Horn, World, and the Craps Prop Box: Every Edge, Exactly
Last reviewed: September 2026
The middle of a craps layout (the stickman’s garden of 2s, 3s, 11s, 12s and combinations) is where the table’s excitement and its worst mathematics share an address. Here is the entire proposition menu, priced exactly.
The one-roll props
| Bet | Wins on | Typical pays | True odds | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aces (2) | 1-1 | 30:1 | 35:1 | 13.89% |
| Boxcars (12) | 6-6 | 30:1 | 35:1 | 13.89% |
| Ace-deuce (3) | any 3 | 15:1 | 17:1 | 11.11% |
| Yo (11) | any 11 | 15:1 | 17:1 | 11.11% |
| Any craps (2,3,12) | 4 ways | 7:1 | 8:1 | 11.11% |
| Horn (2,3,11,12 split) | 6 ways | split payout | : | ~12.5% |
| World/Whirl (horn + 7) | 10 ways | split payout | : | 13.33% |
| Any seven | any 7 | 4:1 | 5:1 | 16.67% |
Every single box costs 11 to 17% per roll. For contrast, the pass line at the edge of the same layout costs 1.41%, and the odds behind it cost zero.
Why the middle exists
Props resolve instantly (one roll, one scream, one payout) and the stickman is a professional salesman for them (“dollar yo for the shooter?”). Instant resolution plus big multipliers is the slot-machine formula transplanted into a table game, and it’s priced accordingly. The horn and world are just bundles of the same overpriced parts: packaging four or five bad bets together averages, never improves, their edges.
The honest accounting
A “harmless” $4 horn tossed in every few rolls at a lively table adds up fast: 30 horns an hour is $120 of action at ~12.5%, about $15/hour, likely more than your entire pass-line game costs. The middle of the table can quietly out-bill your actual strategy several times over.
If the yell of a one-roll winner is worth a dollar to you now and then, that’s an honest entertainment purchase. Just do it knowing the tag, and keep the real bankroll on the pass line with full odds. Watch the middle drain a rack in fast-forward; the simulator offers every prop, priced true.