Craps is a very exciting game and has among the best odds of winning if you stay away from the sucker bets. It will seem confusing and intimidating the first time you play but the more you know about it before hand the faster you will be enjoying it.
Almost everybody at the table makes the pass line bet. This is why you often hear everybody at the table cheering at the same time, because they are all winning at the same time. One very unique thing about craps is it is the only game that offers a bet with no house advantage. This is known as laying odds and most players do this in addition to their pass bet. By playing just these two bets you will be in fine shape and you don't need to know what all the other bets are. However they are listed here for everyone's information. For beginners just having an understanding of the pass line and laying odds is enough. Most of the other bets are for suckers anyway.
Before I go further I should explain that craps is a game of rounds. The first roll of any round is called the come out roll. Sometimes the come out roll is the only roll of a round and sometimes a round may last a dozen rolls or more. Some side (aka proposition) bets depend only on the next roll, however, and can be placed at any time. Other side bets set off what could be called a parallel round. In the event that the round started with the come out roll ends but any parallel round is not terminated the bets on the parallel rounds will remain in effect. However, some of these bets will be "turned off" on the next come out roll. In other words the come out roll will have no effect on some old bets. I think it could be said that proposition bets still apply to the come out roll and all line related bets do not, unless you request otherwise. To make the waters muddier I understand that Atlantic City turns off all bets on the come out roll but I don't know if this is always true.
A quick word on notation: If this page says something pays x:1 that means that if you win you can win x times your original bet, and KEEP you original bet. So if you make a one time bet of $10 on any craps (which pays 7:1) you can win $70, keep your original $10, and walk away with $80. In general this bet could be said to pay 7 to 1, or 8 for one. This can be confusing at first because craps uses the "for" terminology while blackjack uses the "to" terminology. I however use the "to" terminology here.
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Big 6: A bet that a 6 will be rolled before a 7. Pays even money. House advantage of 9.1%. Note that this is exactly the same as a place bet on 6, only the place bet pays 7:6 and has a house advantage of only 1.5%. Only a fool or someone ignorant of the game would bet on the Big 6.
Big 8: The same as the Big 6 only that an 8 will be rolled before a 7.
Come: Essentially the same thing as a pass line bet but can be made at any time except the come out roll. Pays even money. House advantage 1.41%.
Come out roll: The first roll of a round.
Don't pass: Almost the opposite of the pass line bet. If the come out
roll is a 2 or 3
you win, a 7 or 11 you lose. If a 4,5,6,8,9, or 10 is thrown on
the come out roll that number is called the point. Then the dice
are rolled over and over until either the point or a 7 is rolled.
If the 7 comes before the point you win. A 12 rolled on the come
out roll pays even money. Another web page says that sometimes
the 2 pays even money rather than the 12 but I have never seen
this. Don't pass pays even money and has a house advantage of
1.40%.
Don't odds: This is the opposite of laying
odds. If you bet on the don't pass line you may take the don't
odds. Like laying odds they have a house advantage of 0%. With
the don't odds you bet that a 7 will be rolled before the point.
Field bet: This is a one time bet that the next
roll will be a 2,3,4,9,10,11, or 12. The 3,4,9,10, and 11 pay
even money. The 2 pays 2:1. The 12 usually pays 3:1 but some
tight casinos only pay 2:1. Another web
page says that sometimes the 5 pays instead of the 9 but I have
never seen this. If 12 pays 2:1 the house advantage is 5.6%, if
12 pays 3:1 the house advantage is 2.8%. One the surface this
seems like a great bet because 7 numbers win and only 4 lose.
However the 4 that lose are much more likely to be rolled.
Hard ways: There are four different hard way
bets. For example a hard 4 bet is betting that a pair of twos
will be rolled before a 7 or any other way to roll a total of 4.
This is called "the hard way" because it is harder to roll two
twos than a one and a three. Likewise you can bet on a hard 6,8,
or 10, each of which is a bet that the hard way of rolling the
given number will occur before a 7 or any "easy" way.
The casino pays 7:1 on a hard 4 or 10 with a house advantage of
11.1%.
Lay odds: If a
point is rolled on the come out roll you may bet additional money that
the point will be rolled before a 7. This is the only truly fair
bet in
the casinos. The casino advantage is exactly 0%. However,
a pass line bet is a prerequisite to laying
odds.
If the point is 4 or 10 laying odds pays 2:1.
In most casinos you may bet twice as much on the odds as your
place bet. Some Las Vegas casinos let you bet three or five
times as much and I've seen an advertisement for Binion's
Horseshoe that said they let you bet 20 times as much. If you
see a marquee or advertisement
that says "3X odds on craps" that means you may bet up to three
times your pass line bet on the odds. The greater the multiple
they allow the greater your overall expected return will be if
you bet the maximum amount on the odds. Because paying 6:5 can
involve some messy change if the odds bet is not divisible by 5
most casinos offer "full double odds" which mean that you may bet
2.5 times your pass line bet if the point is a 6 or 8. So if
your pass line bet was $2 and the point was a 6 or 8 you may put
$5 on the odds. The
following table shows the overall house advantage combining both
the pass line bet and the maximum allowable odds:
The casino pays 9:1 on a hard 6 or 8 with a house advantage of
9.1%.
If the point is a 5 or 9 laying odds pays 3:2.
If the point is 6 or 8 laying odds pays 6:5.
As you can see these house advantages are very small, especially
compared to other games like Roulette at 5.6% and keno at about
25%.
If the point is a 4 or 10 the don't odds pay 1:2.
If the point is a 5 or 9 the don't odds pay 2:3.
if the point is a 6 or 8 the don't odds pay 5:6.
Place bet (to win): This is the same as laying odds only you don't have to bet on the pass line first, you don't have to bet on the point, and the house advantage is greater than 0%.
A place bet on 4 or 10 pays 9:5 with a house advantage of
6.7%.
A place bet on 5 or 9 pays 7:5 with a house advantage of
4.0%.
A place bet on 6 or 8 pays 7:6 with a house advantage of only
1.52%.
When a place bets wins the dealer will return your winnings but leave the original bet on the table, essentially establishing a new place bet. You may request that the original bet be returned of course. In fact you may take back an active place bet at any time or you may "turn them off" temporarily.
Place bet (to lose): The opposite of the place
bet. You are betting that a 7 will be rolled before a number of
your choice among 4,5,6,8,9, and 10.
A place bet (to lose) against 4 or 10 pays 5:11 with a house
advantage of 3.03%.
A place bet (to lose) against 5 or 9 pays 5:8 with a house
advantage of 2.5%.
A place bet (to lose) against 6 or 8 pays 4:5 with a house
advantage of 1.82%.
Point: If the come out roll is a 4,5,6,8,9, or 10 the number rolled is called the point. If you made a pass line bet you would hope the point is rolled again before a 7.
Proposition Bets: These are among the worst bets on the craps table. There are five different ones, each wagering that a particular number will be thrown on the next roll. Bets on 2 and 12 pay 30:1 and have a house advantage of 13.89%. Bets on 3 and 11 pay 15:1 and have a house advantage of 11.11%. Bets on 7 pay 4:1 and have a house advantage of 16.67%. The bets on 7 and 11 are quite popular. Considering the huge house advantage the popularity of these bets is a testamonial to the stupidity of many of players.
For more information (much of it the same) try Glenn's Craps Lessons.