Craps Help

HISTORY
The casino game of craps, evolved over thousands of years, is inextricably interwoven with the development of humanity. Prehistoric cavemen cast six-sided bones called astragalas that came from the ankles of clove-footed animals. The mythology of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome relates how the gods amused themselves at dice, with the destiny of the world riding on the outcome. Dice have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and in the burial chambers of the pyramids. The pharaohs as well as the Caesars* rolled dice for amusement, gain, divination, and judicial decision. When Julius Caesar defied the Roman Senate and led his victorious army across the Rubicon, he took his announcement from the vocabulary of the dice shooter: lacta alea est, the die is cast. Even in the age of chivalry, knights entertained themselves and their ladies with games of dice. Gaming schools and guilds flourished, although by then gambling was frowned on by the church and was frequently prohibited. Then, as now, the nobility was exempted, and the laws were enforced against the lower classes, especially on working days.

Today's casino craps can be traced directly to the game of hazard, first played by English Crusaders during the siege of an Arabian castle in the twelfth century. Tosses of 2, 3, or 12 were referred to as "crabs." By the early 1800's, when the game was introduced to America in the port city of New Orleans, "crabs" had become "craps" and the rules had nearly evolved to those used today. Spreading rapidly up the Mississippi with the riverboat gamblers, and across the country via Pullman-car sharks, craps quickly replaced faro as the most popular gambling game. John H. Winn is credited with banking the first craps game permitting right and wrong betting, charging bettors a 5% commission. Shortly after, Winn designed the "Philadelphia Layout," very much like the craps layout of today, and included a don't-pass line which eventually developed into the Don't Pass Bar 12 line and eliminated the 5% commission. This feature took the game out of the streets and into the casinos.

TODAY'S GAME
Craps is my favorite game* You can yell and shout and let it all hang out. There is a camaraderie at the craps table found in no other casino game. Unlike blackjack, in which the cards are dealt by a dealer, or roulette, in which the croupier spins the wheel, in craps the player initiates the action by throwing the dice.

Although the house's edge can be reduced to less than one percent, it must prevail in the long run. Yet players who understand the rules and procedures of the game— which bets are most favorable, which bets to avoid, how to recognize and capitalize on a winning streak, and when to quit—can get a lot of fun and excitement for their money, and from time to time go home with a bundle.

Many people confess their complete ignorance of the casino game of craps. Some men, especially veterans, played a street game of dice which is quite different from bank craps as played in most casinos. In any case, the concept of craps is quite simple and easy to understand. The biggest problem in the casino is overcoming the idea that the game itself is complicated. Far from it; the stumbling blocks rest in the elaborate layout, the odds, the action, the barking of the stickmen, and the shouting of the players, especially during a hot hand. I will do my best to take away the bewilderment.