Best Progressions Part I

28 November 2020

By Jerry Stickman

[Many gambling pundits advocate betting progressions as a method to increase winnings – or conversely to reduce losses. This advice can work for the game of craps only if the shooter is a controlled shooter. A controlled shooter can reduce the occurrence of 7’s or increase the occurrence of other point numbers from random.

Against a random shooter, there is no betting method that will improve the lot of the gambler at a craps table. The gambler will lose as the math dictates.

This is the first in a series of four articles directed at the true advantage players of the game of craps. Those who through dice control can gain an advantage against the casino.]

Let’s begin.

You have read the books; you have taken one or more classes and you have practiced your throw religiously for several weeks. You are finally to the point where you feel you can go attack the casino and make a “withdrawal” at the craps table.

When you finally arrive, you notice a table that has your position available and it is not very crowded. You move to the table, buy in and the dice are about to be passed to you. You focus on the dice in the center of the table; determine what you need to do to quickly set the dice when you get them. The stickman slides the dice in your direction. You quickly set them, focus on your perfect landing spot and launch the dice. They travel beautifully together, land softly, touch the back wall and come to rest together.

Your point is established and you place the 6 and 8 for $12 each. You continue to roll for who knows how long. You are completely in the zone, hitting number after number. You are oblivious to your surroundings. All your energy and attention are on the dice. Eventually you are pulled from your zone by the inevitable words: “Seven-out, line away.”

You look at your watch – you have been rolling for 35 minutes. You are ecstatic. Everything has worked just the way you dreamed. Then you look at your chip rack and put the haphazardly placed collection of chips in order and count them. You find you are up 15 units. This is great, you think, but with a 35-minute roll it should have been more.

Then it dawns on you – you did not press your bets.

This is a very common occurrence among those who are reasonably new to careful shooting. You get into the zone and just don’t think about anything but throwing the dice. What you need to do is find a way to increase your bets and do it in a nearly automatic way.

There are many progression methods available, but many of them require some mental gymnastics that could throw you out of the zone. Keep in mind that it is always prudent to increase your bets only with profits. If you are betting the 6 and 8, you will need at least two wins – three is better – before starting any progression. If you are betting the inside numbers you need three to four wins before increasing your bets.

Two of the simplest progressions are the press-and-pull (or the pull-and-press variant) and the up-a-unit. As the name implies, the press-and-pull progression alternates between pressing the place bet when the number hits and pulling the profits when it hits.

For example, you place a $6 6. The first time it hits you take $6 of the $7 you win and press the 6 to $12. The next time the number 6 rolls you take the $14 win (pull) and put it in your rack. Next hit on the 6 you use $12 of you $14 win and press the 6 to $24, etc. Since the dealer automatically knows the amounts you need in order to press a bet, the only thing you need to remember is whether you want to press or pull.

This can be easily tracked by putting the same number of chips as you have place bets flat in the chip rack beside each other. For the press-and-pull progression have the chips pointing toward the table – indicating that you want to have the money from the win go in that direction when the number hits. Once you press a bet, flip the corresponding chip to face you – indicating that you want to money to go in your direction when it hits the next time. Keep alternating as it hits.

The up-a-unit progression adds one unit to the place number each time it hits. Using the same $6 place bet on the 6, the first time the 6 hits, you say “up a unit, please” and the dealer will put $6 of your $7 win on the 6 and give you $1. The next time the 6 hits, the dealer will take $6 from your $14 win and add it to the bet on the 6 and give you $8. Each time the 6 hits, the dealer will add $6 to the bet and return the difference to you.

This is the simplest progression of which I am aware. The only thing you have to remember is to say “up a unit”.

There you have it - two simple progression strategies. One where a chip indicates what to do and what could be simpler than just saying “up a unit, please” each time a number hits?

Remember two things, however. Only raise your bets on winnings and practice is the key to performance. Practicing progressions at home will make them a natural and automatic part of the routine. Make progressions a part of your controlled shooter’s winning strategy.

Also remember; accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

May all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and small.

Jerry “Stickman”

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerry@aol.com