Can a casino control the outcomes at craps?

Dear Frank,

Although I have never taken your Golden Touch dice class, I really enjoy your website. Recently I have been playing a lot of craps at our local casino. My question is this: Do you think it is possible for the house to control the outcome of the dice?

I know the house has an advantage over the player but with this in mind all this about hot and cold tables has got me and many others wondering how it can go point 7 so many times in row without making one number no matter how you set the dice. Is there any way they are cheating?

Thanks,
Cy

Dear Cy:

Gaffed or fixed dice can be used and certain numbers would come up far more than other numbers. So, yes, it is possible for a casino to cheat in this way. Do I think a casino would do this? No.

With house edges ranging from 1.4% all the way up to 16.67%, there is no need to cause the seven to come up more than its probability indicates. Also, if those sevens are coming up an inordinate number of times over an extended period of time (say weeks and months in a row), darkside don't players would wind up owning the casino.

What you saw was merely a random distribution of numbers. Streaks always happen during random events. I once saw the 12 come up five times in a row!

Also forget the concept of "hot" and "cold" tables. There is no such thing. A table was hot; a table was cold, yes, but that tells us nothing about what the table will do on the next roll or the rolls after that. So many craps players believe they can follow a trend, bet with it or against it, and all of them are long-term losers. There is only one way to beat the game of craps and that is dice control.

I am giving you a free 30-day subscription to my private member's only website at www.goldentouchcraps.com. We have over 5,000 members on this site and I think you will enjoy it.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete