All of the suggestions and scenarios here will be based on a table with a $5 minimum bet, where I’ll typically start with a $200 bankroll. There are definitely other ways to play craps, but I’ll stick mainly to my own rudimentary strategies for the purposes of this guide.

Laying Your Money Down

When I approach the table, I always check to see if the point is ON or OFF. This is determined by the large black and white puck that appears on the table. If the puck says ON, I’ll just watch and wait until the shooter either hits the point or 7s out, at which point the puck will be changed to OFF, and I’ll lay down my money to exchange for chips. I think it’s polite to wait until the point is OFF to make the dealers change my cash into chips, because they’re typically not doing as much in those moments.

Note: Most casinos will not allow you to give cash directly to the dealers. You must first lay it down on the table, at which point the dealers will make the exchange.

Phase One: Come Out

When the point is Off, the game is in Phase One, commonly known as the Come Out phase.

The only required bet in craps occurs in Phase One. Players must lay at least the minimum table bet on either PASS or NO PASS. This bet must remain on the table once it is placed and represents the “starter bet” for each player.

In Phase One, I always bet the PASS line, which means I’ll win with a roll of 7 or 11 and lose with rolls of 2, 3 or 12. Most people bet the PASS line in craps, and I personally think anyone who bets the NO PASS line is an asshole.

The Pass line pays even money (1:1) with a win. Bet $5, win $5.

(Since you’re probably wondering, betting the NO PASS line is just the opposite of the PASS line. That is, wins on 2, 3, or 12 and losses on 7 and 11.)

If the shooter rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 during Phase One, there is no immediate winners or losers. Instead, that number becomes the Point, and the game enters Phase Two.

Phase Two: Points

After the Point is established, the dealer will place the aforementioned puck in the ON position on the Point. For example, let’s say the Point is 5, so the dealer would place the puck on the 5.

During Phase Two, you can do a few different things:

Do Nothing
You can simply choose to leave everything as it is and hope the shooter rolls the Point again before they roll a 7. In our example, if you only maintain your initial Pass bet in Phase Two, you win (1:1) if the shooter rolls a 5 again before rolling a 7.

Odds Bet
The Odds bet is like a secondary bet you can place behind the Pass line. This bet has the same goals as the Pass line bet (wins if the shooter rolls the point) but pays out a little more in order to entice players to place the Odds bet. The Odds bet payouts are as follows:

If the Point is 4 or 10, the Odds bet pays 2:1 (bet $5, win $10)
If the Point is 5 or 9, the Odds bet pays 3:2 (bet $6, win $9)*
If the Point is 6 or 8, the Odds bet pays 6:5 (bet $5, win $6)

*If the Point is 5 or 9, the Odds bet must be an even number due to the 3:2 odds. Attentive dealers will remind you if you happen to place a $5 Odds bet in this situation, rather than $6 or $10.

I almost always place an Odds bet in Phase Two, due to the higher payout. It’s one of the best bets in the casino from a probability/reward standpoint.

Place Numbers
After the Point is established, you can place separate bets on some of the other numbers on the table. Like the Odds bet, these Place bets pay out different amounts based on the probabilities:

Place bets on 4 or 10 pay 9:5 (bet $5, win $9)
Place bets on 5 or 9 pay 7:5 (bet $5, win $7)
Place bets on 6 or 8 pay 7:6 (bet $6, win $7)*

*Players must bet multiples of $6 for Place bets on 6 or 8 due to the 7:6 odds. Dealers will always remind you of this if you don’t bet enough. The other Place bets (4, 5, 9, 10) are all $5 minimums.

I usually do Place bets on 6 and 8, unless one of those is the Point, in which case I just move one number over. So if the Point is 6, I’d do Place bets on 5 and 8. If the Point is 8, I’d do Place bets on 6 and 9.

Some people automatically do all of the available Place bets right away (which costs $26 or $27, depending on the Point). Sometimes I’ll build my way up to that if a shooter is going for awhile, and it’s not a terrible way to bet on a $5 table, but it’s also a good way to lose a bunch of money quickly.

