The Craps table is one of the liveliest places you’ll find in any casino, online or live. The Craps game itself is actually quite easy to play at any casino, but there are so many different ways you can bet at the table, it can be a bit overwhelming at first to see the odds. While most casino table games have a few betting options at the table, Craps games has around 20 or so. Despite this learning play curve, Craps is a very popular game, online or live at other casinos, and learning how to play it is definitely worth the time and effort.
Craps casino table game players are loyal fans for good reason – this is one of the casino table games with the lowest casino house edge you’ll find anywhere, online or at live casinos, and there’s even a bet with no casino house edge at all. This quick online Craps game tutorial will show you how to get started with the simplest bets on the table layout, and we’ll introduce you to some of the more complex bets, so you can get a better grip on how Craps works.
Strategy on how to Bet the Pass Line
We begin with a play bet that comes with a modest casino house edge of 1.41%. It also happens to be the most popular Craps play bet: the Pass Line. If this is your first time playing Craps for money at Bovada Casino online, the Pass Line bet is one of the best Craps bets you can make.
When you fire up a Craps table online at Bovada (both Classic and “New” games are available), you’ll see the table layout, which contains areas for all the different play bets you can make. At the start of the betting round, put your virtual chips in the Pass Line area, which is near the bottom of your display, and then roll the dice.
There are three possible results with your first throw of the dice, which is known as the come-out roll:
7 or 11: Instant win (at even money)
2, 3 or 12: Instant loss
4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10: Point is established
The third result is the one that takes a little know-how. If you roll one of the numbers listed, the “Off/On” puck at the top of the display gets flipped to ON and placed above the corresponding number on the layout. Then you start rolling the dice again. The object is to roll the dice that same Point number before you roll a 7. If you do, you get paid out at even money. If you “seven out” instead, your bet loses. Then the puck returns to the OFF position, and it’s time for the next betting round.
Let’s go through two examples of the Pass Line bet:
You put $5 on the Pass Line and hit “Roll.” The dice add up to 4, so 4 is the Point. You re-roll and get a 7. Your bet is removed from the table, and the round ends.
You put $5 on the Pass Line and hit “Roll.” The dice add up to 10, so 10 is the Point. You begin rolling the dice, landing a 6, a 12 – and then a 10. Your play bet is returned and you win $5.
How to Bet the Don’t Pass Line
Now that you know how to place the Pass Line bet, our online Craps game guide moves to the next bet you should learn: the Don’t Pass bet. If you look to the left-hand side of the play layout, you’ll see the Don’t Pass Bar. This is where you place your chips for this play bet. The Don’t Pass bet has a casino house edge of 1.36% and is the near-mirror image of the Pass Line. Here are the three possible Craps game results for your come-out roll:
7 or 11: Instant loss
2, 3: Instant win (at even money)
12: Push – all bets returned
4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10: Point is established
This time, once the Point is established and you start rolling again, the object is to roll a 7 before you roll the Point number. If you do, you get paid at even money; otherwise, the bet loses. It’s a very easy bet to understand once you’re familiar with the Pass Line bet – just keep in mind that your bet will be a push if you throw a 12 (known as Boxcars) on your come-out roll.
Come and Don’t Come Bets
Next in our online comprehensive Craps game guide, we have the simple Come and Don’t Come bets, each with its own area on the layout. These play bets can be made once a Point has been established; if you’re betting the Pass Line, you can place a Come bet, and if you’re betting the Don’t Pass Line, you can place the Don’t Come bet.
These play Craps bets work exactly the same way as the ones we’ve already covered and can be considered a mini round within the Craps round you’re playing. When you place a Come bet, the next throw will be treated the same as the come-out roll for a Pass Line bet; if you roll a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, instead of the Off/On puck moving, the chips that you placed on the Come area will move to the number in question, then you’ll keep rolling. It’s the same procedure for the Don’t Come bet.
Odds Bets
These are very important play bets to remember when you play Craps game online at Bovada – they’re the ones with zero house edge. After a point has been established during a Pass Line bet, you have the option of taking odds, which bolster your original bet, up to 3X. Then you’ll get paid out the following amounts if you roll your Point before sevening out:
4, 10: 2/1
5, 9: 3/2
6, 8: 6/5
If you establish a Point during a Don’t Pass bet, you can lay odds by increasing your bet, again up to 3X. And once again, the Craps game payouts are mirror images of the ones for taking odds:
4, 10: 1/2
5, 9: 2/3
6, 8: 5/6
To place either of these play bets, just put the desired chips on either Pass Odds or Don’t Pass Odds once the Point has been established. You can take these Craps bets off the layout or put them back on at any time before the betting round ends.
Place 6 and Place 8
Now we get into some of the more exotic bets on the Craps play layout. At any time after the come-out roll, you can make a Place Bet on any of those six Point numbers (also known as Box numbers): 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. Just put your virtual chips in the desired box, and every time that number gets rolled before a 7 comes up, you’ll win. You can take your bet away at any time, or you can leave it in place until the bet is resolved.
For the lowest casino house edge, Place 6 and Place 8 are your best bets. Each comes with a casino house edge of 1.52%; they also have the lowest payouts of the Place bets at 7/6. As the Craps payout goes up, the casino house edge increases, to 4% for Place 5 and Place 9 (paying out at 7/5), and 6.67% for Place 4 and Place 10 (paying out at 9/5). Once you’ve got the basic bets (Pass Line, Don’t Pass and so on) in Craps mastered, spread your wings by trying out Place 6 and Place 8 first.
Other Bets
There are so many other bets you can make in Craps, it’s impossible to cover them all here, but keep in mind that each comes with its own house edge. For example, you can bet on the two rarest outcomes in Craps: 2 (known as Snake Eyes), and 12 (the aforementioned Boxcars). These “Single” bets will pay out at 30/1 if they come up on the next roll of the dice. That’s the largest payout possible in Craps, but these bets also have a house edge of 13.89%, so try sprinkling them in here and there, while making the standard Pass Line and Don’t Pass bets most often.
To find out more about all the different Craps bets you can make in Craps, consult the online game description to the left of the display, and tap or click on the hamburger icon at the top-left corner to read the rules. And don’t forget to check out our other online Craps articles here at Bovada for more information. See you at the online tables.