It's the noisiest game in the house and only spectator game in the casino that's worthy of the name. Next to Blackjack it's got some of the best player odds in the house and only Roulette has more betting options for the player. It's the one and only Craps.

Picture your average Poker game: stone faces, few words, cagey players and cut-throat action. Craps, god bless it, is the complete opposite. Players yelling bets, hangers-on pumped on the action, fellow bettors your companions with the chips flying and the dice right behind them. It's not just a game, it's the King of Dice.

And while it's true that a smart player can step in with $100 and with a little luck walk away minutes later with $10,000, it's also true that there are more sucker bets than you can shake a stick at. Few games show you the line between a smart bet and a bad one, inked right on the felt for all to see. Strategy, opponents, long odds and smart bets. Craps has it all.

Unfortunately Craps can be pretty intimidating for the newcomer. There are such a large number of betting options, special rules and exceptions that you'll feel as if you'll never get a handle on it. Personally, I avoided the Craps table for the longest time simply because it was so noisy and confusing. But hang in there because the smarter you play the easier it is. The trick is to take it one step at a time.

Basics

When you are rolling the dice you are the "shooter". Your first toss in a round of Craps is called the Come Out roll. If you roll a 7 or 11, you win and the round is over before it started. If you roll a 2, 3, or 12 that's a Craps and you lose: again, it's over before it started. Any other number becomes the Point. The purpose of the Come Out roll is to set the Point, which can be any of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. The Dealer places a puck marked "On" above the Point number printed on the table.

Objective

The basic objective in Craps is for the shooter to win by tossing the Point again before he tosses a 7. That 7 is called Out 7 to differentiate it from the 7 on the Come Out roll. If the Point is tossed, the shooter and his fellow bettors win and the round is over. If the shooter tosses Out 7, they lose and the round is over. If the toss is neither the Point nor Out 7, the round continues and the dice keep rolling.