Craps Payouts Explained for Beginners
Craps can look complicated when you first approach a casino table. There are numbers spread across the layout, chips sitting in different areas, dealers calling out results, and several wagers offering different payouts. For beginners, one of the biggest questions is simple: How much does each craps bet actually pay?
Understanding craps payouts is important because the amount returned by a winning wager depends on the type of bet. Some bets pay even money, while others offer 6-to-5, 3-to-2, 2-to-1, or much larger payouts. However, a bigger payout does not automatically mean a better bet. The probability of winning also needs to be considered.
Craps becomes much easier to understand once the relationship between the wager, probability, and payout is clear.
What Does a Craps Payout Mean?
A craps payout tells you how much profit a winning wager produces.
For example, suppose a bet pays 1 to 1 and you wager $10. If the bet wins, you receive $10 in winnings plus your original $10 wager, giving you $20 back in total.
If a wager pays 2 to 1, a $10 winning bet produces $20 in profit, plus the original $10 stake, for a total return of $30.
The phrase “2 to 1” therefore refers to the profit rather than the complete amount returned.
This distinction is important when reading a craps table.
Why Craps Has Different Payouts
Different dice totals have different probabilities.
There are 36 possible combinations when two standard six-sided dice are rolled. A 7 can be produced in six combinations, while a 6 or 8 can be produced in five combinations. Numbers such as 4 and 10 have only three combinations each.
Because some numbers occur more frequently than others, wagers on those numbers require different payout structures.
For example, a standard Place bet on 6 or 8 pays 7 to 6, while a Place bet on 4 or 10 pays 9 to 5. (wizardofodds.com)
The payout reflects the probability of the number appearing, although the casino’s mathematical advantage also needs to be considered.
Understanding Even-Money Payouts
An even-money payout is one of the easiest to understand.
A 1-to-1 payout means the profit equals the amount wagered.
Suppose you place $20 on an even-money wager.
If it wins:
Profit: $20
Original wager returned: $20
Total returned: $40
The Pass Line is an example of a standard craps bet that pays even money when it wins. (wizardofodds.com)
Even though the payout is simple, the wager itself has conditions that determine whether it wins.
Pass Line Payouts
The Pass Line is the most fundamental craps wager.
During the come-out roll, a 7 or 11 wins the Pass Line at even money. A 2, 3, or 12 loses. If 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 appears, that number becomes the point. The shooter then continues rolling until either the point or a 7 appears. If the point appears first, the Pa
