A craps calculator sorts the table into good bets and bad ones, and the gap is huge. The pass line has a house edge of 1.41%. Add double odds behind it and the edge on the whole bet drops to 0.61%. The one-roll “Any 7” bet in the middle of the table keeps 16.67%. The free calculator above gives the edge, payout and win chance for every main bet.
Pick a bet, enter your stake and it shows the average cost per bet and per hour too.
Craps odds and payouts
| Bet | Pays | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Pass line / Come | 1 to 1 | 1.41% |
| Don’t pass / Don’t come | 1 to 1 | 1.36% |
| Free odds | True odds | 0% |
| Place 6 or 8 | 7 to 6 | 1.52% |
| Buy 4 or 10 (5% on wins) | 2 to 1 | 1.67% |
| Field (12 pays triple) | 1 to 1, 2 to 1, 3 to 1 | 2.78% |
| Place 5 or 9 | 7 to 5 | 4.00% |
| Field (12 pays double) | 1 to 1, 2 to 1 | 5.56% |
| Place 4 or 10 | 9 to 5 | 6.67% |
| Big 6 or Big 8 | 1 to 1 | 9.09% |
| Hard 6 or 8 | 9 to 1 | 9.09% |
| Hard 4 or 10 | 7 to 1 | 11.11% |
| Any craps / Yo 11 | 7 to 1 / 15 to 1 | 11.11% |
| Aces or twelve | 30 to 1 | 13.89% |
| Any 7 | 4 to 1 | 16.67% |
Why the odds bet matters
Once a point is set, you can back your pass line bet with free odds, which pay exactly what the risk deserves: 2 to 1 on a 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on a 5 or 9, 6 to 5 on a 6 or 8. No edge at all. The house keeps its 1.41% on the line bet only, so the more odds you take, the cheaper the whole bet becomes. Double odds bring it to 0.61%; the common 3-4-5× odds bring it to about 0.37%.
Notice Big 6 and Place 6 win on exactly the same rolls. Place 6 pays 7 to 6, Big 6 pays even money, and that difference takes the edge from 1.52% to 9.09%. Always place the 6 instead.
Craps strategy: the bets worth making
There’s no way to beat the house edge in craps, but the gap between the best and worst bets is the biggest in the casino, so bet choice is the whole strategy.
- Pass line or come, plus as much free odds as you can afford. 1.41% on the line, 0.61% with double odds, 0.37% at 3-4-5x odds.
- Don’t pass or don’t come is slightly better at 1.36%, if you don’t mind betting against the table.
- Place 6 and 8 at 1.52%, for action without waiting for a come-out.
- Skip the middle of the table. Any 7 is 16.67%, the hard ways 9.09% and 11.11%, the horn and hop bets worse still.
Craps payout chart
| Bet | Pays | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Pass line / come | 1 to 1 | 1.41% |
| Don’t pass / don’t come | 1 to 1 | 1.36% |
| Free odds on 4 or 10 | 2 to 1 | 0% |
| Free odds on 5 or 9 | 3 to 2 | 0% |
| Free odds on 6 or 8 | 6 to 5 | 0% |
| Place 6 or 8 | 7 to 6 | 1.52% |
| Place 5 or 9 | 7 to 5 | 4.00% |
| Place 4 or 10 | 9 to 5 | 6.67% |
| Field (12 pays triple) | 1 to 1, 2 to 1, 3 to 1 | 2.78% |
| Hard 6 or 8 | 9 to 1 | 9.09% |
| Hard 4 or 10 | 7 to 1 | 11.11% |
| Any craps | 7 to 1 | 11.11% |
| Yo (11) | 15 to 1 | 11.11% |
| Any 7 | 4 to 1 | 16.67% |
Craps table layout
A craps table is two identical halves with the proposition bets in the middle. Along the outside of each half runs the pass line, with the don’t pass bar inside it. Then come the big Come box, the Field (2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12), and the place numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 in boxes along the top, where the dealer moves the “on” puck to show the point. The centre, run by the stickman, holds the one-roll and hard-way bets: Any 7, Any craps, 2, 3, 11, 12 and the four hard ways. That’s where the big payouts are printed, and it’s where the edge is highest.
Cost per hour
£10 on the pass line, about 40 decisions an hour, costs around £5.66 an hour on average. Move the same £10 to Any 7 at 100 rolls an hour and it’s about £167. Craps is fast, so the hourly line is the honest one. For the dice maths behind every number here, see the dice probability calculator; to roll for real, the dice roller.
Craps tables are loud and quick. Pick your bet and stake before you buy in. BeGambleAware.org is free and confidential if it stops being fun.