The most obvious piece of information a savvy craps player needs to know is where everything sits on the craps table and which bets can be placed where. Craps tables are fantastically well-labeled, with each betting zone colorfully and prominently divided and labeled. A few table layouts add designated spaces for some of the more unique proposition bets, but all craps tables contain the same basic design.

• Craps Table With Hop Bets
• Best Bet On Craps Table
• Craps Table Bets Explained
• Crap Table Odds
• Craps Table Hop Bets

Attributed to John H. Winn, the dice maker who took craps from the steamboats on the Mississippi into popular casino play in the 1800′s, this table layout was originally called the Philadelphia layout. Winn is responsible for introducing the Don’t Pass and Don’t Come bets, allowing a player to bet against the shooter as well as for the shooter on a particular dice roll.

Physical Layout of the Table

Players stand facing the craps table along the sides and front of the rounded-corner, rectangular table. The front, or bottom, of the table is the edge from where you can read all the words and numbers properly. Most of the craps table crew including the dealers and boxman sit at the top of the table and read upside down. A standard size casino craps table will comfortably hold up to twenty standing players around it.

You can now go to the page that we list the craps bets or You can now head over to the table of contents to find more great content. Practice at Sun Palace, Casino Max, or Slots Plus to later play craps for real money.

The felt and base of the table sits down several inches from the rail along the edge. Below this rail are places for drinks and ashtrays, to keep any food, beverages, and cigarette ashes off the playing surface. The table is large enough that bets are placed at their marked spots on the table for all the active players. Dice are rolled onto the table as well, hence the recess allows for keeping the dice on the table most often.

When you look at the table layout, you first notice that there is a central zone and two, symmetrical left and right halves to the table. This helps maximize the number of players placing bets in the most commonly used zones. You also notice that every area is labeled with its area and bet name as well as payout odds for some particular bets. Not everyone of the almost forty possible bets is “visibly listed” on the table, but the vast majority and the most commonly used are.

From Outside In: Bottom Left and Right Zones

The ring on the outermost loop of the table layout is the pass line betting area. Working on mirror-image 90º angles, the pass line curves down both the left and right sides, along to the lower left and right corners. Pass line bets are made on the come out roll only. One of the most frequently used bets, the pass line asserts that the shooter will roll a natural (7 or 11) or a point (four, five, six, eight, nine or ten) before rolling craps (2,3 or 12).

• Ultimate Craps Strategy for Experienced Players: Overview of Best Bets and Odds #1: The Don’t Pass Bar #2: The Pass Line The pass line is the fundamental bet on the craps table. Just like in other casino games, the basic. #3: Place 6 and Place 8 Players looking for some inner-table action should.
• Consequently, the odds bet has a house edge of 0%. Overall, the pass line bet is definitely one of the best bets on the craps table with a house edge of 1.41%. In addition, adding odds onto this wager is without a doubt the best way to extend your gambling bankroll. The pass line is simply one of the best ways to try and win big.

Just inside the pass line loop is the Don’t Pass line loop, with the Big 6 and Big 8 bets at the lower junction corners of the don’t pass line area. Don’t pass bets are those betting wrong, against the shooter on the come out roll, asserting that the shooter will roll craps before the natural or point. Big 6 and Big 8 bets are proposition bets that cumulative state that the shooter will hit a six or eight before he sevens out.

Pass line and don’t pass line bets have the lowest house edge of the visible bets and are some of the best bets for players to make. Big 6 and 8 have very high house edges and are such a poor bet for players that Atlantic City casinos actually removed this bet from the craps table. Players are wiser to use Place bets on six and eight.

Middle Left and Right Zones

The next section adjoining a smaller surface area within the don’t pass loop is the field box. Playing the field means placing single roll bets on one or more of the field numbers. A field bet indicates that the shooter will show, on their immediate next roll, either a two, three, four, nine, ten, eleven or twelve. If one of those numbers appears, the field bet wins. Field bets on two and twelve pay double the bet; the rest of the field box numbers pay even money.

Bottom Central Section

The center of the table holds the spaces for the proposition bets. This is the non-mirrored zone on the table and houses a box divided into several different proposition bets. These are all one roll bets, asserting the outcome of the next immediate dice roll.

