The game of Hazard was played in London coffeehouses in the 1700s. It was complex, requiring players to understand multiple betting lines and probability calculations. In 1813, a New Orleans gambler named Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville modified Hazard into something simpler. He called it Craps.
Marigny's version removed some of the complexity. The fundamental mechanic remained: roll two dice, establish a point, try to make the point without rolling a seven. But Marigny added the rule that players could bet against the shooter, not just with him. This made the game more interesting to a wider audience.
The Mechanics of the Modern Game
Craps requires a basic understanding of the number combinations that two dice can produce. Seven is the most common, appearing in one of six possible rolls. The point numbers are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. The shooter establishes the point by rolling one of these numbers on the come-out roll. The goal is to roll the point again before rolling a seven.
A 7 on the come-out roll is a natural, and the shooter wins immediately. A 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll is craps, and the shooter loses immediately. This is what I meant by security on the floor: these rules are what prevent amateur players from believing they can beat the game. The house edge is built directly into the basic mechanics.
From Street Game to Casino Standard
Craps moved from the streets of New Orleans to formal casinos in the 1920s. The casinos recognized that the game offered multiple betting opportunities. A player could bet on the pass line, the don't pass line, the field, the come, or a dozen other outcomes. Each bet had a different house edge.
The multiple betting options allowed casinos to accommodate different player styles. A conservative player bets pass and come. An aggressive player bets the field and prop bets. A cheater tries to control the dice. I have seen men spend a hundred dollars learning to throw dice in a specific way, hoping to influence the outcome. It does not work. The dice tumble on the table, hit the back wall, and land randomly.
The rules of craps evolved to make the game faster, more exciting, and slightly more profitable for the house with each iteration.
The Design That Creates Action
What makes craps the most social game in the casino is that all players win or lose together on most bets. A successful pass-line bet benefits everyone betting the pass line. Everyone at the table has a stake in the shooter's success. This creates camaraderie. A shooter on a hot streak is celebrated. A cold shooter is sympathetically replaced.
The game encourages rapid decisions and high volume. A round of craps can complete in under one minute. A round of blackjack takes two to three minutes. The high volume of bets creates high volume of losses, which is the primary goal of the casino.
The table layout is deliberately complex. A new player sees a felt covered in betting squares and does not know what any of them mean. The dealer guides new players toward the simple bets (pass, don't pass, come, don't come). Once the player understands those, the dealer points out the field bets. Once the player is comfortable with those, the proposition bets appear. Each step increases the complexity and slightly decreases the player's expected value.
