Online Craps

Online craps

If you’re a casino purist it’s likely a tough sell for us to convince you to give craps online a chance. And absolutely -- there’s nothing quite like throwing real dice at a casino craps table.

The crowd is packed in around you, the air is thick with anticipation and the sheer elation that cascades around the table when you’re on a hot streak is intoxicating.

We’re with you on that. Online craps can’t measure up in that way. But, to be fair, it’s not really trying to. Craps onine is all about recreating the gambling game itself and not so much the “atmosphere” around a craps table.

Yes, there are definitely some online craps games with live croupiers you can play via live stream, which will give you some of that flavor. But overall the joy of craps online is taking the casino classic and making it more accessible, cheaper and faster than you can get it live.

Play Craps Online

We’ll get into some of the advantages of playing craps online below but the first thing we’ll say is if you want to play a dice game online, craps is pretty much it.

Sic Bo is another dice game that’s made the transition to the online casino realm but overall, if you want to play “virtual” dice, online craps is the game you’ll come across most.

Unlike Online Blackjack or Online Roulette, though, online craps stays pretty true to its live casino form. There aren’t dozens of online-specific variations that have been developed or dreamed up as they’ve done with those other two games.

Online craps is limited to just a handful of software providers led by Microgaming, Playtech and NetEnt. Variations are minimal and they’re each slightly different in graphics and layout but overall online craps is very consistent across the board.

The bets are the same, the virtual rolls of the dice are comparable and the side bets, odd and payout rates are more or less the same.

When picking an online craps provider it’ll come down to a personal preference for the visual effects of the software rather than the variation in games or payouts it’ll provide.

As a game that doesn’t have too much skill involved and relies mostly on luck to hit a big score, online craps will appeal to those who just want to punt around for a while and have a good time watching the virtual dice bounce around.

With decent payout percentages, though, and a low house edge, craps will always be a quick stop for season gamblers.

Why Play Online Craps?

The advantages of playing craps online are similar to those of playing other casino tables games online:

  • Can get a lot more rolls in with much faster games
  • Games can be accessed 24/7, 365 days a year
  • Minimum bets can be much lower online
  • No tips to pay out when you win big
  • Lots of free online craps out there to practice betting

The major disadvantage is obvious: you don’t get to throw the dice yourself. Instead you just click on the “roll” button and let the computer simulator do it for you.

Does it take a little bit of the thrill of the game away? Sure. But for the convenience of playing at home in your sweat pants and not having to deal with the lines, germs and drunken boors of a live casino, it’s a price we’re more than willing to pay.

Craps Online Free

Where craps online is very similar to blackjack and roulette is that it makes a great entry point for players just learning their way around casino table games.

online craps

If you’re like us you probably stood and watched a live craps table for ages before you felt comfortable enough to try and get some bets down and pick up the dice yourself.

Free online craps takes all the fear and intimidation out of the game and puts you at ease quickly.

When you can experiment with your pass and no pass bets and try out a few of the more adventurous single roll bets - with no fear of looking silly or losing a big chunk of your gambling budget for the night – craps is a lot more fun.

Once you’re clicked the roll button a few times and get a better understanding of what the best bets are and how payouts are made, you’ll feel all the more comfortable when you play real-money craps either live or online in the future.

Almost all the best online casinos offer free craps online with a Flash- or HTML5 based game you can play right in your Internet browser on your computer or phone. Just navigate to the games section on the casino website and look for the “Instant Play” or “Demo Version” buttons under the craps header.

As with most free online casino games, you won’t make any real money playing free online craps but you will get very comfortable with how the multi-roll and single roll betting works – an important step into becoming a regular (and successful) craps player.

How to Play Online Craps Games

One of the major upsides of online craps is the game plays (more or less) exactly as it does in a live casino. So if you’ve ever spent a night gathered around a craps table, egging the thrower on to hit a hard eight or avoid snake eyes, you’re ready to hit the ground running with online craps.

If you’ve haven’t played it before, you likely feel that the craps table looks a bit complicated. And in some ways it is.

Thankfully, though, there is an optimal strategy to craps so once you learn which bets to make to reduce the house edge the most, the table doesn’t look quite so intimidating.

Craps bets can be broken up into two main categories:

  • Mutli-Roll Bets
  • Single Roll Bets

Your initial bets are multi-roll bets. All online craps games start with a minimum bet required on either the “Pass” or “Don’t Pass” line.

Every player at the table makes their opening bet and then a “come out” roll is rolled. Before the come out roll is rolled there will be a round symbol on the table that says “off.”

