Atlassino Academy · Craps · Lesson 11 of 12
A craps evening at a known price
Price a night at the craps rail before you walk up to it: which bets cost least an hour, what odds change and what they leave alone, and a payout card to take along.
An evening at a craps table, with $10 going down at a time: an example table minimum, not a suggested bet. Which bets keep the hour cheapest, and what does that hour cost?
The short answer
The pass line, with odds behind it if the bigger stake fits the money you brought. At the pace of a rated table, the pass line at the example bet costs about $2.55 an hour. Odds behind the line leave that dollar figure where the line puts it, and make the evening swing much wider. Place bets on 6 and 8 come next, and the field and the centre of the table cost many times more an hour.
One evening, written down before the first roll
Example bets · 3 hours at the pace of a rated table · average cost
| Pass line, $10, full odds behind it | $2.55 an hour |
|---|---|
| Place 6, $12 | $2.38 an hour |
| Place 8, $12 | $2.38 an hour |
| One hour | $7.31 |
| The evening, 3 hours | $21.93 |
Each line is an example bet, times how often that bet is settled in an hour, times the share the house keeps. Every amount here is only an example, not a suggested bet. Amounts are in Canadian dollars.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
Ask people at a craps rail what an evening costs and you mostly hear about the big rolls. The price is quieter than that: every bet on the felt keeps a share of what goes on it, and some bets are settled far more often than others.
How fast a craps table goes
A craps table has no posted pace. The stickman sets the speed of the game, under the direction of the boxman or a floor supervisor. No Canadian document we could read prints how many rolls an hour a table runs, so every hour on this page uses the pace casino rating systems are set to: about 60 rolls an hour, which comes to about 18 pass-line decisions.
- One roll1the two dice thrown once
- One pass-line decision3.38rolls on average, from the come-out roll to a point made or a 7
- One hour at the pace casino rating systems are set to18pass-line decisions, out of about 60 rolls
The same hour, counted in rolls and counted in decisions. A bet on the line is settled once a decision, a bet on the field once a roll, and that difference decides more about the price of an hour than any payout printed on the felt.
- Settled once a decisionThe pass line, don’t pass, the come bets and the odds behind them.
- Settled after a point onlyPlace bets, which are off on the come-out roll unless you ask for the bets to be working.
- Settled on every rollThe field and the one-roll bets in the centre of the table.
The line, and odds behind it
The pass line pays even money and keeps 1.41% of every bet on it, on average over many decisions. Don’t pass keeps a little less: 1.36% of every bet, with a 12 on the come-out roll a push. A come bet works like a pass bet made after the point is set, and a come bet keeps the same 1.41% share. Every come bet you add is one more line bet in play, priced the same as the pass line.
Once a point is set, you may put odds behind the line bet. The odds are paid at the true odds of the point, so the house keeps 0% of the odds. The rules BCLC publishes for its casinos let the odds go up to 3 times the line bet on 4 and 10, 4 times on 5 and 9 and 5 times on 6 and 8. Other tables and other casinos allow other amounts.
| Point | Odds allowed, up to | Odds behind an example $10 line bet | Paid on the odds if the point comes before a 7 | Riding on the decision in all |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 3 times the line bet | $30 | $60 | $40 |
| 5 or 9 | 4 times the line bet | $40 | $60 | $50 |
| 6 or 8 | 5 times the line bet | $50 | $60 | $60 |
With full odds behind an example $10 line bet, a point made always brings $60 from the odds, whichever point it is. What changes from row to row is how much has to go down behind the line to bring it.
The odds add money to the table without adding any price. About $37.78 rides on each decision instead of $10, so the share the house keeps of all that money drops to 0.374%, and the hour still costs $2.55, the figure of the line alone.
Place bets, the field and the centre
After the line bets, the next cheapest bets are place bets on 6 and 8. The dealer puts a place bet on the number for you, a place bet on 6 or 8 pays 7 to 6 when the number comes before a 7, and place bets on 6 and 8 go down in units of $6 so that the payment comes out even.
The full table of payouts and prices is on the card below.
Place bets are off on the come-out roll unless you ask for the bets to be working. A 7 on the come-out roll leaves the place bets where they are, and a 6 or 8 on the come-out roll pays nothing on them, so place bets are settled only on the rolls after a point is set. Ask for the place bets to be working and they are settled on every roll, which makes the hour dearer at the same price per bet.
The longer the bar, the more the hour costs at the example bets shown.
