The captain's supersystem

Frank:

I work at a casino in Missouri. I've noticed an odd betting pattern in Craps made by one of our regulars. He'll place $5 on both the pass and don't pass, as well as the come and don't come. He'll only place odds on the do's, usually at 3-5 times (we offer 10x odds).

I see his strategy in that the pass and don't pass will balance each other out, as will the come and don't come. This causes the only "live" bets to be the odds he places.

Being that odds are paid in true odds, he should be basically playing an even-money game, right? If so, why waste your time? I also think that by barring the 12 on the don'ts, it's a losing proposition in the long haul.

What is the house edge in this type of play? Is it worth trying myself?

Thanks a lot!

Andrew

Dear Andrew:

The method this individual is employing is a form of the Supersystem created by the Captain of Craps and written about in my very first book Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos!

The Captain used this method to find "rhythmic rollers," which is what he called controlled shooters back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

However, it is really exactly as you figured when it comes to random shooters - a losing proposition because the house takes it's cut from both the "do" and the "don't" sides of the bet. That means a $10 player loses about 14 cents on the Pass Line (or Come) and about 14 cents on the Don't Pass (or Don't Come) for a total of about 28 cents overall. That is twice as much as just betting on one proposition or the other because you are betting twice as much. As you stated, barring that 12 makes the "don't" a losing bet on that side of the wager.

The amount the player takes in odds is merely a break-even proposition so betting 3X or 5X or 10X or 100X just means he will still lose that 28 cents for those two $10 bets. Of course, the more he takes in odds the greater the bankroll swings will be due to various streaks but in the long run neither the house nor the player has the edge on those odds bets.

I am giving you a free one-month subscription to my private web site at www.goldntouchcraps.com.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete