Craps Online Guide 2024 – Rules, Strategy & Tips

Craps is a classic dice game that has its roots in Hazard, an old English dice game. The game has been around since the 14th century and even gets a mention in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. After becoming popular in France during the middle ages, it made its way to the United States in the 19th century when a French aristocrat introduced it. At this time, the game was known as crapaud, which is French for “toad.” It quickly gained popularity within the African-American community.

Over time, the game evolved and became known as craps. With the rise of casinos in the 20th century, it grew even more in popularity, and today, it is enjoyed by a new generation of players who can now play the game at online casinos.

How to Find the Best Online Craps Casinos

Different factors are important to different people when it comes to choosing an online craps casino, so to help our players find the right casino, our gaming experts have personally reviewed each of them. Use our top list and read our online casino reviews to find the best craps casinos and pick the best online casino bonus or casino for you.

Craps Online Rules – How to Play the Game in a Casino

The craps table looks a bit complex when you first take glance at it. There are many betting types, and the table is marked up with all the betting possibilities. The table looks the same online as it does in a regular casino, and the gameplay is the same.

Craps is typically played at a large table with several players, also called shooters. The game is played in rounds, with each round consisting of two phases: the come-out roll and the point phase.

How to Play Craps: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Understand the basics of craps: The goal of the game is to roll a number (a point) with two dice and then roll that same number again before a seven is rolled. The person at the craps table that rolls the dice is called “the shooter.”
2. Place your bets: Choose which bet you want to make, and place your chips on the corresponding section of the craps table. The shooter must place at least the minimum bet on the pass or don’t pass lines, but other players at the table can also make a bet.
3. Take turns rolling the dice: The players take turns rolling the two dice. The shooter’s first roll is a ‘come-out roll’.
4. Understand the outcome of the come-out roll: If the come-out roll is a 7 or 11, the pass line bet wins, and those who bet the don’t pass bets lose, and then the round ends. If the come-out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (called ‘craps’), then the don’t pass line wins, the pass line loses, and the round also ends.
5. Roll the point number: If the come-out roll is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, then the number rolled becomes the point number.
6. Continue rolling the dice: The shooter continues to roll the dice until he or she rolls the point number again, in which case pass line bettors win and don’t pass bettors lose, or a 7 is rolled, in which case pass line bets lose and don’t pass bets win.
7. Change players: Once the shooter loses out, then players change, and a new shooter takes his/her turn at the table to roll the come-out roll. Then all players once again place at least a minimum bet.
8. Place additional bets: After the come-out roll, there are several additional bets that can be placed, including place bets, field bets, and proposition bets. Each bet has its own rules and payout structure, so be sure to read through the craps rules guide to learn how and when to place them.
9. Understand the point number: When the point number is established, the puck is turned over to the corresponding number on the craps table. The shooter must roll that number again before rolling a seven in order to win the bet.
10. Follow etiquette and rules: When playing craps, it’s important to follow certain etiquette and rules. For example, you should always handle the dice with one hand and never bring them off the table. You should also avoid late bets and be respectful of other players at the table.

By following these steps and understanding the basics of craps, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying one of the most exciting games in the casino!

There are a number of bets available that you can place after the come-out roll. If you want to know all the different types of bets in craps, read through the craps rules guide in order to learn how and when to place all the individual bets.

Craps Strategy: The Best Way to Improve Your Odds

The game of craps is a game of chance – sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. The edge is built-in into the game to benefit the casino. It’s a game where the player has to rely on luck, play for excitement and enjoy a good time. That said, it is one of the better casino games from a player’s perspective. If you make good bets (there are also a number of bets with huge house advantage) and you implement the proper craps strategy, you’ll have a decent chance of walking away from the craps table with a profit.

Unfortunately, no foolproof craps strategies can give you the edge against the house. What you can do, however, is to reduce the house edge to a minimum to maximize the chance of winning. Among all the bets that are available in craps, some offer worse odds than others, some much worse.

On the other hand, some bets give you odds that make you more or less even money against the house. If you can find these bets and stick to them in the midst of chaotic craps action, your money will last longer, and you may very well leave the casino a winner.

Type of Craps Bets

When you play craps online, the best strategy to use is placing good craps bets and avoiding the worst bets, which can leave you without a penny in your wallet by the end of the night. We have listed these bets below and explained the individual bets for you so you know how to play them. 

Best & Worst Craps Bets

Best Bets in Craps

The best bets to make in Craps are, luckily, the easiest ones to remember and the most popular ones to make.  They are safe and easy bets to make with a low house edge and are marked on the table (as shown below), making it easy for the player to place the bet, as opposed to some of the more obscure bets, which involve knowing the game etiquette.

Pass Bet

This is the most common and important bet in the game. With a house edge of only 1.41%, it’s also one of the best bets in all casino games. The pass bet is made on the come-out roll and is made on the area of the table marked Pass Line. You win the bet if the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, you lose if the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12, and if a 4,5,6,8,9 or 10 is rolled, the point number is established, and the round continues.  The pass bet wins if the point number is rolled before a 7. The pass bet loses if a 7 is rolled before the point number.

Don’t Pass

The don’t pass bet is the exact opposite of the pass bet. Instead of betting that the shooter will win, you’re betting that the shooter will lose. At a live casino, this is called betting against the table, and you’re normally betting against the other players. You place your chips in the sections marked with the 2 in the image above. You win the bet if the shooter rolls a 2 or 3, it’s a standoff if the shooter rolls a 12 and nobody wins, and you lose if the shooter rolls a 7 or 11. The point number is made with any other number, and the shooter needs to roll a 7 before the point number to win the bet. If the point number is rolled before the 7, you lose.

