Types of Craps Bet

There is a wide range of bets. Try to familiarize yourself with them and learn where they are placed on the layout before you play.

More... Pass (win) line
Win bets must be placed before the come-out roll. They cannot be removed or reduced after the point is established. It wins if a 7 or 11 is thrown on the come-out roll or if a point is made. It loses if craps (a score of 2, 3, or 12) is thrown on the come-out roll or if the shooter fails to make a point. Odds of even money
(1/1) are paid on winning bets.

Don't pass (don't win) line
This is the opposite of pass. The bet must be placed before the come-out roll. After a point is established it can be reduced or removed. The bet wins if craps is thrown on the come-out roll or if the shooter fails to make a point. It loses if 7 or 11 is thrown on the come-out roll or if a point is made.

A lot of casinos bar one of the craps numbers, usually either 12 or 2, to give themselves a bigger house advantag. If a score is barred it is shown by an illustration of two dice in the don't win section -two ones if 2 is barred and two sixes if 12 is barred. If a score is barred it is void (neither wins nor loses).

Effect of a sequence of throws on the pass and don't pass bet:

                    Throw     Score     Pass bet     Don't pass bet
Example 1     1st           7          wins           loses
Example 2     1 st          6*
                    2nd          5
                    3rd           5
                    4th           2
                    5th           6**       wins           loses
Example 3     1st           6*
                    2nd           5
                    3rd           4
                    4th           7**       loses          wins
Example 4     1st           3(craps) loses          wins

* point established
**point made

Come and don't come bets
These bets allow players who miss the come-out roll to bet. They are similar to pass and don't pass bets. The difference is that they can be placed on any throw of the dice after the come-out roll. When the bet is placed, the next throw of the dice becomes the first throw for the bet.

The rules concerning the win/loss are the same as the pass line. If a 7 or 11 is thrown the come bets wins and don't come bets lose. If craps is thrown the come bets lose and the don't come bets win. Any other number thrown establishes a point. If the point is made the come bets win and don't come bets lose. However, the score need not be the same as for the pass bets. Scores of 2 or/12 may be barred for don't come bets.

If for example, a come bet was placed on the third throw and the score is 6, the come bet will win if another score of 6 is thrown before a 7 or 11. When a come or don't come bet is placed, the dealer will move the bet to the box of the score required. Come bets cannot be reduced or removed after a point is established. Don't come bets may be removed or reduced after a point is established.

Odds bets
These are additional bets that can be made once a point has been established. You must already have a bet on pass, don't pass, come or don't come. The bets are paid out at the true mathematical odds and are worth playing as the house advantage is reduced. However, casinos limit the amount that you can bet. Some allow a bet of up to the amount of your original wager, others allow you to bet double the original wager. Odds bets can be reduced or removed at any time.

On the come-out roll, come odds bets are 'off' but may be called 'on' by the player and don't come odds bets are 'on'.

Place bet
This is a bet on the individual scores of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. It wins if the score selected is thrown before a 7 is rolled. These bets can be made at any time. Place bets are 'off' at the come-out roll unless you call them 'on'. The bets can be increased, decreased, removed or called off at any time. '

Buy bet
Buy bets are similar to place bets except that a 5 per cent commission is paid when the bet is placed. The bets are then settled at the true mathematical odds. An easy way to find 5 per cent is to halve the amount of your bet and move the decimal point one place to the left. The bets may be increased, decreased or removed at any time and the commission adjusted accordingly each time.

If your buy bet wins and you leave it on again, you need to pay an additional 5 per cent commission. Buy bets are automatically 'off' on the come-out roll, but may be called 'on' by the player.

Lay bets
Lay bets are the opposite of buy bets. If a 7 is rolled before the number on which a lay bet is wagered, the wager wins at true odds. The wager loses if the number on which a lay bet is wagered rolls before a 7 is rolled.

For a lay bet, the 5 per cent commission is charged on the amount the wager could win (not on the amount wagered as with buy bets). So, if you place a £40 bet on 4, the winnings would be £20 (£40 at 1/2 = £60, £60 - £40 stake = £20). Commission payable is 5 per cent of £20 = £1. You would
therefore need to pay £41.

One-roll bets
Some bets are made on just one roll of the dice:

field - for the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 to be thrown. It loses if a 5, 6, 7 or 8 is rolled.

hardways - throwing the same number on each die. Hardway four is two deuces, hardway six is two threes, hardway eight is two fours and hardway ten is two fives. A hardway bet is for the numbers 4, 6, 8, or 10 to be rolled hardway. Hardways are 'off' on the come out roll but can be called 'on'.

any seven - for a 7 to be rolled

any craps - the numbers 2, 3 or 12

craps two - number 2 (two ones)

craps twelve - a bet on number 12 (two sixes)

craps three - number 3 (a 2 and a 1)

eleven - number 11 (5 and 6)

horn - this bet is made in units of four. It is for the numbers 2, 3, 11 or 12 being rolled. It is treated as four separate bets on each number

horn high - the same as a horn except that there is one stake unit on each of the numbers and an extra stake unit on any of the numbers that the player nominates. So if number 11 were nominated it would have two stake units on it.