Craps Table Layout Guide: Zones, Bets, and Odds
On a live craps game, the felt acts like a map for every wager. Lines near the rail mark safer, low-edge bets, while boxes in the center invite riskier one-roll shots.
Learning which zones link to steady odds and which lean hard in the house’s favor helps chip placement feel automatic.
Over time, the craps table layout turns from cluttered text into a clear picture of how each roll can gain ground or give it back.
Craps Table Layout Basics
A standard craps table layout in online casinos follows a simple mirror structure that repeats on both player sides. The long rectangle holds two identical betting areas facing each other, with a shared middle strip for proposition bets and dealer work space.
US casino craps tables in major commercial markets post minimum bets in the 10 to 25 dollar range and use 3-4-5x odds or similar structures, based on rulesheets from Nevada and Louisiana properties.
Each end has a rail where players stack chips, a padded armrest, and printed zones for pass line, come, and number boxes. Dealers stand inside the “U” of the table, using chip racks and a bank mounted along the center to manage payouts and collect losing bets.
Standard Craps Layout: Zones, Rails, And Crew Positions
Once players understand the basic mirror shape of the table layout, the next step is seeing how people and zones fit together. The padded rail around the outside holds racks of chips and drink spots. Inside that ring, the printed felt divides into areas for pass line bets, numbers, and the center proposition strip.
A full live game often uses three or four staff members and can host around 12 to 16 players along the rail. Each person on the crew works with a specific slice of the layout:
- Stickperson: Controls the dice in the middle, calls results, and manages bets in the center proposition area.
- Base dealers: Stand on each side of the box, handle pass line, come, place, and odds bets for their half of the layout.
- Box supervisor or floor: Watches chip flow, checks payouts, tracks markers, and oversees large wagers near the bank and chip racks.
Seeing where each role stands on the inside of the “U” helps match chip placement with the right dealer straight away.
If you’re new to the game, reviewing the flow of a live round in our guide helps this layout make far more sense, since each dealer position ties directly to a specific stage of the roll.
Main Betting Areas On The Craps Board, Explained
The lower edge near the rail holds the pass line and don’t pass line, the inner band carries come and don’t come spaces, and the big number boxes in the center show where point and place bets land.
- Pass Line: Curved band along the rail where chips go before the come-out roll; pays 1:1 when a point is made after a winning come-out of 7 or 11.
- Don’t Pass Bar: Thin strip just behind the pass line, backing the opposite side; pays 1:1 when a 7 arrives before the point after a come-out of 2 or 3.
- Come Area: Box near the inside of the pass line; chips move to point numbers after the next roll and pay 1:1 when that number hits again.
- Don’t Come Bar: Paired with the come area, but backing the seven; pays 1:1 when a 7 appears before the moved number repeats.
- Place Bets On Numbers: Large rectangles for 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 in the center band; common payouts include 7:6 on 6 and 8, 7:5 on 5 and 9, and 9:5 on 4 and 10.
These zones set the foundation before any player looks at the faster, riskier center propositions.
Numbers Boxes And The Center Proposition Area
Once the basic lines around the rail make sense, attention shifts to the big number boxes and the strip of bets in the middle.
The rectangles for 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 sit between the pass line band and the central prop area. Dealers move come bets and place bets into these boxes, stack odds chips behind them, and track which numbers stand as points. The narrow band in the very center holds hardways and one-roll wagers, printed with symbols for pairs, craps totals, and 7.
Those center bets look compact but often carry much higher house edges than line and place wagers. A pass line bet sits around a 1.4 percent house edge, while hard 6 or hard 8 drifts closer to 9 percent.
One-roll options such as “any 7” can climb past 16 percent. On a typical layout, that cluster of hardways and one-roll bets sits in a tight band between the number boxes, so players can spot the higher-edge wagers quickly.
| Bet Type | Zone On Layout | Typical Payout | House Edge % (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass Line | Curved band at rail edge | 1:1 | 1.4 |
| Don’t Pass Bar | Thin strip behind pass line | 1:1 | 1.4 |
| Place 6 Or 8 | Number box for 6 or 8 | 7:6 | 1.5 |
| Hard 6 Or Hard 8 | Center hardway boxes | 9:1 | 9.1 |
| Any 7 | Center one-roll strip | 4:1 | 16.7 |
| Any Craps (2, 3, 12) | Center one-roll strip | 7:1 | 11.1 |
*House edge figures reflect rules from Las Vegas Strip and Louisiana casinos using 3-4-5x odds at 10 to 25 dollar minimums, plus guidance from Nevada and Washington regulators since 2023. Actual house edges vary by casino and jurisdiction.
