The casino dice game almost everyone is thinking of is craps, and the first thing to understand is that the dice are not the only thing moving: the table itself is a fixed piece of equipment with a printed layout, and every bet you can make is written on that layout. The second thing is that no article can tell you whether you will win, because the dice have no memory and the house advantage is built into the payouts printed on the felt.
This article is about the physical game and its table, not about strategy. You will not find a system for beating the dice here, because none exists. What you will find is a plain description of the table, the crew, the basic flow of a round, and the bets that are printed in front of you when you stand at the rail.
The table is the game
Craps is played on a long, sunken table with high walls, usually placed in the center of a casino's table-games pit. The table surface is a printed layout, and the layout is the rulebook: every legal wager has a marked space, and the payout odds for that wager are printed beside it. You do not need to memorize the game from a screen; you need to read the felt.
The table is staffed by four people: a boxperson who supervises the game, two dealers who handle the bets on each side, and a stickperson who moves the dice with a long stick and calls the results. The dice are only handled by the shooter, and only after the stickperson pushes them to the shooter.
What happens in a round
A round of craps is built around a two-phase structure, and the phases are marked on the table with a puck. The puck is a round disc, black on one side and white on the other, and it tells you exactly which phase the table is in at any moment.
- In the come-out phase, the puck is black and sits on the layout marked OFF. The shooter throws the dice for the first time in a round.
- If the come-out roll lands on 7 or 11, the round ends immediately and the shooter keeps the dice.
- If the come-out roll lands on 2, 3, or 12, the round also ends immediately, and the dice pass to the next shooter.
- If the come-out roll lands on any other number — 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 — that number becomes the point, and the game moves to the point phase.
- In the point phase, the puck is turned white and placed on the point number, showing ON. The shooter keeps throwing until either the point number appears again, which ends the round, or a 7 appears, which also ends the round.
That is the entire skeleton of the game. Every other bet on the table is a side bet attached to this two-phase structure, and every side bet has its own printed space and its own printed payout.
The bets are printed, not spoken
Craps looks chaotic because many people are betting at once, but the bets themselves are fixed. The table layout groups them into a small number of families, and each family behaves differently across the two phases.
| Bet family | Where it sits on the layout | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Pass Line | The wide band running along the outer edge of the layout | Wins on a come-out 7 or 11, loses on a come-out 2, 3, or 12, and otherwise rides on the point until the point or a 7 appears |
| Don't Pass | The narrower band just inside the Pass Line | The inverse of Pass Line, except a come-out 12 is a push rather than a win |
| Come | The band behind the Pass Line | Functions like a Pass Line bet placed after the point is established |
| Place bets | The numbered boxes for 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 | Bet that a specific number appears before a 7 |
| Proposition bets | The center of the table, handled by the stickperson | One-roll bets on specific totals, resolved on the very next throw |
The printed payout for each bet is the house's edge in visible form. A bet that pays less than the true odds of the event is how the casino earns on that wager, and no betting pattern changes that arithmetic.
Two dice, thirty-six outcomes
Craps uses two standard six-sided dice, and the game's entire mathematics comes from the fact that two dice produce thirty-six equally likely combinations. Some totals are more common than others because more combinations add up to them. A 7 can be made six ways, which is why it is the most frequent total. A 2 or a 12 can be made only one way each.
This distribution is fixed. It does not change if the shooter is hot, if the table is cold, or if the dice have just rolled three 7s in a row. The dice are inanimate objects with no memory, and the next roll has the same thirty-six outcomes as every roll before it.
What the crew does
The four-person crew exists because the table is too long for one person to manage both ends. The boxperson sits at the center and watches the money and the dice. The two dealers stand on the players' side of the table and handle the bets on their half. The stickperson stands opposite the boxperson and controls the dice with a long stick, calling out the result of every roll.
You do not throw the dice to yourself. The stickperson pushes a set of dice to the shooter, the shooter picks two and throws them to the far end of the table, and the dice must hit the back wall. This is a rule of the game, not a superstition: the wall's rubber pyramids randomize the throw and prevent controlled sliding.
What to confirm before you play
Casino table rules are printed on a placard at each table, and the placard is the authoritative source for that table's minimum bet, maximum bet, and any rule variations. Minimums change by casino, by table, and by time of day, and no article can state them in advance. Before you put money on the felt, read the placard at the rail and confirm the minimum with the dealer.
The printed layout is also your reference for payouts. If a payout is not printed on the felt, do not assume it from memory. The dealer will state the payout when you place the bet, and the printed layout is the final word.
FAQ
Is craps the only casino game with dice?
No. Craps is the main dice game on most casino floors, but some casinos also offer sic bo, a game played with three dice on a table with a different layout. If you see a dice table that is not the long, sunken craps table, it is likely a different game. The table layout and the placard at the table will identify it.
Do I have to be the shooter to bet?
No. Every player at the table can bet on the outcome of the shooter's rolls, and most players never touch the dice. The shooter is simply the player whose turn it is to throw. You can decline to shoot when the dice come to you, and the dice will pass to the next player.
Can I learn craps by reading the table layout?
Yes, to a point. The layout shows every bet and its printed payout, which is enough to understand what is available. What the layout does not show is the sequence of a round, the role of the puck, and the behavior of each bet across the two phases. Those are best learned by watching a few rounds before betting.
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This article is general information about how these mechanics work. It is not legal advice and not a recommendation to gamble or to use any particular operator. Availability and legality differ by jurisdiction — check the rules that apply where you are.