The inside walls of the table are covered with a serrated egg-carton like foam, designed to make the dice bounce around to assure randomness. Each throw of the dice is called a "roll". Players take turn rolling the dice, clockwise around the table, and the player rolling at any given time is called the "shooter". When a new shooter is given the dice, his or her first roll is called the ""Come Out"" roll. This begins a new series of rolls by that shooter and lasts for as long as that shooter continues to make winning rolls.

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.