Going for the Gold

1 February 2022

By Frank Scoblete

QUESTION: I don’t want to rain on your parade but I do take exception to gambling writers who are always lamenting those of us who enjoy “going for the gold” when we play the casinos’ games.

I am a craps lover and I have been playing almost a dozen years, since I was 21 on the exact day of my birthday. I couldn’t wait to get into the casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. I actually flew to Vegas for my 21st birthday. That’s how serious I was and am.

Now, I know you believe in only making the Pass Line, Come and maybe a place bet of the 6 or 8 in order to keep the house edge low. If I place the 6 and 8 for $30 each and make a $5 hard 6 and 8, what is the harm in doing that? I then have the 6 and 8 for $30 each and a $5 hard 6 and a $5 hard 8. I’m wagering only $70.

Can you explain to me why this betting arrangement is so bad? My hardways bets are low and will not cost me much at all. And a win on either one will give me a good payout.

Yes, I will admit I will make a C&E on the come-out roll and maybe some other high house-edge bets along the way. But that is the way I like to play.

Enlighten me.

ANSWER: You can play anyway you want to. After all, it is your money and you can spend it as you will.

I like to eat in gourmet restaurants. Some of my acquaintances think doing so is a waste of money. I disagree. I can eat café food for breakfast and lunch but dinner? I go for the gold there.

I think I can give you my reason for preferring to make the better bets at the game of craps. You can buy what I am saying – you probably won’t – but I think I stand on steady ground here. I only need to use your first example of betting the 6 and 8 for $30 each and making a hardways bet on both of those numbers as well.

The placing of the 6 and 8 have a house edge of 1.52 percent. That means for your bets of $30, your expected loss is about 46 cents (I’m rounding numbers a little here). So, you have two of those bets working and the cost for those two is about 92 cents.

Now let us look at the placing of the hardways for $5 each on both of those numbers. The house edge on the hard 6 and hard 8 is about 9 percent each. The loss expectation per bet is therefore 45 cents per bet. The total loss on those two bets is 90 cents.

They almost cost as much as the $30 on the 6 and 8.

Do you really want to bet more? And win more? Or, rather, lose less? If so, why not just put $6 more on the 6 and the 8? Now for that $36, your expected loss is about 55 cents on each bet, which comes to $1.10 for the total of both bets.

Look at this now: Your loss on your style of betting is $1.82 cents. The loss on my recommendation is $1.10. That’s some big difference.

Think of playing a few days and see how much you will really save. I think the fun would be just as great and also your chances of coming out ahead are also much, much better.

And that is my attempt to enlighten you.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s books are available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, libraries and bookstores.