Craps Odds Explained: The Complete Craps Payout Chart Guide
Jake WilfredYou just placed a $12 place bet on the 6, the shooter nails it, and the dealer slides you $14. But why $14 and not $12? Why not $15? If you can’t answer that question instantly, you’re leaving money on the table, sometimes literally.
Understanding the craps payout chart and odds is what separates the player who confidently pushes chips forward from the one squinting at the felt trying to figure out what just happened. Every single bet on the craps layout comes with its own payout ratio, true odds, and house edge. Some of those bets are among the best in any casino.
Others are straight-up traps. This guide breaks down every number you need to know, with real examples, so you never have to wonder what you’re getting paid again.
- The pass line bet has a house edge of just 1.41%, making it one of the strongest wagers in any casino
- Free odds bets carry a 0% house edge, the only bet in the casino with zero built-in advantage for the house
- Place bets on 6 and 8 offer a low 1.52% house edge, far better than placing the 4 or 10 at 6.67%
- Proposition bets like Any 7 (16.67% house edge) and hardways (9.09% to 11.11%) look exciting but cost you heavily over time
- Knowing payout ratios lets you calculate your exact winnings before the dealer even counts the chips
How Craps Odds and Payouts Work
Before you start memorizing payout tables, it helps to understand the three numbers that define every craps bet: true odds, payout odds, and house edge. These three work together, and once you see how they connect, the entire game starts making sense.
True odds represent the actual mathematical probability of a bet winning. They’re based purely on dice combinations. There are 36 possible outcomes when you roll two dice. Some numbers show up more often than others. A 7 can be rolled six different ways. A 4 can only be rolled three ways. That’s why betting on a 4 pays more than betting on a 6.
Payout odds are what the casino actually pays you when you win. In a perfectly fair game, payout odds would match true odds exactly. But casinos aren’t charities.
House edge is the gap between true odds and payout odds. That gap is how the craps casino makes money on every single bet, and it’s expressed as a percentage of your wager that the house expects to keep over time.
Say you bet $100 on the pass line. The house edge is 1.41%. Over the long run, you can expect to lose about $1.41 for every $100 you wager. That doesn’t mean you’ll lose $1.41 every session. It means if you made that same bet thousands of times, your average loss per $100 wagered would settle near $1.41. Short-term results can swing wildly in either direction.
The lower the house edge, the better for your bankroll. That’s why experienced players build their strategy around the best craps bets and steer clear of the ones with double-digit house edges.
The Complete Craps Payout Chart
This is the reference table you’ll want to bookmark. It covers every major bet on the craps table layout, organized by category.
Pass Line and Come Bet Odds
These are the odds bets you place behind your pass line or come bet after a point is established. They pay at true odds, which means zero house edge.
| Point Number | True Odds | Payout Odds | House Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 2 to 1 | 2:1 | 0% |
| 5 or 9 | 3 to 2 | 3:2 | 0% |
| 6 or 8 | 6 to 5 | 6:5 | 0% |
Don’t Pass and Don’t Come Odds
If you’re a don’t pass or don’t come player, your odds bets also pay at true odds. You’re laying odds here, meaning you’re risking more to win less, because the 7 is more likely than the point.
| Point Number | True Odds | Payout Odds | House Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 1 to 2 | 1:2 | 0% |
| 5 or 9 | 2 to 3 | 2:3 | 0% |
| 6 or 8 | 5 to 6 | 5:6 | 0% |
Place Bets
Place bets let you pick specific numbers without going through a come bet. The tradeoff? The payouts don’t match true odds, so the house takes a cut.
| Number | True Odds | Payout Odds | House Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 or 8 | 6 to 5 | 7:6 | 1.52% |
| 5 or 9 | 3 to 2 | 7:5 | 4.00% |
| 4 or 10 | 2 to 1 | 9:5 | 6.67% |
Buy Bets (5% Commission)
Buy bets pay at true odds, but the casino charges a 5% commission. They’re most useful on the 4 and 10, where the buy bet’s 4.76% house edge beats the place bet’s 6.67%.
