Craps can be an intimidating game for the beginner. The table seems to have about a hundred different kinds of bets. Critical to the understanding of craps is that it is a game of rounds. The first roll in a round is called the come out roll. Sometimes the outcome of a round will be determined on the come out roll. In particular a 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12 on the come out roll immediately ends a round. If any other total is rolled (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) that number is called the point. The dealer will place a white puck on an area of the table to designate what the point is, in case you forget. If a point is rolled the dice will be rolled continuously until the same point is rolled again or a 7.

The odds bet is the best wager you can make in the game of craps, because the house has no built-in advantage. Some casinos permit players to make double odds, and even greater odds wagers. The odds bet not only has no house edge associated with it, but has no official designated space on the craps table. to take the odds, you must place the appropriate amount of chips behind your pass line bet in the open area of the craps layout.

Basic craps terminology: Shooter: the current dice thrower. Come-out roll: The shooter's first roll. Pass: If the shooter wins his game, by any means, he is said to "Pass". Don't Pass: The term used if the shooter loses. The following illustration depicts the left half of a craps table. The bets to the bottom right, therefore, are referred to as the center bets, as they are actually in the center of a full sized table.

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.