Readers Write

Hey guys. I'm an avid poker player (more getting together with the boys and knocking back a few than anything else) and I enjoy casino blackjack. I just recently tried craps for the first time. I had a pretty good time just placing small wagers on pass and don't pass and that sort of thing. It seemed to me that if betting on the don't pass line is betting on the house to win, then this bet would actually be in my favor. Is this so? Is there actually a bet in a casino that is a bet on the house to win? Are there any notable works on this type of betting? I was the most unpopular guy at the table, but I came out up. Was this a fluke?

RazorbackRugby

Dear Razorback:

I hate to disappoint you but -- the betting of Don't Pass and Don't Come (also known as darkside betting) is only fractionally better than the "right" side of betting the Pass Line and Come. Once you are up on the numbers from the dark side, you really do have a game that favors you considerably as you are the odds-on favorite to win against every number. Since you are rooting for the 7, you are a two-to-one favorite to beat out the 4 or 10 (six ways to make the 7, three ways to make a 4 or 10); a three-to-two favorite to win out over a 5 or 9 (six ways to make the 7, four ways to make a 5 or 9); and you are a six-to-five favorite over the 6 or 8, each of which can be made with five different combinations.

Unfortunately there's an unfortunately in our analysis of the dark side of the game. Unfortunately, the first placement of the Don't Pass or Don't Come is fraught with danger because we lose when a 7 or 11 is thrown (8 ways to lose), only win on a 2 or 3 (three ways to win) and push on the 12. That push on the 12 and those losses on the 7 and 11 more than make up for the great edge we have once we're up on the numbers -- so much so that the casino has an approximate 1.4 percent edge on the darkside bettor.

So the darksider is not playing with the house, he's playing against the house, just like all the other players. He's playing a different game in terms of what wins and loses for him and he is treated differently by the other players -- they hate him -- but the house doesn't have any interest in him other than its long-term edge!

I have a section on darkside betting in my new book, Forever Craps: The Five-Step Advantage-Play Method.

All the best in and out of the casinos!
Frank Scoblete

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