How to Bet on a Craps Table: The Layout, the Best Bets, the Sucker Bets and the Real Cost in Cedis

Updated 16 Oct 2026 · By the BetGhanaHub team

Craps looks like chaos the first time you see it: a long green table, a busy layout, people shouting numbers and chips flying everywhere. Chale, it is actually one of the simplest casino games once you understand that almost everything hangs on one idea, the come-out roll and the point. And here is the good part: the best bets on a craps table are some of the cheapest bets in the whole casino, while the worst ones are some of the most expensive. This guide walks you through the table from left to right so you know where to put your chips and where to keep them away.

18+ only. Craps is a game of pure chance; no system changes the maths. Cloudbet, the crypto casino we link to, holds a Curaçao licence and is not licensed by the Gaming Commission of Ghana. Read our guide on gambling legality in Ghana before you play anywhere online.

The one idea that runs the whole game

Every round of craps starts with a come-out roll. The shooter throws two dice. Three things can happen:

• A total of 7 or 11 is a "natural". Pass line bets win straight away.
• A total of 2, 3 or 12 is "craps". Pass line bets lose straight away.
• Any other total, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, becomes the point. The dealer puts a puck marked "ON" on that number.

Once a point is set, the shooter keeps rolling. If the point comes again before a 7, pass line bets win. If a 7 lands first ("seven out"), pass line bets lose, the dice move to the next shooter and a new come-out roll starts. Everything else on the table is a side story wrapped around this loop. If you understand that the 7 is your friend on the come-out roll and your enemy after a point is set, you already understand half of craps.

Why 7 matters so much: the dice maths

Two dice give 36 equally likely combinations. The 7 can be made six ways (1-6, 2-5, 3-4 and the reverse of each), more than any other total. That is why it shows up so often and why the payouts are built around it.

Keep this table in your head. When a bet asks you to hit a 4 before a 7, you know the 7 has twice as many ways to land, so a fair payout would be 2 to 1. Whether the casino pays you the fair price or less is what decides if a bet is good or bad.

Reading the craps layout

A real table has the same layout mirrored on both ends so players on each side can reach. Online versions, whether random-number-generator tables or live-dealer studios, usually show one side. The main areas are:

• Pass Line: the long strip around the edge. The main "with the shooter" bet.
• Don't Pass Bar: a thinner strip just inside. The "against the shooter" bet.
• Come and Don't Come: big boxes that work like pass and don't pass, but you can place them after a point is set.
• Place numbers: the row of boxes 4, 5, SIX, 8, NINE, 10 across the top.
• Field: a one-roll bet on a group of numbers printed in the middle.
• Big 6 / Big 8: small corner boxes (not on every table).
• Proposition area: the centre box with hardways, any seven, any craps, horn and the like. This is where the casino makes most of its money.

Bet 1: the Pass Line

Put your chips on the Pass Line before a come-out roll (when the puck says "OFF"). You win even money if the come-out is 7 or 11, lose on 2, 3 or 12, and if a point is set you win even money when the point repeats before a 7. Worked out over all the possible paths, you win this bet about 49.3% of the time and lose about 50.7%. The house edge is 1.41%. On a GH₵20 bet that is an average cost of about 28 pesewas per decision. Not free, but among the cheapest bets in any casino.

Bet 2: Don't Pass

Don't Pass is the mirror image. On the come-out you win on 2 or 3, lose on 7 or 11, and a 12 is a push (a tie, your stake comes back). Once a point is set you win if a 7 comes before the point. The house edge is about 1.36% per bet, a hair cheaper than the pass line. The 12-is-a-push rule is what stops it from being a player-edge bet. Some people dislike betting "against" the table in a land casino because it can feel unfriendly; online, nobody cares, so choose whichever feels right. The cost difference is tiny.

Bet 3: Odds, the best bet in the casino

After a point is set, a pass line player can put an extra bet behind the line called odds (sometimes "free odds" or "taking the odds"). It pays at the true probability:

Because the payout matches the true chance, the odds bet itself has zero house edge. The casino only lets you make it alongside a line bet, which still carries its 1.41%, and caps how much odds you may take. Here is what that does to your blended cost per cedi on the table (calculated across all points):

"3-4-5×" means three times your line bet on 4 or 10, four times on 5 or 9, and five times on 6 or 8, a common limit on many tables. Check the rules panel on any online table; some RNG versions offer odds, some do not, and some cap them lower. A craps game without an odds option is a worse game.

Honest warning: lower house edge per cedi does not mean you lose less in total if you also push more money onto the table. Taking full odds raises the size of every swing. Only take odds with money that is already inside your session budget.

Bet 4: Come and Don't Come

A come bet is a pass line bet made after the point is already on. The next roll acts as that bet's own come-out roll: 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3 or 12 loses, any other number becomes the come bet's personal point and the dealer moves your chips onto that number. Same 1.41% edge as the pass line, and you can take odds on it too. Don't Come is the matching version of Don't Pass at about 1.36%.

Players use come bets to have several numbers working at once without paying the higher edge of place bets. The catch: when the shooter sevens out, every come bet sitting on a number loses together. Many players get caught out here, so count how much is exposed before you add another come bet.

