Types of Craps Games: Traditional, Crapless, and More

Craps isn't just one game. It's a family of dice games that share core mechanics but play differently depending on where and how you're rolling.

The standard casino version, bank craps, is what most people picture. Some versions cut out instant losses. Others? No house at all. And crypto craps lets you verify every roll yourself. Here's what each version actually plays like, which bets matter, and where the math works in your favor.

What Are the Main Types of Craps Games

Walk into different casinos and you'll see different versions of craps. Four versions matter most. Bank craps is the standard casino game. Crapless craps won't let you lose instantly on certain rolls. Street craps is what people play in alleys and parking lots. Online craps is the digital version, including crypto tables.

• Bank craps: The house-banked version found in casinos worldwide, featuring a full betting layout and dealers managing the action
• Crapless craps: A variant where 2, 3, 11, and 12 become point numbers instead of instant wins or losses on the come-out roll
• Street craps: An informal game played outside casinos where players bet directly against each other
• Online craps: Digital versions using random number generators or live dealers, available at traditional and crypto casinos

Bank craps delivers the classic table energy most people associate with the game. Crapless craps removes some volatility, though at a cost. Street craps strips everything down to dice and cash. Online versions let you play from anywhere.

Bank Craps Rules and Gameplay

Bank craps is what you'll find on virtually every casino floor. One person shoots the dice. Everyone else bets on what happens. The casino covers all bets. You're playing against the house, not the other people at the table.

The table layout looks intimidating at first. Dozens of betting areas, numbers everywhere, dealers calling out terms you've never heard. But once you play a few rounds, the basic flow clicks.

The Come-Out Roll

Each new round starts with the come-out roll. The shooter picks up the dice and throws. That first number decides everything.

Roll a 7 or 11, and pass line bets win immediately. Dealers call this a "natural." Hit 2, 3, or 12? Pass line loses. Dealers call these numbers "craps," which is where the game gets its name.

Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) becomes the "point." The dealer marks it with a puck, and now you're in the point phase.

The Point Phase

After the point's set, the shooter keeps rolling. Two things can happen. Hit the point before rolling 7? You win. Roll 7 first? You lose and your turn's over.

That 7 during the point phase is called "sevening out." The table groans. Dice go to the next shooter. New round starts.

Why Bank Craps Is the Casino Standard

Bank craps dominates casino floors because the math works for both sides. The pass line has a 1.41% house edge. That's about as fair as casino bets get. Players get decent odds. The casino still makes money. Everybody wins enough to keep playing.

The social element matters too. Craps tables get loud. Players cheer together, groan together, and share the highs and lows of each roll. That's why people stay at craps tables for hours when they'd leave blackjack after twenty minutes.

What Is Crapless Craps

Crapless craps changes one big thing: you can't lose instantly on the come-out. Those losing numbers (2, 3, and 12) become points instead. Same with 11. It becomes a point instead of an instant win.

The name "never ever craps" comes from this rule change. You'll never hear "craps" called on the come-out because those numbers simply establish points instead.

How Crapless Craps Differs from Traditional Craps

The rule change cuts both ways. You don't lose on 2, 3, or 12 anymore. But 11 doesn't give you instant wins either. Problem is, 2 and 12 are brutal points to hit before sevening out. You'll lose those way more often.

Crapless Craps Odds and Tradeoffs

The tradeoff is steep. Watch the house edge jump from 1.41% to almost 5.4%. Plus you can't even play don't pass or don't come, which are some of the smartest bets in regular craps.

Why would anyone play it? Some players hate watching a 12 wipe out their pass line bet. Crapless craps removes that frustration. Feeling safer costs you money. But not everyone cares about perfect math.

Who Plays Crapless Craps

Some people hate the volatility of regular come-out rolls. If watching 12 kill your bet drives you crazy, try this version. Just know you're paying for it. Just understand what you're trading away.

What Is Easy Craps

Easy craps is the stripped-down version you'll see at some tribal casinos. Fewer bet types. Simpler table. Games move faster.

How Easy Craps Simplifies the Game

Fewer bet types means less to track. You get pass and don't pass. That's mostly it. No prop bets, no hardways, none of the fancy stuff.

If you're just learning, this version won't overwhelm you. Learn the basics here, then move to a full table when you're ready.

Card-Based Craps Variants

Some places won't let you gamble with actual dice outcomes. Card craps gets around this. You roll dice to pick cards, then the cards give you the result.

Plays about the same. Just uses cards instead of pure dice. Look for this in California card rooms or tribal casinos where regular dice games aren't legal.

Street Craps vs Casino Craps

Street craps predates the casino version by centuries. It's an informal, player-banked game where participants bet against each other rather than against a house. No table layout, no dealers, no house edge.

Basic Street Craps Rules

One person shoots and puts up cash. Other players "fade" that bet by covering it with their own cash. If nobody covers the whole bet, the shooter lowers it or the game doesn't start.

Shooter rolls. Seven or 11? Win. Two, 3, or 12? Lose. Anything else sets the point. Keep rolling till you hit it or seven out. Same basic rules as casino craps, minus all the fancy bets.

Key Differences in Betting and Odds

• No house edge: Players negotiate their own odds on side bets
• Simpler structure: Usually just pass/don't pass style wagers
• No table layout: Bets are verbal or placed with cash on the ground

No house edge sounds great. But you've got other problems. Disputes? No dealer to settle them. Cheating? No cameras watching. Crooked dice? Nobody's checking.

Online Craps and Crypto Craps

Play craps on your phone, laptop, whatever. You'll find two main formats: RNG-based virtual tables and live dealer streams with real dice.

