Online casino craps: pass line, odds and bets with the lowest casino margin

Craps is an American casino game with two six-sided dice. A roll of the dice determines the win or loss of most bets. At first glance, the craps table looks like a labyrinth - dozens of colored boxes, numbers, words like "pass line", "come", "field" or "big 6, big 8". But the math is actually simple and one of the fairest for players in the entire casino.

The game is hugely popular in the United States - every major brick-and-mortar casino has several craps tables with rowdy crowds and players taking turns rolling the dice. In the European and New Zealand market, the popularity is significantly lower. There are online versions here, but few. Before the first game, it is therefore worth checking whether a particular operator offers craps at all. If you are looking for a craps game that is more available in New Zealand casinos, check out Sic Bo with three dice — has simpler rules, albeit with a slightly higher margin (2.78%) on base bets.

Availability of craps in New Zealand licensed casinos

Status among larger Czech operators (always check the current offer directly in the operator's lobby):

The Live (with a live dealer) version from Evolution Gaming is the most technically sophisticated – it is a real craps table with a dealer in a studio (Bucharest), where dice rolls are made using compressed air in a glass chamber for accuracy (see separate section below). The best way to check whether a particular New Zealand operator has it on offer is in the "Live casino" section of the Evolution Gaming filter. The status of the offer can change - some operators will try live craps and after a few months remove it if it does not find an audience.

For a broader overview of the live games offer, see the article live casino New Zealand . If you are looking for games with similar fair math to craps, check out blackjack with basic strategy (0.5 – 0.6%) or baccarat (banker bet 1.06%).

How to play craps - the principle in 5 minutes

The aim of the game is to correctly predict the outcome of the roll of two dice. The game is played in rounds, with each round having two phases:

1. Come out roll: the player (or dealer) rolls two dice for the first time.
   • If 7 or 11 is rolled – the pass line bet wins 1:1, the round ends.
   • If 2, 3 or 12 are rolled (so-called "craps") - the pass line bet loses.
   • If 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 is rolled - this number becomes the "point" (target number) and the game moves to the second phase.
2. Point phase: roll over and over again until either a "point" number or a seven is rolled.
   • If the point falls first (the same number as in the opening roll) – the pass line bet wins 1:1.
   • If a seven falls first – the pass line bet loses.
   • Any other roll does not affect the counter, it just keeps rolling.

This is the entire main game. After the end of the round, bets are settled and a new round begins with a new "come out" roll. The online version with automatic dice makes thousands of rounds per hour, the live game with a live dealer around 60-100 rounds per hour.

The probabilities of throwing two dice are determined by simple mathematics - with each throw, the possible results are from 2 to 12. The most frequent result is a seven (6 out of 36 combinations, i.e. 16.67%). The least common are 2 and 12 (1 out of 36 combinations, i.e. 2.78%). This is exactly why the seven plays such a big role in craps – it is statistically the most common result.

Probabilities of rolling two dice - complete table

The entire mathematics of craps is based on 36 possible combinations of two six-sided dice. There is no other principle at play. If you remember this table, you can predict the probability of any bet and judge whether the casino has fair payouts or not:

The following key facts for craps flow directly from the table:

• On the opening roll, the pass line wins 22.22% of the time (7 or 11= 8 of 36 combinations) and loses 11.11% of the time (2, 3, 12= 4 of 36 combinations). The remaining 66.67% of throws create a "point".
• The most common points are 6 and 8 (each 5 out of 36= 13.89%). The least common points are 4 and 10 (each 3 out of 36= 8.33%).
• With a "point" of 4 or 10, the ratio of "the point falls before the seven" is 3 to 6, i.e. 1:2 - therefore the payout of the odds bet is 2:1.
• With a "point" of 5 or 9, the ratio is 4 to 6, i.e. 2:3 - odds bet payout 3:2.
• With a "point" of 6 or 8, the ratio is 5 to 6 - the odds bet payout is 6:5.
• The probability that the round will end with a pass line win is 49.29%. The casino margin of 1.41% is exactly this difference from 50%.

Important note: dice have no memory. Even if a seven is rolled 5 times in a row (which has a probability of 0.013%), the probability of a seven on the next roll is still 16.67%. This is the rule that "betting systems" like Martingale or Iron Cross rely on - and that's why they don't work in the long run. See separate article betting systems in roulette , where this principle is discussed in detail.

Pass line - basic bet with a margin of 1.41%

The pass line is the most popular bet in craps - and one of the best mathematically in the entire casino. It is done before the "come out" roll by placing a chip on the "pass line" box along the edge of the table.

How it works:

• In the opening roll, he wins at 7 or 11 - payout 1:1.
• On the opening roll, he loses on a 2, 3 or 12.
• Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) becomes a "point" and the player waits until a point (win 1:1) or a seven (lose) is rolled again.