The field is a one-roll bet: the field pays 1 to 1 on 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 and 2 to 1 on 2 and 12, and loses on every other total. Other rooms’ own pages describe the 2 and 12 with the word “double”, and this page counts the field by the 2 to 1 the rules print. The field keeps 5.56% of the bet on every roll the bet is down for. At $10 a roll, that comes to about $33.76 an hour.
Big 6 and Big 8 sit on the same numbers as the place bets and pay only 1 to 1. A Big 6 keeps 9.09% of each bet, against 1.52% for a place bet on the same number. The centre of the table pays the most and keeps the most, up to 16.67% of a bet on any 7.
What odds change: the swing, not the price
Two evenings of 3 hours at the same example line bet, one with full odds behind the line and one without, cost the same on average. What differs is how far one evening strays from that average.
Pass line alone
Eight evenings in ten end between −$100 and +$80
Pass line with full odds behind it
Eight evenings in ten end between −$470 and +$460
Both bars are three hours of example $10 line bets, worked out exactly. The line across each bar marks zero.
A wider bar is the same price with bigger steps, and the money you brought reaches the bottom of a wide bar sooner. Decide before you sit down how much of that money may ride behind the line.
Write the evening down
A plan for craps is short. The plan has the money for the evening, the hours, the line bet, how much odds you will take behind the line, and which place bets, if any. Written down at home, the plan chooses the bets for you instead of the table choosing them.
Money for the evening Hours
Line bet Odds behind it, up to
Place bets I stop when
No pattern of bets changes the price of the bets in the pattern. Betting systems do not work at craps, and nothing on the plan is there to make the evening come out ahead. The plan only makes the price of the evening known before the evening starts.
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Write the evening’s bets down before you walk to the rail. When the money written on the plan is gone, the evening is over, whatever the dice did last. A bigger bet to bring back what is already lost only buys the same price faster.
If the money on the table starts to feel like money you need, the lines below are there for exactly that.
If it stops being fun
If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. 19+ in most of Canada; 18+ in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. More on responsible gaming.
The lesson on one card
That is the lesson. Here it is on one card: print the card, or keep the card on your phone.
Every payout on the card is printed in the rule book the card follows. Leaflets that list the common bets say outright that the leaflet leaves the rest to the full rules.
| Bet | Pays | Price: share kept on average |
|---|---|---|
| Pass line and come | even money | 1.41%of each bet |
| Don’t pass and don’t come | even money · a 12 on the come-out roll is a push | 1.36%of each bet |
| Odds behind a line bet | true odds: 2 to 1 on 4 and 10, 3 to 2 on 5 and 9, 6 to 5 on 6 and 8 · up to 3, 4 and 5 times the line bet | 0%of each bet |
| Place 6 or 8 | 7 to 6 | 1.52%of each bet |
| Place 5 or 9 | 7 to 5 | 4.00%of each bet |
| Place 4 or 10 | 9 to 5 | 6.67%of each bet |
| Field | 1 to 1 · 2 to 1 on 2 and 12 | 5.56%of the bet, every roll |
| Big 6 or Big 8 | 1 to 1 | 9.09%of each bet |
| Centre: one-roll bets and hardways | 4 to 1 up to 30 to 1 | 9.09% up to 16.67%of each bet |
Other tables and other casinos allow other odds limits.
19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Set a limit before you sit · Play responsibly · the line for your province is at Helplines by province
Practice: plan the rail
Each plan below is an evening written down before the first roll: the money, the hours and the bets. The question under each plan is what that evening costs, or what one roll does to the bets on the plan.
Nothing is scored here, and nothing is random. The plans are read through in order, one after another, and each answer is worked out from the same prices and the same pace as the rest of this page.
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The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one plan from it, with the answer.
A plan with the pass line alone
THE PLAN
- PASS LINE$10
- ODDSnone
- HOURS3
On average, what does this evening cost?
- $7.64 Three hours hold about 54 pass-line decisions of $10 each, and the line keeps its small share of every one of those decisions.
- $25.78 That charges the price of the line on every roll, about 60 times an hour. A pass bet is settled once a decision, about 18 times an hour, and the price comes out only then.
- $0.14 That is the price of one pass-line decision. Three hours hold about 54 decisions.
The price of an evening is three things multiplied: the bet, how many times the bet is settled in an hour, and the share of each bet the house keeps. The pass line is settled once a decision, not once a roll.
A plan with place bets on 6 and 8
THE PLAN
- PASS LINE$10
- PLACE 6$12
- PLACE 8$12
- HOURS1
The place bets are off on the come-out roll, as the rules print the place bets. On average, what does the hour cost?
- $9.31 That settles the place bets on every roll, the come-out roll included. As printed, a place bet is off on the come-out roll until you ask for the bet to be working.
