Craps bet guide · Reviewed August 18, 2026
A Horn is four one-roll bets—2, 3, 11, and 12. A Whirl, also called a World, adds Any 7 as a fifth component. Standard Horn house edge is 12.50%; a standard World is 13.33%, despite 7 producing a push.
Sam’s verdict
These wagers buy action across dramatic totals, not good value. Use multiples of four for Horn and five for World so each component is clear, and decide the maximum before the dice move.
Horn rules and payouts
A $4 Horn places $1 each on 2, 3, 11, and 12. Only the next roll matters. If one component wins, the other three lose; any other total loses all four dollars.
| Roll | Winning component | Gross component profit | Other components lost | Net profit on $4 Horn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 or 12 | $1 at 30 to 1 | $30 | $3 | $27 |
| 3 or 11 | $1 at 15 to 1 | $15 | $3 | $12 |
| Any other total | None | $0 | $4 | −$4 |
Across 36 combinations, the two 2/12 combinations contribute $54 net profit and the four 3/11 combinations contribute $48. The other 30 combinations lose $120 total. Expected loss is $18 across $144 wagered, or 12.50%.
Horn High and non-divisible amounts
A $5 Horn cannot divide into four equal whole-dollar components. A common solution is Horn High: $1 on each number and the extra $1 on the named high number—“Five-dollar Horn high eleven,” for example. You can instead request a $4 Horn and take $1 change or use the extra dollar on another accepted wager.
If $5 were split equally as $1.25 per number, 3 or 11 creates $18.75 component profit minus $3.75 of losing components, for $15 net. A 2 or 12 creates $37.50 minus $3.75, or $33.75 before breakage. Do not assume the table accepts fractional Horn units or rounds the same way; call the high number or ask.
Dealer mental keys for Horn, Horn High, and breakage are preserved in the prop-bet payout guide.
Whirl or World bet
A $5 World places $1 each on 2, 3, 11, 12, and Any 7. It is still one-roll action.
| Roll | Net result on $5 World | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 2 or 12 | +$26 | $30 component profit minus four losing dollars |
| 3 or 11 | +$11 | $15 component profit minus four losing dollars |
| 7 | $0 push | $4 Any 7 profit offsets four losing dollars |
| Any other total | −$5 | All five components lose |
Seven pushing the World can feel protective, but it does not make the wager neutral overall. Its weighted expected loss is two-thirds of a dollar per $5 roll, or 13.33%.
How to make the bets
- Wait until the stickperson controls the dice and is accepting bets.
- State amount and wager clearly: “Four-dollar Horn,” “Five-dollar Horn high eleven,” or “Five-dollar World.”
- Place chips where the crew directs; do not throw into working center stacks.
- After a win, state whether you want the one-roll wager repeated, changed, or down.
Some layouts have dedicated Horn or World boxes; others construct the wager across individual number boxes. The wager and paytable—not the graphic arrangement—control settlement.
Worked Horn High examples
Assume a $5 Horn High 12: $2 sits on 12 and $1 sits on 2, 3, and 11. If 12 rolls, the $2 component earns $60 while the other $3 loses, producing $57 net profit. If 2 rolls, $30 minus the other $4 leaves $26. If 3 or 11 rolls, $15 minus $4 leaves $11.
With $5 Horn High 11, an 11 earns $30 on the $2 component and loses $3 elsewhere, leaving $27. Naming the high number changes settlement, which is why an ambiguous $5 Horn should be clarified before the roll.
The high number changes the average price, too
Naming the high number changes more than the largest possible payment. Under the 30-to-1 price for 2/12 and 15-to-1 price for 3/11 used above, the extra dollar has a different expected cost depending on its destination. Assume exact payouts, no breakage and one $5 Horn High wager.
| High number | Four-dollar Horn cost | Extra dollar cost | Combined edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 or 12 | $0.50 | 5/36 dollar | 12.78% |
| 3 or 11 | $0.50 | 1/9 dollar | 12.22% |
The extra dollar on 12 wins $30 on one combination and loses $1 on 35: (30 − 35) ÷ 36 = −5/36 dollar. The extra dollar on 11 wins $15 on two combinations and loses $1 on 34: (30 − 34) ÷ 36 = −1/9 dollar. Add either cost to the ordinary $4 Horn’s $0.50 expected loss, then divide by the full $5 stake.
These averages are not deductions from a winning payment, and the cheaper version is still a high-edge wager. The ordinary Horn’s 12.50% figure should not be copied onto every Horn High construction. First name the split and confirm the printed paytable; then use the payout reference to keep component profit separate from package profit.
A one-roll table sequence
- You call a $4 Horn before the dice move.
- The shooter rolls 6. All four components lose.
- You call another $4 Horn. This time 11 rolls.
- The $1 Eleven earns $15 while $3 on the other numbers loses, so net profit is $12.
- Call the next wager again or confirm it repeats; do not assume a winning one-roll proposition remains active.
Common mistakes
- Calling a $5 Horn without naming the high number or change treatment.
- Forgetting to subtract losing components from the winning component.
- Thinking World wins on 7; at the standard paytable it pushes.
- Confusing Any Craps’ combined payout with separate Horn number payouts.
Horn versus C&E
| Bet | Components | Standard edge |
|---|---|---|
| Horn | Separate 2, 3, 11, 12 | 12.50% |
| C&E | Any Craps plus Eleven | 11.11% |
| World | Horn plus Any 7 | 13.33% |
What a World push on seven actually leaves
On a $5 World, a 7 wins the $1 Any Seven component at 4 to 1 and loses the four $1 Horn components. The winning component supplies $4 profit plus its $1 stake, so taking everything down returns $5: the original package breaks even. If the whole World repeats, that $4 instead replaces the four lost Horn components; $5 remains exposed and there is no rack profit.
Leaving only the surviving $1 Any Seven up creates a different next-roll wager, not a $5 World. Tell the crew whether you want the full package renewed or down. For the earlier two-Horn sequence, the first $4 loses and the second $4 wins $12 net; the combined sequence gain is $8, with any renewed $4 still at risk. Tracking the full sequence prevents the latest winning payment from hiding earlier losses. Use the exposure map to distinguish collected chips from renewed action.
