Paying off the bets

[The following column is excerpted from Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!]

I've got to thank my Golden Touch instructor Billy "the Kid" for saying to me, "Frank, it isn't just that craps players make really bad bets, many don't even know how those bets get paid off by the dealers. What the order of payoffs are. Experienced players are morons in this area too. It drives the few good players insane when other players screw up the game."

I have found out through painstaking research (actually just watching hundreds of my fellow craps players at the tables) that Billy is right. Not only don't most craps players know the true house edges of bets and what those edges mean, they have no idea of the order in which all those bets are paid off or taken by the dealers -- the good bets, bad bets and the in-between bets.

In fact, I haven't seen any articles or sections of craps books relating to this question either. I think all gambling writers have tended to assume that experienced craps players know such a thing. Evidently they don't. Keep in mind that the bets are paid off in a way that protects the casino's money from the bad guys. You'll see that the order makes sense in that light.

So here we go.

1. A number hits. The dealer's immediately take the losing bets off the table. These losing bets are usually of the one-roll variety, although they can be ard way bets as well.
2. The "contract" bets are paid off -- meaning the come bets -- from inside out. These bets are paid off from the stickman around to the dealer.
3. Place bets are now paid off -- inside out as well -- from stickman to dealer.
4. Next all the Crazy Crapper bets are paid off. These are paid off on the side of the table where the dice landed. So if you are on the opposite side from where the dice landed, just be a little patient. You'll get your payoff.

Now what if a point is made? Then the dealers deal with those line bets first. They take the don't pass and then pay off the pass line bets. The bets are paid off from the dealers to the stickman. The stickman watches the payoffs on the side where the dice landed; the boxman watches the payoffs on the side of the shooter.

OK, so many players have no idea of the above but these players also have no idea of when and how to bet. They merely throw their chips onto the layout and scream their bets aloud. Often this is done when the shooter is about to throw the dice (bad manners!) or when the dealer is paying off someone else's bet.

Listen to an irate Billy "the Kid" on this issue: "It drives me crazy when players throw bets out when a shooter is about to roll the dice. Don't they know the traditional rules of the game? No, they don't. They are morons, ploppies of the first order. How about when they nag the dealer about paying off their hard ways or proposition Crazy Crapper bets? The poor dealers have to keep telling them it is not their turn to get paid yet. The players look dumbfounded. They have little idea of the fact that there is an order to the payouts. What do they think? The bets are just paid off in a random fashion? I call this the moron factor. Come on, players. Learn how to at least play the game properly even if you make the dumbest bets."

Billy continues: "You know how many arguments occur when players do this stupid stuff? Do you know how many other players get confused and start yelling for their payouts -- out of order too? It's like craps players come into the casino and immediately lose about fifty points on their IQs. It's maddening. But if you do know how to play craps properly, you will get maddened too. I've gotten to a point where I will leave some tables because the players are driving me nuts."

Billy has his list of do's and don'ts. So here are some other things to understand about the game that too few players actually know or do:

1. Do not buy in when a shooter has the dice. Wait for the dice to be in the middle of the table.
2. Instead of buying-in fully, throwing the game to a dead stop as the money is counted and the chips are placed on the layout, just place the exact amount you want to bet on the felt. If you are betting a $60 six and eight then put out $120 in cash and say, "Sixty dollar six and eight!" The dealer then places your bet very quickly and the game continues at a good pace. This is important for controlled shooters who are looking to get into some kind of rhythm.
3. When your place bet wins, you wait for your turn to be paid off and then you have the option of saying the following: "Same bet," or "Press my bet" (meaning double it), or "Press my bet 'X' amount," or "Turn my bet off" or "Take my bet down."

Billy also thinks a lot of players just don't know how much their bets pay off. "It is crazy that someone would make bets and not know what the correct payout is. How stupid can you get? If you are making a bet then you better know how much you should get paid. It can drive you to drink listening to someone trying to get the dealers to explain to them that the bet they made is being paid off correctly. Why the heck did they make the bet in the first place if they didn't know how much it paid off?"

Now that you have read this, you should never make any of the above mistakes again. Of course, anyone who reads this is probably not the person this chapter is addressed to. What that means is simple -- the ploppies will always be with us, and as Billy the Kid warns, "Beware of the moron factor!"