- $4.93 That counts one place bet. The plan has two place bets, one on 6 and one on 8, and each place bet costs the same.
- $7.31 $2.55 for the line, and $2.38 for each place bet, settled only on the rolls after a point.
Each bet on the plan carries a price of its own, and the prices add up.
A come-out roll of 7
THE PLAN
- PLACE 6$12
- PLACE 8$12
COME-OUT ROLL: 3 + 4 = 7
The come-out roll is a 7. What happens to the two place bets?
- Both place bets are lost That is what a 7 does to place bets that are working. On the come-out roll the place bets are off.
- Nothing: both place bets stay where they are Place bets are off on the come-out roll unless you ask for the bets to be working, so a 7 on the come-out roll does not settle the place bets.
- Both place bets are paid A place bet is paid when its own number comes before a 7. A 7 never pays a place bet.
A bet that is off on a roll is not settled on that roll, whatever the dice show. Ask the dealer for the place bets to be working, and a come-out 7 takes the place bets with the line.
Every plan in the practice run is worked out the same way: each bet on the plan, times how many times that bet is settled in an hour, times the share of the bet the house keeps.
How the practice run works
Where the plans come from. Every figure in the answers is worked out when the page is built, from the bet, the pace and the price of each bet, and every wrong answer is one named mistake: the price of the line charged on every roll instead of once a decision, the price of one decision taken for the price of an evening, the combined share applied to the line bet alone, the odds charged a price the odds do not carry, a place bet counted as working on the come-out roll, a one-roll bet charged once a decision. The one roll in the run is settled by the same engine that settles every bet in this track, with the place bets off on the come-out roll as the rules print them.
One level, read through. The level has no squares to fill and no count: each plan is shown once, in order, with every answer explained.
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Check yourself
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.
Back to the question we opened with. The cheapest hour at the table is the pass line, with odds behind the line if the bigger stake fits the plan. At the example bet that hour costs about $2.55, with the odds or without them.
Where to play, and further reading
A live craps table is not in every room, and a room that has one may have only one: one resort’s own page says the resort has a single live table, and an electronic one besides.
19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page
Further reading
- Craps — leaflet · Loto-QuébecThe most popular bets and the whole payout chart on two pages, with the odds and lay limits.
- How to play craps · OLG PlaySmartThe crew, the puck, the come-out roll and the turn to shoot, in plain words.
- Craps strategies · OLG PlaySmartWhy no betting system works at a craps table and why every roll is independent of the last.
How it’s worked out
Rules, numbers, sources and hosts
Where this happens. Every table on this page is a live craps table in a room you can walk into. An electronic craps table keeps a pace and a pay table of its own, and the electronic table is not counted here.
Rules. Every payout on this page is from the rules BCLC publishes for its casinos: a published set of rules, not a statement about any one room. Where other rooms’ own pages describe a bet in other words, the page says so beside the bet.
Numbers. Every price per bet is the long-run share of that bet the house keeps, worked out from the 36 ways two dice fall and the payouts above. Every price of an hour is the bet, times how many times the bet is settled in an hour, times that share. The pace is the one our Price of an hour tool uses: about 60 rolls an hour, the pace casino rating systems are set to, as a casino consultant describes them in Global Gaming Business, which comes to about 18 pass-line decisions. No Canadian document we could read prints a pace for craps. Place bets are counted off on the come-out roll, as the rules print them, so place bets are settled only on the rolls after a point; the figure for working place bets is the same arithmetic over every roll. The totals on the receipt add the lines as printed, to the cent. The spread of evenings is worked out exactly over every way the pass-line decisions of three hours can go, and nothing on the page is simulated.
What is deliberately absent. There is no minimum bet here: no room page we could read prints the minimum bet of a live craps table, so every amount on the page is only an example, not a suggested bet. There is no figure for how long money lasts; How long will it last? works that out for the pass line. A field that pays 3 to 1 on 12 is a table at a couple of United States rooms, and no Canadian document we could read prints it; lesson 5.8 takes it apart. Buy, lay and put bets are not on this page. The parts of the game this page leans on each have a lesson of their own: the table and its crew in 5.1, the come-out roll and the point in 5.2, the pass line in 5.3, odds in 5.4, come bets in 5.5, the don’t side and laying odds in 5.6, place bets and their units in 5.7, the field and Big 6 and Big 8 in 5.8, the centre and the Fire Bet in 5.9, shooting the dice in 5.10, and hot shooters in 5.12.
Sources. Every payout and every claim on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it.
Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.