At the top of the prop bets box is the “any 7″ bet, which will pay a win on the next roll being a seven. At the bottom of the prop bets box is the “any craps” bet, calling for the next roll to be 2, 3 or 12.

Just below the any seven section is the box for hardways bets, which actually can hold over several rolls rather than just one. Hardways bets call for a matched pairs dice combination on each even number four through ten. Hardways bets are hard four (two 2′s), hard six (two 3′s), hard eight (two 4′s) and hard ten (two 5′s). To win a hardways bet, these pairs must appear before seven or an an easyway combination of the same number. A few additional unique hardways bets can also be placed in this area such as a buffalo bet or hoping hardway (two 1′s), but these are not listed on the table.

Below this section is the horn bet box. Horn bets are multi-part bets, which place money on the next roll being one of the least rolled dice combinations, a 2, 3, 11 or 12. Individual craps bets can be placed on any single one of these numbers as well. Horn high bets split two parts of the bet toward the 12 being rolled, and leave one part each for the 2, 3 and 11.

In between the proposition bets box and the outer loops, some tables include specifically labeled areas for C-E and E.T. bets, which are proposition multi-part bets on craps or eleven (C-E) and eleven or twelve (E.T.) being the next rolls showing numbers. Even if these sections are not labeled on the table, players may place these bets also.

Upper Left and Right Table

At the back of the table, or the upper left and right corners are another series of boxes. Just above the field box is the come box. Immediately above the come box is a row of boxes, from the outside in that are the don’t come box and the ten, nine, eight, six, five and four place bet boxes.

Come bets parallel pass bets but may be made anytime after the point is established on or after the come out roll. Come bets are right bettor, pro-shooter bets that state the shooter will hit the point or seven before craps. Don’t come bets parallel don’t pass bets. Don’t come bets are the wrong bettor side stating that the shooter will hit craps before the point or seven. Come and don’t come bets, like pass and don’t pass bets have the lowest house edges, closest to true odds.

Place bets are made on one or more of the individual numbers at the top of the table, stating that the shooter will roll one of these before sevening out. Place bets have the second best house edge for players, behind pass/come, don’t pass/don’t come bets.

There are numerous other non-visible bets, including one of the best for players: free odds bets. Free odds bets are made after and in addition to a standing pass/come, don’t pass/don’t come bet, stating that the original bet will win. Free odds bets have almost zero house edge. Other non-visible bets include aces, midnight and other single roll proposition bets.

Once a player sees the craps table layout, he knows where to bet. The visually rich table layout keeps the bets clearly before shooter and players around the exciting craps game.

If you want to learn to play craps, you should start by learning how the craps table works.

It might seem intimidating at first, but it’s less complicated than you think.

And smarts craps players ignore most of the table, anyway.

This post explains in detail for beginners what they need to know about placing bets on the craps table.

The Basics of the Craps Table

In casinos, craps is played at a table, usually one covered in green felt. The bets available are labeled on the felt. The table is also the playing surface for the game – you roll the dice on the same table where you place your bets.

Most of the best US casinos use a long table for craps – it’s 12 feet long, but it’s kind of rectangular. You’ll find smaller craps tables sometimes, but most casinos use the 12 feet long table because it accommodates more players – up to 16 people can play craps comfortably at a 12 feet long table.

The rail around the table is padded because a lot of people get tired of standing and want something to lean on. Craps isn’t like blackjack; you don’t sit on a stool at the craps table.

Each player has a rack where he can put his chips while he plays. That’s located next to the padded railing.

The green felt is considered the bed of the craps table, and it has (almost) all the bets available stenciled on it.

Also, the craps table isn’t really a flat table – it’s more like a big, rectangular bowl. This prevents the dice from rolling onto the ground. The walls inside the table are padded with rubber pyramids, which serve to further randomize the rolls of the dice.

If you’re the shooter, you’re required to roll the dice all the way to the pyramids on the other side of the table.

Craps Table With Hop Bets

How the Bets Are Laid Out on a Craps Table

If you’ve never played before, you’ll think craps is too complicated because of all the different bets available on the layout.

But it’s easier than you think.

You can think of the table as having a side section and a center section. (Really, there are 2 side sections – one on either end of the craps table. They’re identical, though.)

