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.

The shooter, or anyone wishing to bet that the shooter will win, places his bet "on the line" (in the area marked "Does Pass," "Line," or "Win" on various layouts) Anyone betting against the shooter places his bet in the area marked "Don't Pass." Anyone wishing to bet on a special contingency, such as that craps (2, 3, or 12) will or will not be thrown on the next roll, places his bet in the appropriate space on the layout; such bets are called proposition bets. The house maintains a mathematical advantage on all bets of about 1.4 percent, higher on certain layouts and special bets.

Pass Line A pass line bet is a bet placed before the come out roll (i.e. the first roll of the dice in a new craps round) A wager on the pass line wins immediately if the come out roll is 7 or 11 (naturals), and loses if the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12 (craps numbers) If any other number (4,5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) is rolled, that number becomes "the point." If the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7, your pass line bet wins. If the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again, your pass line bet loses. Don't Pass Line A don't pass line bet is essentially the reverse of a pass line bet, and is also placed before the come out roll. If the shooter rolls 3 or 12 on the come out roll, a don't pass line bet wins immediately. If, however, the come out roll is 7 or 11, don't pass line bets lose. If the come out roll is 2, a don't pass line bet is returned to the player in a push. If the come out roll is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes the point. Once the point has been established, don't pass line bets win if the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling the point again. If the shooter rolls the point again before rolling a 7, don't pass line bets lose. Come A come bet is placed before any roll of the dice, once a point has been established by the come out roll. Come bets win immediately if the shooter's next roll is 7 or 11, and lose if the roll is 2, 3, or 12. If the shooter rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number becomes "the come point." If the shooter rolls the come point again before rolling a 7, the come bet wins. Don't Come A don't come bet is essentially the opposite of a come bet. Don't come bets win immediately when the shooter's next roll is 3 or 12, and lose if the roll is 7 or 11. If the shooter rolls a 2, the bet will be returned to the player in a push. After the come point is established, don't come bets win if 7 is rolled and lose if the come point is rolled. Odds An odds bet is a "back up" bet on an original pass line, don't pass line, come, or don't come bet. Gold Club allows odds bets of three times your original bets. Field A field bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. Big Six and Big Eight A big six bet is a bet that 6 will be rolled before 7. Likewise, a big eight bet is a bet that 8 will be rolled before 7. Place Win A place win bet is a bet that either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before a seven. Place Lose A place lose bet is a bet that 7 will be rolled before either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Buy A buy bet is a bet that either 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before 7. A vigorish (vig.) of 5% is charged when placing the buy bet. Lay A lay bet is a bet that 7 will be rolled before 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10. A 5% vig. is charged when placing the lay bet. Any 7 An "any 7" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 7. Any 11 An "any 11" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 11. Any Craps An "any craps" bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 2, 3, or 12. Horn A horn bet is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 11, or 12. Hardway A hardway bet is a bet that the shooter will roll either a 4, 6, 8, or 10 as doubles (2+2, 3+3, 4+4, or 5+5) before rolling a 7. Rolling a number by doubles is said to be rolling the number "the hard way."

On the "Come Out" roll, the "Pass Line" bet wins if the shooter rolls a 7 or an 11. The bet loses automatically if the shooter rolls 2, 3 or 12. This is known as "rolling craps". If the shooter rolls 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 the shooter must roll this same number again (to win) before rolling the number 7. Rolling any of these numbers on the "Come Out" roll is called "establishing the "Point". Any number so rolled is thereafter referred to as the "Point".

As with all table games, you will begin by changing your cash money into gaming chips. In Craps you do this by throwing your money on the table and yelling, "change". If the table is playing well there will be a lot of people crowding around and a lot of noise, so make sure you yell out. it is a good idea to wait and ask for change between rolls of the dice.