Your First Craps Round, Explained Roll by Roll

Dale Merrin 2026-09-05

Use one Pass Line bet and the dealer’s puck: OFF means come-out rules; ON means the point must repeat before 7 for the bet to win.

Updated September 5, 2026. Rules, payouts, and house-edge figures were reviewed against the cited casino guides and gambling-mathematics reference.

A craps table looks complicated because the felt displays many wagers at once. The game beneath that menu is much simpler: one shooter rolls two six-sided dice, and wagers are settled according to the combined total.

For your first lesson, watch the dealer’s puck and follow one Pass Line wager. When the puck says OFF, the next roll follows come-out rules. When it says ON, one number is the point, and your Pass Line wager is waiting for either that number or 7.

That is enough to begin. Odds, Come bets, Place bets, the Field, Hard Ways, and center-table proposition bets can wait.

Craps in 60 Seconds: The Shooter, the Puck, and the Two Phases

In standard casino craps, one player—the shooter—rolls two six-sided dice. Everyone at the table may wager on the results of that shooter’s rolls. When the dice reach you, you may normally decline the turn and continue betting while someone else shoots.

The game has two phases:

Come-out phase: No point has been established. The puck generally reads OFF.
Point phase: A point has been established. The dealer turns the puck to ON and places it over the active point number.

The standard Pass Line sequence is the minimum lesson a beginner needs: 7 or 11 wins on the come-out roll; 2, 3, or 12 loses; and 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 establishes the point, as summarized in the Island Resort & Casino beginner guide.

Come-out total	Pass Line result
7 or 11	Wins
2, 3, or 12	Loses
4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10	That total becomes the point

Once a point is established, stop using the come-out chart. The Pass Line is now governed by a simpler contest:

The point repeats before 7: Pass Line wins.
7 appears before the point: Pass Line loses.
Any other total: Nothing happens to that Pass Line wager; the shooter rolls again.

Suppose the come-out roll is 6. The dealer places the ON puck over 6. A subsequent 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 2, 3, 11, or 12 does not settle your Pass Line bet. You are waiting only for 6 to win or 7 to lose.

The shooter does not have to be you. Players generally take turns clockwise, but you may pass the dice when they are offered. Nor do you need to understand every labeled area of the felt. One Pass Line wager lets you participate in the central game.

A Complete Pass Line Round, Roll by Roll

A Pass Line wager is normally made before the come-out roll. It commonly pays even money: a winning $10 wager produces $10 in profit, and the original $10 stake is returned.

Here are the possible paths through a complete round.

Immediate win

The puck is OFF.
You place $10 on the Pass Line.
The shooter’s come-out roll totals 11.
Your wager wins $10.
You receive $20 in total: $10 in profit plus your returned $10 stake.

The shooter remains eligible to roll. A come-out 7 or 11 wins the Pass Line; it is not a seven-out.

A point is established

The puck is OFF.
You place $10 on the Pass Line.
The shooter rolls 6.
The dealer turns the puck to ON and places it over 6.
Six is now the point.

Your $10 Pass Line wager remains in place. Imagine this sequence:

The shooter rolls 5: no decision.
The shooter rolls 8: no decision.
The shooter rolls 9: no decision.
The shooter rolls 6: the point is made, so the Pass Line wins.

The base Pass Line wager pays even money, producing $10 in profit. The dealer then turns the puck OFF. The same shooter begins a new come-out cycle. Making a point does not necessarily pass the dice to someone else.

The losing branch starts identically but ends differently:

Come-out roll: 6, establishing the point.
Next roll: 5, no decision.
Next roll: 8, no decision.
Next roll: 7, Pass Line loses.

A 7 rolled after a point has been established is called a seven-out. It normally ends that shooter’s turn, and the dice move to the next eligible shooter. This is why “7 is good” and “7 is bad” can both be correct: a come-out 7 wins the Pass Line, while a point-phase 7 loses it.

