Nice Craps Win to Start the New Year

Just got back from a local casino with $1100 extra in my pocket. Not bad for starting with a few $5 pass and come bets backed up with double odds. I almost exclusively made only pass and come bets the whole time (exceptions to follow) working the odds up to the maximum 10x. There were a few decent rolls and two really nice ones where numbers just kept on hitting -- sorry I was not keeping track of how many numbers hit because I was too busy raking in chips. It's great to see a 4 or 10 roll and have the dealer push four green chips your way.

The exceptions: on the long rolls, after all the numbers were covered except one and I was well ahead for that roll, I decided to place the remaining number to make sure I had them all covered. Two times it was the 6 or the 8 ... after all those rolls with continuous come bets, they hadn't hit yet! One time I also bought the 4 for a quarter. When I placed the 6 or 8, one time the dealer did as I asked and placed the number for $60. The other time the dealer made it a $5 put bet with $50 odds, which is of course the better bet with a house edge of only 0.83% (if my math is correct) vs. the 1.52% edge on the place bet. These numbers all hit too.

The sad part was that the rolls ended without hitting either of the two numbers I had pushed up to $10 + $100 odds. My wife always cringes when I tell her about those "huge" bets. It was even worse one time when she was standing next to me asking if I was sure I should be betting that much, but that is another story. Oh, how I just love riding those hot streaks!!

May we all have a few hot streaks this year.

Happy New year.

Quote: seattledice

My wife always cringes...

That's a wife for ya.

Although my wife also cringes, she's a gambler. She understands that a statement like "When the shooter finally crapped out, I had over $400 in play..." is actually a good thing for a $10 bettor like me.


On the flip side, my wife will often say to me "Seven out..." and be right. Unfortunately, she doesn't say it until the dice are in the air. :(

Nice win, Seattledice. What casino do you play at, if you don't mind me asking? I have a friend who has the same betting style as you. He comes off the top with the minimum line bet and max odds, and has a come bet + max odds working on every subsequent roll. He rides the ups and downs but has a big enough bankroll to handle it, and gives up very little actual $ to the house. We have a great time playing, usually at Joker's Wild or Eastside Cannery on the Boulder Strip, or at select downtown casinos.

Quote: seattledice

The sad part was that the rolls ended without hitting either of the two numbers I had pushed up to $10 + $100 odds. My wife always cringes when I tell her about those "huge" bets.

Heh. I cringed the first time I bet five credits at a nickel VP. I had to remind myself the bet was just a quarter.

Some years back I played poker with friends every week. We had lots equivalent to $2 and chips equivalent to a penny, nickel and dime. A bet of $0.50 was huge! Of course the purpose of the game was to ahve fun, not to win money. Besides, I'd seen friendships end over high-stakes opker games (I'm talking as much as a couple of thousand dollars being lost).

Congratulations on your win. May you see many more.

It makes sense to Put the 6 and 8 if you can place more than 5x odds on it. Most casinos don't allow more than 5x odds on the 6 and 8 but if you can find one and you are betting more than 6x the minimum on the 6 and 8 anyway then you should Put the 6 and 8.

The same is true with the 5 and 9 with more than 4x odds.

Since the HA on the 4 and 10 is cheaper with a Buy at 4.76%, you should only Put the 4 and 10 with more than 6x odds.

Quote: teddys

What casino do you play at, if you don't mind me asking?

I don't mind, but I meant local as in local to where I live which is near Seattle. The casino is Tulalip. It's one of the bigger Indian casinos around here.

Quote: boymimbo

It makes sense to Put the 6 and 8 if you can place more than 5x odds on it.
...
The same is true with the 5 and 9 with more than 4x odds.
...
Since the HA on the 4 and 10 is cheaper with a Buy at 4.76%, you should only Put the 4 and 10 with more than 6x odds.

Thanks for listing the odds multiples where it makes sense to use them. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that, but it didn't occur to me at the time. The put bet seems to be misused by many people - putting it up with only 2x odds. Or making big place bets when a put bet has a lower house edge. One disadvantage with put bets is that you cannot take down the flat bet, so if you are inclined to take down or turn off bets they might not be for you.

I am fairly certain that the max odds would apply to Put bets so you can only use the Put bets when the odds allow it which rule out most casinos.

However, this is a valid strategy at Casino Royale which allows 100x odds on $5 and 20x odds on $3. So if you are thinking about placing the 6 and 8 (or have a progressive going) for $24, it's better to Put the 6 and 8, $3 with $20 odds. You'll get paid $27 if it hits but only lose $23 if it doesn't for a HA of 1.186% (versus 1.515% for the place bet).

Or, to illustrate, placing the 6 and 8 for $60 (which pays 70) versus putting the 6/8 for $3 with $55 odds (which pays $69) will save you $.63 per bet on average. Though this doesn't seem much, a 7 or 6 hits 30.56% of rolls meaning that in an three hour session at 60 rolls per hour (180 rolls), a decision will be made 55 times. Using this strategy, on average, you will lose only $15 by putting versus $50 by placing. You save $35, lose less ($58 vs $60) and win more ($11 vs $10) when using the PUT strategy.

Quote: seattledice

When I placed the 6 or 8, one time the dealer did as I asked and placed the number for $60. The other time the dealer made it a $5 put bet with $50 odds, which is of course the better bet with a house edge of only 0.83% (if my math is correct) vs. the 1.52% edge on the place bet.

Well, one of those dealers earned his tip for sure!!

Quote: FleaStiff

Well, one of those dealers earned his tip for sure!!

Indeed!