If you bet the Pass line, you’re hoping that the come out roll is either a 7 or 11. If it does come out a 7 or 11, all the Pass line bets win even money.

If the come out roll is a 2, 3 or 12 it’s called “craps,” hence the name of the game, and the Pass line bets are lost. Any Don’t Pass bets win and are paid 1:1.

If any of those 5 numbers are hit on the Come Out roll, the shooter’s turn is ended and the dice are passed to the next player. (If you’re playing on your own table online, this is just a new roll by the same player)

If any of the six other numbers (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) is rolled on the Come Out roll that number becomes the “Point” number for the rest of their shooting round. The “off” button will then be switched to “on” and be located above that number.

Once any more bets are placed the shooter than rolls the dice until either a 7 or the Point number is rolled again.

  • If the Point number is rolled: Pass bets win, Don’t Pass lose
  • If a 7 is rolled: Don’t Pass bets win, Pass bets are lost

Once the shooter hits one of those numbers, a new shooter takes over and another come out roll is required as is another minimum Pass/Don’t Pass bet from any player. (Again, if you’re playing on a table by yourself you are always the shooter).

With online craps games these rolls can happen very fast if you’re playing at a table by yourself and much faster even with other players than it does online.

More Online Craps Bets:

Outside of the Pass/Don’t Pass Bets there are a few more multi-roll betting options on the online craps table. These bets can be made by any players.

onlinecasinocraps

Come Bets: A “Come” Bet is essentially the same as a Pass bet but after the come out roll. So if a 7 or 11 is rolled, the Come bet pays right away; if a 2, 3 or 12 comes, the Come Bet loses right away.

If another number is rolled, that becomes your own new “point” number. If the shooter rolls the point number again before hitting a 7, the Come Bet wins.

Don’t Come Bets: As you might have guessed the Don’t Come bet is the opposite of the Come bet. Also made after the come out roll, you’re betting a 2, 3 or 12 is rolled. (In this case a 12 is a tie though.)

If another number is rolled that’s your new “point” number and you want a 7 rolled before the point number is rolled again.

“Odds” Bets are also multi-roll bets but are a bit more complicated than we’ll get into here. Likewise for Buy/Lay bets, Place Win/Place Loss, Big 6/Big 8 or Hardways bets.

All online craps providers will offer full rules of the game where you can learn all of the various odds bets and how they can be played.

Single Roll Bets

These online craps bets are for any single roll of the dice and pay pretty high payouts if you hit. The downside, of course, is the house edge is pretty high and your odds of hitting them aren’t great.

We won’t get into them all in detail here but if you try out any free online craps simulator they will all have an extensive list and explanations for the various single roll craps bets you can make. Here’s a quick sample:

Field: A field bet is on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 to be the next number rolled. If it’s a 2 or 12 you win 2:1. The other numbers pay 1:1

“Hop” Bets – a Hop bet is a bet that picks any combination of numbers to show on the next roll. So for example you can bet 2-4 on the Hop for a combo of those two dice to be thrown next.

Horn Bets – 2, 3, 11 or 12 is the next number rolled.

You can also bet on specific number combos for increased payouts. Eg:

  • Shooter rolls 1-2: Pays 15-1
  • Shooter rolls any 7: Pays 4-1
  • Shooter rolls Snake Eyes (1-1): Pays 30-1

And so on. All the single roll bets will be listed on the side of the craps table along with their payout odds.

Craps Online Free No Download

As mentioned there are lots of free craps games out there online and they’re great training for when you want to step up and put some real money down.

Learning how to navigate all the various bets you can make and which numbers you want or don’t want to see rolled can be confusing. Quite frankly the first time we played at the casino we didn’t even understand most of the bets we were making or why any of them won or lost.

Still we had such a good time that the $100 we lost was well worth it. With free craps online, you don’t have to bother losing the $100.

The other nice feature of most online craps simulators is there is no download required for any software. You can click on and play the online craps simulator right in your Internet browser window as long as your Flash settings are up-to-date.

If not it’s an easy fix to download the latest Adobe Flash update and start rolling. If you use Google Chrome you might just have to allow Flash for that particular webpage.

If you’re already at an online casino site, find their free online craps no download games in their free games section or via an “Instant Play” or Demo Version link listed below the game.

Online Craps Real Money 

You’re not actually throwing the dice but playing online craps for real money is as close to the thrill of live craps as you can get.