A Pass Line wager also normally becomes a contract bet after the point is established. That means it cannot be reduced or removed before the point or 7 resolves it. Attached Odds are generally more flexible, but local rules still matter. As one venue-specific example, the Hollywood Casino Morgantown game guide lists line bets at 1-to-1 and states that its Pass Line wagers cannot be reduced or removed after the point is established.

Your First Five Minutes at a Live Craps Table

Before putting money on the layout, use this checklist:

Confirm that the table is standard craps, not Crapless Craps or another variant.
Read the posted table minimum.
Find the puck and determine whether it is OFF or ON.
Wait until the current roll has finished before buying in.
Ask which chip amount satisfies the minimum.
Tell the dealer what you intend to bet if you are unsure where it belongs.

Do not try to hand the money directly to a dealer. Wait while the cash is counted and exchanged for chips.

Timing matters. Avoid reaching into the layout when the dice are moving or about to be thrown. Have self-service wagers positioned and dealer-assisted wagers called before the stickperson sends the dice to the shooter. If the pace is too fast, skip a roll rather than rushing.

Who does what?

Shooter: Rolls the dice.
Dealers: Handle, position, settle, and pay wagers.
Stickperson: Manages the dice with the stick and announces rolls.
Other staff: A full table may have additional supervision, but staffing varies by venue and format.

Players can commonly reach line areas and the Field directly. Center proposition wagers are commonly announced to and placed through table staff. Not every wager is self-service, so ask rather than stretching across the layout or putting chips in an unfamiliar box.

If you become the shooter, common etiquette is straightforward:

Select a pair from the offered dice and retain that pair.
Handle the dice with one hand.
Keep them visible above the table.
Throw both dice toward the opposite end.
Make a reasonable attempt to have both dice reach the opposite back wall.

MGM’s craps etiquette guidance similarly instructs shooters to use one hand, keep the dice visible, hit the back wall, place buy-in money on the table, and ask the dealer for help when needed.

You may normally decline to shoot when the dice are offered. Simply say, “Pass,” and continue wagering if you wish.

Dealer questions are normal, especially:

“What is the minimum Pass Line bet?”
“How much Odds may I take?”
“What amount pays cleanly on this number?”
“Is this bet working on the come-out?”
“Where should this wager go?”

Wait until the dice are in the center and ask the dealer how to color up and exit without interrupting live action.

Pass Line vs. Don’t Pass, Come, and Don’t Come

The Don’t Pass wager takes the other side of the main point contest, but it is not a perfect opposite on the come-out roll because one craps total is commonly barred as a push.

Phase	Pass Line wins	Pass Line loses	Don’t Pass wins	Don’t Pass loses	Don’t Pass pushes
Come-out	7, 11	2, 3, 12	2, 3	7, 11	Usually 12
Point phase	Point before 7	7 before point	7 before point	Point before 7	—

These are the common 12-bar rules. Some tables bar 2 rather than 12, so inspect the layout or ask the dealer. Under the 12-bar rule, a come-out 12 returns a Don’t Pass wager unchanged; it does not win. Pass Line and Don’t Pass commonly pay even money under the rules summarized in the Hollywood Casino guide cited above.

After a point has been established, the wagers are directly opposed:

Pass Line wants the point before 7.
Don’t Pass wants 7 before the point.

Their removal rules may also differ. Pass Line generally cannot be removed after the point is set. An established Don’t Pass wager may commonly be reduced or removed, but it generally cannot then be replaced or increased. Treat those as common rules, not as permission to move chips without first confirming procedure.

Come and Don’t Come bets

A Come bet starts a new Pass Line-style sequence while the table’s main point is already active. The next roll acts as that Come wager’s private come-out roll:

7 or 11 wins.
2, 3, or 12 loses.
4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 becomes that wager’s own number.

If the Come bet travels to 5, for example, it wins if 5 appears before 7—even if the table’s main point is 8. Several Come bets can therefore occupy different numbers while the shooter is still trying to make the table point.

