More of a carnival game than anything else (no gaming commission in the world will allow it), Chuck-a-luck is a simple gambling game. There is a cage containing three dice. Players have the option of betting on the numbers 1 through 6. Should one of your numbers come up once, you get paid even money. Should one of your numbers come up twice you get paid 2-1. Should your number come up three times, you get paid 3-1.

Even an elementary examination will find that the game's expected value (barring loaded dice, which are common), is far worse than that of any other table game. The game is sometimes used as a fundraiser for charity, but the odds of coming away with more money than originally put in are quite small.

One roll bets that the shooter will make an 11 (pays 15-1, actual odds 17-1); Bets that a shooter will make a hardway number such as 4-4 (before throwing a 7 or an 8 the easy way such as 6-2 or 5-3) (pays 9-1, actual odds 10-1). Indeed you can bet on any combination of the dice on the next roll, this is called a hop bet, example hard 8 on the hop pays 31-1 (actual odds 35-1).

Craps is a bet that the shooter will roll 2, 3 or 12 on the next roll. The true odds are 8-1 and the casino pays 7-1.

C & E is actually two bets. A player is betting one unit on craps and another unit on 11. One of the two bets will always lose, and the other will pay off as above.

The fundamental bet in craps is the pass line bet, in which one bets that the dice will pass (that is, roll the point number before rolling a 7). The following discussion assumes that the shooter, as is usually the case, is betting on the pass line.