The math: the combination of all possible outcomes gives the player a win 49.29% of the time and a loss 50.71% of the time. The difference of 1.41% is the casino margin. On a NZ$ 0spin you lose an average of NZ$ 0- for comparison, european roulette takes you NZ$ 0and American up to NZ$ 0

Don't pass line - opposite bet with 1.36% margin

Don't pass is the exact opposite of pass line - the player bets against the shooter (the player who throws). It is done by placing a token on the "don't pass" box right next to the pass line.

How it works:

• On the opening roll, he loses on 7 or 11.
• In the opening roll, he wins on 2 or 3 - payoff 1:1.
• At 12 there is a draw ("push") - the bet is returned.
• For any other number, the wait is: if the seven falls before the point, the player wins. If the point falls, he loses.

The math: the casino's margin is 1.36% - even slightly better than the pass line. Socially, however, Don't pass has a downside: at a live craps table in a brick-and-mortar casino, a player betting against the shooter is playing against the emotions of the other players at the table. Online it doesn't matter, but even so Don't pass is less popular.

Odds bet - the only bet in the casino with zero margin

An odds bet (or "free odds") is an additional bet that can only be added after a point has been made. It is done by placing a second chip immediately behind the original pass line (or Don't pass) bet. The best thing about this bet is that the casino doesn't make a penny from it - the payouts match the odds exactly.

Odds bet payouts by point number:

As you can see, the more improbable the point, the higher the payout. For 4 or 10, the payout is 2:1, because a seven falls twice as often. For a 6 or 8, the payout is only 6:5, since these numbers fall almost as often as a 7. With this exact pricing, the casino has an odds bet margin of 0.0%.

Casinos allow odds bet only as a multiple of the original pass line bet - most often 1x to 5x ("1x odds" to "5x odds"). Some online casinos also allow 10x or 100x (especially American ones), but in New Zealand versions 1x to 3x odds are usual.

Practical impact of odds bet on casino margin:

The "pass line + maximum odds" strategy is mathematically one of the best things a casino player can do. Neither blackjack with a basic strategy (0.5-0.6%) nor French roulette with outside bets (1.35%) have better numbers.

Come and Don't come - pass line at halftime

Come and don't come bets work exactly like pass line and don't pass, but can be made at any time during the point phase, not just before the come out roll. In other words: your own come out roll is created for you on the next roll of the dice.

The casino margin is the same - 1.41% for come, 1.36% for don't come. Odds can also be added to these bets (with the same payouts as for pass line/don't pass). In practice, come bets can hold several active "points" at the same time, which increases the game - but also the speed of bankroll decline.

It is reasonable for a beginner player to get by with pass line + odds and add come bets only after he has mastered the rhythm of the game.

Place bets – bets on specific numbers

Place bets are bets placed directly on the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. The player bets that the selected number will fall before a seven. The payouts are lower than the true probability - hence the casino's higher margin:

A place bet on 6 or 8 (1.52% margin) is almost as good mathematically as the pass line itself. The other numbers (4, 5, 9, 10) are significantly worse. Rule of thumb: if you want more active bets during the game, stick to pass line + odds + place on 6 and 8.

Buy and Lay bets - opposition strategy with commission

In addition to place bets, craps also has two lesser-known variants of betting on specific numbers - Buy bets and Lay bets. Both use "true" probabilities (same as odds bet) but for a 5% commission (vig) on ​​the win or bet. Therefore, they are mathematically more complex than pass line + odds.

Buy bets - benefits for numbers 4 and 10

A buy bet is essentially a place bet with a better payout, but for a 5% casino commission. The player bets that the number will fall before the seven. The payout corresponds to the true probability minus 5%:

Key detail: casinos differ in how they take commission. The best option is "commission on win only" - then the Buy bet for 4 and 10 is better than the place bet (1.67% vs. 6.67%). At 5/9 or 6/8, the place bet remains better even in the best variant. Unfortunately, online casinos often apply a commission to the bet when it is registered - then the Buy bet is worse than the Place bet and should be avoided.

Lay bets - the opposite of Buy bets

A lay bet is the opposite bet – the player bets that a seven will fall before the chosen number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10). It is similar to Don't pass, but applied to a specific number. A commission of 5% is paid from the winnings. Payouts (after commission):

Lay bets are in the vast majority of cases worse than Don't pass + odds. They are only used by advanced players who combine strategies for a specific scenario - they are meaningless to a novice New Zealand casino player. The vast majority of online versions do not even offer Lay bets - they are typical of brick-and-mortar casinos in the US.