A Don’t Come bet is the corresponding Don’t Pass-style wager made after the table point is active. Under common rules, its next-roll 2 or 3 wins, 7 or 11 loses, and 12 pushes. If it travels to a number, it wants 7 before that number. The Island Resort guide cited earlier provides the same Come and Don’t Come outcome sequence.

These wagers spread line-style action across multiple numbers, but they also create several simultaneous decisions. A beginner loses nothing educationally by postponing them until the OFF/ON cycle feels automatic.

Odds Bets: True-Odds Payouts Without a Risk-Free Result

Once your Pass Line or Come wager has a point, you may commonly place an additional wager behind it called Odds. This is separate from the base wager: if the point repeats before 7, both win; if 7 appears first, both lose.

Common Pass/Come Odds payouts are:

Point	Taking Odds payout
4 or 10	2:1
5 or 9	3:2
6 or 8	6:5

These payouts match the underlying point-versus-7 probabilities, which is why the Odds wager itself has no built-in house edge. The base Pass Line wager still has negative expected value. The cited gambling-mathematics table lists Pass at a 1.41% house edge per bet made or resolved and taking or laying Odds at 0%; the same payout schedule appears in the casino guide cited above.

Consider a point of 6:

Base Pass Line wager: $10.
Odds wager: $10.
Total exposed: $20.
If 6 appears before 7, the line wins $10 at even money.
The Odds wins $12 at 6:5.
Total profit is $22, and both original stakes are returned.

If 7 appears first, both wagers lose, producing a $20 loss. “Zero house edge” does not mean “cannot lose.” It means the payout fairly reflects the probability of the wager.

Why the combined percentage falls

Suppose you keep the base line wager unchanged and add true Odds. The added wager contributes no expected loss of its own. When the expected loss from the line is divided across a larger amount of total action, the combined house-edge percentage is lower. The expected dollar loss generated by that unchanged line wager, however, is not reduced.

This creates two distinct decisions:

Adding Odds on top of a fixed line wager: Expected loss from the line remains the same, but more money is exposed and short-term swings become larger.
Reallocating a fixed total amount: If you planned to risk a fixed amount, putting the minimum required amount on the negative-EV line and the remainder on true Odds creates less expected loss than putting the entire amount on the line—assuming the table permits that allocation.

Neither approach guarantees a favorable session. More Odds increases the amount you can lose in one point cycle even though the additional wager is fairly priced.

Behind Don’t Pass or Don’t Come, you lay Odds. Because 7 is more likely to appear than any individual point, you risk more to win less. Common profit ratios are 1:2 on 4 or 10, 2:3 on 5 or 9, and 5:6 on 6 or 8, as listed in the Hollywood Casino payout schedule.

Maximum Odds vary widely. A table may permit single, double, 3-4-5, 10-times, or another house-defined limit. Under one common 3-4-5 Odds structure, the cap is:

Three times the line wager on 4 or 10.
Four times the line wager on 5 or 9.
Five times the line wager on 6 or 8.

That structure is one example, not a universal rule. The Riverwind beginner guide describes those 3-4-5 caps while also noting that house procedures can vary.

Ask, “What are maximum Odds here, and what amount pays cleanly?” That is more reliable than carrying one supposedly universal sizing formula from table to table.

Optional Bets: What They Do and What They Cost

None of the following wagers is necessary to play craps. They add different types of action, payout structures, and complexity.

House-edge figures require careful labeling. A multi-roll bet can be measured per bet made, per bet resolved, or per roll. The comparisons below use the stated basis rather than treating unlike percentages as interchangeable.

Place bets

A Place bet wagers that a selected box number—4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10—will appear before 7. It does not require that number to be the table point. Many Place bets can be increased, reduced, turned off, or removed before they resolve, subject to table procedure.

Place number	Common payout	House edge per bet resolved
6 or 8	7:6	1.52%
5 or 9	7:5	4.00%
4 or 10	9:5	6.67%

Those payouts and per-bet-resolved percentages come from the Wizard of Odds craps house-edge table. The basis matters: “a Place bet” is not one uniform mathematical product because the selected number changes its payout and expected cost.