| Number | True Odds | Payout Odds | House Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 2 to 1 | 2:1 (minus 5% vig) | 4.76% |
| 5 or 9 | 3 to 2 | 3:2 (minus 5% vig) | 4.76% |
| 6 or 8 | 6 to 5 | 6:5 (minus 5% vig) | 4.76% |
Lay Bets (5% Commission)
Lay bets are the opposite of buy bets. You’re betting the 7 will show before your chosen number. You lay more to win less, and the casino takes a 5% commission.
| Number | True Odds | Payout Odds | House Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 1 to 2 | 1:2 (minus 5% vig) | 2.44% |
| 5 or 9 | 2 to 3 | 2:3 (minus 5% vig) | 3.23% |
| 6 or 8 | 5 to 6 | 5:6 (minus 5% vig) | 4.00% |
Field Bets
The field bet is a one-roll wager that wins on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. It looks like it covers most of the board. But the missing numbers (5, 6, 7, 8) come up more often than the winners.
| Roll | Payout Odds | House Edge |
|---|---|---|
| 3, 4, 9, 10, or 11 | 1:1 | 5.56% |
| 2 | 2:1 | 5.56% |
| 12 | 2:1 (some casinos pay 3:1) | 5.56% (2.78% with triple 12) |
Hardways Bets
Hardways win when the shooter rolls a specific number as a pair (like 3-3 for a hard 6) before rolling that number any other way or rolling a 7.
| Bet | True Odds | Payout Odds | House Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard 6 or Hard 8 | 10 to 1 | 9:1 | 9.09% |
| Hard 4 or Hard 10 | 8 to 1 | 7:1 | 11.11% |
One-Roll Proposition Bets
These are the flashy bets in the center of the table. They resolve on a single roll and carry the highest house edges on the board. Most experienced players avoid proposition bets entirely.
| Bet | True Odds | Payout Odds | House Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any 7 | 5 to 1 | 4:1 | 16.67% |
| Any Craps (2, 3, or 12) | 8 to 1 | 7:1 | 11.11% |
| Snake Eyes (2) or Boxcars (12) | 35 to 1 | 30:1 | 13.89% |
| Ace-Deuce (3) or Yo (11) | 17 to 1 | 15:1 | 11.11% |
| Big 6 or Big 8 | 6 to 5 | 1:1 | 9.09% |
Never bet the Big 6 or Big 8. They pay even money (1:1) on numbers that should pay 7:6. A place bet on 6 or 8 gives you the same action with a 1.52% house edge instead of 9.09%. It’s the same bet with a worse payout. There’s no reason to take it.
Best Craps Odds: Which Bets to Prioritize
Not every bet on the table deserves your money. If you want to play craps with the lowest possible house edge, here’s the hierarchy you should follow.
The absolute best bet is the free odds bet. It’s the only wager in any casino that pays at true odds with a 0% house edge. You can’t place it on its own, though. It must be paired with a pass line bet, don’t pass bet, come bet, or don’t come bet. The more odds you take, the lower your combined house edge drops.
Always take maximum odds behind your pass line or come bet. A pass line bet with 3x-4x-5x odds brings the combined house edge down to approximately 0.37%. That’s less than a third of a penny lost per dollar wagered over time. Check the table placard for odds limits before you sit down.
After odds bets, the don’t pass line at 1.36% and the pass line at 1.41% are your foundation bets. Build your sessions around these. Place bets on 6 and 8 come next at 1.52%, which is still extremely competitive compared to most casino games.
Everything else climbs fast. Place bets on 5 and 9 jump to 4%. The field bet sits at 5.56% (unless the casino pays triple on the 12, which drops it to 2.78%). And the center of the table? Those proposition bets range from 9.09% to a staggering 16.67%. They’re entertainment, not strategy.
Worst Craps Odds: Bets to Avoid
It’s just as important to know what NOT to bet as it is to know what to bet. These wagers carry house edges that will grind your bankroll to dust over time.
The Any 7 bet is the single worst bet on the craps table. It has a 16.67% house edge. For every $100 you bet on Any 7, the house expects to keep $16.67. Compare that to $1.41 on the pass line. You’d need to win nearly 12 times more often on the Any 7 just to break even with the pass line’s expected loss. That’s not happening.