Using Odds Behind Line Bets
Odds chips sit directly behind the flat pass or come bet, inside the same box, and track a side wager with no house edge on the roll itself. The table crew lines those chips up in neat stacks, often at fixed ratios such as double odds or a 3-4-5x structure that varies by point.
A simple pass line wager on its own carries around a 1.4 percent house edge on the flat bet. Adding double odds on every point can drop the effective edge on the combined stake closer to 0.6 percent, because a larger share of the total wager now sits on an odds bet that pays true probability rather than house-favored payouts.
A quick walk-through shows how the layout guides those chips:
- A player puts 10 dollars on the pass line before the come-out roll.
- The shooter sets a point of 6, so the dealer centers the flat bet in the 6 box.
- The player adds 30 dollars in odds directly behind the 10-dollar flat chip, matching a 3x structure against point 6.
- If 6 hits before 7, the flat bet pays 10 dollars at 1:1, and the odds pay 35 dollars at 7:6, for 45 dollars total.
Variants In Casino Craps Table Layouts And Multi-Station Setups
Not every craps layout stretches across a full 12-foot tub. Regional rooms and cruise ships often use compact “half-tub” games, where the printed zones run along one long side and a single end, leaving space for roughly 6 to 8 players instead of 12 to 16. The felt still shows pass line, numbers, and prop areas, but everything compresses into a shorter footprint.
Multi-station and hybrid games change the picture even more. Roll To Win and stadium-style setups project a digital version of the classic layout onto acrylic or large screens, while players place wagers on touch terminals.
One live dealer stands at a central dice station, and 20 to 50 linked terminals sometimes all share the same physical roll. Minimums often drop here; many venues promote 5 or 10 dollar hybrid craps limits, and some Roll To Win banks offer up to 10x odds on points under approvals such as the Washington State Gambling Commission’s February 2025 Roll To Win Craps overview.
Those electronic layouts still show familiar lines, numbers, and center props, only mirrored in LED rather than ink on felt.
Poker Craps And Hybrid “Cards Instead Of Dice” Boards
Card-based hybrids keep the betting structure of craps but print layouts that look closer to a poker game. Instead of plain boxes with numbers, some tables show card ranks or suit icons that map back to totals from 2 through 12.
Dealers draw or reveal cards from controlled decks, then point to the matching zones, so the same pass line and come bets resolve on a roll outcome that comes from cards rather than dice. In California and a few tribal markets, these formats help meet rules that restrict pure dice gambling.
Independent math reviews, including publicly available analyses referenced in Gaming Laboratories International materials, place the pass line house edge for regulated 264-card “card craps” shoes near 1.36 percent, slightly below the classic 1.41 percent on standard dice-based craps.
Reading A Craps Table Diagram Without A Picture
A standard craps layout follows a fixed order. The rail sits at the very edge, then the safer line bets hug that border, followed by numbers in the middle band and the riskier propositions in the center strip. Six point numbers, three common craps totals, and one seven sit at the heart of that picture.
- Start at the padded rail where players rest chips; the curved band printed along that edge is the pass line.
- Just inside it, a narrow strip labeled “Don’t Pass Bar” runs almost the same curve.
- Moving inward, a rectangle labeled “Come” waits for new bets after a point, with a corresponding “Don’t Come Bar” alongside.
- Past that, the six big number boxes for 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 fill most of the central field.
- Finally, a tight band in the exact center carries hardways and one-roll propositions such as any 7 and any craps.
How Different Layouts Influence Betting Choices And Risk
Crowded graphics, side bets, and bonus logos can turn a smooth session into a confusing blur if attention slips.
One way to stay grounded is to treat the pass line, odds strip, and number boxes as your default zone, then pause before adding anything in the center. Center bets often trade simpler odds for sharper swings, so players can easily skip them without missing any part of the core game.
Confidence grows when movements stay deliberate. Taking a few extra seconds before each roll to look at chip stacks, confirm whether a point is set, and check that odds sit straight behind line bets reduces rushed decisions at live and hybrid tables.
If gambling stops being enjoyable or starts causing stress, US players can reach out to 1-800-GAMBLER for free, confidential support.