Soldiers in the Roman Legions used to shave down pig knuckles into the shapes of cubes, and toss them onto their inverted shields as a form of entertainment while in camp. Hence we get the term "to roll the bones". We do know that the game we know today as "craps" came to the United States from Europe.

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 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.