Informal dice game · Pass and fade · Rules must be agreed first
Street craps is an informal player-banked dice game rather than one standardized casino product. A shooter usually puts up a stake, other players “fade” or match it, and two dice decide a pass-style come-out and point sequence. Exact rules must be agreed before money or dice move.
First: legality and safety
Do not assume a cash dice game is lawful because it is private, small, or called social gambling. Laws and enforcement differ by location, and an unregulated game has no licensed crew, surveillance process, approved equipment, or formal dispute procedure. Check the applicable law and choose a legal, safe setting.
Street craps versus casino craps
| Feature | Informal street craps | Casino bank craps |
|---|---|---|
| Who banks the action? | Players match or fade the shooter | The licensed casino |
| Rules | Agreed by participants; can vary | Approved rules, layout, and house procedures |
| Bet menu | Often one basic pass/fade wager plus side bets | Line, Come, number, proposition, Odds, and bonus bets |
| Equipment | Any agreed dice and rolling surface | Controlled dice, table, back wall, crew, and surveillance |
| Disputes | No standard authority | Supervisor and regulatory complaint process |
A common pass/fade ruleset
There is no official universal street-craps rulebook. One common version works like this:
- The shooter states a stake.
- One or more other players fade that amount, meaning they cover the opposing side.
- On the first roll, 7 or 11 wins for the shooter.
- On the first roll, 2, 3, or 12 loses for the shooter.
- A first-roll 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 becomes the point.
- The shooter wins by repeating the point before 7 and loses if 7 appears first.
- After settlement, the dice remain or pass according to the agreed rules.
Another group may treat 12 differently, use bar rules, require a complete fade, allow partial matching, or pass the dice after different outcomes. That variation is precisely why the rules must be stated aloud first.
Terms you may hear
| Term | Meaning in a common informal game |
|---|---|
| Shooter | The person rolling and usually backing the pass side |
| Fade | Accept or cover some or all of the shooter’s stake on the opposing side |
| Pass | The shooter’s side of the wager |
| Point | The box number the shooter must repeat before 7 |
| Side bet | A separate agreement between players, outside the main pass/fade action |
| Cocked die | A die not lying flat; participants must agree whether and how it is re-rolled |
Questions that must be settled first
- Which come-out totals win, lose, or push?
- Must the shooter’s entire stake be faded before rolling?
- Can several players cover pieces of the action?
- What happens when dice leave the surface, lean, or hit an obstruction?
- What rolling boundary or backstop is required?
- Who holds the money and verifies settlement?
- When do the dice pass to the next shooter?
- Are side bets allowed, and who resolves a disagreement?
A simple game is easier to audit. Adding side bets, changing rules after a roll, using unclear stakes, or letting one participant control both dice and money creates avoidable disputes.
Probability does not change outside a casino
Two fair six-sided dice still have 36 ordered combinations. Seven has six combinations; 6 and 8 have five each; 5 and 9 have four each; 4 and 10 have three each. A different setting does not create a hot hand or make a number due.
The price of an informal wager depends on its exact rules. A no-vig player-versus-player bet can have a different expectation from casino Pass or Don’t Pass because pushes, settlement, and who covers which side may differ.
Practice without an informal cash game
If the goal is learning the point sequence, use the free craps game with virtual chips. Compare the formal casino craps rules and the 36-combination dice math.
Settle a split fade without losing track of ownership
Assume the shooter offers a $60 pass stake and three other players fade $20 each. Under an agreed even-money pass/fade game, the shooter has one $60 position while each fader has a separate $20 position against it. Record all three names and amounts before the come-out; the total fade must equal the shooter’s stake.
If the shooter wins the sequence, each fader loses $20 and the shooter receives $60 profit while keeping the original $60 stake. If the shooter loses, the original $60 is divided into three $20 profits, one for each fader, and every fader also retains the $20 used to back the agreement. No participant earns or owes more merely because several people shared one side.
Partial coverage needs an explicit rule too. If only $40 of the proposed $60 is faded, either reduce the shooter’s accepted stake to $40 or identify a banker who covers the remaining $20. Rolling first and deciding afterward whether the unfaded portion counted creates a dispute that arithmetic cannot repair.
No commission does not make the stated pass/fade game fair
Under the common rules described above—shooter wins come-out 7/11, loses 2/3/12, and otherwise must repeat the point before 7—the shooter wins a complete even-money wager with probability 244/495, about 49.293%. The fade side wins 251/495, about 50.707%. For equal $20 stakes, the shooter’s expected result is −$20 × 7/495, about −$0.28 per completed wager; the fader has the opposite expectation before any fee.
That asymmetry exists even without a casino or commission. It comes from the agreed winning and losing rules, especially the shooter losing on 12. A casino Don’t Pass commonly pushes on 12, so it is not the same as this full opposing fade. If the group changes 12 to a push, adds a fee or uses unequal payouts, recalculate rather than carrying these figures over. Practice the point sequence with virtual chips instead of treating “no vig” as proof of a fair cash agreement.
