Basically Craps is a game where players bet on a shooter making his/her 'point' or not making his/her point. You bet with the shooter when you bet that they will make their point and against the shooter (with the house) when you bet that they will not make their point. The shooter throws two six sided dice across the Craps table (casinos insist that the dice bounce off the far wall to ensure a fair roll). Casino also insist that you hold the dice in only one hand and that you keep the dice above the table at all times (to prevent cheaters from switching the dice with a "loaded" set).

Players don't have to roll. If they don't want to throw they simply decline and the stickman will pass the dice on to the player on his/her left for the next game.

For the shooters first roll (called the come-out roll) the shooter wants to throw a 7 or 11 to achieve an instant win. The shooter wants to avoid throwing a 2, 3 or 12 because this is an instant loss. If the shooter throws any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) that number becomes the Point number. If the shooter rolls the Point number before he/she rolls a 7 then you have a win. If the shooter throws a 7 before he/she rolls the Point then you have a loss. At this stage of the game no other numbers matter, just the Point and the 7.

After the shooter has made his/her come-out roll the dealer will place a disk white side up on the point number on the table. This tells others that the next roll is not a come-out roll (this is important for some of the bets) and tells what the Point is. When the shooter loses the disk is placed on the 12 black side up to indicate that the next roll will be a come-out roll for the next player. The next shooter is the player to the left of the losing shooter.

After the first roll assuming the shooter rolled a point number things change a little. For the shooters second roll the shooter again wants to throw a 7 or 11 to achieve an instant win. The shooter also wants to avoid throwing a 2, 3 or 12 because this is a instant loss. If the shooter throws any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) that number becomes the Come Point number. The Come Point number can only be made after the come-out roll has been made and is any point number (it can be the same as the Point or it can be any other point number). If the shooter rolls the Come Point number before he/she rolls a 7 then you have a win. If the shooter throws a 7 before he/she rolls the Come Point then you have a loss. At this stage of the game no other numbers matter, just the Come Point, the Point and the 7.