Table Games
Craps Bets and House Edge
The craps layout looks chaotic, but the good bets are few and they sit at the edges. Don't pass costs 1.36% and pass line costs 1.41%, and behind either you can add free odds — the only bet in a casino paid at true odds with no house edge at all. Everything in the middle of the table costs many times more.
Written by the Moes Almanac editorial team
1.36%
Free odds placed behind it carry no house edge whatsoever, but they cannot be placed on their own.
The come-out roll and the point
A round begins with a come-out roll. On a pass line bet, 7 or 11 wins immediately, 2, 3, or 12 loses, and any other number becomes the point. The shooter then rolls until either the point repeats, which wins, or a 7 appears, which ends the round and loses.
Don't pass is close to the mirror image: it wins on 2 or 3, loses on 7 or 11, and pushes on 12. That single push is where the casino's margin on the bet comes from. Without it, don't pass would favour the player and no table would offer it.
Free odds, the only bet with no edge
Once a point is established you may place an additional bet behind your line bet, and it is paid at the true mathematical odds of the point repeating before a seven. A point of 6 or 8 pays 6:5, a 5 or 9 pays 3:2, a 4 or 10 pays 2:1. No margin is taken on any of it.
The bet cannot be made on its own, and that restriction is what keeps it viable for the casino: to reach a zero-edge bet you must first place one that is not. It still lowers the average cost of everything you have on the table, and it is the closest thing to a free lunch in the building.
Every bet, priced
| Bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Free odds Paid at true odds; cannot be placed on its own | 0.00% |
| Don't pass | 1.36% |
| Pass line | 1.41% |
| Place 6 or 8 Pays 7:6 | 1.52% |
| Field With 2 and 12 paying double | 5.56% |
| Any craps Pays 7:1 | 11.11% |
| Any seven | 16.67% |
What two dice actually do
| Total | Ways | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1/36 | |
| 3 | 2/36 | |
| 4 | 3/36 | |
| 5 | 4/36 | |
| 6 | 5/36 | |
| 7 | 6/36 | |
| 8 | 5/36 | |
| 9 | 4/36 | |
| 10 | 3/36 | |
| 11 | 2/36 | |
| 12 | 1/36 |
The four shaded totals are the four the field bet does not cover. They are also the four most likely results, accounting for 20 of the 36 combinations — which is the entire design of the bet, and the whole of its 5.56%.
The middle of the table
Any seven pays 4:1 on a one-in-six outcome, a house edge of 16.67% and the most expensive bet described anywhere on this site. Any craps at 7:1 costs 11.11%.
The field looks broad and friendly, covering seven of the eleven possible totals, and it costs 5.56%. The four totals it omits — 5, 6, 7, and 8 — are the four most likely ones, and that omission is the entire design of the bet.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best bet in craps?
- Don't pass at 1.36%, followed by pass line at 1.41%. Behind either you can take free odds, which are paid at true odds and carry no house edge, so a line bet backed by the maximum odds allowed is the cheapest way to have money on a craps table.
- Why does don't pass cost less than pass line?
- Because don't pass pushes on 12 rather than winning. That single outcome is the casino's margin on the bet, and it happens to leave don't pass fractionally cheaper than pass line — 1.36% against 1.41%.
- Are free odds really free?
- The odds bet itself carries no house edge, which is unique in a casino. It is not free money: it can only be added behind a line bet that does carry an edge, so what it lowers is the average cost of your total exposure rather than eliminating cost entirely.
- Can a shooter influence the dice?
- No demonstration of controlled shooting has ever survived properly designed testing. Casinos require the dice to strike the far wall precisely to prevent controlled throws, and the bets on the table are priced as though every roll is random — because it is.