Especially if the craps software you’re using has an actual, simulated dice roll (instead of just static dice changing numbers with each click), you will feel your heart skip a little when the dice clack against the back wall of the table.

Unlike a live roll, which is influenced by how the payer physically throws the dice, any real-money online craps game uses a Random Number Generator for every dice roll. That means every roll truly is RANDOM.

There are no “hot streaks,” real or imagined, where a shooter spins the dice a certain way and gets certain results. Every single craps roll online is certified as random by the government agency that certifies the online casino.

A very nice feature of craps online for real money is that the minimum bets can be much lower than what you find live.

With 4 physical staff members at a live table (the stickman, two dealers and a host), overhead for craps tables is significantly higher. Online there is no staff or comparable overhead required so minimum bets can be much lower – 20 cents or less in some places.

Check with each individual online casino to see what their craps minimum bet is.

Another nice feature of real money craps online? Pay out percentages average from 96-99% so with optimal betting strategy your return rate is very good.

Online Craps Live Dealer

We’ve only seen online craps with a live dealer a handful of times so it may or may not be currently offered at your favorite online casinos.

How we’ve seen it is typically with one host and one shooter provided by the casino with players placing their bets online and the shooter rolling the dice.

It hasn’t proven to be the most popular online format yet but if there’s a demand for it, casinos will meet it so if it’s something you want ask your casino support team to consider adding it. More on Live Dealer Online Casinos here:

Online Craps Bonus

If you’re looking at online craps as a way to clear any welcome or deposit bonus you can expect an average of 10-20% weighting towards any bonus clearing. It’s not the most efficient way to clear a big bonus but it will at least count some towards clearing it.

Online slots are the fastest way to clear your bonus with 100% contribution to your wagering requirements. More on online casino bonuses:

Craps Online Mobile

There are a couple of ways you can play craps online with your mobile phone. You can start with the no download game on the casino website and, if it’s optimized for mobile, should work well on your phone or tablet. 

The best option is to download the casino site’s full mobile app either via Google Play or the App Store. This will allow you to play real-money craps on either iOS or Android with proper encryption and safety protocols and mobile optimized software.

As you can see from the image mobile craps can be a bit crowded on a smaller phone screen but looks more appealing on a larger tablet. All bets are done by touchscreen in either format and are very easy to see and use.

Online Craps Real Money USA

If you’re looking to play online craps for real money in the USA you can now play legal online craps in four states where proper online gambling licensing and regulation has been implemented:

  • New Jersey
  • Nevada
  • Delaware
  • Pennsylvania (now licensing as of 2018)

Most of the major land-based casinos in each of those states have now launched online casino products with software/poker partners. Some have an online craps game they offer for real money.

If you’re of legal age and are a resident of or visitor to those states you can register a new account with any casino site and play real money online craps.

As a licensed and regulated business with proper oversight, you are assured your money is protected and games are fair. You also have a full battery of deposit and withdrawals options to fund your online account.

Note: There are some online casinos from outside of the United States that do offer their online casino games to US customers but we do not recommend them.

For one, you can’t use conventional payment methods to fund your account. And for another, you have no protections or guarantees you will ever be paid out your winnings or that games are monitored and fair.

If you want to play online craps in the USA, create an account and only play through a licensed provided in one of those states.

Craps FAQ

  • How do you play craps?

    Craps is dice roll game game and players bet on the outcome of the roll of two dice. Craps offers a wide variety of different bets with widely varying odds.
  • What does the name "Craps" means?

    There are several conflicting theories where the name Craps originates from. One is: The roll of two ones (1-1) was called "Snake Eyes" or "Crabs" in a regional lingo of the dice game Hazard which later evolved into craps. Another theory is that the name stems from the french word "crapaud" (meaning toad) referring to the way the game way played in the streets in the 18th century - people crouched over the floor on the sidewalk.
  • What is the best bet in craps?

    The safest bet in Craps is the "Pass Bet". Those bets have a house edge of only 1.4% and pay even money when you win.
  • How can you bet the house in Craps?

    In the long run it's impossible to beat the casino when playing craps. But you can increase your chances of winning by placing only bets with a decent return of investment - i.e. pass / come bets, don't pass / come bets or place 6 / place 8 bets.
  • Is it possible to cheat at craps?

    Back in the days in some shady casinos loaded dice could be used to cheat at craps. But nowadays modern casinos have strong counter measures in place and it is virtually impossible to be cheated while playing craps.
  • Is there skill in craps?

    No. Craps is purely based on chance. There are some bets that are better than others, but ultimately there is no skill element involved to help you win at craps.

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