Field

The Field is a one-roll wager covering a group of totals, commonly 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12. It loses if another total appears. The crucial detail is the special payout on 2 and 12, which varies by table.

A Field paying 2:1 on both 2 and 12 has a listed 5.56% house edge. If one of those totals pays 3:1 and the other pays 2:1, the listed edge is 2.78%. A schedule paying 3:1 on both has a different mathematical result again. Never evaluate a Field bet from its name alone—read the printed payouts.

Hard Ways

A Hard Way wager applies to 4, 6, 8, or 10 made with matching dice:

Hard 4: 2-2.
Hard 6: 3-3.
Hard 8: 4-4.
Hard 10: 5-5.

It wins if the matching pair arrives before a 7 or before the same total appears the “easy way.” A hard 6, for example, loses if 6 arrives as 1-5 or 2-4, as well as if 7 appears.

Under common payouts, hard 6 or 8 pays 9:1 and has a listed 9.09% house edge per resolved bet. Hard 4 or 10 pays 7:1 and has a listed 11.11% edge.

Horn, hops, and other propositions

A Horn combines one-roll action on 2, 3, 11, and 12. A hop targets a specific dice combination for the next roll. Any Craps covers 2, 3, or 12 for one roll, while Any Seven bets that the next total will be 7. These center-table proposition bets are commonly called out to a dealer rather than placed directly by the player.

Large displayed payouts should not be confused with favorable value. Under the listed U.S. schedules, Any Seven paying 4:1 carries a 16.67% house edge, while Any Craps paying 7:1 carries an 11.11% edge. The same mathematical reference lists Pass at 1.41% per bet made or resolved and Odds at 0%. These Field, Hard Way, and proposition figures and their payout assumptions are detailed in the Wizard of Odds comparison.

Those percentages do not predict what will happen in one session. They describe the long-run price built into each wager. Before placing any optional bet, verify:

Its exact payout.
Whether your chip amount is valid.
Whether it is active on the come-out roll.
Whether it stays up after a win.
How and when it may be removed.

Rules That Can Change From One Craps Table to Another

The central Pass Line pattern is broadly standard:

Come-out 7 or 11 wins.
Come-out 2, 3, or 12 loses.
Come-out 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 establishes the point.
During the point phase, the point wins before 7; 7 loses before the point.

The Island Resort guide linked earlier documents that core sequence. Many surrounding details are not universal.

Before expanding beyond a basic Pass Line wager, ask the dealer:

What is the table minimum?
What are the maximum Odds?
Is 12 or 2 barred on Don’t Pass and Don’t Come?
What do 2 and 12 pay in the Field?
When are Buy and Lay commissions collected?
How are fractional payouts rounded?
Which optional wagers are available?
Are Place, Hard Way, and other optional bets working on the come-out?
Which wager amounts produce full-chip payouts?

Odds limits might be single, double, 3-4-5, 10-times, or another multiple. Field schedules differ. Buy and Lay commissions may be charged at different times. Rounding can affect the return on awkward chip amounts, and proposition schedules may vary.

Payout language also deserves attention. “2 to 1” normally means two units of profit for each unit staked, with the original stake also returned. Wording such as “2 for 1” can mean something different. If a table sign, promotion, or verbal explanation is ambiguous, ask rather than infer.

Standard craps is not Crapless Craps

Crapless Craps changes the opening rules materially. In The Venetian’s description of Crapless Craps, a come-out 7 wins and every other total becomes a point. Standard charts treating 2, 3, 11, and 12 as immediate Pass Line decisions therefore cannot simply be carried over.

Confirm the displayed rules rather than assuming every button maps perfectly to live-table practice.

Venue-specific guidance should always be treated as an example. A casino’s published payout sheet is authoritative for the game it describes, not necessarily for the next casino—or even for every table in the same building.

