Craps odds: every bet, its payout and the house edge on each

The 36 dice combinations

Two dice can land in 6 × 6 = 36 equally likely ways, but totals are not equally likely: seven can be made six ways, 2 and 12 only one each. Every figure on this page is built from this table.

The pass line: why it wins 244 times in 495

The first roll of a round is the come-out. A pass line bet wins at once on 7 or 11 (8 ways in 36) and loses on 2, 3 or 12, called craps (4 ways). Any other total becomes the point: rolling it again wins, a 7 first loses. Only those totals matter from then on, so the chance of making a point is its ways divided by its ways plus the six ways to roll 7.

Add the 22.22% won on the come-out to the six "both" figures and the pass line wins 49.29% of the time, which is exactly 244/495. It pays even money, so the average result per £1 is 244/495 − 251/495 = −7/495, a house edge of 1.41%. Come bets work the same way, starting on any later roll, and carry the same edge.

Don't pass: the other side, with a push on 12

Don't pass is the reverse bet: it wins on 2 or 3 on the come-out, loses on 7 or 11, and after a point wins if 7 comes first. Exactly reversed, it would favour the bettor, so a 12 on the come-out is barred: it pushes, and that 1-in-36 push pays for the house.

Don't pass wins 47.93% of the time, loses 49.29% and pushes 2.78%. Per bet placed, pushes included, the edge is 1.36%. Counted only over bets that are decided, it is 1.40%, which is why both figures appear in different sources.

AI

The odds bet: no house edge at all

Once a point is set, a line bettor may add an odds bet behind the line. It pays true odds, so it has no edge: a rare exactly fair bet. Laying odds behind don't pass is the mirror image, staking more to win less at true odds.

Because the odds bet can only ride alongside a line bet, it dilutes the line's edge rather than removing it. Measured against everything staked, a pass line with single odds costs 0.85%, with double odds 0.61%, with the common 3-4-5x limit (three times on 4 and 10, four times on 5 and 9, five times on 6 and 8) 0.37%, and with 10x odds 0.18%. The average loss in pounds stays the same, spread over larger stakes.

Craps odds for every bet on the layout

Here is every main bet, cheapest first. Place bets and hardways stay up until their number or a 7 arrives, so their chance is the winning ways over winning plus losing ways. The field is a one-roll bet that wins on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Place 6 or 8 at 7 to 6 is nearly as cheap as the pass line, while the big 6 and big 8, which win in exactly the same way at even money, keep 9.09%. A hard 6 wins one way (3-3) and loses to six 7s and four easy 6s, so a fair price would be 10 to 1; paying 9 to 1 leaves 9.09%.

Proposition bets in the middle of the table

The one-roll bets in the centre are settled by the next roll alone. Each pays well short of its true odds, which is why they are the most expensive bets at the table.

Some tables quote proposition payouts as "for 1" rather than "to 1": 15 for 1 includes the stake and is the same as 14 to 1, which costs more. Reading the layout carefully is part of knowing the price.

Craps simulator: dice against the 36-combination table

This simulator uses no money. It rolls two dice, counts each total against its exact share of the 36 combinations, and follows the pass line through the same rolls, whose share of stakes returned settles towards 98.59%. The first 1,000 rolls are shown already.

After 100 rolls the bars look ragged; by 50,000 they sit on the gold marks, with 7 within a fraction of a point of one roll in six.

Dice control, systems and the long run

Every roll is independent, so a hot shooter or a run of 7s says nothing about the next throw, and there is no reliable evidence that anyone can control the dice. Betting systems change the size and order of stakes, not the edge on each one.

In short: the line bets with full odds are among the cheapest bets anywhere, place 6 and 8 are close behind, and the middle of the table is expensive. Compare other games on the house edge page or the casino odds table, see baccarat and roulette, and read how we calculate the odds.

Craps is fast and sociable, which makes it easy to stake more than planned. Set a limit before the first roll, and if it stops being fun, the responsible gambling page lists free, confidential support.

Other table games

Craps odds: questions people ask