Atlassino Academy · Craps · Lesson 3 of 12
The pass line
How a pass-line bet is settled from the come-out roll to the point, what it pays, and what it costs for every bet and for every hour at the table.
An example $10 sits on the pass line, and a fresh $10 goes down after every decision for an hour. What does that hour cost?
The short answer
Every pass-line bet is paid even money or lost, and over many bets it is lost a little more often than it is paid. That small gap is the price of the bet, 1.41% of every bet on average. At about 18 decisions an hour, at the pace casino rating systems are set to, the example hour costs about $2.55 on average.
The line across each bar is the half-way mark. The paid bar stops just short of it and the lost bar runs just past it; the whole price of the pass line is the small piece between the two bars.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
A craps table looks like a hundred bets at once, and most people stand back from it for that reason. Underneath, one bet holds the whole table together, and it is settled by two rules you can carry in one hand: the come-out roll, and then the point.
What the pass line pays, and when the bet can come down
A pass-line bet that is paid is paid even money: the dealer adds as much as the bet, and the bet itself comes back beside the payout.
The bet on the pass line, plus the payout at even money, makes what comes back when the bet is paid.
The amount is only an example, not a suggested bet. Amounts are in Canadian dollars.
Once a point is set, the pass-line bet is a contract bet: it stays on the line until it is paid or lost, and it cannot be taken down or made smaller in the meantime. The moment to decide on the pass line is before the come-out roll, because after a point is set the decision has been made.
How one bet is decided
The first roll of a pass-line bet is the come-out roll. On that roll a 7 or an 11 pays the pass line at once, and a 2, a 3 or a 12 takes the pass line at once.
One pass-line bet: the come-out roll settles the bet at once on a 7 or an 11, which are paid, and on a 2, 3 or 12, which are lost; any other number becomes the point.
- 7 or 118 wayspaid even money at once
- 2, 3 or 124 wayslost at once
- 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 1024 waysbecomes the point: the bet waits
Any other number on the come-out roll, a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, becomes the point, and nothing is settled yet. From then on only two numbers matter: the point coming again pays the pass-line bet, and a 7 coming first takes the pass-line bet.
| Point | Ways to roll the point | Ways to roll a 7 | Chance the point comes before a 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 3 | 6 | 1/3 |
| 5 or 9 | 4 | 6 | 2/5 |
| 6 or 8 | 5 | 6 | 5/11 |
No point reaches the half-way mark: every point has fewer ways to fall than the 7 has.
Why a bet that pays even money still has a price
Put the branches together and they give the two bars under the short answer: the pass line is paid on 244 of every 495 bets and lost on 251. The bet pays exactly what it puts down, so the 7 bets in every 495 that the lost side has over the paid side are the whole of the price: 1.41% of every bet, on average, over many bets.
That price is among the smallest on the table.
- The odds bet behind the line0%paid at the true chance of the point; lesson 5.4
- The pass line1.41%paid even money, decided by the come-out roll and the point
- The field5.56%a bet settled on a single roll; lesson 5.8
How many rolls one bet takes
- Settled on the come-out roll itself12of the 36 ways two dice can fall
- Rolls to settle one bet, on average3.38the come-out roll and any wait for the point, together
| Point | Rolls after the come-out roll, on average |
|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 4 |
| 5 or 9 | 3.6 |
| 6 or 8 | 3.27 |
The rarer the point, the longer the wait for the point or a 7. Averaged over every pass-line bet, the come-out roll and the wait together come to 557/165 rolls, which is the figure in the right-hand tile above.
That is why a craps table throws many more rolls in an hour than it settles pass-line bets, and the difference matters as soon as an hour is counted.
An hour at the pass line
How fast a table goes is decided at the table itself: the stickman controls the speed of the game. No Canadian document we could read prints how many rolls or decisions an hour a craps table plays. The figure used here is the pace casino rating systems are set to: about 60 rolls an hour, or about 18 pass-line decisions.
- One decision$0.14the average cost of one example $10 bet
- Decisions in an hour18at the pace casino rating systems are set to
- One hour$2.55on average, at the example bet
The cost of the hour is a long-run average and not a forecast: one evening can end far from it in either direction, and how far an evening can swing is lesson 5.11. Price of an hour works the same arithmetic for other games and other paces.
