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.

The correct payoff for odds bets varies from point number to point number, depending on the odds of a 7 being rolled before a particular point is repeated. The payoff formula is the same whether you take single odds, double odds, or more. Correct odds payoffs are as follows: Points 4 and 10 pay 2-to-1 Points 5 and 9 pay 3-to-2 Points 6 and 8 pay 6-to-5 As an example, suppose you bet $1.00 on the pass line and establish a point of 4 in a casino that offers double odds. You now have the option of taking the adds for an additional $2.00. (You can wager a lesser amount or choose not to take any odds at all)

Once the shooter establishes a "Point" your "Don’t Pass" bet stays in action, win until the shooter rolls a 7 or make his/her "Point". a "Don’ Pass" bet wins if the shooter fails to make his "Point", but loses if the shooter does make the "Point". You can take odds on a "Don’t Pass" bet.

The six and eight can each be made five ways. So if you are up on the don't six, you have six ways to win (on the number seven) and five ways to lose. When the bet is $10 you would win $60, lose $50, and be ahead by $10 after the 11 decisions (on average) If you see a don't player about to take his bet down just say to the fellow: "Don't! Here's 10 bucks, you're even!" He'll take the $10 because that's what his bet is.

Think about it. When you toss a coin fairly you will get an even number of heads and tails in the long run. Every now and then you will get a run of four or five heads or tails, just by chance. After all, every time you toss there is a 50:50 chance of a head or tail coming down – and this doesn’t change depending on what the tosses before have been. If runs of 4 or 5 heads happen, it means that runs of 10 or even 20 can and will happen. Not very often at all, but they will happen. winning and losing streaks are what you can expect occasionally, just by chance. They do not need to be explained by ESP, magic or superior betting skill.