Craps can easily be played in less formal settings

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Craps

Craps is a dice game played against other players or a bank. Craps developed from a simplification of the Old English game hazard. Its origins are complex and may date to the Crusades, later being influenced by French gamblers.

In craps, players may wager money against each other (street craps) or the bank (bank craps) on the outcome of one roll, or of a series of rolls of two dice. Because it requires very little equipment, craps can easily be played in less formal settings, and is said to be popular among soldiers. In such situations side bets are more frequent, with one or several participants covering or "fading" bets against the dice.

History

Its origins are complex and may date to the Crusades, later being influenced by French gamblers. What was to become the modern American version of the game was brought to New Orleans by Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville, scion of wealthy Louisiana landowners and a gambler and politician.The game, first known as crapaud (a French word meaning "toad") reportedly owes its modern popularity from its being spread through the African-American community.

The rules of play against a bank or casino

Bank craps is a game played by one or more players against a casino. The casino covers all player bets at a table and sets the odds on its payout. Players take turns rolling two dice. The player rolling the dice is called the "shooter." Other players at the table will make bets on the shooter's dice rolls. The game is played in rounds, with the first roll of a new round called the "come-out roll". The second round resolves with a point being rolled or a seven.

To begin, a player wishing to establish a point as the shooter must bet the table minimum on either the "Pass" line or the "Don't Pass" line (pass and don’t pass are sometimes called “Win” and “Don’t Win” bets for the outcome of a shooter’s round).

Players can make a large number of bets for each round or each roll. Most bets are on the way the round will end (point comes or a seven-out). Other betting can include betting on a specific total being rolled, or a specific total being rolled before a 7. In a casino, players will make bets with chips on a specially made craps table.

A casino craps table is run by four casino employees: a boxman who guards the chips, supervises the dealers and handles coloring out players; two base dealers who stand to either side of the boxman who collect and pay bets; and a stickman who stands directly across the table from the boxman, takes bets in the center of the table (hard ways, yo, craps, horn etc), announces the results of each roll, collects the dice with an elongated wooden stick, and directs the base dealers to pay winners from bets in the center of the table. Each employee makes sure the other is paying out winners correctly.

The dealers will usually insist that the shooter roll with one hand and that the dice bounce off the far wall surrounding the table. These requirements are meant to keep the game fair (preventing switching the dice or making a "controlled shot"). If a die leaves the table, the shooter will usually be asked to select another die from the remaining three but can request using the same die if it passes the boxman's inspection. This requirement is used to keep the game fair (and reduce the chance of loaded dice).