What with all the excitement, the flurry of betting before each “roll” or throw of the dice, and the seemingly confusing betting options arrayed on the Craps table (see The Table and The Bets, the Payouts, and the House Edge), it’s easy to be confused by Craps at first glance. However, play actually proceeds in logical fashion, and things begin to make good sense once you know how to follow the order of play.

• New Shooter: Let’s begin with the moment when a new person gets to throw the dice, becoming the Shooter. He or she will be passed several pairs of dice by the table’s Stickman, who uses a curved stick to slide the dice along the table to the Shooter. The Shooter picks a pair of dice.
• Place Your Bets: Players gather around the table, including the Shooter, place chips on the table to signify how they’re betting.
• The Come Out Roll: The shooter’s first roll of the dice is thrown along the length of the table and against its walls. When the two dice come to rest, the total of their top faces determines what happens next. A total of 2, 3 or 12 is called “Craps” and all bets on the Pass Line are lost. A 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 establishes the “Point,” also called the “Box Point.” To win, the Shooter must then roll that number again before rolling a 7, or “Sevens Out,” a loss.
• Additional Bets: Aside from Pass Line bets, which must be made before the Come Out Roll, players can also bet on any single roll of the dice.
• New Shooter: A Shooter continues rolling while winning. After he or she Sevens Out, the Stickman will offer the dice to the player to the previous Shooter’s left. Anyone can decline to be the Shooter, which has no bearing on their ability to bet on the Craps game.