Two dice. Pass-line bet — the simplest and lowest-edge wager on the table (1.41% house). Make your point or seven out.
| Come-out 7 or 11 | Pass wins 1:1 (probability 22.2%) |
| Come-out 2, 3, 12 | Pass loses (probability 11.1%) |
| Come-out 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 | Becomes the point (probability 66.7%) |
| Make the point | Pass wins 1:1 |
| Roll 7 before point | Pass loses ("seven out") |
| Pass line house edge: 1.41%. Don’t-pass: 1.36% (slightly better but you’re betting against the shooter — socially weird). The "free odds" bet behind the pass line is the only bet in any casino with ZERO house edge — but no casino advertises it. This minimal version doesn’t implement come bets, hard ways, or proposition bets — those are mostly sucker bets anyway. | |
Craps has the widest range of bet quality on the casino floor — from a 0% house edge (Free Odds, the only true-odds bet in the casino) to a 16.7% bleed (Any 7). The line bets (Pass, Don't Pass, Come, Don't Come) are 1.36-1.41% and excellent; everything in the middle of the layout is bad. Master the line + max odds and you're playing one of the most player-friendly games in the building.
Two dice. A shooter rolls; everyone bets on the outcome. The Pass Line bet wins on the come-out roll if the shooter rolls 7 or 11, loses on 2/3/12 (the "craps" numbers). Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) becomes the "point" — the shooter then rolls again and again until either re-rolling the point (Pass wins) or rolling a 7 (Pass loses, dice pass to the next shooter). Don't Pass is the mirror: wins on come-out 2 or 3, push on 12, loses on 7/11; after a point is set, Don't Pass wins on 7 and loses on the point. "Free Odds" is a side bet placed BEHIND your line bet AFTER a point is set — it pays at true odds (no house edge) and is the best bet in the casino. Most tables allow 3x-5x-10x odds; Vegas downtown sometimes allows 100x.
Pass + max Free Odds is the foundational play. If a table offers 5x odds and the Pass minimum is $10, putting $10 on Pass + $50 in Odds gives you a combined house edge of about 0.33%. With 10x odds, the combined edge drops to 0.18%. Don't Pass + max Don't Pass Odds (laying odds) is about 0.27% combined at 5x — marginally better than Pass on paper, but you lose social capital ("wrong betting"). Avoid: Big 6/Big 8 (9.1% edge — pays even money for what should pay 6:5; the Place Bet on the same number pays 7:6 and is 1.5% edge, much better); Field bet (varies 2.78% to 5.5% depending on whether 12 pays 2:1 or 3:1); Hardways (10-11% edge); Any 7 (16.67% edge — worst bet in the casino aside from a few proposition bets). The bet-quality gradient: Free Odds (0%) > Pass / Don't Pass / Come / Don't Come (1.36-1.41%) > Place 6/8 (1.52%) > Place 5/9 (4%) > Place 4/10 (6.67%) > Field (2.78-5.5%) > Hardways and props (8-17%).
Pass Line math: 8 ways to win on come-out (six 7s + two 11s), 4 ways to lose (one 2, two 3s, one 12); after a point is set, the probability of repeating the point before rolling a 7 depends on the point: 4 or 10 = 3/9 = 33.3%, 5 or 9 = 4/10 = 40%, 6 or 8 = 5/11 = 45.5%. Weight by frequency of each point being established and you get the 1.41% Pass Line edge. Free Odds work because they pay true odds: 2:1 on the 4 or 10, 3:2 on the 5 or 9, 6:5 on the 6 or 8 — no rake, no juice. The casino tolerates Free Odds because (a) they can't be placed alone, only behind a line bet, and (b) they extend session time, which keeps players exposed to other bets. Standard deviation per Pass Line bet is about 1.0; adding Free Odds increases variance but also win expectation per dollar wagered.
Craps descends from "Hazard," a 12th-century English dice game brought to New Orleans by French settlers. Bernard de Marigny simplified the rules around 1813 to create the modern American game. WWII GIs played craps on Army blankets across the world, spreading it globally. The 100x-odds Las Vegas downtown variant of the 1980s-90s was a marketing gimmick that lasted because it produced the lowest house edges of any major game in any jurisdiction.
| Bet | Payout | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pass Line / Come | 1:1 | 1.41% edge |
| Don't Pass / Don't Come | 1:1 | 1.36% edge |
| Free Odds | True odds (2:1, 3:2, 6:5) | 0% edge — best bet |
| Place 6/8 | 7:6 | 1.52% edge |
| Any 7 | 4:1 | 16.67% edge — worst bet |
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