 6/8, hop bets, and why they're traps

Big 6 and Big 8 - a genuine trap worth calling out directly. These bets pay even money (1:1) on exactly the same outcome (a 6 or 8 rolling before a 7) that a standard Place bet on 6 or 8 pays at 7:6 - a better payout for an identical bet. The result: Big 6/Big 8 carries a 9.09% house edge, versus just 1.52% for the mathematically identical Place bet. There is no scenario where choosing Big 6/8 over Place 6/8 makes sense - if you see this bet on the table layout, simply place the equivalent Place bet instead.

Hop bets. One-roll call bets on a specific dice combination (for example, calling a hop on 2 and 3 landing together), paying either 15:1 or 30:1 depending on the specific combination called. Despite the large advertised payouts, these carry house edges of 11.1% to 13.9% - squarely in the same "avoid" category as the centre-table proposition bets already covered in this guide.

Two named strategies worth knowing

The Three Point Molly. Maintains three simultaneous active bets - a Pass Line bet plus two Come bets - each backed with maximum available Odds. This maximises how many numbers you have "working" across the table at any given time while keeping every individual bet within the lowest house-edge family covered in this guide. It's widely considered the most popular intermediate craps strategy specifically because it scales up the core Pass Line + Odds approach without introducing any higher-edge bet types.

The Iron Cross. Combines Place bets on 5, 6, and 8 with a Field bet, together covering every possible number except 7 - meaning this combination wins on roughly 83% of all rolls (30 out of 36 possible two-dice combinations). The trade-off is stark: a 7 loses every single bet in the combination simultaneously, and the blended house edge across the whole combination (commonly cited around 3.9%) is meaningfully higher than the Pass Line + Odds or Three Point Molly approaches. The Iron Cross is popular specifically as an entertainment-focused, high-action strategy - frequent visible wins make for an enjoyable session - rather than as the mathematically optimal choice for anyone prioritising the lowest possible long-run cost.

A quick-reference house edge table

A practical beginner strategy

Buy in with at least 20x your intended minimum bet, giving yourself enough of a bankroll cushion to weather a realistic cold streak without being forced out of the game prematurely.

Start with a Pass Line bet, then add full odds once a point is established. This is the lowest-edge, most straightforward strategic combination available at the table, requiring no complex decision-making beyond the two steps: bet the line, then back it with odds.

Add Come bets with odds to get more numbers working simultaneously, once you're comfortable with the basic Pass Line and Odds sequence - this increases your exposure to a bigger single loss if a 7 comes at the wrong moment, but also increases your ways to win on any given roll if the shooter goes on an extended run without a 7-out.

Avoid the centre-table proposition bets entirely. No matter how attractive the stated payout looks, the underlying house edge on these bets is dramatically worse than anything in the Pass Line/Come/Odds strategy family covered above.

Craps is purely random - no strategy changes the dice. Every roll is an independent event with no memory of previous rolls, exactly as covered in this site's guide to roulette betting systems regarding independent events generally. Craps strategy is entirely about choosing which bets carry the best available odds, not about predicting or influencing individual roll outcomes.

Frequently asked questions

Should i ever bet big 6 or big 8?

No - never. Big 6/Big 8 pays even money (1:1) on exactly the same outcome that a Place bet on the same number pays 7:6, with a house edge of 9.09% versus just 1.52% for the Place bet. There is no scenario where Big 6/8 is the better choice.

What is the mathematically best possible bet in craps?

Don't Pass backed with maximum Lay Odds, producing a combined house edge as low as 0.12%-0.27% - slightly better than Pass Line with maximum Odds (0.37%). Most players still prefer the Pass Line side, since Don't Pass means betting against the shooter, which some find socially awkward at a shared table.

What is the best bet in craps?

The Odds bet, placed behind a Pass Line, Don't Pass, Come, or Don't Come wager - it's the only bet in the entire casino with a genuine 0% house edge, paying true mathematical odds with no built-in casino margin.

What does "3-4-5x odds" mean?

The standard maximum multiple you can wager on the Odds bet relative to your original Pass Line stake, varying by point number: up to 3x on points of 4 or 10, up to 4x on points of 5 or 9, and up to 5x on points of 6 or 8.

Why should i avoid proposition bets in craps?

Centre-table proposition bets carry dramatically higher house edges than the Pass Line, Come, and Odds bet family - "Any Craps" carries an 11.11% house edge, and "Any 7" is worse still, despite both offering large advertised payouts that make them look attractive at a glance.

Is don't pass really better than pass line?

Marginally, yes - 1.36% house edge versus 1.41% - though the difference is small, and Don't Pass means betting against the shooter, which goes against the social convention most craps tables operate under, where the majority of players bet with the shooter.

This guide is for educational purposes. All craps outcomes are determined by random dice rolls, and no strategy guarantees winning outcomes. Gambling problem? In the UK: BeGambleAware.org | 0808 8020 133. In the US: 1-800-GAMBLER. Information correct as of September 2026.