Bet 5: Place bets on 6 and 8 (and why not on 4 or 10)

A place bet lets you pick a number directly and win whenever it rolls before a 7. You can usually turn place bets "off" or take them down between rolls. The payouts are below true odds, and how far below depends on the number:

Place 6 and 8 are almost as cheap as the line bets, as long as you bet in multiples of 6 so the 7-to-6 payout works out cleanly (a GH₵12 place 6 wins GH₵14). Place 4 and 10 cost more than four times as much per cedi. Some tables offer a "buy" bet on 4 and 10 that pays true odds minus a commission; if the commission is only charged on wins, the edge drops to about 1.67%, which beats the 6.67% place bet. If it is charged up front on every bet, the saving is smaller. Read the rules box.

Bet 6: the Field (looks generous, is not)

The field is a one-roll bet. You win if the next roll is 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12, and lose on 5, 6, 7 or 8. Seven numbers against four sounds like a bargain until you remember the four losing numbers are the most common ones. With 2 and 12 both paying double, the house edge is about 5.56%. If the table pays triple on 12, it falls to about 2.78%. The field resolves every single roll, so the cost piles up fast.

Bet 7: the proposition box, where bankrolls go to die

The middle of the table is full of exciting one-roll and hardway bets with big printed payouts. Here is what they actually cost:

Look at Big 6 next to Place 6: the same event, a 6 before a 7, but Big 6 pays even money while Place 6 pays 7 to 6. You get a worse price for nothing. Any Seven is the most expensive common bet in a standard casino, worse than most slot machines. Payouts quoted "for 1" (for example "5 for 1") include your stake, so they are smaller than "to 1" numbers that look the same. These bets are fine as a rare bit of fun with coins you have already decided to throw away; they are a terrible core strategy.

What this costs in a real session

A live craps table resolves line bets roughly every three to four rolls on average. Imagine you make 30 decisions in a session at GH₵20 a bet. The expected cost, which is the average over many sessions and not a promise for tonight, looks like this:

Same table, same time, same bet size, more than ten times the cost depending on where you put the chips. That is the single most useful thing to know about how to bet on a craps table.

A simple plan for a small bankroll

1. Decide your session money first, for example GH₵200, and the number you stop at if you are up, for example GH₵300. Write both down.
2. Bet the pass line (or don't pass) at a size that gives you at least 15 to 20 bets, so GH₵10 on a GH₵200 bankroll.
3. When a point is set, take odds only if the table allows it and you can afford the swing. Start at 1× before thinking about more.
4. If you want more action, add one or two come bets, or place the 6 and 8 in multiples of 6. Not the field, not the centre box.
5. Stop when the money is gone or the target is hit. Do not reload in the same session. Do not raise bets to win back losses; our piece on doubling-up systems shows why that ends badly.

This is not a winning plan. Nothing beats a negative edge. It is a plan to make your cedis last and keep the game fun.

Online craps from Ghana: RNG vs live dealer

Land-based craps is rare in Ghana's casinos compared with roulette, blackjack and slots, so most Ghanaians who want to try it do so online. There are two versions:

• RNG craps: a computer program generates the dice. It is fast, you can play tiny stakes, and some crypto casinos offer "provably fair" dice games where you can check each result against a published seed. Speed is the danger: you can make hundreds of decisions in an hour, so even the 1.41% bet adds up.
• Live craps: a studio dealer rolls real dice, often with an automatic shaker. Slower, more social, closer to the real thing. Rules sometimes differ, for example in the odds limits and which proposition bets exist.

Before you play, open the help or rules panel and check three things: whether odds bets exist and their limit, whether the field pays 2:1 or 3:1 on 12, and whether buy bets charge commission on wins only. If a casino bonus is involved, read the game contribution list; table games and dice games often count for only a small share of wagering requirements, or none at all. Cloudbet, for example, lists different contribution rates for different game types in its terms, so check the current version before you assume your craps play clears anything.

Table etiquette, even online

In a real casino, put your money on the table and let the dealer change it, never hand cash to the dealer directly, and do not touch your chips while the dice are in the air. In live online craps, the betting window closes before each roll; lag on a weak connection can make you miss it, so do not rush a bet you have not thought about. Never chase a "hot shooter". Dice have no memory; a shooter who has rolled for twenty minutes is no more likely to keep going than a new one.

Common myths

• "Dice can be controlled." Some players claim they can throw dice to change the odds. There is no reliable evidence for it, and online it is irrelevant.
• "The 7 is due." Each roll is independent. A long run without a 7 does not make one more likely next.
• "Hedging with any seven protects you." It just adds a 16.67% bet on top of your other bets.
• "The odds bet is free, so bet as much as you can." It has no edge, but it still raises the size of every win and loss. Free maths is not free money.

My take

If you want to know how to bet on a craps table without getting fleeced, keep it boring: pass or don't pass, odds when your budget allows, maybe the 6 and 8. Treat the centre of the table as decoration. Set a budget before the first roll, play fewer decisions per hour, and walk away on schedule. If gambling stops feeling like fun, call the Mental Health Authority helpline on 0800 678 678 (toll-free), or the Gaming Commission of Ghana's toll-free line on 0800 454 545, or read our responsible gambling page.