One of my other claims to fame is as a gambler. My partner and I were the most successful craps players in Vegas history. We ended up banned from every casino except Caesar's Palace and the Hilton (and eventually the Hilton fell into line). Our winning streak ran from 1999 to 2003 and involved millions of dollars. Of course, when we started to lose, we were let back in.

Craps is a simple game that requires complex play and money management.  Don't be dissuaded by the craps table and the myriad of bets it offers.  If you play correctly, you only need to know about two betting areas—the Pass Line and the Come.

Craps offers the best basic odds of any casino game, but the house still holds the edge.  The only game offering an advantage over the house is blackjack using professional strategy, card counting, and betting techniques.  I've done it and won, but it's not what you would call 'fun'.  Craps, on the other hand, can be wildly stimulating and has the potential to produce big wins.

The house edge in craps is 1.4% of you bet 'Do' and 1.2% if you bet 'Don't".  The difference in odds is miniscule and hardly atones for the psychological trauma of betting against the other players at the table.  I'm not capable of it, so I always play 'Do'.  'Do' means you bet that the shooter makes his/her 'Point".  'Don't' means the opposite.  For the sake of this article, I'll assume your interests are compatible with mine, and you intend to bet 'Do'.

Some basic rules:

NEVER bet the 'propositions'.  These are the betting areas scattered across the table, concentrated in the center.  They include the 'hard ways', 'Yo', the 'Horn' and various other combinations of wagers designed to entice you into losing your money.  The best of these give the house a 5% advantage.  You don't want to know the worst.

ALWAYS be aware of your bankroll and bet accordingly.  You don't want to run out of chips in the middle of a betting sequence, plus, you can't plot your money management strategy if you don't know how much you're holding.

TIP the dealers.  At the optimum point in your 'run', you'll have a dozen bets riding on each throw of the dice.  A good dealer will help you keep track of bets and payoffs.  Dice can move at a dizzying pace, so keep on your toes, and let the dealers know that you know they have to make a living too.

ABSTAIN from vices.  Booze or drugs can induce euphoria that will in turn, induce you to make wild bets and/or mistakes.  The opposite sex can be a distraction you don't need.  Concentration at the tables is a must.  Save playtime for later after you've socked away a big win.

Assume you are coming to the table at the start of a game.  The dice will 'come out'.  That means a player will roll them.  You want to have your first bet down before they come out.  That bet will be placed on the Pass Line.  For the purposes of this article, assume a $10 flat bet in all cases.  A 'flat bet' in craps is one that pays even odds.  You bet $10, and if you win, you are paid $10, plus the $10 you bet.

The dice are thrown.  If the result is a seven or eleven, you win your pass line bet.  Two, three, or twelve, and you lose.  Any other number becomes the 'Point'.  The point is the number the shooter must throw before throwing a seven in order for you to win your bet.

Casinos offer 'odds' on points.  Normal odds are 3, 4,& 5.  What that means is that you can place another bet behind your pass line bet, and if you win, you will be paid according to the odds.  Remember, the pass line bet is 'flat'—you get paid even odds for winning.  The odds bet—the one behind the line—is the best bet in the casino because it pays you according to the true odds of the point being thrown.

3, 4, &  5 means this:  you may place three times your original bet behind the line if the point is a four or ten; four times your original bet if the point is a five or nine; and five times if the point is a six or eight.  Here's an example:

The shooter throws a six on the come out.  The six is the point he/she must throw before a seven appears.  The true odds are 6-5.  If you have $10 on the pass line, and you have placed five times that or $50 behind the line, you will win $70 if the point is 'made'.  $10 even odds for your flat bet and $60 at 6-5 for your odds bet.  The payout is the same for all points.  If a four or ten is the point, you win $10 for your flat bet and $60, or 2-1 on $30 for your odds bet.

When you understand the foregoing, you understand the game of craps.  Now for the second phase—the Come bet.

There is a large section in the middle of either end of a craps table with Come written across it.  Come means the same as Pass.  The only difference is that Come works on every throw of the dice.

After you've made your pass line bet and taken the odds and before the dice are thrown again, you will bet $10 on the Come.  The same rules apply.  If the shooter throws a seven or eleven, you win the Come bet.  A two, three, or twelve, you lose.  Any other number becomes a second point for you.

Let's say the point is six, and the shooter rolls an eight.  The dealer will move your $10 come bet to the eight and you will place $50 on top of it (an odds bet).  Now you have the six and eight covered.  If either appears before a seven, you win.  The object of craps is for the shooter to roll numbers—4,5,6,8,9,10, and for you to have all of them covered.  Every time a number is thrown, you either capture it with your Come bet or win a wager.  ALWAYS keep a come bet. When you win, the dealer will say "off and on".  That means you are paid off, but are still on the number.  The dealer won't move all your chips, but simply pay you $70.

