Don't craps, annoying dice setters and annoying six-deck blackjack games

30 September 2014

By Frank Scoblete

FROM SARIT: Thanks for your help! Still learning the game, and I feel like when I turn to betting "wrong" I do better.

What do you think of laying a 4 or 10 when playing the Don't Pass? And should I leave the lay or take it off once a point has been made?

I enjoy your book “Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!” I’m squeezing in reading time when I can.

Thanks for all the tips you give so many players; it's really appreciated!

FRANK RESPONDS: The Don’t Pass or Don’t Come bets are a fraction of a percent better than the Pass/Come bets. I’d just go with a Don’t Come bet and only have one bet on one shooter. Don’t bother laying the 4 or 10. Just stick to the Don’t Come. If the shooter hits your number, just wait for the next shooter. Remember: One bet on one shooter.


FROM CHUCK: I have been a reader of yours for a long time.

I have been a recreational blackjack player for 30+ years. I actually was suspended during high school for playing blackjack with other students.

During these 30+ years, I have tried to learn different counting systems with little to no success until I discovered the “Speed Count” several years ago. I found that I was able to do well against a two-deck game in Las Vegas, but could not seem to make it work with a six-deck game closer to my home outside of Boston, at either Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun.

As I have put a lot of time and energy into learning “Speed Count” and how to play the game correctly, I was hoping you could consult with me to help me better understand what I am doing wrong so I can beat a six-deck game.

Any feedback or direction you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

FRANK RESPONDS: The six-deck (and eight-deck) games are slow to change in terms of the count. It’s a true grind to play those games. Playing “Speed Count” against these games requires patience. If you play enough you should be ahead, but the edge on these games is quite small. Whenever you can stick with those two-deck games, do so.

For your e-mail, I am sending you a copy of my book “Confessions of a Wayward Catholic.”


FROM MARK: Some would-be DI's [dice influencers] just take a long time to set the dice. It is mostly because they are very unfamiliar with the practice, and of course with all eyes on them they sort of choke.

What is worse, and this is what a lot of dealers tell me, is that they take a long time to set, then pick up the dice in a random fashion and throw in a random fashion. Some casino boxmen look at that as “deliberately sabotaging the game.”

Some dealers/casino workers are also just very impatient with players in general, have a condescending attitude towards them, and view us as a problem of their job rather than “the job.” Casino management is well aware of the poor attitudes of the dealers and floor men and even the pit bosses, and the gripes that they have about the players is viewed as part of that bad attitude.

Keep up the writing! I always enjoy your articles.

FRANK RESPONDS: I understand how tough it is to deal with the public, but casino dealers, boxmen, floor people, pit bosses and all workers that have anything to do with the patrons have to learn to ACT as if they like their patrons and their jobs. I don’t care if they actually hate their patrons; they must pretend otherwise.

Like true actors, your actual internal feelings are irrelevant when you are doing your job.

Yes, many “dice setters” are annoying and yes, some of them do take considerable time before winging the dice down the table where they bounce all over the place.

I have had the pleasure of playing at tables where the dealers were extraordinary — in fact, overall the dealers are quite good except for a few bad apples. Those bad apples are the “dice setters” from the casino side!

I am sending you a free copy of my book “The Virgin Kiss.”

Frank Scoblete’s new book is “I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack,” available on Amazon.com and Kindle.