How to Play Craps

What it feels like

Craps is the loudest game in the building for a reason. It is the one where a whole table wins or loses together, out loud, on the same throw of two dice. Somebody is throwing, everybody is leaning in, and when the right number lands the whole rail cheers at once. That shared roll is the entire appeal — you are never sitting quietly against a machine, you are riding along with the person holding the dice.

The person throwing the dice is called the shooter. That is it. That is the only piece of vocabulary you need to walk up and start. The shooter throws, a number comes up, and there is one simple bet that either wins with them or does not. Everything else on that busy-looking felt is optional, and you can ignore all of it on your first night.

Here is the good news, and it is the honest kind: the simplest bet in craps is also one of the best bets in the entire casino. You do not have to learn the fancy stuff to play well. You have to learn one bet — and then, if you feel like it, one add-on that the house takes literally nothing on.

Your first bet

At the CoinLounge table, look at the bottom of the felt. Running along the near edge is a long strip labeled PASS LINE. That is your bet. Only that.

Here is exactly what to click:

1. Pick a chip. Along the dock at the bottom there is a row of round chips — 1, 5, 25, and up. Click the value you want to bet. The one you pick lifts up to show it is selected.
2. Click the PASS LINE strip on the felt. A chip drops onto the line. That is your bet placed. Click it again to bet more; if you change your mind, the tray has a Clear button (last bet) and a Take Down button (all bets).
3. Throw the dice. The big glowing button says ROLL. If it is your turn to shoot, click it — or just tap the spacebar. If someone else has the dice, the button reads their name instead, and you simply watch their roll decide your pass-line bet along with theirs.

That is a complete, well-played round of craps. Chip on the pass line, dice in the air.

What happens next

The very first throw of a round is called the come-out. Two things can happen, and both are easy:

• The shooter rolls a 7 or an 11 — you win, even money, right away. Nice.
• The shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 — the pass line loses. That is the throw people call "crapping out." It stings, but it is over fast, and the next round is right behind it.

Any other number — 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 — becomes the point. A little marker moves onto that number, and now the game has one job: the shooter needs to roll that same number again before a 7 shows up. Roll the point again and the pass line wins. Roll a 7 first and it loses. That tension — everybody quietly hoping for the point and dreading the 7 — is the heartbeat of the whole game.

Notice how gentle the odds are here: the pass line only carries a 1.41% house edge, which is about as player-friendly as casino betting gets. You will lose slowly and win often enough to stay in the story.

When you're ready

Once the pass line feels natural, three more bets are worth your time. Only reach for these after you are comfortable — there is no rush.

• Back your bet with free odds. After the point is set, you can put an extra bet behind your pass-line chip. This is the famous one: free odds pay at the true chance of winning, so the house edge on this portion is exactly zero percent. It is the only bet in the building the house takes nothing on. This table lets you back it up to 3-4-5x your pass bet (three times on the 4 or 10, four times on the 5 or 9, five times on the 6 or 8). If you only learn one extra move, learn this one.
• Make a come bet. A come bet works exactly like the pass line, but you place it after the point is already set — click the COME box, and the next roll becomes your own personal come-out with the same 7-or-11-wins, 2-3-12-loses rules. It lets you have more than one number working for you at once, and you can back it with free odds too.
• Place the 6 or the 8. Want a specific number without waiting for a come-out? Placing the 6 or the 8 is the friendliest of these — a low 1.52% edge, and they are the two numbers most likely to roll. Skip the flashy proposition bets in the middle of the felt for now: the hardways and one-roll props pay big and look tempting, but they carry edges north of 9%. They are fun tax, not strategy — keep them tiny or leave them alone.

How the money works

Every coin at CoinLounge is exactly that — a coin. There is no real money here, ever. You cannot deposit, you cannot cash out, and nothing you bet is staked with real cash. It is the feeling of the table without the part where you lose the rent.

Your balance shows up top as your coin total. Out in the lobby, tap your coin count to claim your daily coins — a free 5,000 every day — and grab a few bonus coins on top when they are ready. Run low? Come back tomorrow, claim again, sit back down. The coins are there to keep the good part going, not to be protected.

Ready to shoot

Grab a chip, drop it on the pass line, and hit ROLL. That is real craps — the same bet, the same 1.41% edge, the same cheer when the point lands.

When you want every payout, every prop, and the full house-edge breakdown straight from the engine, the craps rules and odds page has all of it. And if the idea of never crapping out sounds appealing, take a look at how to play crapless craps next.

Casino games are entertainment, not income — coins here are free and never cash out. Responsible Play