Say you bet $5 on Any 7 for 100 rolls in a session. That’s $500 in total action. The expected house take is $500 x 16.67% = $83.35. Now imagine you put that same $500 in action on the pass line instead. Expected house take: $500 x 1.41% = $7.05. The difference is $76.30. That’s the price of one bad betting habit over a single session.
Hardways bets are a fan favorite, and they carry house edges of 9.09% (hard 6 or 8) and 11.11% (hard 4 or 10). The horn bet is another popular trap that splits your wager across 2, 3, 11, and 12, each of which individually carries a double-digit house edge.
And please, never bet Big 6 or Big 8. It’s a place bet on 6 or 8 that pays 1:1 instead of 7:6. The casino put it there hoping you won’t know the difference. Now you do.
How to Calculate Craps Payouts Yourself
You don’t need a math degree. You just need to understand ratios. Every craps payout is expressed as X:Y, where X is what you win and Y is what you bet.
If the payout is 7:6, that means for every $6 you wager, you win $7. If you bet $12, that’s two units of $6, so you’d win $14.
You place $30 on the 8. The payout is 7:6. Break your $30 into $6 units: that’s 5 units. Multiply 5 by $7 = $35. Your $30 bet wins $35 if the shooter rolls an 8 before a 7.
For bets with payout ratios like 9:5, the same logic applies. A $25 bet on a place 4 gives you 5 units of $5. Multiply 5 by $9 = $45 payout.
A faster shortcut is to convert the ratio to a decimal. The payout 7:6 equals 1.1667. Multiply your bet by 1.1667 and round to the nearest dollar. For $30: $30 x 1.1667 = $35. Quick and clean.
Some casinos charge a 5% commission (called the “vig” or “vigorish”) on buy bets and lay bets. This commission is usually calculated on your win amount, though some casinos charge it on the wager itself. Always ask the dealer how the vig is charged at that particular table.
How Craps Dealers Calculate Payouts
Dealers don’t do long division in their heads. They use memorized payout ratios and mental shortcuts based on chip units. For place bets on 6 and 8, dealers think in multiples of $6 (since the payout is 7:6). For place bets on 5 and 9, they think in multiples of $5 (payout of 7:5). This is also why it’s proper craps etiquette to bet in the correct increments. A $7 place bet on 6 will create an awkward payout that the dealer has to round, usually not in your favor.
Understanding Dice Probabilities in Craps
The entire craps payout structure is built on one thing: dice combinations. Two six-sided dice create 36 possible outcomes. Some numbers show up far more often than others.
| Number | Ways to Roll | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 2.78% |
| 3 | 2 | 5.56% |
| 4 | 3 | 8.33% |
| 5 | 4 | 11.11% |
| 6 | 5 | 13.89% |
| 7 | 6 | 16.67% |
| 8 | 5 | 13.89% |
| 9 | 4 | 11.11% |
| 10 | 3 | 8.33% |
| 11 | 2 | 5.56% |
| 12 | 1 | 2.78% |
The 7 dominates everything. It has six ways to appear out of 36 total combinations. That’s a 16.67% probability on every single roll. This is why the 7 is the fulcrum of the entire game. Before the point is set, the 7 is your friend. After the point is set, the 7 is the enemy.
That dominance is also why the pass line works. On the come-out roll, you have 8 ways to win (six ways to roll a 7, plus two ways to roll an 11) versus only 4 ways to lose (one way to roll a 2, two ways to roll a 3, one way to roll a 12). The remaining 24 combinations set a point, and then the battle between the point number and the 7 begins.
If you want to really understand why certain bets pay what they pay, spend five minutes with this table. It explains everything. Our guide to craps bets explained goes even deeper into how each wager connects to these probabilities.
