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How to Avoid Three Common Disputes at Craps

31 December 1995

Considering the number and variety of bets spread around the layout in the excitement of a craps game, payoff disagreements are bound to happen once in a while. If you understand a few subtleties of the game, you can avert many arguments - skirting lots of grief and preventing loss of money due to careless error.

One common type of dispute arises when dice don't land flat but lean against some chips or a wall, edge-up. Two sides could seemingly be designated upward-facing. The house calls one value; some or all of the solid citizens at the rail wanted the other.

"Cocked dice" decisions follow a simple rule. How would the dice fall if the obstructions were moved back? The answer is usually unambiguous, although not necessarily what you want to hear.

On rare occasions, a die may be cocked in the gap between two stacks of chips, supported by both. Then, a different face would be upward depending on which obstruction were removed first. This indeterminate situation is generally called as a "no roll." If you've ever been asked to move your "odds" further away from your flat line bet, you now know why. The dealer was trying to avoid a small gap which could give rise to this uncertain condition.

A second typical class of disagreement in craps occurs when a player professes to have made a bet, but the chips aren't on the layout at the moment of truth. The house rules "no bet." The player loses the purported original wager as well as the payoff.

Players claiming phantom bets may, of course, be trying to cheat the casino. More often, there's been an honest mistake.

If the "missing" bet is on one of the hardways - say two-two - the number may have come "easy" - in this case one-three - during a hot roll. The player therefore lost on the hard four but may have won a place or come bet on the number and, in the flurry, didn't notice the longshot going down. One-roll propositions are also subject to this confusion. Dealers often ask if players want to go back up after losing these bets, but can't be faulted for forgetting or being too preoccupied to do so.

Disputes over nonexistent bets can also occur on wagers that dealers position on the boxes or in the center of the layout. For instance, in setting up a busy table, a dealer may inadvertently "lock up" chips assumed to be left over from the previous roll. Or, a dealer may think a player has wagered on the field, when chips dropped in that area were meant as a place bet on a number. Likewise, a proposition bet tossed to the stickman may be overlooked, positioned other than where requested, or credited to the wrong player. Although dealers position the chips, bettors are responsible to verify their money on the table. If chips aren't where you intended, speak up -- preferably before the shooter gets the dice. A dealer is more apt to remember $10 or $15 at that point then several minutes into the action.

A third type of dispute arises when two players each claim the same bet and winnings. Contentions involving double claimers can be circumvented in much the same way as conflicts about missing bets. If you think the position of your chips on the layout doesn't clearly correspond to your spot at a crowded table, ask that they be moved - again, before payday. When you speak up, if the player next to you objects, it's likely that the dealer has inadvertently locked-up or misplaced one of the two bets and the conflict can be resolved quickly and painlessly.

What do you do when you deduce that the devil has denied you your due? If the amount is small, you can let it go - perhaps compensating by withholding your usual big tip from dealers you think have been inattentive. Alternately, you can carry your complaint through channels - first by calmly speaking to the pit boss or shift manager then by filing a report with the gaming commission. One way or another, though, heed the hint highlighted in Sumner A Ingmark's celebration of sang-froid, Song of Savoir-Faire:

Don't yell and scream and let off steam,
Or rant and rave and misbehave,
'Cause getting cross won't stem your loss,
But showing grace can save much face.

Alan Krigman

Alan Krigman was a weekly syndicated newspaper gaming columnist and Editor & Publisher of Winning Ways, a monthly newsletter for casino aficionados. His columns focused on gambling probability and statistics. He passed away in October, 2013.
Alan Krigman
Alan Krigman was a weekly syndicated newspaper gaming columnist and Editor & Publisher of Winning Ways, a monthly newsletter for casino aficionados. His columns focused on gambling probability and statistics. He passed away in October, 2013.