Sunday School
The Craps Table Layout, Explained Area by Area
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Too long, didn't roll. The pass line is the outer band closest to the standing players. Don't pass is the thinner bar just inside it. Come sits above that. The field is a one-roll box. The place numbers are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. The center holds the proposition bets. A full table mirrors this end on the other side.
One end, then the mirror
- Pass line: outer band closest to the players. Odds sit just outside it.
- Don't pass: the thinner bar inside the pass line, usually marked bar 12.
- Come: the open area inside the bar. Come bets start here and move to a number.
- Field: one-roll box, usually 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
- Place numbers: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.
- Proposition box: hardways and one-roll bets, toward the center of the table.
A casino craps table is a tub with a layout printed twice, once at each end, plus a shared center. You only have to learn one end. The other end is the same drawing facing the other way. Home felts sometimes print a single end, which is enough for a dining table.
Stand at the rail and read from the outside in. The first band under your hands is the pass line. The game is named for a bad roll, but the layout is organized around the pass line because that is where most of the money sits. If you can find that band, you can find everything else by walking inward.
Dealers will not enjoy a chip tossed into the middle from four feet away. Set the bet down in the right area, or hand it to a dealer and say the bet. At home, the same habit saves arguments. The diagram on this page is one end, simplified, with the words in the same places you should look for them on a felt.
Pass line and don't pass
The pass line runs along the outside of the layout, nearest the players. A pass line bet is placed in that band before the come-out. After a point is set, odds sit behind it, in the open space just outside the pass line, closer to you. Some layouts print an odds area. Many do not. The empty space is the area.
Don't pass is the strip just inside the pass line. It often says 'don't pass bar 12' or 'bar 12'. That bar is the rule that a come-out 12 pushes instead of winning for the don't bettor. It is why the don't pass edge is 1.36 percent rather than a flat mirror of the pass line's 1.41 percent. If your felt bars 2 instead of 12, the edge is the same idea. Read the words that are actually printed.
Do not put a don't pass bet on the pass line because the colors look similar. The line you touch is the bet you made. A home layout should use the same wording a casino uses, not a cute rewrite that moves the bar.
Come and don't come
The come area is the large open region inside the don't pass bar. A come bet starts there. It is a pass line that begins on the next roll, even if a point is already on. If that roll sets a come-point, the dealer moves your come bet up into the point box for that number. Odds for a come bet sit on top of it, usually offset so the dealer can see both.
Don't come is a smaller box, often at the corner of the come area. It behaves like don't pass. A come-out style win and loss applies to the roll you start it on, and a 12 is usually barred. After that, a 7 wins and the number loses.
New players can skip come bets for the first session. The pass line teaches the round. Come bets teach you that several points can be working at once. That is the whole trick, and it is easier to see on a layout than in a paragraph. Our beginner guide stays on the pass line on purpose.
Field and the place numbers
The field is a one-roll box. The numbers in it are usually 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12. If the next roll is one of those, the field wins. If it is 5, 6, 7 or 8, the field loses. Two and 12 often pay double. On some felts, one of them pays triple. Double on both is a 5.56 percent edge. Triple on one of them is 2.78 percent. The number is printed on the felt. Believe the felt, then check it against the payout chart.
Above or beside the field, the place numbers are printed as boxes: 4, 5, SIX, 8, NINE, 10. Six and eight are often spelled out so a dealer, or a tired host, does not mix them with 9. A place bet does not start in the come area. It sits on the number. It wins if that number rolls before a 7, and it loses on a 7.
Place 6 and place 8 pay 7 to 6. The edge is 1.52 percent. Place 5 and 9 pay 7 to 5, about 4 percent. Place 4 and 10 pay 9 to 5, about 6.67 percent. Buy bets on 4 or 10 pay true odds and charge a commission. The layout may or may not spell that out. If you host, say the commission out loud. Five percent of a win, or five percent of the bet up front, are different deals.
The proposition box
The center of the table is the proposition box. Hardways live here: hard 4, hard 6, hard 8, hard 10. A hard 8 is 4 and 4. An easy 8 is any other way to make 8, and it loses the hardway. Any seven, any craps, yo (11), ace-deuce (3), aces (2) and twelve are usually here too. These are one-roll bets except the hardways, which stay up until they win or lose.
Any seven pays 4 to 1. True odds are 5 to 1. The edge is 16.67 percent. It is the most expensive common bet on the glass. The others in the box are mostly around 9 to 14 percent. They are priced as entertainment. Treat them that way, or skip them.
Some older layouts still print Big 6 and Big 8 in the corners. They pay even money on a 6 or 8 before a 7. That is a worse version of placing the 6 or 8. The edge is 9.09 percent. If you are buying a felt, one without Big 6 and Big 8 is easier to teach. If your felt has them, you can still refuse to use the ink.
Puck, rail and the stick
The puck is a marker with two faces, ON and OFF. OFF means the next roll is a come-out. ON means a point is set, and the puck sits on that number. Place bets are sometimes off on the come-out unless the player calls them working. Come odds are off on the come-out in most casinos. A home game should copy one rule and stick to it. Write it on a card if the group is new.
The rail is the grooved ledge where players keep chips. It is not a bet. A chip on the rail is yours. A chip on the layout is a wager. That distinction prevents the oldest argument in a home game.
The stick is a long hook the stick person uses to retrieve the dice and to push them to the shooter. You do not need one to play. You do need a rule that only the shooter touches the dice when they are in the center. Hands in the landing zone get hit, and the roll does not count if a die is grabbed or cocked against a chip. Call it no roll and throw again.
What to check before you buy a felt
Measure the table. A 36 by 72 inch layout fits many dining tables and is a common home size. Smaller mats exist for card tables. The listing should give inches, not a lifestyle word.
Read the field. Confirm whether 2 and 12 pay double or whether one pays triple. Read the don't pass bar. Confirm the place numbers are the standard six, not a novelty set that drops the 4. A pretty color does not fix a wrong line.
If you want the full tub, that is a table, not a felt. Freight, rails and a lead time belong on that listing. Until those facts exist, a layout on a table you already own is the honest way to play. Hosting notes live in how to host a craps night.