How to Play Craps at Home with Friends
Craps is the one casino game that is better with a crowd. Everyone is rooting for the same dice, everyone has chips on the table, and a good roll belongs to the whole room. If you’ve been wondering how to play craps at home with friends, the answer is mostly about the people: who runs the table, what you’re playing for, and how you keep it fun for everyone.
This guide covers who should deal, a tournament-night format that works for a mixed group, and a few side bets and house rules.
Start with the basics
You don’t need everyone to be an expert, but you do need to know the core: on the come-out roll a 7 or 11 wins the Pass Line and a 2, 3 or 12 loses, and any other number becomes the point. The shooter keeps rolling until the point repeats (a win) or a 7 shows up first (a seven-out, and the dice move on). If you want a printable refresher, our free Deal It At Home cheat sheets cover every roll.
Who deals?
Every home table needs a dealer, and the answer is simple: whoever is most fluent at dealing. Taking bets, paying winners and moving Come bets is a skill, and it’s the part that makes a home game feel like a casino.
- Can a few people deal? Share the load. Rotate the dealer every few shooters, or let whoever just sevened out take the stick.
- Can only one person deal? Then you’re the guy. You’ll probably deal the whole time while your friends play, so keep the first few games simple and stick to the basics. It’s also a good opportunity to teach others, so next time or next round they can try their hand at it.
Game idea: the tournament night
This is how I do it. A tournament makes sure everyone starts equal and everyone shoots, and it gives each player something to chase. Customize it any way you all decide to: change the buy-in, the number of times each person shoots, or the prizes to fit your group.
- Buy in: each player puts in $20 to $50 and gets 1,000 in chips.
- Shoot: every player shoots 2 to 4 times. Agree on the number before the first roll.
- Split the pot at the end:
| Prize | Share of pot | Goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Largest bankroll | 50% | The player with the most chips left |
| Longest hand | 25% | The shooter with the longest single hand. Tie-breaker: most points made |
| Most total rolls | 25% | The highest total rolls across all of a player’s hands |
Side bets between friends
These are bets made between players instead of against the house.
- Hand length: bet on whether a hand will run past a set number of rolls. 4-to-1 for 13 or more rolls is a fun payout. Roughly one hand in five gets there, so it’s close to even.
- PSO (point-seven-out): the shooter sets a point and sevens out without making it. A PSO side bet at 6-to-1 is a fun one. Agree on the exact definition up front, such as whether a natural before the point counts.
- Cover the long shots: a player can act as the bank for certain bets that the house would normally pay, like the All-Tall-Small. An alternative is that the person who just rolled automatically covers the All-Tall-Small, for some extra excitement.
The chip toss
Here’s a purely-for-fun house rule. The shooter, and only the shooter, can choose to throw a chip at the dice to try to change a seven. The house keeps the chip no matter what, and it usually starts with a $25 chip. It turns a seven-out into a moment, but we wouldn’t use it in a real-money game.
Keep it friendly. Laws about pooled buy-ins and side bets vary by location. Check yours, keep the stakes small, and play for fun. Bragging rights count as a prize.
What Craps@Home adds to your “friendly” home game
The more your game looks like a tournament, the more bookkeeping there is. Craps@Home does it for you, so you can focus on the dice and the people around the table. Call the rolls out loud, and the app keeps score.
- Whose turn it is to shoot. The app tracks the shooter rotation, so there’s never a debate about who has the dice.
- The longest hand rolled. You’ll always know who is holding the record for the night.
- Total rolls per shooter across the match. The numbers behind the “most total rolls” prize, ready when you need them.
- Most points. The tie-breaker for your longest-hand prize, no counting needed.
- All-Tall-Small and Fire bets. Side bets that add juice to the bankroll, tracked as the hand unfolds.
- A big-screen TV view. Connect a large smart TV to the app and get a customized view designed for tournament play. See the big-screen view at craps-at-home.com/tv.
- And more. A leaderboard, shooter stats, hot numbers and streaks.
Every stat prize in the tournament above is a number Craps@Home already tracks. Pick your format, start the match and let the app keep the record.
Ready to host? Gather your friends, grab the dice, and let Craps@Home keep score.
Start a Game