Craps Power Betting by John Gollehon

Picked up a copy of "Conquering Casino Craps" by John Gollehon. In which he gives his, 'Power Betting' strategy. Now of course he says it's not a system, it's a strategy. (That one can be debated by diehards on both ends until the cows come home).

To sum it up, Gollehon says prop bets are for suckers. Even place bets on the six and eight are too high of HA, don't bother. (He used to play then but no longer). His advice, stay with pass line with double odds and come bets with double odds. No reason to throw money on anything else.

His 'power betting' strategy is basically progressive betting. Start at table min and enter up the progression if you win three in a row or three out of four points. If you lose three points in a row or three out of four, leave the table, don’t go back for some time.

Of course there are charts of how much to bet and it’s more detailed in the book but that’s the basic.
Personally, that’s how I play. I don’t chase C&E’s, hop bets, the field and other huge HA traps. Once awhile if I feel foggy, I might throw out two bucks two way on a hard number just for grins. Otherwise, I stick with the pass and the come and ride it up. However most times I find following Gollenhons rules the progression doesn’t get far start and I just leave a cold table, which he himself often happens following said rules. Of course if your following the method up, you will face a loss at a higher level but you will not lose all your winnings. Sure I’ve lost $10 on the line $100 on the odds with a seven out but I still had $500 net win to show for it.

Anybody else out there familiar with his work? Anybody else follow the same path on the craps table? Intelligent comments only please. No need to debate if this system, it’s clearly a progressive betting method.

Thanks!

He has you pushing with more and more come bets I assume?

The problem with come bets is that in any good roll, after making his point the shooter typically hits a natural seven on the following come out roll.

When that happens, your come bets all go down.

Me, I place six and eight, and employ various progression strategies; I also spread out to cover 5 and 9 and even 4 and 10 if the roll is shaping up nicely.

But yeah, on paper PL and Come betting w/odds has a more player-friendly HA.

MrV if you are so inclined that a shooter "typically" hits a seven following making a point, why not just take insurance by playing any seven at 5-1? The fact is the seven has the same odds of coming out during that roll when trying to get hit the point as it does after hitting a point and coming out again.

Quote: odiousgambit

He has you pushing with more and more come bets I assume?

The number come bets are up to the individual. You can play with none, one, or more come bets at a time. It depends on how you want to play it. The come bets follow the same progessive method though indepdent of what your pass line bet is doing. All of your come bets are treated independently. You can push up winning ones but you don't push up ones that are still stilling on points.

Quote: MrV

The problem with come bets is that in any good roll, after making his point the shooter typically hits a natural seven on the following come out roll.

When that happens, your come bets all go down.

Me, I place six and eight, and employ various progression strategies; I also spread out to cover 5 and 9 and even 4 and 10 if the roll is shaping up nicely.

But yeah, on paper PL and Come betting w/odds has a more player-friendly HA.

The dice don't talk to each other and decide when their going to seven out on you. But you are correct, the seven out will come sooner or later and it's going to wipe out your pass line and come bets. However, it's also going to wipe out any and all place bets on the 5, 6, 8 9, 4, and 10.

You are also correct that place bets have a higer HA. Place 5 or 9 and HA is 4%. Place 4 or 10 and HA is 6.67%. You're getting table odds not true odds.

Come bet HA is 1.41% then 1x odds is 0.848% while 2x odds is 0.606%. Considering you're getting true odds on a come bet vs. table odds on place bets.

The only bad part about a come bet, is once it's on a point, you're facing a negative HA...when it's in the COME box, you have a positive HA, HOWEVER your advantage would also be your DISADVANTAGE because your passline bet would lose...this is the main reason I never play a come bet. I simply pass PL and place the 6/8.
I full press on each hit. PL starts at $5 with 3/4/5, then goes to $10 with 3/4/5.

Gollehon is all over the place on the issue of house advantage and the best way to win at craps. I have a variety of his books. He has at various times advocated playing nothing but PL and Come bets (as in the Conquering Casino Craps work), then at other times advocated separately the notion of betting PL, in tandem with place and/or buy bets using progressions, and as well using the Hardways progressively to build 'bombs.' He calls the latter approach his 'Bomb Strategy.' Moreover, the publication dates of his books do NOT reflect an evolution in his thinking. Interesting.

All of that said, he is an engaging writer and I've enjoyed his stuff over the years. You can usually find his varied works in any Barnes & Noble, or Borders.

I sometimes bet PL and / or come bets, but not usually.

As for hedging: that ain't my cuppa joe.

Typically I won't start spreading out until I am in a true profit lock for that shooter, then I put the pedal to the metal.

I fondly recall rolls where I started with placing six and eight for six or twelve each, and wound up having the four and ten bought for fifty each, and hitting.

Ah ... down memory lane ...

Quote: midwestgb

Gollehon is all over the place on the issue of house advantage and the best way to win at craps. I have a variety of his books. He has at various times advocated playing nothing but PL and Come bets (as in the Conquering Casino Craps work), then at other times advocated separately the notion of betting PL, in tandem with place and/or buy bets using progressions, and as well using the Hardways progressively to build 'bombs.' He calls the latter approach his 'Bomb Strategy.' Moreover, the publication dates of his books do NOT reflect an evolution in his thinking. Interesting.

All of that said, he is an engaging writer and I've enjoyed his stuff over the years. You can usually find his varied works in any Barnes & Noble, or Borders.

Interesting. No suprise though. In conquering craps he himself wrote that another player met and him and found him making place and come bets. That player walked away disappointed and he claimed he was in himself too. Doesn't shock me at all that anybody selling gaming books has to rewrite or create a new 'strategy' in order to write a new book to gin up sales. Much the same as everybody has their own blackjack card counting methods they hawk.