A winning payout is not always the amount returned to your rack. Follow the chips through five examples and see what is profit, what is your original stake, and what remains at risk.
These are fixed teaching examples, not predictions or a betting system. No money is wagered. Open an example, then select each step; keyboard users can move between its radio choices with the arrow keys.
Rack money
Chips you hold that are not currently wagered.
Layout money
Your unsettled stakes. Working bets can lose on the applicable result.
Overall gain or loss
Rack + remaining stakes − the starting bankroll. This is not the amount of the last payout.
Reading the numbers: “Profit paid,” “stake returned” and “stake lost” accumulate within each example. Layout money is counted at its stake amount for tracking; it is not guaranteed cash-out value, and contract bets may have to remain until settled. Stakes are not deducted twice.
1. Collect a Place 6 win, then take it down
Point is 5. Your $12 Place 6 is working. A winning Place bet can stay on the layout; the dealer pays profit without automatically returning its stake.
2. Press a winning Place 6 from $12 to $18
Point is 5. This starts a fresh example with $100. Pressing increases the bet; it does not increase the payout already earned.
3. Regress $18 each on 6 and 8 to $12 each
Point is 5. You start with $36 working: $18 Place 6 and $18 Place 8. Regression returns part of an existing stake; it is not a second payout.
4. A $10 Pass bet with $20 Odds on point 5
Point is already 5. The two outcome tabs are alternatives from the same setup—not consecutive rolls. No other wagers are present.
5. A $64 across layout wins once, then sevens out
Point is 5. Place $10 on 4, 5, 9 and 10, and $12 on 6 and 8: $64 total. All six bets are working. This example has no Pass bet.
Off is different from down
Calling an eligible wager off leaves its chips on the layout but makes it inactive for the covered roll or period, subject to the crew’s confirmation and house procedure. Taking it down returns its stake to the rack. Neither action creates a new profit. The examples above use working Place bets during a point cycle; do not apply their seven-out losses to a wager that is correctly off.
A point made does not clear every bet
The Pass and Odds example has no other wagers. If you also have Place bets, making the Pass point does not automatically return all those stakes. A Place bet on that number pays and can remain on the layout. Other Place bets remain too, usually off on the next come-out unless called working and confirmed under the house rules. Track each wager separately rather than treating the entire layout as one contract.
Check yourself before the next roll
A $12 Place 6 wins $14. You press to $18. How much of the payout stays in the rack?
$8. The $6 increase goes to the bet, and $14 − $6 = $8 stays in the rack. The full $18 wager is now exposed when working.
Regressing $36 to $24 returns $12. Is that $12 profit?
No. It is part of the original stake coming back. With the $21 win in example 3, overall gain remains $21 immediately after regression.
Use the lesson at the table
Before the dice move, identify your rack balance, each accepted wager and whether it is working. After settlement, separate profit paid from stake returned. Confirm a press, regression or take-down with the dealer; a change you intended is not automatically an accepted change. These actions alter exposure, but they do not change the probabilities of the next roll or guarantee a profit.
Examples use standard Place 6/8 payouts of 7 to 6, even-money Pass winnings and point-5 Pass Odds of 3 to 2. There are no commissions, tips, bonuses or additional bets. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission Craps and Mini-Craps rules provide the reference rules and payout schedule. Local limits, permitted wager units and procedures must be checked at the actual table. Rules reference checked October 3, 2026.
Beginner path · Lesson 6 of 8: Track rack money and layout money
Check your understanding
Starting with $100, you book $12 Place 6, win $14 and press the bet to $18. Are you up $8 or $14?
Show the answer and explanation
You are up $14 while the bet remains unsettled: $96 in the rack plus $18 on the layout equals $114. Only $8 of that payout stayed in the rack after the $6 press. A later seven-out would leave $96, a $4 overall loss.
Explain the answer in your own words before continuing. Reading this topic does not require you to use the wager or visit a casino.