Center of the table - pitfalls to avoid

In the center of the craps table you will find colored boxes with tempting payouts: "Field", "Big 6/Big 8", "Hard 4/6/8/10", "Any Craps", "Any Seven" and dozens more. These "proposition bets" have one thing in common - an extremely high casino margin:

The rule for the center of the table: never. Not a single bet in the middle of the craps table is worth it. With a margin of 5.56% to 16.67%, the math is comparable to the worst side bets in blackjack or American roulette. For comparison – pass line + 2× odds has a margin of 0.61%, which is up to twenty-seven times better than Any Seven.

Visually attractive payouts (30:1, 9:1) are deliberately understated relative to the actual odds. Snake Eyes (1+1) lands once every 36 rolls - a fair payout should be 35:1, but the casino pays 30:1. The difference goes to the margin.

Overall Craps margin comparison with other games

To make it clear where craps stands in the game rankings:

It can be seen from the table that pass line + odds is mathematically better than any regular bet in other games. At the same time, the worst bet in craps (Any Seven at 16.67%) is worse than anything else in the casino. The difference between the best and worst square on the same table is fifty times. For a full margin comparison of all casino games, check out house edge in live casino games .

Hedge strategies - why they don't work

"Hedge" strategies are attempts to reduce risk by combining opposing bets - for example a pass line + something that wins when the pass line loses. Players invent them with the belief that they "minimize the loss". They actually just combine the casino's margin from the two bets together. The most common hedge attempts and their actual math:

Conclusion: no combination of bets will mathematically reduce the casino margin below the 0.33 - 0.61% that the pass line + maximum odds has. The only way to "protect" yourself from losing is to bet less or not to play. A hedge strategy will only increase the rate of turnover through your bankroll - and higher turnover x same margin= higher average loss. This is the same principle that destroys betting systems in roulette like Martingale or Fibonacci.

Live Craps by Evolution Gaming - How Compressed Air Works

Evolution Gaming launched Live Craps in 2026, becoming the first major provider of live physical craps play for online casinos. The dice roll solution was the most technically demanding part of the product – the dealer cannot physically roll the dice because it would not be consistent across thousands of watching players. Evolution solved this with proprietary hardware:

• Glass chamber ("dice shaker"): two physical six-sided dice are located in a closed glass chamber next to the game table. The croupier controls the chamber with a button.
• Compressed air: after pressing the button, a stream of air is injected into the chamber, which ejects and spins the dice several times. The roll lasts 1-2 seconds. The result will be recorded by sensors under the glass floor of the chamber.
• Statistical randomness: Evolution has published studies showing that the distribution of outcomes is identical to the theoretical probability over millions of rolls (no number falls significantly more or less often).
• Croupier: manages table operations, settles bets, announces results.
• Studio: Bucharest (Romania), 24/7 operation. The table rotates the croupiers every 20 minutes.

Speed ​​of play: roughly 80-100 throws per hour, which at an average of 3.4 throws per round means 25-30 completed rounds. For comparison, the RNG version will do 200-400 rolls per hour (5-10 rounds per minute) - significantly faster.

The minimum bet for the live craps version of Evolution at New Zealand operators usually starts at NZ$ 0or NZ$ 0the maximum bet is 12,500 – NZ$ 0on the pass line. Odds bet is usually limited to 3x original bets.

Craps Myths - Hot Dice, Dice Control and Other Falsehoods

Craps is one of the oldest casino games and over the centuries, superstitions and myths have gathered around it. They make even less sense in an online environment than in a brick-and-mortar casino, but they survive. Most common:

Myth 1: "Hot" and "cold" dice

Some players believe that when a lot of numbers fall (or a seven falls for a long time), it is an indicator of future dice behavior. This is nonsense. Each roll of the dice is independent of the previous ones. The probability of a 7 is always exactly 16.67% regardless of how many times it has fallen or not in the last 50 rolls. The statistical term for this fallacy: "gambler's fallacy" - the belief that random events try to "even out".

Myth 2: Dice control and controlled shooting

In a brick and mortar casino, there is a theory that by training the roll you can slightly influence how the dice fall ("axis grip", "pyramid set" and other techniques). Academic studies are ambiguous - some experimenters (e.g. Frank Scoblete) claim to have achieved a statistically measurable change in the distribution, others (most) claim otherwise. Even at best, this is a less than 1% advantage that requires thousands of hours of training. This is not the case for online craps at all - the dice are generated by RNG (or compressed air in Evolution), so the player has no physical influence.

Myth 3: "Dice have memory" - Martingale and similar systems

Betting systems like the Martingale (doubling down after a loss) fail in craps for two reasons: (1) the maximum table bet limits how long you can double; (2) the casino margin is not changed by the betting system - only a smaller or larger turnover. After 7 lost pass line bets in a row, you would need 128x the original bet – for NZ$ 0bets, that means € per round. After 10 losing bets in a row already NZ$ 0The probability of 10 losses in a row on the pass line is 0.084% - which sounds low, but after hundreds of sessions it will happen.

