Craps has the steepest learning curve in the casino but also some of the lowest house edges if you stick to the right bets. Online craps basics for canadians covers what you actually need to know to start playing — the come-out roll and point cycle, the four bets that cover 95% of correct play, the bets to avoid, the difference between RNG craps and live-dealer craps, and the bankroll structure that makes craps sessions sustainable. By the end you can sit at any online craps table and play correctly without holding a cheat sheet. Canadian-facing operators that carry strong craps coverage sit on our canada online casino shortlist.
The structure of a craps round
Craps revolves around two phases. Phase one is the come-out roll: the shooter rolls two dice. If the result is 7 or 11, the Pass Line wins immediately. If 2, 3, or 12, the Pass Line loses immediately (“crapping out”). Any other number — 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 — becomes the “point” and phase two begins. Phase two: the shooter keeps rolling until either the point repeats (Pass Line wins) or a 7 appears first (Pass Line loses, called “sevening out”). The shooter then passes the dice and a new come-out roll begins. That’s the whole game cycle. The various bets are layered on top of this structure.
The four bets that matter
Pass Line — bet at the come-out. Wins if 7 or 11 on the come-out, loses on 2, 3, 12, otherwise establishes a point and wins if the point repeats before a 7. House edge: 1.41%. Don’t Pass — the opposite of Pass Line. Wins on 2 or 3 at come-out, loses on 7 or 11, pushes on 12, otherwise wins if 7 comes before the point. House edge: 1.36%. Come and Don’t Come — the same bets as Pass and Don’t Pass but placed during the point phase, treating the next roll as a personal come-out. House edges identical. Free Odds — the only bet in the casino with zero house edge, layered on top of an existing Pass/Don’t Pass/Come/Don’t Come bet after a point is established. The casino allows multiples of your line bet (3x, 5x, 10x, sometimes 100x) and pays true odds. Always take maximum free odds.
The free odds advantage
Free odds are the secret weapon of craps. Because they pay true odds (no house edge), adding them to a Pass Line bet reduces the combined house edge dramatically. A Pass Line bet alone is 1.41% edge. Pass Line plus single odds is 0.85%. Plus 5x odds is 0.33%. Plus 10x odds is 0.18%. At 100x odds (rare but exists at some tables), the combined edge drops below 0.02% — the lowest in the casino. The catch: free odds require additional bankroll. A $5 Pass Line with 5x odds is a $5+$25 = $30 commitment per come-out. The math says always take odds at the maximum your bankroll supports; the bankroll discipline says size your line bet so that your free-odds capacity is realistic.
The bets to avoid
Craps tables offer dozens of “proposition” bets — single-roll bets on specific outcomes, hardways, fields, and the various “any 7” or “horn” bets. Their house edges range from 5% to 16%. They look fun, they pay big when they hit, and they will eat your bankroll. Specific edges to know: Field bet is 5.56%; Big 6/Big 8 is 9.09% (when Place 6/8 has 1.52%); Hardways are 9.09%–11.11%; Any Seven is 16.67%. The proposition area of the table is designed to look attractive; ignore it. Stick to Pass/Don’t Pass/Come/Don’t Come with maximum free odds and you’re playing optimally. Place bets on 6 and 8 specifically (not the others) are also acceptable at 1.52% edge if you want additional action.
RNG craps versus live craps
RNG craps simulates the dice with software — fast, low table minimums, available 24/7. Each “roll” is a new RNG event with mathematically identical probabilities to physical dice. Live craps uses real dice rolled by a dealer or shooter with cameras tracking the result. Live craps came late to the online live ecosystem (Evolution launched it relatively recently) and remains less common than live blackjack or roulette. The mechanics are identical mathematically; the differences are pace, atmosphere, and verifiability. The fairness logic for RNG dice is the same as for any RNG game (covered in how rng works in online casinos); the live equipment audits cover dice weight balance and the rolling mechanism (covered in how live dealer casinos operate).
Bankroll math for craps
Craps bankroll math requires planning for the line bet plus the free-odds capacity. A working starting structure: $5 Pass Line + 3x odds = $20 per come-out cycle, with a $200 bankroll providing roughly 20–30 cycles of buffer against bad runs. Each come-out cycle takes 2–4 minutes live, faster on RNG, so a session naturally runs an hour or so before bankroll variance becomes the constraint. The session-management framework in responsible gambling tips for canadians applies directly; set a per-session stop-loss at 50% of bankroll and a stop-win at +50% before you start. Craps’s variance is moderate compared to slots — the wins and losses come in clusters as the shooter alternates between long point cycles and quick seven-outs.
Don’t Pass: the unloved optimal bet
Don’t Pass has a marginally lower house edge (1.36%) than Pass Line (1.41%) and is therefore mathematically the optimal line bet. Most players bet Pass anyway because Don’t Pass roots against the shooter, which feels unsporting at a live table. At an online RNG table the social dynamic doesn’t apply; Don’t Pass is a small but real edge improvement with no downside. Don’t Pass with free odds operates the same way as Pass with odds — the line bet establishes the position, the odds are added after the point, and they pay true odds. Most serious craps players use Don’t Pass for exactly this reason. Live tables sometimes have informal social pressure against it; online there’s none.
Putting it together
Beginner playbook: pick a tier-one operator from canada online casino, find a craps table at $1–$5 minimums, bet Pass Line (or Don’t Pass) every come-out, take maximum free odds whenever a point is established, ignore the entire proposition area, and stop when you hit your session limit either way. That’s optimal play. The combination of low house edge, slow pace, and clear cycle structure makes craps a strong choice for entertainment-budget play once you get past the table layout’s complexity. Combine it with the broader operator filter in canadian online casino safety tips and you have a complete craps starting point — without ever needing the proposition table or any “system.”