You’ll see blocks with numbers and words in them in each section. Those are the bets you can place.

You should avoid the bets in the center section, which are the bets that the stickman will encourage you to make. I’ll explain the center section later, but for now, I want to focus on the section where you’ll be making the most bets if you’re a smart player.

The self-service bets – the bets you’re allowed to place for yourself – include the following bets:

1. Pass
2. Don’t Pass
3. Come
4. Don’t Come
5. Field
6. Big 6
7. Big 8

These are the most basic bets in craps, and they have the lowest house edge – although Big 6 and Big 8 are the worst in this batch. (On some tables, those aren’t even in the self-service area at all.)

When one of these bets wins, the dealer puts your winnings on the table next to your bet. If you leave that money on the table, it goes back into action.

The other area in the side section is the dealer’s area. Here, you need to get the dealer to place your bet for you. This area includes the point boxes:

• 4
• 5
• Six
• 8
• Nine
• 10

You’ll notice that I spelled out 6 and 9. That’s how they’ll appear on the table so that players don’t get confused about which is which.

When a shooter sets a point, the dealer puts a puck in the appropriate box to signify the point for that game. These spots serve a 2nd purpose, too – you can ask the dealer to place Buy, Lay, and Place bets for you in those spots.

Come and Don’t Come are still self-service bets, but the odds bet for those must be handled by the dealer. The dealer uses the chips you bet on Come or Don’t Come to mark the number in those numbered boxes, and they put the odds bet next to the appropriate number, too.

The Center Section Is for Prop Bets, Which You Should NEVER Make

You’ll notice that the stickman, who’s running the center section of the craps table, acts like a carnival barker or one of those loud pitchmen you sometimes run into at a flea market. That’s because his job is to sell the worst bets on the craps table to the players.

The reason these are the worst bets on the table is because the house edge for ALL these bets is insanely high.

The house edge is a statistically expected loss that you’ll see over the long run with a specific kind of bet.

The pass line bet has a house edge of 1.41%, which is relatively low for a casino game. In fact, it’s one of the best bets in the casino.

But the house edge on the bets in the center of the table is 9% or higher.

Nonetheless, here you can place bets in this section if you want to.

Best Bet On Craps Table

To do so, you toss your chips to the center of the table to the stickman and announce what bet you want to place. Try to use some skill and deftness when you do this – you don’t want to knock someone else’s chips over, for example.

When you win one of these proposition bets, the chips are paid directly to you rather than just being placed on the table next to your original bet.

Examples of Proposition Bets and Their House Edge

The hard way bets are bets on totals like 4, 6, 8, or 10.

But they only pay off if the shooter rolls that total “the hard way.”

This means that a total of 4 must be a pair of deuces, a 6 must be a roll with of both 3s, an 8 must consist of a couple of 4s, and a 10 must be made up of 5s.

The payout for a hard 6 or hard 8 is 9 to 1, and the payout for a hard 4 or 10 is 7 to 1.

The house edge for the hard 6 or hard 8 bet is 9.09%.

The house edge for the hard 4 or hard 10 bet is 11.11%.

I often suggest that many gambling writers make too much of a fuss about the house edge on casino games, but this is one instance where it’s a big deal.

Craps Table Bets Explained

You’re looking at a statistical advantage for the casino that’s 10 times as great on one bet over the other bet.

Crap Table Odds

You should pay attention to that, for sure.

Just skip the proposition bets.

You’ll have just as much fun at the craps table, you’ll probably stay in action longer, and you’ll have a better chance of going home from the craps table a winner.

How to Get Used to the Craps Layout

The best way to get used to the game of craps is to play at an online casino, like those recommended on this site. All the casinos listed here offer free-to-play versions of their casino games. You play for “play-money” chips.

The big advantage of doing this is that you’re not risking any real money when you’re playing these free craps games.

Craps Table Hop Bets

It’s much better to learn without risking money if you can.

Conclusion

You need to know how the craps table and its layout work if you want to stand a chance at winning when shooting dice.

The best way to do that is to practice on a free game after reading through this quick tutorial.

The most important advice I offer in this post, though, is to stay away from those bets in the middle of the table. The house edge is just too high on those.