What are the craps odds

Taking "What are the craps odds?" apart starts with the shape of one round. Craps is played with two dice and a crowded layout, and almost all of it makes sense once that shape is clear. One player throws, everyone at the table may bet, and the round runs from the first throw to the moment the table either repeats a number or rolls a seven. The bets printed around the layout are answers to what can happen within that sequence.

Behind a line bet a player may add odds, an extra wager that pays at the true chance of the point repeating rather than at even money. It is capped as a multiple of the original stake, and the multiple is set by the house rather than the player. Odds is the one wager on the table carrying no built in margin, which is why the cap exists and why the line bet has to come first.

A come bet starts the same sequence over for one player in the middle of a round. Placed after a point is set, it treats the next throw as its own come out, wins on a seven or eleven, loses on craps and otherwise takes a point of its own. The don't come bet mirrors it in turn. Several come bets can sit on different numbers at once, which is why a busy layout carries chips on more than one box.

The rest of the layout holds wagers that settle differently. The field is a single roll bet on a group of totals. Place bets sit on a chosen number and stand until it arrives or a seven does. Hardways ask for a pair — two threes for a hard six — before either a seven or the easy version of that number. The middle holds one roll propositions, called out to the stickman rather than placed by hand, and the crew is a boxman over the bank, two dealers and the stickman.

Questions readers ask

What wins and loses on the come out roll?

A seven or eleven wins at once for the pass line, while two, three or twelve is craps and loses it; any other total sets the point.

How is a field bet settled?

A field bet covers a group of totals and is decided on the very next roll, winning or losing in that single throw.

Who works at a craps table?

A boxman supervises the bank, two dealers handle bets around the layout, and a stickman moves the dice and takes calls on the one roll propositions in the middle.

What is a come bet in craps?

A come bet, placed after a point is set, treats the next roll as its own come out and can then take a point of its own; don't come mirrors it.