Stand at any craps table for at least one round and you'll pick up on how to play craps pretty quickly. At the head of the table is the player with the dice, or “shooter.” At the other end is a casino employee who oversees the table, called the “boxman.” Another casino employee, the “stickman,” usually flanks the boxman, and bettors and observers ring the rest of the table. The shooter rolls the dice over a green felt table, across a line at the opposite end. The total value of the two dice determines who wins. In fact, the game’s premise couldn’t be simpler. It’s its layout that gums up the works; with so many different craps bets to choose from, it’s next to impossible to learn craps without making at least a few mistakes.

But since the dice part of the equation is so straightforward, we'll begin explaining the rules of craps there. Obviously with a pair of six-sided dice you have plenty of possible outcomes. On any given roll, the dice will show a value somewhere between 2 and 12. Depending on which craps bets you choose, you could be cheering for a set of numbers or for one number in particular. To start the round the shooter selects two dice from a collection of four to six (typically five). His first roll is called the “come out” roll and it sets the “point.” The point is the number that the shooter will then try to roll again.

Of course, the first thing you have to understand when learning craps is that the round doesn't always make it that far. If the come out roll results in a total of 2, 3, or 12 the round automatically ends with Don't Pass bettors (see below) receiving an instant win on a roll of 2 or 3. If the come out roll is a 7 or 11 then the round also ends with Pass bettors receiving the win. Any other number becomes the point. In order for Pass bettors to win, the shooter must hit the point again before rolling a 7. Don't Pass bettors are hoping for the opposite; that the shooter will hit 7 before the point.