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)

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.

Buy Bet Here you can guess that a certain number will be rolled before a 7. It's the same as a place bet but a Buy Bet pays true odds with a 5% charge with a win. Don't Come Bet Opposite of a 'Come Bet'. Odds are the same. Place Bet Here you can bet that a certain number will be rolled before a 7. The odds are 9:5 on a 4 and 10, 7:5 on a 5 and 9 and 7:6 on a 6 and 8 roll. Come Bet Is basically the same as the 'Pass Line Bet' but the bet is made after the shooter gets point. The shooters next roll then becomes this bets come out roll. This bet wins with 7 and 11 and loses with 2, 3 and 12. If another number is rolled then your counter is moved to the corresponding place (see number 10 on diagram) And for you to win a point must be regained before a 7 is rolled. The odds are 1:1. Field Bet Is where you bet if the outcome of the next roll will be a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12. Any other figures lose. 2:1 are the odds for 2 and 12, and the rest are 1:1. 6 & 8 You bet if a 6 or 8 will be rolled before the next 7. Odds are 1:1. Don't Pass Bet A simple bet, that the shooter does NOT win the game. The odds are 1:1. Pass Line Bet The simplest bet; you bet that the shooter wins the game. The odds are 1:1. Odds Bet This strengthens your 'Don't Pass Bet' or your 'Pass Line Bet' but this bet is made after point on the shooters come out roll. The odds are 2:1 for a 4 and 10, 3:" for a 5 and 9 roll and 6:5 for a 6 and 8 roll. Number 10 corresponds with information in the 'Come Bet'.

In this system, you raise your bet one unit if you lose and lower it one unit if you win, which means your winning bets will be higher than your losing bets. It would look like this in practice: 1, lose and go to 2, lose and go to 3, win and drop to 2, lose and go to 3, lose again, bet 4, win, bet 3 ad infinitum. It looks attractive, but the end result is the same: you will eventually lose your money. A ten loss series would have you down 55 units and you would have a helluva time getting out of that hole.