Betting On Craps

Las Vegas Craps Odds. Most craps tables on the Las Vegas Strip offer 3/4/5 times odds. This means that a player can wager three times the flat bet on a 4 and 10, four times on a five and 9, and five times on a six and eight. This is the most powerful bet in all of craps. In order to play the free odds bet, you must have wagered on the pass line bet or the come bet. If the shooter has not rolled a craps number (2, 3, or 12) or a 7 or 11.

  • Betting the Right Way – Pass and Come Bets. One craps strategy to play is being a right way bettor. You are considered a right way bettor when you are playing the pass and come bets with the table, these bets are considered to be the very best out of all online and land-based casino games due to the low house-edge and are considered the best strategy of craps when considering how to win at.
  • The most common craps bet. The Pass Line bet is made on the come out roll and wins if a 7 or 11 is rolled. If a 2, 3 or 12 is rolled the bet loses.
  • Craps is a fast paced game that doesn’t allow you a lot of times to sit and ask questions. If you’re just learning to play it would probably be good to team up with an advanced player at first. They can help you out if you are unsure what you should do and they’ll be able to explain each bet to you as it happens.

Prior to Amendment 50, craps was not allowed at Colorado casinos. But on Nov. 4, 2008, Colorado voters passed sweeping changes to the “limited gaming act” that not only raised the maximum betting limits on a given hand from $5 to $100, but allowed for additional games including craps.

Black Hawk Casinos with Craps tables:

  • The Isle of Capri Casino has 3 craps tables.
  • Ameristar Casino has 3 craps tables.
  • The Lodge Casino at Black Hawk has 2 craps tables.
  • Mardi Gras Casino has 2 craps tables.
  • The Gilpin Hotel Casino has 1 craps table.
  • Golden Gates Casino has 1 craps table.
  • Lady Luck Casino has 1 craps table.

Crap table game layout:


The maximum bet playing “Craps” in Colorado (on a single bet) is $100.

You’ll know a craps table when you see it. It is the biggest table in the casino table games section. When the dice are hot, it’s the loudest table in the casino; When the dice are cold, it’s the loneliest. Though the table looks like it would take a masters degree to play, developing a basic understanding of craps is not difficult and can be done in a short amount of time. Here is a brief guide to help you learn how to start that process.

Craps Game

Craps is nothing more than a dice game. One player, the shooter, rolls the dice and everyone else bets on the outcome of the roll. No one is in competition with each other and everyone roots for the shooter, which is why a craps table with a hot shooter can be so rowdy. The game starts with each player placing a bet, and you can do so up until the player shoots and the dealers yell “No more bets!” This is called a “come out” roll. After which three things can happen depending on the roll.

Craps Rules

Craps

If the shooter rolls a:

  • 2, 3 or 12 – Craps (Pass line bets lose – Don’t Pass bets win)
  • 7 or 11 – “Natural” (Pass line bets win – Don’t Pass bets lose)
  • Any other number – Establishes a point

On the come out roll, a bettor must place the table minimum bet at either the “pass line,” or the “no pass line.” The dice are rotated around the table after each run, giving anyone who wants a chance to shoot.

When the point is established, the shooter keeps rolling until they either roll the point number again, or a seven. A seven ends the roll and causes nearly any bet on the layout to lose. Craps tends to be superstitious game, so players generally will avoid even saying the word “seven” out loud at the table.

There are approximately 40 types of craps bets that can be made during a roll. This is why there are always four casino dealers watching a craps table. They are the “boxman” (watches the chips), the “stickman” (watches the dice), and two other dealers (keeping track of players’ bets).

The easiest way to get into a game of craps is to wait until the come out roll and place a bet on the pass line. This means you are wagering that the shooter will:

1) Roll a 7 or 11 on the first roll, or;
2) Roll the established point before they roll another 7.

Best Way To Play Craps And Win

You will also want to “take odds” on the come bet. The odds amount varies from casino to casino and usually is up to 5 to 10 times the amount of your bet. To take odds (which is, mathematically, the best bet a player can make), place the your bet directly behind your pass line chips. Then sit back and get caught up in the excitement.

There are a lot of different ways a craps game can play out depending how the dice fall. You can bet pass or no pass, single numbers, come and don’t come bets and proposition bets.

Betting On Craps Tables

As you can see craps is a very simple game that seems intimidating at a glance. However, if you are the kind of player that likes to take a chance or feeds off of the energy of other players, then this might be a great place to start. When you are ready, wait for come out roll and go for it. Just make sure you ask the dealer for the right time at which to enter the game.

Types of Craps Bets

Line Bets:
Single Roll Bets:
Multi Roll Bets:
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This is the most powerful bet in all of craps. In order to play the free odds bet, you must have wagered on the pass line bet or the come bet. If the shooter has not rolled a craps number (2, 3, or 12) or a 7 or 11, then there must be a point number established (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10). Once the point has been established, players can have access to the pass odds bet or come odds bet (also just known as free odds).

Best Bets On Craps Table

Players may wager on the free odds bet in multiples of their original pass/come bet amount. Most casinos allow multiples of 1x, 2x, or 3x. Casinos in Las Vegas for example will allow players to wager 10x, 50x and even 100x odds bets. The rule of thumb is this: The more money you bet on the odds bet, the lower the house edge becomes in your overall pass/come bet that you originally made.

The odds bet itself pays out true odds, meaning there is a 0% (yes zero) house edge. There is not a single game you will ever find at the casino that will offer no house edge. It is as if you are betting head or tails on the flip of a coin. This means totally fair odds. This bet wins when the shooter rolls the point number before a 7.

Remember, the number 7 is the most frequently rolled number. Then 6 and 8 are the next two frequent, followed by 9 and 5, then 4 and 10 with the least frequent of the point numbers. The 6 and 8 pay out 6:5 or $6 for every $5 wagered. 5 and 9 pay out 3:2. 4 and 10 pay out 2:1 odds. Note that these payouts are only for the odds bet. The original Pass/Come line bet will still be paid 1:1 if it wins.

I will explain the bet using the image below. First I made a pass line bet and the shooter rolled a 4 on the come out roll. The number 4 become the point number (noted by the puck that now says 'ON'). Then the dealer moved my chips up to that area of the layout and I made a 1x multiplier free odds bet (so there are two $88 chip stacks now), which gets placed right next to the chips that the dealer moved up there. I will win both bets if the dealer rolls another 4.


Click on the image above to instantly practice and play free craps in your browser.
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* As of 2021, US players are unable to play the craps game listed above. US players please click the banners on the left side (or below for mobile users) to visit free and real-money craps games at US-friendly casinos.