The game of Craps revolves around dice. Wagers are made upon the result of a single roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Craps is a game of probabilities and odds, so any discussion of Craps will benefit by a brief explanation of the probabilities involved. Since the game uses two dice, a shooter (the person rolling the dice) can roll any number between 2 and 12. It is important to understand that some numbers are more likely to appear than others on a single roll of the dice.

Place Bets - You are betting on single numbers. You win if your selected number from 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 comes up before a role of 7. When betting for a number, your wager is placed in front of the number on the craps table. You can bet that your selected number will not come up before a role of 7. In this case, you wager is placed behind the number on the table.

Many players who make pass line bets can't afford to take any odds or full odds behind the bet once the number is established. You can place the odds if the person allows you. The casino has no edge on the odds and in the long run your expectation is to break even. That could be a lot of casino fun with no expected cost! One caveat: Make sure the person behind whose bet you're taking odds fully understands what it is you are doing. You don't want to win a bet only to have the man or woman scoop it up and keep it.

Pass Line A pass line bet is a bet placed before the come out roll (i.e. the first roll of the dice in a new craps round) A wager on the pass line wins immediately if the come out roll is 7 or 11 (naturals), and loses if the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12 (craps numbers) If any other number (4,5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) is rolled, that number becomes "the point." If the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7, your pass line bet wins. If the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again, your pass line bet loses. Don't Pass Line A don't pass line bet is essentially the reverse of a pass line bet, and is also placed before the come out roll. If the shooter rolls 3 or 12 on the come out roll, a don't pass line bet wins immediately. If, however, the come out roll is 7 or 11, don't pass line bets lose. If the come out roll is 2, a don't pass line bet is returned to the player in a push. If the come out roll is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes the point. Once the point has been established, don't pass line bets win if the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again. If the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7, don't pass line bets lose. Come A come bet is placed before any roll of the dice, once a point has been established by the come out roll. Come bets win immediately if the shooter's next roll is 7 or 11, and lose if the roll is 2, 3, or 12. If the shooter rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes "the come point." If the shooter rolls the come point again before rolling a 7, the come bet wins. Don't Come A don't come bet is essentially the opposite of a come bet. Don't come bets win immediately when the shooter's next roll is 3 or 12, and lose if the roll is 7 or 11. If the shooter rolls a 2, the bet will be returned to the player in a push. After the come point is established, don't come bets win if 7 is rolled and lose if the come point is rolled. Odds An odds bet is a "back up" bet on an original pass line, don't pass line, come, or don't come bet. Gold Club allows odds bets of three times your original bets. Field A field bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. Big Six and Big Eight A big six bet is a bet that 6 will be rolled before 7. Likewise, a big eight bet is a bet that 8 will be rolled before 7. Place Win A place win bet is a bet that either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before a seven. Place Lose A place lose bet is a bet that 7 will be rolled before either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Buy A buy bet is a bet that either 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before 7. A vigorish (vig.) of 5% is charged when placing the buy bet. Lay A lay bet is a bet that 7 will be rolled before 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10. A 5% vig. is charged when placing the lay bet. Any 7 An "any 7" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 7. Any 11 An "any 11" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 11. Any Craps An "any craps" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 2, 3, or 12. Horn A horn bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 11, or 12. Hardway A hardway bet is a bet that the shooter will roll either a 4, 6, 8, or 10 as doubles (2+2, 3+3, 4+4, or 5+5) before rolling a 7. Rolling a number by doubles is said to be rolling the number "the hard way."