The do's and don'ts of craps

29 April 2014

By Frank Scoblete

[The advice here is for craps players playing a random game and not for dice controllers.]

DO shoot the dice when it is your turn. This is the rare casino game where the casino gives you the dice and says, “OK, try to beat us.” So try to beat them!

DON’T fall for erroneous gambling concepts pushed by many Internet dice ploppies such as trend betting. What happened in the past will not affect what is coming up next. In a random game, the past is dead as far as the future is concerned.

DO make the mathematically best bets such as the Pass with Odds; the Don’t Pass with Odds; the Come with Odds and the Don’t Come with Odds. You can also consider Place betting the 6 and 8, but that Place bet is nowhere near as good as the bets above.

DON’T listen to players and Internet ploppies who tell you they can “read a table” or “understand what the table is giving me” or psychically “tune” into the subtle vibrations of the universe concerning their craps play.

DO consider only making one bet as opposed to several or many bets when playing. With each bet you make you are playing separate games against the house. If you have three numbers working you are playing three games and probably tripling your expected losses.

DON’T take any dice control classes, private lessons, seminars on dice control or betting styles if these don’t come with a money-back guarantee. The legitimate schools will offer a money-back guarantee.

DO tip the dealers, as dealers need tips to live. The best way to make a tip is to put it on a box number and say, “For the dealers, I control it.” That means if the bet wins, the dealer only gets the win and the initial bet stays on the number. On a hot roll the dealers can make quite a few tips that way.

DON’T slap the shooter on the back or talk into his nose while he is setting the dice and getting ready to throw. The shooter should be left alone. If he hits a point, then clap but allow the shooter to maintain a relaxed demeanor. That demeanor probably has nothing whatsoever to do with how well he will do, but it does show respect on your part.

DO get your bets in while the dice are in the middle of the table. Once the shooter has the dice, no bets are to be made. To make late bets is discourteous.

DON’T bet any of the “crazy crapper” bets such as the Hardways, the Field, the 2, the 3, the 11 or the 12. Don’t make any horn bets, whirl bets, C&E bets, the Any Seven or the abominable Fire Bet. All of the crazy crapper bets are for crazy crappers!

DO create a 401G account for your gambling money and only play based on what savings you have in that account. Like a 401K, the 401G should be regularly added to. By the way, the “G” stands for gambling.

DON’T get caught up in the mass excitement of players making wild bets and occasionally hitting them. Craps is a controlled riot. You must make the lowest house edge bets to have any chance to come out ahead and, more than likely, to keep your losses reasonable.

DO learn how to set the dice and take care with your roll. Even if you are not a dice controller -- and dice setters are rarely dice controllers -- looking good as you shoot is called “style” and style counts. It makes the other players feel you really want to hit numbers.

DON’T pretend that you don’t care whether you win or lose on your roll. Show that you care by developing a form that looks as if you are a serious player. Does such form give you an edge? No. But there is nothing wrong with looking good.