Craps The first time you load up Craps into your casino software you'll wonder what on earth's going on! The good news is that the rules of craps are very simple. It's fast paced and exciting and it conjures up mental images of Las Vegas. It's the huge range of bets that puts newcomers off playing Craps but you only need to know the basics, and which bets to avoid. The Rules: The shooter (dice thrower) steps up to the table and rolls two dice. If the total of the scores on the dice is 7 or 11 then he wins immediately. If the total of the scores on the dice is 2, 3 or 12 then he loses immediately. (2, 3, or 12 is known as Craps) If the total of the scores on the dice is any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) then this number becomes "Point". A white puck is placed above the point number on the craps table to make the game easier to follow. The game is on… The shooter then continues to roll the dice, for as long as it takes, until he either scores the point number or 7. If he scores point, he wins. If he scores 7, he loses. A winning shooter stays at the table and starts again, a losing shooter hands the dice to the next player, and the game starts again.

This is known as the cancellation system. Pick a series of numbers, say 1,2,3,4,5. Your first bet is the total of the two numbers on the end, or 6 units in this case. If you lose it, you cancel out the 1 and the 5, add the six to the end of the series and bet the 6 and the 2, for a total of eight units bet. Lose that one and you add the eight to the series, cancel the 2 and the six and bet a total of 11 (3+8) and so on. If you win, you proceed to the inside numbers until they are all cancelled out. Again, a loser, but an insidious one.

You win after the first roll if the shooter rolls a seven before making his point. you lose if the shooter successfully make his point. For example, if the shooter's "Come Out" roll is an eight, the shooter continues to roll until an eight or seven is rolled. A roll of eight loses, a roll of seven wins. All intervening rolls are irrelevant to the "don't pass line" bet.Once either the seven or point has been rolled, the next roll becomes the new "Come Out" roll.

Soldiers in the Roman Legions used to shave down pig knuckles into the shapes of cubes, and toss them onto their inverted shields as a form of entertainment while in camp. Hence we get the term "to roll the bones". We do know that the game we know today as "craps" came to the United States from Europe.