Come Bet

A come bet works very similarly to the pass bet, but it’s made when the round is in progress, and after the pass bet point number has been made. You place your bet in the come section on the table. After placing your bet, the next roll becomes your individual ‘come out roll’ where you can win or lose, or a point number for the come bet is established.

The bet wins if the shooter rolls a 7 or 11 with the come-out roll. If the shooter rolls a 2,3 or 12, you lose the bet. If any other number is rolled, the point number is set. This point number is completely independent of the pass bet point number and pass line bets. The bet wins if the shooter rolls the come bet point number before the 7.  The payout for the bet depends on the point number which is rolled.

Don’t Come Bet

Just like the don’t pass bet works in the opposite way of the pass bet, the don’t come bet also works in the direct opposite way. It’s made while the round is in progress after the pass line point number has been made. After you place don’t come bet, you win, lose, or the point number is made with the next roll, the come out roll.  You win if the shooter rolls a 2 or a 3, you lose if the shooter rolls a 7 or an 11, and the bet is tied if a 12 is rolled. With any other number, the point number for the bet is made, and if a 7 is rolled before this number, then you win the bet. 

Combining Good Bets with Better Bets

The house edge of the simple craps bets is already very decent for a casino game. But don’t run off to the table just yet. You can actually do even better than that. There is a bet that you won’t even find indicated on the table: the odds bet.  

Odds Bet

The odds bet is a side bet you can make in addition to your original bet at any time once the point number has been made. You can ‘take odds’ when you have already placed a pass or come bet and ‘lay odds’ when you have placed a don’t pass or don’t come bet. The bets are not marked on the table:

The bet is placed behind the pass, don’t pass, come, or don’t come bet, and you are placing your money on whether the point number or a 7 will be rolled first, depending on your original bet. You win if the original bet wins. You can increase, remove, or lower the odds bet at any moment in the game.  

Odds pays 2 to 1 on points of 4 and 10, 3 to 2 on a 5 and 9, and 6 to 5 on a 6 and 8. Usually, odds bets are limited to two or three times your original bet. For example, if you have made a $10 pass bet, you could bet another $20 as a 2X Odds Bet. This reduces the house edge to 0.6%. However, once in a while, online casinos run promotions that allow much higher odds bets, which then bring the house edge even closer to zero.

How to Reduce the House Edge in Craps

A craps strategy that will reduce the house edge to an absolute minimum is to play simple pass or don’t pass bets and always follow up with as high odds bets as possible. There are many kinds of craps players out there – those who enjoy playing it safe and slow, the high-rollers, and players who like to place risky bets for the thrill and excitement.  If you would like to learn about every possible crap, bet you can make at the table, read our in-depth craps strategy article.

Craps Money Management

You won’t have much time to think about which bets you want to make as this game moves incredibly fast – you may get ahead of yourself and place bets you don’t really want to make or forget your bets that are still active on the table simply because you get caught up in the moment.

It’s important to establish how much you are willing to risk before you start playing. If you are a regular player, there are also different ways to build a craps bankroll, such as playing with particular bonuses and practising playing free craps first. Read through our craps money management tips below in order to increase the amount in your account.

Craps Money Management Tips

1. Buy chips in small batches: If you want to play for a few hours, don’t buy all your chips in one massive lump. Decide how much you want to spend, and then buy a smaller amount of chips every hour or so. This way, you won’t spend all your craps money in the first fifteen minutes of playing!
2. Set a limit for losses: Decide how much you are willing to lose overall and stop playing once you reach this figure.
3. Have a pre-determined amount of lost bets: Have a pre-determined amount of lost bets and stop playing if you reach this amount of bets.
4. Take a break! Don’t get hypnotised by the action; you’re more likely to wager all your money too quickly. Get up, have a stretch, and re-assess your monetary situation.
5. Determine how many wins you will stop playing: It’s quite obvious that after a certain amount of losses, you need to control yourself and stop playing in an attempt to win back the money you lost. But you also need to stop yourself from losing all your winnings and betting even more, to try to win more and end up losing your winnings and all your craps bankroll. Establish beforehand when you’ll be happy to collect your earnings, buy yourself a drink, and enjoy the rest of the day or night.
6. Avoid all proposition bets: Simply don’t put down any money on any craps, any seven, any eleven, any 12, or any other proposition bets.
7. Take or lay odds on the place/come/don’t pass/don’t come bets: These are the best bets to make in craps, in fact, in all casino games with a house edge of roughly 1.41% between them as well, which is reduced even further when you take or lay odds on them.
8. Stay alert and concentrate: Not only does the action in craps moves incredibly quickly, but you can have multiple bets active on the table at once. Ensure you have all your bets under your watchful eye, and remove the bet from the table if you don’t want it active anymore. If you forget about an active bet, you could lose a lot more than you bargained for!
9. Follow a betting strategy: Although not for everyone, for some players, it helps a lot to follow a strategy such as Paroli, Martingale, or 5-count craps in order to determine when to bet. We have explained all the different betting strategies for you so you can choose which one works best for you.

Become More Than a Novice in Craps

Playing free craps is a good way to learn the game and improve your gaming skills before you play for money. A craps session at a live casino can be quite an exhilarating experience if you come prepared, and playing online is a good and exciting way to do so. This game has very particular lingo used whilst playing it, so it’s useful to brush up on the craps terms to understand what is happening at the table fully. If you end up playing at a live casino, it will also help immensely.

Craps Online FAQs