Star Trek Casino Episode

Jeez, and I thought Buck Rogers being accused of cheating at "Eleven-Ten" was a pretty good episode. "No one can win at Eleven-Ten."

98Clubs and the WayBack Machine.

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Why not just roll 12's or 2's and bet the 30-1 shot?

Because Hollywood thinks we're all just a bunch of idiots who don't understand anything over 8th grade level. Therefore, in their minds, the only thing we know about craps is that a 7 wins.

(They don't even specify when, because then they'd have to explain that it's a loser sometimes (against a point) and apparently we're all too stupid to understand that. Next time you see a movie with a craps table in it where it's only a setting and not the true focus of the scene, watch carefully - 7 will almost never cause anyone to lose!)

Quote: Toes14

Because Hollywood thinks we're all just a bunch of idiots who don't understand anything over 8th grade level. Therefore, in their minds, the only thing we know about craps is that a 7 wins.

It's not that Hollywood thinks we're all a bunch of idiots. It's just lowest common denominator. If the intelligence level of a programme is set low, more people will watch - because smarter people will still watch something below their level, but less-smart people are unlikely to watch something they cannot understand.

Quote: Toes14

Because Hollywood thinks we're all just a bunch of idiots who don't understand anything over 8th grade level. Therefore, in their minds, the only thing we know about craps is that a 7 wins.

(They don't even specify when, because then they'd have to explain that it's a loser sometimes (against a point) and apparently we're all too stupid to understand that. Next time you see a movie with a craps table in it where it's only a setting and not the true focus of the scene, watch carefully - 7 will almost never cause anyone to lose!)

Which is why this episode was cool. They did exactly what you said they wouldn't do. Data established a point (either 6 or 8) and then 7-ed out. Riker even asked something like "I thought you wanted a 7?" and Data explained that the game changes. Thinking back to Craps in a lot of pop culture shows, they actually do a pretty good job. The Simpsons: "Baby on the table! That's good luck!" (Rolls dice.) "Seven out! Everyone loses!" The Office: "I need to roll an eight, then everyone wins." "Then roll an eight, Dwight." "Thank you Angela."

Speaking of the Simpsons, I remember one episode where the family goes to a dude ranch and when Homer and Bart help the indians get their land back from the beavers dam. After that, the indians say they are going to put up casinos. Homer asks "How many deck for the blackjack game" and the indian says "8" and Homer replies "4" then they agree on 6. I guess Homer isnt such a dolt about gaming. He "knew" the less the better.

I don't know why people have such a hard time understanding craps, and the difference between rolling a 7 on a come out roll or rolling a 7 when a point has been established. But, I just took to telling people who are new that ask me about the game, that they never want a 7 to roll. You have to admit that any roller who never rolled a 7 would win you money. Anyway, if they actually start playing and paying attention to the game, then the different rollings of 7 can be explained once they understand the point. For most people, actually playing the game and seeing it in action leads to more understanding than a description of the game.

Quote: konceptum

I don't know why people have such a hard time understanding craps, and the difference between rolling a 7 on a come out roll or rolling a 7 when a point has been established.

I also don't understand why people have a hard time with it.

I can distinctly remember playing craps as a kid. I was maybe 8 years old.

The ONLY part of the game my friends and I understood, was the Pass line bet. We didn't know it was called a "pass" or "line" bet, although we did know the game was called "craps". We didn't know anything about odds bets, come, place, field, or even hard ways.

So the only thing we did was pass line bets.

We didn't play it much, because, as you might expect, we thought it was boring.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

I also don't understand why people have a hard time with it.

I do, for the same reason I had a hard time with it.

To begin the table layout is large and complex. The first time I saw a craps table I looked around in vain for signs to explain the layout. To continue, there are cryptic plates stating 3x, 4x, 5x below the table's minimum and maximum limits. FInally as noted seven can be good or bad depending on what you're playing (pass, don't, come out roll, etc).

If you get past all that, there's the slang unique to the game. Sometimes it seems people at a craps table, dealers and players both, ahve their own little private language, which is spoken nowhere else at the casino.