If you walk through any major casino, you will undoubtedly find one specific table that is significantly louder and more energetic than any other game in the building. The crowd is going wild as the dice bounce down the length of a massive, incredibly confusing green felt table. This loud, complex game is the game of Craps. To a complete beginner, the game seems terrifyingly complicated. The felt is covered in weird text, and players are throwing chips everywhere. Yet, this is completely false. Despite its terrifying visual appearance, craps is fundamentally one of the easiest, and best games in Vegas. If you just learn the basics, you can confidently roll the dice.
The Core Mechanic: How the Game Starts
The absolute best way to survive the craps table is to completely ignore 95% of the table. The confusing center sections are mathematically terrible "sucker bets" designed specifically to drain your bankroll. You only need to look at the long line that wraps around the entire edge of the table: the Pass Line bet. Making a Pass Line bet is the foundation of craps. At the start of a round, the shooter makes the Come-Out Roll. If you bet the Pass Line, you win instantly if the dice total 7 or 11. You lose immediately if a 2, 3, or 12 is rolled. It is truly that simple: 7/11 wins, 2/3/12 loses.
The Ongoing Game: Chasing the Point
What if they roll a different number? If the result is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, the Point is established. The dealer takes a white puck and places it on top of that number. The goal now changes. To win the money, the shooter must roll the dice again and again until they roll the Point again. If the Point hits, you win. However, there is a catch: if a 7 is rolled before the Point hits, this is a "Seven Out". Every single Pass Line bet instantly loses, the round completely ends, and the dice are passed to the next player at the table. The whole table is a group effort praying the shooter hits their Point before rolling a deadly 7.

The Secret Odds Bet: When the puck is ON, you can place an 'Odds' bet behind your chips. This is known as taking odds and it is literally the only bet in the entire casino that has a house edge of exactly 0.00%. It is a perfectly fair bet. Betting the Dark Side: You can bet that the table will lose. You win when others lose, or if they Seven Out before hitting their point. It is mathematically slightly better, but the other players will hate you because you are betting with the house. Ignore the Proposition Bets: All the bets in the middle of the table (like 'Any Craps', 'Hard 8', or 'Snake Eyes') are sucker bets ranging from 9% to an absolutely brutal 16%. Never, ever place a chip in the center of the craps table.

Craps Basics Cheat Sheet: The Only Rules You Need
For a quick reference before you play, to make things easy, look at this basic chart. It summarizes the absolute core mechanics of the fundamental craps bet: how to play the Pass Line.

The Dice RollWhat the Shooter RollsThe Result The Come-Out Roll (First Roll)Shooter rolls a 7 or an 11.You instantly WIN even money. The round resets. Come-Out RollCrapsYou instantly LOSE your bet. The round resets. Establishing the PointThe Point is setBet stays on the table The Ongoing GamePoint is hitMassive Win The GrindThe Deadly 7You LOSE your bet. The round completely ends. Dice pass to next player.

To wrap it up, craps is actually incredibly simple. The casino purposefully designs the table layout to look incredibly complex and confusing specifically so uneducated tourists will make bad bets. When you arrive, placing your chips exclusively on the Pass Line, taking your odds, and completely ignoring the screaming center of the board, you are playing a nearly even game game on the floor. Join the fun, and have the best casino experience Las Vegas has to offer.