Myth 4: The "Lucky Shooter" in Online Craps

In a brick-and-mortar casino, the dice are dealt alternately to players - someone who "rolls well" becomes the "lucky shooter". In the online version (RNG and Evolution) the system or dealer always throws. You are just a passive bettor. There is no such thing as a "lucky shooter" - just an illusion created by a short streak of results.

Example of one hour at the craps table

To make the math numbers concrete, here is a modeled hour long session at a live craps table (Evolution, 80 rolls per hour, ~25 completed rounds) with various strategies at a NZ$ 0bet on the pass line:

Observation: pass line + odds has the same average loss regardless of the odds (because the odds itself does not add to the margin - it just increases variability and turnover). This means that higher odds= higher possible wins and losses for the same average long-term loss. The game with 5x odds is more exciting (possible winnings in one session 2,500+ CZK), but also the possible loss in one session is higher.

Craps and bonus terms - does it count towards spins?

Craps is one of the low margin casino table games. In terms of bonuses, it is a double-edged sword: good for the player (during free play), problematic for the operator (when rolling the bonus). Therefore, in the conditions of the vast majority of New Zealand casinos craps to spin:

• Does not count at all (0%): the most common state for welcome bonuses and higher pots. Craps bets with an active bonus have no spin effect - they are "built into the bankroll" with no benefit.
• 5-10% is included: occasional exception for smaller bonuses or VIP programs. When betting NZ$ 10on the pass line, NZ$ 20- NZ$ 0is added to the spin.
• It counts 100%: I have never seen this in an New Zealand casino with a welcome bonus . With specific "table game bonuses" this can happen, but it is rare.

Practical advice: if you are married welcome bonus, do not play during the craps spin - it does not contribute to the condition. Once the spin is complete (or with your own money without the bonus), craps is one of the best choices. Before accepting the bonus, always check the specific contribution rate in the operator's terms and conditions - see detailed instructions bonus terms value .

Practical advice for New Zealand players

• The simplest strategy: place a chip on the pass line, wait for the result. If the point falls, add the odds bet in the maximum allowed amount (usually 2x - 3x the original bet). This covers 80% of the entire game and has the best possible margin.
• Don't bet in the middle of the table. No matter how tempting the 30:1 or 9:1 payouts are. A margin of 9-17% will destroy any bankroll in the long run.
• A place bet on 6 or 8 (margin 1.52%) is a reasonable addition if you want more active bets in one round. Other place betas are significantly worse.
• Bankroll: at pass line NZ$ 0+ odds NZ$ 0NZ$ 0is enough for 2-3 hours of play. Variability is low, most hands are decided quickly.
• Stop-loss and profit limit: set them before the first roll of the dice. At 30% bankroll stop playing for that session.
• For the RNG version: the game speed is 5-10 rounds per minute, with a bet of NZ$ 0this means 125-NZ$ 10turnover per minute. With a margin of 1.4%, that's an average loss of 100 - NZ$ 10per hour - comparable to European roulette.
• For live version: speed is 1-1.5 rounds per minute. The game takes longer, but the average loss is lower.

For a more detailed analysis of table game mathematics in New Zealand casinos, see the article house edge in live casino games . For the overall bankroll, the plan will help online casino budget management . If you're looking for other games with similarly fair math, casino poker games (Ultimate texas hold'em 0.53% of turnover) a baccarat (1.06%) are natural next steps.

Resources and further reading

Table games and margin comparison:

• House edge in live casino games – comparison of all table games
• European, French and American roulette – the closest low margin game
• Baccarat in an online casino – another low-margin game in the New Zealand menu
• Blackjack - the basic strategy of the chart – comparable margin with pass line + odds
• Side bets in live blackjack – the same trap principle as the center of the craps table
• Casino Poker Games - Casino Hold'em, Ultimate, Three Card Poker
• Video poker strategy and pay tables

Betting systems, myths and math:

• Betting systems in roulette - why Martingale, Fibonacci and D'Alembert don't work (same math as hedge strategy in craps)
• RTP and volatility of slots – the concept of volatility analogous to variance in craps
• Aviator - how it works – another game with high volatility and simple decisions

Live Casino, Bankroll and Bonuses:

• Live Casino New Zealand – where you can find Evolution Live Craps
• Crazy Time and Live Casino Show – other popular live products
• Budget management in an online casino – bankroll plan for low-variable games
• The value of the bonus terms – how to check if craps contributes to spinning
• Responsible gaming – limits, self-exclusion

❓ Frequently asked questions about craps

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