Craps History
Although Craps is rooted from several European dice games, it is considered to be a truly American game. The origin of Craps came from New Orleans, where in 1813 Bernard de Mandeville invented the game Hazard.

The peak of its popularity was after World War II when it was the leading game in most American casinos. Since the 1960’s, games such as Blackjack and Slots have taken over and its popularity has decreased. Craps is still, however, a game with fast payouts and nonstop action to the players.

Overview
Despite being an exciting game with fast payouts, many new players tend to distant themselves from the craps table. The game’s confusing number of different bets intimidates not only new players. In order to become a good craps player, one has to first learn the different bets on the craps table and start playing with basic strategies.

Craps Bets
Pass Line - this is a bet placed before the come out roll. If the come out roll is 7 or 11 (naturals), then the wager wins immediately. If the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12 (craps numbers), it and loses. If any number between 4 and 10 (except 7) is rolled then it becomes "the point”. If the point is rolled another time before rolling a 7, the pass line bet wins. If 7 is rolled before rolling the point again, the pass line bet loses.

Don't Pass Line – this is also placed before the come out roll and it is basically the reverse of a pass line bet. An immediate win occurs when the shooter rolls 3 or 12 on the come out roll. When 7 or 11 is rolled, the don’t pass line bet losses. If the come out roll is 2, then a don't pass line bet is returned to the player in a push. If the come out roll is between 4 and 10 (except 7), the number becomes the point. Once the point has been established, if the point is rolled another time before rolling a 7, the pass line bet losses and If 7 is rolled before rolling the point again, the pass line bet wins.

Come - is placed before any roll of the dice after a point has been established by the come out roll. If the next roll is 7 or 11, come bet wins immediately, and losses if the roll is 2, 3, or 12. If any number between 4 to 10 (except 7) is rolled, that number becomes "the come point." If the come point is rolled again before rolling a 7, the come bet wins.

Don't Come - is basically the opposite of a come bet, and therefore, it wins immediately when the shooter's next roll is 3 or 12, and losses if the roll is 7 or 11. If 2 is rolled, the bet will be returned to the player in a push. Don't come bet wins if 7 is rolled and losses if the come point is rolled, once the come point is established.

Odds - is a "back up" bet to an original pass line, don't pass line, come, or don't come bet.

Field - is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Place Win - is a bet that either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before 7.

Place Lose - is a bet that 7 will be rolled before 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10.

Big Six - is a bet that 8 will be rolled before 7.

Big Eight - is a bet that 6 will be rolled before 7.

Buy - is a bet that 4, 6, 8, 9, or 10 will be rolled before 7. A vig. of 5% is charged when placing the buy bet.

Lay - 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 - is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be 7.

Any 11 - 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 - is a bet that the next roll of the dice will be either 2, 3, 11, or 12.

Hardway - is a bet that the shooter will roll 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, 5+5, before rolling a 7. Rolling doubles is called "the hard way."