How Digital Craps Tables Work

Virtual tables use random number generators instead of actual dice. Over thousands of rolls, the math works out the same as real dice. Click to bet. Click to roll. Watch the animation.

Live dealer craps streams a real table with human dealers rolling actual dice. You bet through your screen while watching the live video. Not as clean as virtual, not as real as being there, but close.

Provably Fair Craps at Crypto Casinos

Crypto casinos often offer provably fair games. Here's how it works: before you roll, the system creates a cryptographic hash. After the roll, check that hash against the result. Proves nobody changed anything.

Some people don't want to just trust the casino. This lets you check for yourself. Add in instant deposits and fast crypto withdrawals, and you've got something different than regular online casinos.

Types of Craps Bets Explained

Craps has dozens of bets. Some give you decent odds. Others? You're just handing the casino money. Know which is which or you'll get crushed.

Pass Line and Don't Pass Bets

Pass line is where everyone starts. You're betting with the shooter. Seven or 11 wins on the come-out. Two, 3, or 12 loses. Anything else becomes the point, and you need to hit it before rolling 7.

Don't pass flips it. You're betting against the shooter. Catch is, rolling 12 on the come-out just pushes. Doesn't win. This rule, called the "don't come bar," gives the house its edge on what would otherwise be a perfectly even bet.

Come and Don't Come Bets

Come and don't come work like pass and don't pass. Difference is you make them after a point's set. Whatever rolls next becomes your point. It's like starting a mini-game within the main game.

Craps Odds Bets

After a point's set, you can put an odds bet behind your pass or come bet. True odds. Zero house edge. Best bet in the whole casino, period.

"Taking odds" means betting that the point hits before a 7. "Laying odds" means the opposite, used with don't pass bets. Casinos cap your odds bet. Usually 3x, 4x, or 5x your original bet. Some places go up to 100x.

Place, Buy, and Lay Bets

• Place bets: Bet that a specific number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) rolls before a 7
• Buy bets: Same as place bets but pay true odds minus a 5% commission
• Lay bets: The opposite, betting that 7 comes before your chosen number

Six and 8 place bets aren't bad. House edge sits around 1.52%. The other numbers carry higher edges.

Field Bets

A single-roll bet covering 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12. It looks attractive because so many numbers win. But 5, 6, 7, and 8 all lose you money. Those numbers come up way more than the winners.

Proposition Bets and Hardways

Prop bets are the flashy ones in the table's center. Any craps (2, 3, or 12), any seven, specific number combinations. One roll and done. House edge? Anywhere from 9% to over 16%.

Hardways bet that doubles (hard 4 = 2+2, hard 6 = 3+3) appear before a 7 or the "easy way" version of that number. Fun when they hit. Murder on your bankroll long-term.

What Is C&E in Craps

C&E stands for "craps and eleven." It's a combination bet covering any craps (2, 3, 12) and 11 in a single wager. If craps hits, you win at 3:1. Eleven? That's 7:1. Anything else kills both sides.

Craps Side Bets

Newer tables have bonus bets. Fire bet, all/tall/small, progressive wagers, that kind of thing. Fire bet pays when someone hits all the point numbers before sevening out. Big payouts because it almost never happens.

Craps Odds and Payout Chart

Best Odds in Craps

Most smart players do the same thing: pass line with max odds. Low house edge bet plus zero house edge bet. More on odds means less you'll lose over time.

How Laying Odds Works

Playing don't pass? You lay odds, not take them. You bet more to win less because you're actually favored after the point's set. Seven comes up more than any point number. Payouts account for that.

Craps Numbers and Roll Names

Craps has its own vocabulary. Here are the terms you'll hear at the table:

• Snake eyes: Rolling 2
• Yo or yo-leven: Rolling 11 (dealers say "yo" to avoid confusion with "seven")
• Boxcars: Rolling 12
• Natural: Rolling 7 or 11 on the come-out
• Craps: Rolling 2, 3, or 12

Craps Betting Cheat Sheet

• Start with: Pass line bet
• Add: Odds bet behind it
• Consider: Place bets on 6 and 8
• Avoid initially: Proposition bets
• Remember: 7 is the most common roll (six ways to make it)

Which Craps Game Offers the Best Odds

Want the best math? Bank craps with full odds. Low edge on pass/don't pass, zero edge on odds. Fairest game in the casino.

Crapless craps? You pay for the comfort of not losing instantly. Street craps has no house edge. But you're taking different risks. Online craps has the same odds as bank craps. Crypto versions let you verify every roll if you want proof.

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FAQs About Types of Craps

What does PSO mean in craps?

PSO stands for "point, seven, out." Shooter sets a point, then sevens out before hitting it. Turn's over. Pass line loses. Next shooter's up.

What is Vegas style craps?

Vegas style just means regular bank craps. Full table, pro dealers, all the standard bets. What you see on the Strip and in casinos everywhere.

Can you play craps online with Bitcoin?

Yes. Most crypto casinos have both RNG and live dealer tables. Deposit Bitcoin, play, cash out.

Is crapless craps better for beginners?

Some new players hate losing instantly on 2, 3, or 12. Crapless fixes that. But the higher house edge means you'll lose more long-term than regular craps.

What is the don't come bar in craps?

Don't come bar means 12 pushes instead of winning on don't pass and don't come. Without it, you'd actually have better odds than the casino.

How many types of craps bets exist?

Bank craps has tons of bets. Pass line, don't pass, come, don't come, place, buy, lay, field, props, hardways, side bets, all kinds of stuff. Most people stick to three or four.