A Math-First Beginner Plan—and the Limits of Every Strategy

A practical first-session sequence is deliberately uneventful:

Wait until the puck is OFF.
Make one affordable Pass Line wager.
Follow it until it wins or loses.
Watch the puck return to OFF after the point cycle.
Repeat only if doing so remains within your preset limit.

Continue until you can explain, without looking at a chart, why a come-out 7 wins but a point-phase 7 loses.

Treat Odds as a second lesson, not an automatic addition. It is fairly priced, but it increases the amount exposed and the size of possible swings. Learn where it goes, what it pays on the current point, and how much the table permits before using it.

Postpone Come, Don’t Come, Place, Field, Hard Way, Horn, hop, and other proposition wagers until you can answer three questions about each one:

What makes it win?
What makes it lose?
What does it pay?

Every roll of fair dice is random and independent. A shooter who has won repeatedly is not mathematically “hot” on the next throw, and a number absent for many rolls is not “due.” The probabilities of the next roll do not change because of the table’s recent history, as MGM’s cited game guide also emphasizes.

Pressing after wins, doubling after losses in a Martingale-style progression, or using named patterns such as Iron Cross and 3 Point Molly changes how much you have exposed and how short-term results are distributed. None controls independent dice, makes a negative-EV base game positive, or guarantees a profit.

A progression may produce many small wins followed by an occasional severe loss. A multi-bet system may feel smoother because more totals are covered, but the price of each component wager still applies. The useful strategic question is not “How do I beat the dice?” It is: What price and volatility am I willing to accept for entertainment?

Before playing:

Choose a fixed loss limit.
Use only money you can afford to lose.
Set a time limit or stopping point.
Do not borrow to continue.
Do not increase wagers merely to recover earlier losses.
Leave when the preset limit is reached.

There is no universal bankroll or number of betting units that prevents a loss. A larger bankroll can support more or larger wagers, but it cannot turn negative expected value positive or eliminate variance.

The ExSpade gambling-math overview frames play in terms of expected value, house edge, variance, and preset limits rather than guaranteed systems. Its editorial policy also states that it does not sell betting systems, “guaranteed” methods, or affiliate-driven casino rankings.

The whole game comes back to two cues: OFF means the next roll follows come-out rules; ON means the active Pass Line contest is point versus 7. One affordable Pass Line wager is enough to participate. Add Odds or other wagers only after understanding their payouts, expected cost, and added volatility—and after confirming the table’s rules.

If gambling stops being entertainment, stop playing and seek help through 1-800-GAMBLER.

Frequently Asked Questions About Playing Craps

Do I have to roll the dice to play craps?

No. Everyone may wager on the shooter’s rolls, and a player may normally decline a turn with the dice. When they are offered to you, say “Pass,” and they will move to the next eligible shooter.

A venue may require the shooter to hold a particular line wager, but that does not mean every player must shoot. Confirm the local requirement before accepting the dice.

Does every 7 end the shooter’s turn?

No. A come-out 7 wins Pass Line wagers, and the same shooter normally continues with another come-out roll. A 7 ends the shooter’s turn when it appears after a point has been established. That is the seven-out described in the Pass Line walkthrough above.

Can I remove a Pass Line bet after the point is established?

Normally, no. Once a point is established, the Pass Line becomes a contract bet and remains until the point or 7 resolves it. Attached Odds can generally be reduced or removed, but confirm the house procedure before touching chips.

Why does an Odds bet have no house edge but still increase my risk?

It has no house edge because its payout matches the underlying probability of the point appearing before 7. It still risks real money and can lose in full.

Adding Odds to the same base wager increases your total exposure and the size of short-term gains and losses, even though it adds no expected loss of its own.

Is Crapless Craps played by the same rules as standard craps?

No. Its come-out and point rules differ. In the casino version cited above, a come-out 7 wins and every other total becomes a point. Always identify the variant before using a standard-craps outcome chart.