Dealers and other players may give you advice to limit the number of Come bets you place until 'you see how the table is running'.  Don't listen to them.  Play with absolute discipline and do not vary your strategy.  It the table is running cold, leave and find another.

Now for the 'how do I win part?'.

The seven is your enemy.  The more that appear on a table, the more your chances of losing.  If you get in the enviable position of having all the numbers covered with a flat bet and odds, and the shooter rolls a seven, you lose everything except your come bet.  If the shooter rolls a seven on the come out, it's a different story.

The dealer shoots a six and makes his/her point.  The dealer pays you $70 for your pass line bet and moves your come bet to the six.  The dealer may ask you for odds on the six—if not, put them out and ask him to put the odds on top of the six flat bet.  Now the shooter comes out and rolls a seven.  You lose all your flat bets, but the odds are automatically 'off' on the come out and your odds money is returned to you.

My partner and I used to keep our odds on all the time.  During the period when we ran hot, it was a good bet, but on a normal table, I'd leave them off on the come out.  Even though the odds of losing are exactly the same on the come out, it may be the only opportunity to recover all your odds bets before the inevitable craps occurs.

Everything I've told you so far is objective.  It's the right way to play craps.  Winning or losing is subjective.  If you played as I've laid it out, you would lose 1.4% of your money over the long haul.  Here's how you can alter those odds:

No matter what anyone tells you, craps tables are cyclical.  The true odds of a seven appearing are once every six throws.  But remember, those odds are the same each time the dice are thrown.  It's always one out of six.  Sometimes, sevens stay away for long periods of time.  That's when you win.  Sometimes they come up as soon as you get a point established, and that's when you lose.  I watched a shooter throw eleven sevens in a row once.  Anything can happen.

That's what makes your betting system work for you.  Your losses are limited to one unit (flat plus odds) for every throw of the dice.  However, if you hit a 'run'—that is several numbers in a row without a seven appearing, you will win your flat bet, plus the odds, on every throw.  The best roll I ever saw was fifty-six consecutive numbers without a seven—either on a regular roll or come out.  I won a lot of money.

When a table is running with numbers, press your bets.  When shooters are crapping out (throwing sevens) after one, two or a few rolls, get out.  The only weapon you have that the casino doesn't is the choice to play.  They're open for business.  You, on the other hand, can leave a table, a casino, or a city and go someplace else where the dice are hotter.  Most players don't consider the simple fact that the game goes on forever.  Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year.  In Vegas, they're always cranking.

That brings me to money management—the real key to winning at any gambling enterprise, but most especially, craps.  Know the depth of your pockets.  If you are willing to invest $100 in a craps game and you get $100 ahead, play with caution and don't dip into your winnings.  I've always used the maxim that the amount of my expected winnings will usually not exceed the amount of my bankroll.  And if you lose your bankroll, quit and fight another day.  Craps is not like blackjack.  When you're winning at a blackjack table based on using sound strategy, card counting, and money management, stick it out until you pass out.  A hot table is a treasure.

That's not to say a hot craps table isn't equal in value, but my experience is that the dice will run hot for a while, cold for a while, then—maybe—heat back up again.  Rarely do two shooters in a row have gigantic runs.  So don't be a plunger, and if you win, don't stand there like a dummy and pump it all back in.  Cash your chips and take a walk.  You can always come back and play again.

And you never know who is going to get hot.  I remember standing at a craps table in the Rio in Vegas when a young couple walked up and stood to watch.  He finally got his nerve up and bought a hundred dollars worth of chips, placed $5 on the pass line in front of his woman, and asked her to throw the dice.  I was coasting, playing moderately, and winning a little, so the table had not been cold (otherwise, I'd have been long gone).  She took the dice and started throwing.  Forty-five minutes later, she crapped out after winning about $20.  I had forty-two thousand in front of me.  I gave the dealer a $500 chip, and asked him to send it down to the couple.  I tipped the dealers and cashed out for a little over forty grand.  It was just one of those days.

You can go on horrendous losing streaks when every table in the joint is conspiring against you.  The only answer is to stop playing.  Go drop some money in video poker or go to the bar, but don't fight the tables.  Scout them and watch.  You'll know a hot table by the number of chips the players have in front of them—don't pay attention to the cheering—it's usually reserved for somebody throwing a hard eight.  Chips in the rack are the tip-off. If everyone looks prosperous, the table is holding its own, and you need to muscle your way in.

Win or lose like a gentleman or lady.  It's only a game, and it's only money.  Don't make an ass of yourself and don't cry on the dealers' shoulders.  Be generous when you win and civil when you lose.  Have fun.  Craps is the most exciting game out there.  Keep it fun and exciting with your participation.  Next time you come to play, the dealers will remember you and help you out.  It's well worth it.

Larry Seeley, is the author of the award-winning mystery/suspense novel, Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves (April 2010), and the upcoming sequel, 17 Degrees North. He lives twenty miles north of Santa Fe in a high desert valley bounded on the east by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and on the west by the Jemez range.