The trip from hell

22 December 2015

By Frank Scoblete

FROM ROLLO: Help me Frank! I was on a cruise ship for seven days and played craps each night. I was playing with a bunch of “shakers and fakers” as I like to call the ones throwing the dice everywhere and making field and hard ways bets. Then at the end of the table stood the darksider, making don’t come bets and pressing all the odds. His tray grew large while everyone else's grew small.

Not even the mighty 5-Count could help me on this dark trip; by the last night his side of the table was betting dark bets.

Please tell me there are other ways to win at a game I truly love when this situation is placed in front of me besides joining the dark one? It seemed like everyone sevened out at around eight or nine just in time for me to get a couple come bets out there.

This was a trip from hell.

FRANK RESPONDS: You certainly did experience a trip from hell. I’ve been there too. If people are sevening out on the eighth or ninth roll, the 5-Count can’t protect you. I wish it were a perfect method but sadly in casino gambling there are no perfect strategies. Losing for seven straight nights can mess with your head. I’m glad you didn’t decide to jump overboard.

As for going on the darkside, keep in mind that the streak you experienced does not predict what will happen next. You could have switched to the darkside and suddenly seen the rightside go on a winning rampage. If that were to happen you might feel that you were cursed.

You might consider betting less or merely going to one come bet with odds until you won a few times. I wish I had some magic formula to help you. I don’t.


FROM BIG BOY: I dispute your craps theory that come bets are better than place bets. The thing with place bets is you get to pick the number AND you can take your bets down whenever you want to. That seems to make these the better bets in my honest opinion.

OK, go ahead, defend yourself.

FRANK RESPONDS: What you’re saying is true. You can pick your numbers and you can take your bets down at any time.

Now for the bad news. So what if you can pick your numbers? Only the 6 and 8 come in with a decent house edge of 1.52%; the other place bets are awful. You face a 4% edge on the 5 and 9; and a 6.67% edge on the 4 and 10. Why would you want to ever place bets with those house edges?

In a random game you can’t outguess the dice. There is no predictive factor that would allow you to know what streak is coming next.

Now, as for taking down place bets; yes, you can do that at any point. But you’d have to take these bets down about 80% of the time. I have never seen a place bettor do that in my quarter century of play. I have seen place bettors take down or turn off bets but I’ve never seen one ever get to 80%.

I think your arguments, while they sound good, just don’t cut it.

I am sending free copies of my books “The Virgin Kiss” and “I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps!” to the above writers.