No promise. Craps is played against the house. Knowing what each bet costs an hour makes the price of an evening known before the evening starts; nothing on this page makes any bet cheaper, and nothing here says how an evening at the table would end.
The bets with the lowest house edge
The bets with the lowest house edge are the pass line bets, come bets, place bets and odds bets.
Odds are paid at the true odds
These bets are some of the best in craps because they pay out at true odds, which means there is no house edge.
Odds Bets allow the Player to be paid at the true odds of that number being rolled. These wagers can be made only after a point has been made.
2 to 1 on 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on 5 or 9, 6 to 5 on 6 or 8
OLG PlaySmart · Craps — odds · read
Place bets on the come-out roll
A Place bet is automatically Off for the Come Out roll.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
These bets are turned off during the come-out roll, unless you request it to be turned on.
The field
A Field bet is a one roll bet that wins if 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 is rolled.
3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 1 to 1
2 or 12 2 to 1
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
Place bets on the come-out roll
A Place bet is automatically Off for the Come Out roll.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
These bets are turned off during the come-out roll, unless you request it to be turned on.
Who sets the pace
The Stickman controls the speed of the game, under the direction of the Boxman or Floorman.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
The pass line and its price
Pass Line/Come Bet Actual or “True” Odds: 251 to 244 Odds Paid or Payout: 1 to 1 House Edge: 1.41%
OLG PlaySmart · Craps — odds · read
Don’t pass and its price
Don't Pass/Don't Come Bar Actual or “True” Odds: 244 to 251 Odds Paid or Payout: 1 to 1 House Edge: 1.36%
OLG PlaySmart · Craps — odds · read
Come bets
Come bets are like the “Pass Line”, except that “Come” bets are made any time after the come-out roll.
the Come bet, which may be made anytime after the Come Out roll, is similar to the Pass bet.
Odds are paid at the true odds
These bets are some of the best in craps because they pay out at true odds, which means there is no house edge.
Odds Bets allow the Player to be paid at the true odds of that number being rolled. These wagers can be made only after a point has been made.
2 to 1 on 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on 5 or 9, 6 to 5 on 6 or 8
OLG PlaySmart · Craps — odds · read
How much odds the rules allow
The Player's Odds wager may be up to a maximum of 3 times the amount of the Pass Line and Come wager if the point is 4 or 10;
The Player's Odds wager may be up to a maximum of 4 times the amount of the Pass Line and Come wager if the point is 5 or 9.
The Player's Odds wager may be up to a maximum of 5 times the amount of the Pass Line and Come wager if the point is either 6 or 8.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
Odds limits differ
Different tables have different betting limits and different casinos allow different betting amounts when placing odds.
Every craps table layout is exactly same, but betting limits and dollar amounts can vary between tables and casinos.
Keep in mind, payouts are standard and will vary depending on the casino.
OLG PlaySmart · Craps — odds · read
What a place bet pays
PLACE BET WAGER
6 or 8 7 to 6
5 or 9 7 to 5
4 or 10 9 to 5
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
Place bets on the come-out roll
A Place bet is automatically Off for the Come Out roll.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
These bets are turned off during the come-out roll, unless you request it to be turned on.
The field
A Field bet is a one roll bet that wins if 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 is rolled.
3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 1 to 1
2 or 12 2 to 1
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
The field elsewhere
The wager is an even-money win if a 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 is rolled. If a 2 or 12 is thrown, the bet wins double.
If a 3, 4, 9, 10 or 11 is rolled, you win even money. If a 2 or a 12 is rolled, you’re paid double for your bet.
GameSense by AGLC · Craps · read
Big 6 and Big 8
A Big 6 or Big 8 bet wins if the number the bet is on is rolled before a 7.
If the Player's Big 6 or Big 8 is won the wager will be paid even money.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
The centre pays more and comes in less often
Casinos give higher payouts on centre bets to make them more attractive, but the odds of them winning are lower.
In fact, some bets in craps have no house edge at all. Of course, for other bets the house edge can go as high as 16.67%.
OLG PlaySmart · Craps — odds · read
Betting systems
No betting system can beat a casino with a house advantage.
Betting systems don’t work in craps.
A leaflet that lists the common bets
Ce document ne fait qu’énumérer les mises qui sont le plus souvent jouées au craps.
En cas de divergence entre les règles énoncées dans ce dépliant et celles du Règlement, celles du Règlement prévalent.
In case of a discrepancy between the rules in this brochure and those in the By-law, the rules in the By-law prevail.
Where craps is played
There is one Craps table at Fallsview Casino Resort.
Yes, there is an electronic Craps table at Fallsview Casino Resort.
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