Craps Odds vs. Other Casino Games
Craps gets a reputation for being complicated, but the numbers tell a different story. When you stick to the right bets, craps offers some of the lowest house edges in any casino.
| Game / Bet | House Edge |
|---|---|
| Craps: Pass Line + Full Odds | 0.37% (with 3x-4x-5x odds) |
| Blackjack (basic strategy) | 0.50% |
| Craps: Don’t Pass | 1.36% |
| Craps: Pass Line | 1.41% |
| Baccarat (Banker) | 1.06% |
| Roulette (European) | 2.70% |
| Roulette (American) | 5.26% |
| Slots (typical) | 5% – 15% |
A pass line bet with full odds is competitive with basic strategy blackjack. And unlike blackjack, you don’t need to memorize a strategy chart or worry about card counting suspicions. You just need to know which bets to make and which to avoid.
For a broader breakdown of how craps stacks up, check out our craps vs. other casino games comparison.
How to Use the Payout Chart to Build Your Strategy
Knowing the numbers is step one. Applying them is where your sessions start to change. Here’s how to translate this payout chart into a real craps strategy.
Start with a pass line or don’t pass bet. These are your foundation. Once a point is established, back it up with the maximum odds the table allows. This single move, taking full odds, has a bigger impact on your expected loss than any other decision you’ll make at the table.
If you want more action, add place bets on 6 and 8. At 1.52%, they’re the best place bets available and they give you additional numbers working for you without a massive house edge increase.
If you’re placing the 4 or 10, consider a buy bet instead. You’ll pay a 5% commission, but the 4.76% house edge beats the 6.67% you’d face on a place bet. Always ask the dealer if the casino charges the vig on the buy amount or on the win. “Vig on win” is significantly better for you.
Stay away from the center of the table unless you’re throwing a few dollars around for fun and you fully accept it’s a bad-odds bet. If you’re serious about winning at craps, treat bankroll management as non-negotiable. The payout chart tells you what each bet costs you over time. Your bankroll strategy determines how long you can survive that cost while waiting for the wins to hit.
Craps Payout Chart and Odds: The Bottom Line
Every bet on the craps table has a built-in price tag. The payout chart shows you exactly what that price is. Some bets cost you less than $1.50 per $100 wagered. Others cost you $16 or more. The game doesn’t hide this information. It’s right there in the math, waiting for anyone willing to look.
Now you’ve looked. You know the pass line and don’t pass are your best friends. You know free odds are the only 0% house edge bet in the building. You know the center-table proposition bets are beautiful, loud money pits. Take this chart, practice on a free craps simulator, and the next time you step up to a live table, you’ll know exactly what every chip you push forward is worth.
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Craps Payout Chart and Odds FAQs
The best odds come from the free odds bet, which has a 0% house edge. You place it behind a pass line, don’t pass, come, or don’t come bet after a point is established. Without the odds bet, the don’t pass line at 1.36% and the pass line at 1.41% are the strongest standalone wagers. Learn more in our best craps bets guide.
Yes, craps has some of the best odds in the casino, but only if you stick to the right bets. A pass line bet with full odds can bring the combined house edge below 0.50%, which rivals basic strategy blackjack. The catch is that the table also offers terrible bets (like Any 7 at 16.67%), so knowing the payout chart is critical.
Place bets on 6 or 8 pay 7:6. That means for every $6 you wager, you win $7. A $30 place bet on the 6 would pay $35 if the shooter rolls a 6 before a 7. Always bet in multiples of $6 on these numbers to receive the full payout.
The house edge on a pass line bet is 1.41%. That means for every $100 you wager over time, you can expect to lose about $1.41 on average. Adding a free odds bet behind the pass line reduces the combined house edge significantly, down to roughly 0.85% with 1x odds and approximately 0.37% with 3x-4x-5x odds.
The Big 6 and Big 8 bets pay even money (1:1) on numbers that the place bet pays 7:6. Both bets win when a 6 or 8 is rolled before a 7, but the Big 6/8 has a 9.09% house edge while the place 6/8 has just 1.52%. It’s the same outcome with a drastically worse payout. Always place the 6 or 8 instead.
Convert the payout ratio to a decimal and multiply by your bet. For example, a place bet on 5 pays 7:5, which equals 1.4 as a decimal. A $25 bet x 1.4 = $35 payout. For 7:6 payouts, bet in $6 increments. For 7:5 payouts, bet in $5 increments. This keeps the math clean and avoids awkward rounding at the table.
