Pool & Spa News: A roll of the dice: this popular game is considered one of the better ways to w

Many people are too intimidated to play craps.

While it's true that the game's extensive rules and bets can be daunting, craps is thought of as one of the better ways to win money at a casino. The game offers players some of the best odds--always less than a 2 percent advantage to the house. It's also one of the fastest-paced casino games. If you want proof, just listen to the excited yells rising from the tables.

Many craps players believe there are only a few good bets to make at the table. Two of them are called the "pass" or "don't pass" bets. They're easy to learn.

The Pass Bet

Larry Edell, author of How to Make a Living Playing Craps calls this the most popular bet on the table. Players start by placing a bet on the pass line before the shooter rolls the dice. This is also called "betting with the shooter" and is an even money bet: If you bet $5 and win, the house pays $5.

Everyone at the table takes turns being the shooter.

The pass bet revolves around the concept of "making the point." Say the shooter's first roll is a six. That number then becomes the point. You are betting the shooter will roll the point number again before they "seven out," or roll a seven.

If the shooter rolls a seven or 11 on the first, or "come out" roll, you win.

If the shooter rolls two, three, or 12, ("craps") on the come-out roll, the bet is lost.

A Don't Pass Bet

A "don't pass" bet reverses the rules. You are counting on the shooter NOT to make his or her point.

The one exception to this reversal: If the shooter rolls 12 on the come-out roll--a "standoff"--no one wins, and the shooter continues rolling.

There are a couple of simple ways to increase your winning potential beyond the pass/no pass bets:

Taking The Odds

It is possible to increase your winnings by taking the odds on either a pass or don't pass bet. A player "takes the odds" by placing a second bet after the shooter has established a point.

"Taking the odds" means that if the point is made, you'll not only double your money on a pass bet, but you'll also be paid on the basis of the odds of the shooter making that point. You can double your odds at certain casinos (Bally's, Caesars, Harrah's, Hilton, Sands and Taj Majal in Atlantic City). Or take five-times odds (available at Caesars, Claridge, Harrah's, Resorts, Sands, Trump Plaza, Trump Taj Majal and Tropicana).

Taking the odds means increasing your bet, but it also cuts the casino's advantage to less than 1 percent.

But what about the rest of the table--all those other numbers, and possible bets?

Experts caution beginners to keep it simple. Edell suggests spending time watching other people place their bets until you get the hang of it.

Finally, don't forget that most dealers are more than willing to help players. You can repay these dealers by tipping, "placing a bet for the boys," as it is sometimes called. Some players think it keeps the table flowing, but whether or not you believe in luck, it's definitely good manners.

Other long-standing craps superstitions: When dice are thrown off the table, a seven will show on the next roll. Or when a woman shoots for the very first time (a "virgin shooter"), she will throw a long string of profitable numbers.

But even if she doesn't, people are having fun and, after all, that's what you're really there for.

So don't be intimidated by the blur of numbers and excited shouts. Just keep your eye out for a virgin shooter, step up, bet on the pass, and take your odds.

Zanne Miller is a free-lance writer based in Ashland, Ore.