The shooter, or anyone wishing to bet that the shooter will win, places his bet "on the line" (in the area marked "Does Pass," "Line," or "Win" on various layouts) Anyone betting against the shooter places his bet in the area marked "Don't Pass." Anyone wishing to bet on a special contingency, such as that craps (2, 3, or 12) will or will not be thrown on the next roll, places his bet in the appropriate space on the layout; such bets are called proposition bets. The house maintains a mathematical advantage on all bets of about 1.4 percent, higher on certain layouts and special bets.

The six and eight can each be made five ways. So if you are up on the don't six, you have six ways to win (on the number seven) and five ways to lose. When the bet is $10 you would win $60, lose $50, and be ahead by $10 after the 11 decisions (on average) If you see a don't player about to take his bet down just say to the fellow: "Don't! Here's 10 bucks, you're even!" He'll take the $10 because that's what his bet is.

According to Richard Epstein, craps is descended from an earlier game known as Hazard, that dates to the Middle Ages. The formal rules for Hazard were established by Montmort early in the 1700s. The origin of the name craps is shrouded in doubt, but it may have come from the English crabs, or from the French Crapeaud (for toad)