Crapless craps rules
Crapless craps — sometimes called never-ever craps — takes one rule from standard craps and removes it: you cannot crap out. On the come-out roll, a 2, 3 or 12 no longer loses. It becomes a point, just like a 6 or an 8.
What changes
| Rule | Standard craps | Crapless |
|---|---|---|
| Wins on the come-out | 7 or 11 | 7 only — 11 is a point here |
| Loses on the come-out | 2, 3, 12 | Nothing. That is the whole idea. |
| Point numbers | 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 |
| Odds on the 2 and 12 | Not a point | 6:1 — the longest true odds in either game |
| Odds on the 3 and 11 | Not a point | 3:1 |
| Dark side | Don't pass, don't come, lay bets | None at all |
| Pass line house edge | 1.41% | 5.38% |
The catch
Never crapping out sounds like a pure gift, and it is not. In standard craps the come-out roll is where the pass line does most of its winning: eight of the thirty-six combinations win instantly on a 7 or 11, against only four that lose. Crapless keeps the eight wins down to six — only the 7 — and converts the losers into points.
Those new points are brutal. A point of 2 repeats before a 7 only one time in seven. So the pass line edge rises from 1.41% in standard craps to 5.38% here. You trade a rare instant loss for a frequent slow one.
The compensation is the odds. Because a 2 or 12 point is such a long shot, backing it pays 6:1 at true odds with no house edge — the biggest no-edge payout available in either game. Taking maximum odds matters even more on a crapless table than a standard one.
Place and buy the new numbers
The 2, 3, 11 and 12 are placeable and buyable like any other number. Placing the 2 or 12 pays 11:2 and the 3 or 11 pays 11:4 — but buying them pays true odds of 6:1 and 3:1 for a 5% vig, which is the better deal on every outside number. The 6 and 8 are the exception: place them.
One more wrinkle: the Fire bet still draws only from the six traditional points (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10). A point of 2 or 11 is a perfectly good point for the line, but it does not advance Fire — which is why the paytable here is 66/665/2666 rather than the standard 24/249/999.
Try a crapless table
Press It! Crapless implements all of this — the repriced Fire bet, the 2-2-3-4-5x odds ladder, auto-buy on the outside numbers — on play money.