The game of craps is the most popular dice game in the United States at the moment there are a few different theories about its origin. Dice games can be traced back to the roman times with shaved pigs knuckles being used as the dice. Craps however was based on the game hazard, which was popular in the 17th and 18th century in England. The name craps is believed to have derived from the English crabs which was the name for the throw of aces or ace-deuce. The game moved over to the United States when the French moved to New Orleans and the French pronounced the game craps and in there version of the game the player throws against the house and not another player like the English version of the game. The game was very popular on the Mississippi river boats and it was a simplified version of modern day craps that was spread about the United States. There are two modern day versions of craps played today. Street craps has more in common with the riverboat game than Bank craps and it is so named as it can be played on the street. A shooter establishes a point, then tries to make that point. Bettors either bet with the shooter or against the shooter. Someone must cover the bet for the shooter in order for the game to progress. Bank craps is the form played in the casinos and has a more complicated form of betting with the house covering the bets.

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.

Don't Pass Line Bet - The reverse of the Pass Line bet. You are betting that the first role of the dice will not add up to 7 or 11. A 2 or 3 wins. A 12 causes a "Push" or "Standoff" where no one wins. If a "Point" is established, you are betting that the shooter will not "Make" or role his or her "Point" again before rolling a 7. Come Bets - This bet is made after the "Point" has been established and is exactly like the "Pass Line" bet. You win if the "Shooter" roles a "Natural" 7 or 11 and lose on 2, 3, or 11, called "Craps." You place your wager in the area marked "Come" on the craps table. Your wager remains here unless a "Point" number is rolled. The dealer then moves your wager to the number that was rolled on the table. This same number must be rolled again before a 7 comes for you to win.

The game of Craps revolves around dice. Wagers are made upon the result of a single roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Craps is a game of probabilities and odds, so any discussion of Craps will benefit by a brief explanation of the probabilities involved. Since the game uses two dice, a shooter (the person rolling the dice) can roll any number between 2 and 12. It is important to understand that some numbers are more likely to appear than others on a single roll of the dice.