If your Place bet hits, the dealers will ask if you want to do the “same bet” (which means you’ll just take your winnings) or if you want to “press” (which means you’ll add your winnings to the original Place bet). I almost always just take my Place bet winnings and save them for later, but some people like to press.

Field Bets
There is a box on the table marked FIELD. This is sort of a catch-all bet for a bunch of numbers (2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12). If you bet in the Field and any of those numbers hit on the next roll, you win even money. If 2 or 12 hit, you win 2:1. If a number that’s not included in the Field hits, you lose. You must bet at least the table minimum in the Field.

I don’t do this one too often because one-roll bets make me nervous, but I could see the utility of doing it if the Point was 4, 9 or 10 to theoretically increase the potential win. In that case, you’d win money for the Point, the Odds and the Field bet all in one roll if the right number hits.

Hard Ways
In the middle of the table, there are a bunch of other bets that players can make. The most common ones I do are the Hard Way bets. These bets win if a 4, 6, 8 or 10 is rolled with the dice both showing the same number (i.e. 2×2, 2×3, 2×4, 2×5), and pay a fairly substantial amount:

Hard 4 and Hard 10 pay 7:1
Hard 6 and Hard 8 pay 9:1

Hard Way bets lose when an “easy” version of the number is rolled. For example if you had a bet on Hard 8 and an 8 is rolled as a 5 and 3, the Hard Way bet loses.

You can bet as little as $1 on each Hard Way, which is why I almost always bet it if the Point is an even number (so then I’d win money for the Point, the Odds and the Hard Way if the right number hits the right way.

I’ll often include an extra $1 on the Hard Way for that number for the dealers. For example, if the Point is 8, I would bet $1 on Hard 8 for myself and another $1 for the dealers. Dealer bets can be used in place of tipping (they keep the money if they win) and in general I think is a nice thing to do.

Miscellaneous One-Roll Bets
There are a few other bets that I make from time to time that are worth mentioning, if only for their considerable payouts and $1 minimums. These are all one-roll bets, which means if the number doesn’t hit in the roll following your bet, you lose.

Betting on 2 (“Aces”) wins 30:1
Betting on 12 (“boxcars”) wins 30:1
Betting on 2 and 12 together (“high/low”) wins 15:1
Betting on 3 (“ace deuce”) wins 15:1
Betting on 11 (“yo”) wins 15:1

Of these bets, I usually do a few “high/low” with $1 or $2 since it’s got the possibility of 15:1 on two different numbers. I understand that the odds there are the same as betting on 3 or 11, but I still usually just do the high/low. I’ll also often do a secondary bet on the same number for the dealers, in the same way I would for a Hard Way bet.

There are a few other bets that I haven’t mentioned here (Come, C&E, World) because I never do them, and then there are a few other betting tidbits that I left out (Buy bets, Put bets, etc.) because I don’t quite understand how they work yet.

Overall in Phase Two I usually try to have three numbers working for me (the Point/Odds bets and then two Place bets) along with the occasional Hard Way or miscellaneous one-roll bet.

A Word About Shooting

If you’re at a craps table for enough time, you’ll be given the opportunity to shoot the dice yourself. When your turn arrives, you’ll be presented with five dice, from which you can choose two.

You may only use one hand to shake the dice, and the dice must remain over the table at all times. In addition, most casinos require that at least one of the dice hits the far wall of the table during the roll in order for the roll to count. (This last part is a bit of a looser rule, and most casinos will let one roll that doesn’t hit the far wall go, but in general you should aim for the far wall when shooting the dice.)

Some people have certain routines they have when they shoot – ways they move the dice before they roll, certain numbers that they have up on the dice when they roll, etc. – but in general the rule is to not take too much time to shoot after you’re presented the dice.

When I’m up to shoot, I use only my left hand, I set up the dice so both are showing 6s with the serial number of the dice lined up a certain way (for no reason in particular) and then I gently toss the dice across the table.

If one or both of the dice happen to leave the table during a roll, the roll doesn’t count. You can request to have the same dice back (by saying “same dice”), and usually casinos will be fine with that, otherwise you’ll automatically presented with different dice to roll. This is a casino’s way of preventing any irregularities with the dice.