![]() Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! Recent Articles
Best of Frank Scoblete
|
Gaming Guru
Can I use a controlled throw and bet the hard ways?31 August 2008
Dear William: OK, William, you got some things right and some things wrong. Since GTC members are friends there are many times when groups of us go to the casinos together. I have a group we call "The Five Horsemen," all relatively high rollers, and we like to travel as a group and play as a group. However, we all also play alone. Some of our members will on occasion make those hard ways bets. These are stupid bets even for them. The best bets are the pass line, come and also place bets of the 6 and 8; with buy bets of $25 or $50 of the 4 and 10 if the vig is taken out on wins only. So why are these the best bets? The house edge is approximately a mere 1.4% on these bets. Contrast this with the house edge on those hard ways bets with the 4 and 10 coming in at 11% and the 6 and 8 coming in at 9%. If you were a random roller you lose about $1.40 cents on $100 wagered on the good bets; but you lose between $9 and $11 on the hard ways. That is a huge difference. Let us say that you now practice a controlled throw based on our excellent DVD Beat Craps by Controlling the Dice (which is available on Amazon.com). Let us say you become very good at controlled shooting to the point where you have a 5% edge. Now when you shoot for the 6 and 8 or any of the better bets, the house edge now shifts to you. You will be able to have about a 3.5 edge now, which means you will win $3.50 for every $100 you bet. But if you make those high-house-edge bets you are still substantially behind the house by 4 to 6%. So making those hard ways bets is still a bad idea. So having "the hots" for hard ways is like having the hots for a person who is bad for you. Playing conservative is not really playing conservative — it is playing smart. For your letter I am giving you a free 10-day subscription to my private, members-only website at www.goldentouchcraps.com. We have over 5,000 members on this site and the discussions are interesting, enlightening and fun. Enjoy! All the best in and out of the casinos. Frank Scoblete This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Recent Articles
Best of Frank Scoblete
Frank Scoblete |
Frank Scoblete |