Counted by decisions
$2.5518 pass-line decisions an hourCounted by rolls, by mistake
$8.48about 60 rolls an hour, the same pace counted in rollsThe price belongs to a decision, not to a roll. Counting rolls instead multiplies a price per decision by a count of something else, and the hour comes out more than three times too dear.
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
One pass-line bet at a time is one of the cheapest ways to be at a craps table, and it still costs something on every decision. Decide how much money the evening gets and how long it runs before you walk up to the rail, and stop when either one is used up.
A hand that ends in a 7 does not make the next come-out roll any kinder. Putting more down to get a loss back only buys more decisions at the same price. 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.
Practice: settle the line
Level 1 is one pass-line bet and one roll: the table is either on a come-out roll or has a point marked, and the question is what the roll does to the bet. Level 2 is a run of rolls from a come-out roll, with a fresh bet after every decision, and the question is where the money stands at the end. The $10 on the line is an example bet, not a suggested bet.
Nothing is bet here, and nothing is random. Each question is a set picture of dice, and the answer is worked out from the rules of the pass line, the same rules as the rest of the page.
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Level 1 · One bet
A point of 6 is set and marked
$10 on the pass line
What happens to the pass-line bet on this roll?
- Paid $10 at even money, and the $10 comes back beside the payout A 7 pays the pass line only on the come-out roll. With a point set, a 7 is what takes the bet.
- Lost: the dealer takes the $10 A 7 came before the point, 6, came again, so the dealer takes the bet and the dice move to the next shooter.
- Not settled: the $10 stays on the line A 7 with a point set settles the bet at once: the dealer takes it, and the dice move to the next shooter.
On the come-out roll a 7 or an 11 pays the pass line even money and a 2, 3 or 12 takes it; any other number becomes the point. Once a point is set, the point coming again pays the bet, a 7 coming first takes it, and every other number settles nothing.
Level 2 · Bet after bet
From a come-out roll, in order
$10 on the pass line before the first roll, and a fresh $10 after every decision
An example $10 goes on the pass line before roll 1, and a fresh $10 goes down after every decision. Where does the money stand after the last roll?
- Up $20 That reads every roll by the come-out rules, paying each 7 or 11 and taking each 2, 3 or 12 wherever it falls. Once a point is set, only the point and a 7 settle the pass line.
- Up $10 That pays a 7 that came after a point was set. A 7 pays the pass line only on the come-out roll; with a point set, the 7 takes the bet.
- Down $10 One decision: roll 3, a 7, lost. With $10 on each bet, the money ends down $10.
The pass line is settled one bet at a time. A bet that is paid or lost is a decision; the next bet goes down for the come-out roll that follows, and every roll in between either settles the bet in play or settles nothing.
Every question in the practice run is worked out the same way: the same two dice that are drawn are put through the rules of the pass line, and the answer comes out of that, not out of anybody’s memory.
How the practice run works
Where the questions come from. Every roll in the practice run is a pair of dice put through the same settling rules our dice engine uses for every lesson of this track: the answer is worked out when the page is built, never written in by hand. The wrong answers are worked out from the same dice, and each wrong answer is one named mistake: the come-out rules applied in the middle of a hand, a 7 after the point counted as paid, or only the first decision of a run counted.
One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one question of this lesson, and all of the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square it belongs to; when the squares of one level are full, the next level begins by itself, with no button in between. Practising a question you got wrong turns its cross into “fixed in practice” and does not change the count, because only first answers count.
Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
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. An hour of an example $10 pass-line bet, a fresh bet after every decision, costs about $2.55 on average.
Where to go next, and further reading
19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page
Further reading
- Rules of Play for Table Games — Craps · BCLCThe full B.C. rules: the line, odds and lay limits, place and buy, the centre of the table and the Fire Bet, with every pay table.
- How to play craps · OLG PlaySmartThe crew, the puck, the come-out roll and the turn to shoot, in plain words.
- Craps · GameSense by AGLCHow the game runs in Alberta, the Full Double odds and the terms you hear at the table.
How it’s worked out
Numbers, pace, 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 its own pace and its own screen, and it belongs to other lessons.
Numbers. Every chance on this page is counted exactly from the 36 ways two dice can fall, as fractions rather than rounded decimals, and every share of the money bet comes from the same count. The price of the field in the comparison tile uses the field payouts in the rules published for casinos in the province whose rule set this course uses. Nothing is typed in by hand, and our checks recompute each figure from the engine rather than reading it back from this page.
Pace. No Canadian document we could read prints how many rolls or decisions an hour a craps table plays. The figure here is the one our Price of an hour tool uses and names: about 60 rolls an hour, the pace casino rating systems are set to, as a casino consultant describes them in Global Gaming Business. A pass-line decision takes several rolls, so that is about 18 decisions an hour. Your table may be faster or slower.
What is deliberately absent. The areas of the table and who puts the chips down are lesson 5.1. The come-out roll and the point, roll by roll with the point marked, are lesson 5.2. The odds behind the line, which add no price and add swing, are lesson 5.4; come bets are lesson 5.5; don't pass, don't come and laying odds are lesson 5.6; place bets are lesson 5.7; the field and Big 6 and Big 8 are lesson 5.8; the centre bets and the Fire Bet are lesson 5.9; throwing the dice and table manners are lesson 5.10; how far money carries over an evening, and how far an evening can swing, is lesson 5.11; long hands and dice setting are lesson 5.12. There is no table minimum here either: no room page we could read prints the minimum bet at a live craps table, and the bet on this page is only an example.
Sources. Every rule 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 how the pass line is settled and what it costs lets you check every payment and plan every hour; nothing on this page makes the pass line cheaper, and nothing here says how an evening at the table would end.
The price of the pass line
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
The pass line on the come-out roll
The Player attempts to roll a total of 7 or 11 with the two dice to get paid even money on their wager, on the Come Out roll.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, it is a “natural” and you win. If 2, 3 or 12 is rolled, it is “craps,” and you lose.
A contract bet
A Pass line and Come wager is a contract bet and cannot be removed, once a point has been established.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
Once a Pass line bet is made, the bet can’t be picked up until a win or lose decision is reached.
Contract Bet: A wager that may not be reduced or removed once the point is established until it wins or loses. The Pass Line and the Come bets are contract bets.
GameSense by AGLC · Craps · read
What the pass line pays
The Player attempts to roll a total of 7 or 11 with the two dice to get paid even money on their wager, on the Come Out roll.
If the Player achieves their point their original wager is paid and the game returns to the Come Out roll and the dice are retained by the Player.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
A contract bet
A Pass line and Come wager is a contract bet and cannot be removed, once a point has been established.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
Once a Pass line bet is made, the bet can’t be picked up until a win or lose decision is reached.
Contract Bet: A wager that may not be reduced or removed once the point is established until it wins or loses. The Pass Line and the Come bets are contract bets.
GameSense by AGLC · Craps · read
The pass line on the come-out roll
The Player attempts to roll a total of 7 or 11 with the two dice to get paid even money on their wager, on the Come Out roll.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, it is a “natural” and you win. If 2, 3 or 12 is rolled, it is “craps,” and you lose.
The point
If a Player rolls a total of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 with the two dice, this becomes the point.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
If the come-out roll is any other number than those mentioned above, (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10), then no one wins or loses.
Point made, or a 7 first
If the Player achieves their point their original wager is paid and the game returns to the Come Out roll and the dice are retained by the Player.
If the Player rolls a total 7 before achieving their point, their wager is lost and the dice are passed to the next Player.
Section 1.0 Craps; 2.0 Fire Bet
If 7 appears before a point is established, players betting with the shooter lose; if the point appears first, the players betting with the shooter win.
The shooter keeps rolling until they roll a 7, or “seven out” at which time, the dice move to the next player and the round begins again.
The round ends when a shooter “seven out” – when they roll a 7 after having established the point.
Seven Out: A rolled 7 after the point has been established.
GameSense by AGLC · Craps · read
The price of the pass line
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
The cheapest bets on the table
The bets with the lowest house edge are the pass line bets, come bets, place bets and odds bets.
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
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