Online craps comes in three shapes: RNG software that deals to you alone, live-dealer tables streaming a real crew and real dice, and bubble craps, where physical dice bounce inside a sealed dome. The bet math is identical across all three — the pass line costs 1.41% and the free odds bet behind it costs nothing. What the format changes is pace, minimums, and how quickly that edge collects.
Online craps formats compared: RNG, live dealer and bubble
| Format | Dice source | Typical minimum | Decisions per hour | Social layer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RNG craps | Certified random number generator | $0.10–$1 | 60+, you control the roll button | None |
| Live-dealer craps | Physical dice, stick-thrown or machine-launched on camera | $5–$10 | ~30 | Dealer audio, chat, shared roll |
| Bubble craps | Physical dice fired inside a sealed dome | $1–$5 where offered | ~40 | Visible to others, no chat |
Decision counts are our estimates from a live table's roughly 100 rolls per hour and an average of 3.4 rolls per pass-line decision. RNG pace has no upper bound beyond how fast you click.
Minimums are the practical dividing line. A beginner can run the pass line, set a point and learn where odds go for a few dollars total on an RNG table. The same twenty minutes at a $10 live table costs real money and happens in front of an audience.
"Dice" at a crypto casino is a different game
Crypto originals lobbies sell a game called dice: a slider sets a win probability against a provably fair number draw. It shares nothing with craps except the word — different math, different page. Craps at crypto casinos sits in the live-dealer or table-games section, not the originals tab.
Are the dice actually random in online craps?
Each format answers this differently, and only one of them is worth arguing about.
- RNG tables run a random number generator that a testing lab has certified against the game's stated probabilities. There are no physical dice to inspect; the audit is the guarantee.
- Live tables throw real dice on camera, either by a stickman or by a machine launcher. You can watch every roll land.
- Bubble tables fire dice with air inside a sealed dome. Nothing touches them, including you.
Rule differences that change the cost
The formats share a rulebook, but individual tables differ on four points, and one of them dominates.
- Odds multiple. A table capping free odds at 1x is a much more expensive game than one offering 3-4-5x, because the odds bet is the only zero-edge wager available. Check this before anything else — details in our guide to the craps odds bet.
- Place versus buy on the numbers. Some software offers both; some simplifies to one bet per number and pays the better of the two rates — 7:6 on the 6 and 8, 7:5 on the 5 and 9, 39:20 on the 4 and 10. The Wizard of Odds practice table uses exactly that simplification.
- Commission timing on lay bets. Charging the 5% up front on the possible win is standard; some layouts charge on the win only. The up-front version costs slightly more.
- Field payouts. A field paying 3:1 on the 12 instead of 2:1 cuts that bet's edge roughly in half. It is still a bet worth skipping, along with the rest of the centre of the table — priced out in craps bets to skip.
Stakes, pace and hourly cost
Edge is a rate, not a fee. It bills per decision, so the fastest format is the most expensive one at equal stakes.
A $5 pass line bet carries an expected loss of about 7 cents per decision. At a live table's roughly 30 decisions an hour, that is about $2.12. Click through 60 decisions an hour on RNG software and the same bet costs about $4.24 — identical game, double the bill, because you removed the dealer, the chip payouts and the other players from the clock.
That cuts both ways. RNG's speed is what makes it a cheap classroom at $0.50 a bet and an expensive habit at $10 a bet.
Which format fits which player
- Learning the game: RNG, at the lowest available stake or a free-play table. The pass line round, the odds workflow and the layout geography are all learnable solo in twenty minutes.
- Wanting the atmosphere: live dealer. The communal roar is the one thing software genuinely cannot reproduce, and craps is the most social game on a casino floor.
- Wanting a low minimum with real dice: bubble craps, where you can find it.
- Playing at a crypto casino: check the live-dealer lobby. Craps studios are rarer than blackjack or roulette because a craps table is large, staff-heavy and slow per betting decision, so studios allocate floor space to higher-volume formats first.
How likely is it to roll a 7 in craps?
Two dice produce 36 combinations. Six of them total seven — 1-6, 2-5, 3-4 and their reverses — which is 16.67%, or one roll in six. No other total appears as often.
| Total | Combinations | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 6 | 16.7% |
| 6 or 8 | 5 each | 13.9% each |
| 5 or 9 | 4 each | 11.1% each |
| 4 or 10 | 3 each | 8.3% each |
| 2 or 12 | 1 each | 2.8% each |
That single number explains the whole game. On the come-out roll a seven wins the pass line; after a point is set, it loses. The pass line's 1.41% edge is simply the gap between those two roles.
How to play craps with $100
$100 covers a session at a $5 table or a long evening at an RNG $1 table. The procedure is the same either way:
- Bet the table minimum on the pass line before the come-out roll.
- If the shooter makes a point, back it with free odds at the largest multiple your bankroll tolerates.
- Leave the centre of the table alone.
- Repeat. Set a stop-loss before you start, not after the third bad roll.
Odds change how much money sits on the felt without changing what you expect to lose:
| Odds taken | Average at risk per round | Expected loss per round | Edge on total wagered |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | $5.00 | 7¢ | 1.41% |
| 2x | $11.67 | 7¢ | 0.61% |
| 3-4-5x | $18.89 | 7¢ | 0.37% |
Our derivation, assuming a $5 pass line bet and odds placed on every established point. Averages account for the one-third of come-out rolls that resolve immediately.
Read the last column carefully. Full odds make you look like a bigger bettor and make your swings wider, but the expected cost of the round never moves off 7 cents. With $100 and 3-4-5x odds, you are risking roughly $19 a round — five or six rounds of exposure, which is thin. At 2x odds the same bankroll stretches to eight or nine. Pick the multiple your bankroll can survive, not the one the table allows.
The full round-by-round mechanics live in our guide to playing craps online.