Pass Line at 1.41% house edge.
Casino Games Guide
Online Craps Guide for Canadian Players
Craps looks complicated, but the core game is simple. This guide explains the come-out roll, point phase, common wagers, house edges, online variations and the low-edge betting choices worth understanding.
Free odds pays true odds with no house edge.
Any Seven carries a 16.67% edge.
Bet selection matters more in craps than most table games.
How Craps Works
Craps is built around two dice and a repeating two-phase structure:
- Come-out roll - the first roll of a new round. Roll a 7 or 11 and Pass Line bets win instantly. Roll a 2, 3, or 12 ("craps") and Pass Line bets lose instantly. Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) becomes the point.
- Point phase - once a point is set, the shooter keeps rolling until either that point number comes up again (Pass Line wins) or a 7 appears first (Pass Line loses, called "sevening out").
Everything else on the table - Place bets, Field bets, hardways, and more - are additional, optional wagers layered on top of this basic structure.
Online Craps Variations
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Bank / Standard Craps
The default rule set found at essentially every online casino, matching standard land-based casino rules - this is what the bet table and strategy below are built around.
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RNG / First Person Craps
A software-generated table (Evolution's First Person Craps is a well-known example) that lets you click to roll and play entirely at your own pace, often with built-in tutorials and roll replays - a good format for learning the bet layout without table pressure.
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Live Dealer Craps
A real table streamed from a studio with a professional dealer or stickman, bringing the social element of a physical casino online - you place bets through your screen while watching real dice thrown in real time.
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Bubble Craps
Real physical dice, launched by a mechanical arm inside a sealed glass dome, read by cameras - no dealer crew needed, no chips to handle, and typically much lower minimum bets ($3–5) than a live table. Mathematically identical odds to standard bank craps; it's simply a different, more private way to access the same game, increasingly common at land-based casinos and referenced as a likely future direction for online RNG craps tables too.
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Crapless Craps
Changes the come-out roll so you can't lose immediately - 2, 3, 11, and 12 all become point numbers instead of instant losses or wins. This sounds player-friendly, but the trade-off is worse payout odds on those additional point numbers, which roughly balances back toward the house.
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High Point Craps
A less common variant where only the higher of two rolled dice values matters for certain bets, creating different scoring dynamics from standard craps.
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New York Craps
Removes the Field bet entirely and changes how odds are offered on point numbers (typically through "buy" and "lay" bets rather than standard Place bets), altering the standard house-edge structure across several bet types.
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Mini / Simplified Craps
A streamlined table with fewer bet types, aimed specifically at new players who want to learn Pass Line and basic odds betting without the full complexity of a standard layout.
Common Craps Bets Explained
| Bet | What it does | Typical house edge | Editorial view |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass Line | Bet with the shooter | 1.41% | Strong core bet |
| Don't Pass | Bet against the shooter | 1.36% | Slightly lower edge |
| Free Odds | Backs Pass/Don't Pass after a point | 0% | Best value on the table |
| Place 6 or 8 | Number repeats before 7 | 1.52% | Best Place bets |
| Field | One-roll bet on 2,3,4,9,10,11,12 | About 2.7%-5.5% | Check table payout |
| Hardways | Specific doubles before 7 | About 9%-11% | High-edge side bet |
| Any Seven | Next roll is 7 | 16.67% | Avoid as a core bet |
Craps Bet Types & House Edge
This table is the single most useful thing in this guide. The spread between craps' best and worst bets is enormous - from a genuine 0% house edge on free odds to a brutal 16.67% on Any Seven - which makes bet selection far more important in craps than in almost any other table game.
Pass Line & Don't Pass
The foundation of the game. Pass Line bets with the shooter (win on 7/11 come-out, win if the point repeats before a 7); Don't Pass bets against the shooter. Both carry a low house edge (1.41% and 1.36% respectively) and are where most experienced players concentrate their action.
Free Odds
Once a point is established, you can back your Pass or Don't Pass bet with an additional "odds" wager that pays true mathematical odds - no house edge at all. This is genuinely the best bet in any casino game, but it's only available as a follow-up to a Pass/Don't Pass bet, not as a standalone wager, and table limits on odds multiples (commonly 3x-4x-5x) cap how much you can put behind it.
Place Bets
Bet directly on a specific number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) repeating before a 7, without needing a point already established the way Pass Line requires. Place 6 or 8 is the strongest of these (1.52%); Place 4 or 10 is the weakest (6.67%).
Field Bet
A one-roll bet covering 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12. House edge varies meaningfully by table depending on whether 2 and/or 12 pay double or triple - always check the specific paytable, since this single detail swings the edge from roughly 2.7% to 5.5%.
Proposition Bets (Any Craps, Any Seven, Hardways)
One-roll or multi-roll side bets with high payouts and correspondingly high house edges (9%–16.67%). Fun for occasional variance, but not a foundation for a sound betting approach.
Tips for New Players
- Start with RNG/First Person craps to learn the table layout and betting flow without live-table pace pressure.
- Learn Pass Line and free odds first - together they form the lowest house-edge combination on the entire table, and everything else is optional once you understand them.
- Skip proposition bets while you're learning. Any Seven and hardways look tempting because of the big payouts, but they carry some of the worst odds in the casino.
- Watch a few rounds before betting if you're on a live table, so the come-out/point rhythm feels familiar before your own money is on the line.
Tips for Experienced Players
- Maximize your free odds bet whenever the table allows it. Since it carries zero house edge, increasing your odds multiple relative to your Pass Line bet lowers your overall effective house edge on the combined wager - this is the single biggest lever available in craps.
- Don't Pass/Don't Come bettors get a slightly better base edge (1.36% vs 1.41%), but be aware you're betting against the table's shooter, which some players find socially awkward at a live table - a purely mathematical, not social, choice.
- Check whether the table is New York-style before assuming standard Place bet odds apply - buy/lay bet structures pay differently and often carry a 5% commission (vig) on the win.
- Bubble craps offers identical math to a live table at meaningfully lower minimums - a genuinely useful way to extend session length on a fixed bankroll without changing your odds.
- Craps has no memory - a shooter who has "been hot" carries no statistical information about the next roll. Betting progressions based on perceived streaks don't change the underlying independent probability of each roll.
Play Within Your Limits
Craps rewards players who understand its bet structure more than almost any other table game, since the gap between its best and worst bets is so wide - but no amount of bet selection eliminates the house edge entirely, and free odds bets still require an underlying Pass or Don't Pass wager that carries its own edge. Set a session budget before you sit down, and treat the fast pace of a live craps table (many rolls per minute) as a reason to watch your bankroll more closely, not less. See our Responsible Gambling page for Canada-specific support resources.
Set a budget
Choose your maximum loss before the first roll.
Watch the pace
Live craps can move quickly and increase total action.
Avoid chasing
Hot shooters and streaks do not predict the next roll.
Prefer lower-edge bets
Pass, Don't Pass and odds reduce expected cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best bet in craps?
Free odds, at a genuine 0% house edge - the only such bet in any standard casino game. Pass Line itself is also strong at 1.41%.
What is the worst bet in craps?
Any Seven, at 16.67% house edge, the worst standard bet on the table.
What is a come-out roll?
The first roll of a new round. 7 or 11 wins Pass Line instantly; 2, 3, or 12 loses instantly; any other number becomes "the point."
Is there a strategy that beats the house edge in craps?
No - each roll is independent. Sticking to Pass/Don't Pass with maximum free odds minimizes your exposure, but doesn't eliminate the house edge entirely.