Craps is a rather intimidating game. It should not be. But the Craps layout looks like an encrypted map of downtown Tokyo. It takes an entire staff to run a big Casino Craps table. The players are anything but sedate! Often LOUD, fast, chaotic, and conducted in some foreign language of jargon, many people are reluctant to get too close to whatever is going on over there.  
 
Craps is one of the best Casino games to play! It is certainly in the top three in terms of value. If you just learn a little bit about it. The Craps layout contains some of the very best bets in the Casino and some of the very worst bets the Casino offers. Fortunately they are easy to sort out. Craps is also not that hard to follow if you know who to listen to and what to watch for.  
 
This series of three articles covers the basics of the game of Craps. It is a bit unusual as introductory tutorials go. It skips right past a lot of fiddly math details that usually occupy a lot of space initially and waves off most of the bets on the felt as "something you can look at later." This tutorial is aimed towards establishing a good foundation for a new Craps player quickly.  
 
There are certain critical fundamentals that need to be covered in order to create an informed, sensible player. Often the clutter of initial information takes up so much time, these more important matters are never reached. I also try to explain things in enough detail that even someone who has never been to a Craps table before will understand what they see and be able to follow what is happening immediately.  
 
I include a very simple Craps strategy complete with money management features and the ability to adapt as a table heats up or cools off. That strategy is designed to be a foundation. One which can be improved and enhanced as the new player gains some experience with the game. Even though it is rather minimalist, the strategy touches all the really important bases.  
 
Most of all, it is an attempt to make a perspective new player feel well enough informed to take the plunge and start having fun playing Craps.  
 
In the First Part, I begin with Who's Who on the staff of a Craps table and how to know what is going on from moment to moment. How to throw the dice and fit into the rather chaotic world of a Craps table. The visual and sound cues that enable you to follow the action.  
 
For Part Two, I introduce betting for a "right" better. Also the first part of a simple, but effective, and sensible, Craps system. I want to illustrate how an approach to Craps betting is designed. I start sorting out the critical components of any good Craps strategy.  
 
The last part rounds out the suggested first Craps system, the initial betting patterns and money management rules. This does not try to be an "ultimate" Craps system or any such nonsense. I am aiming at an easy to understand and use Craps system that contains all the basic components of any good approach to Craps.  
 
It is important to avoid what I call the "Ignorance Tax", those unnecessary extra losses caused by not knowing the games you want to play. But experience is also essential. Everyone has to start somewhere. The purpose here is to help an entire group of people curious about Craps feel confident enough to give it a try, and arm them with a conservative enough strategy to help them avoid paying too much for that experience. Even including some simple Money Management so they have a chance of starting out a winner!  

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