Don't do what this "don't" player did

11 August 2016

By John Grochowski

Craps is the most social game in the casinos. For the most part, players win and lose together.

That’s part of the fun. There’s nothing quite like the elation and camaraderie of a busy craps table with a shooter on the roll.

Still, there are those who prefer the so-called dark side, betting the shooter won’t make his points. The house edge is slightly smaller on don’t bets, at 1.36% on don’t pass and don’t come vs. 1.41% on pass or come.

It doesn’t bother me when someone bets against the shooter. I’ve done it myself, though not often. Don’t bettors are just trying to make money, like anyone else.

It isn’t a personal insult – unless the player decides to make it so.

That happens sometimes, with a don’t bettor who goes out of his way to antagonize. That’s the situation a reader named Danny found himself in one morning.

“I was the first one at a table that just opened,” Danny told me. “Pretty soon this other guy joined me, maybe 35 or 40, with a beard. We weren’t doing bad. About holding our own. Then this third guy came up with his wife or girlfriend, and said, ‘Watch this, I’m going to show you how to take money from these losers.’ And he put down $50 on don’t pass.”

I asked if those were his exact words. Did he really call you “these losers?”

“He did, and it wasn’t just guys kidding around,” Danny said.

I asked what happened when the dice started to roll.

“The bearded dude and I were both betting the $10 minimum, and he was the shooter. He rolled a 7, so he and I won our $10 and the don’t bettor lost $50. Didn’t faze him. He put down another $50 and told the girlfriend, ‘No problem. Those guys are on the sucker side.’

“Next roll, another 7. Rinse and repeat. We collect, he puts another $50, throws another insult our way. Next comes a 6. ‘Now we’re talking,’ he tells the woman. Everybody puts odds down, the shooter and I make come bets, and the don’t guy bets a no-8.

“After that came an 8, so that’s our come number, and the don’t guy loses another bet. His girlfriend is looking a little upset. ‘No worries,’ he told her, and he yells across to the shooter, ‘Come on, loser. Let’s see you do that again.’”

I asked how the shooter took it. Was he getting angry, or just taking it in stride.

“He was pretty cool,” Danny said. “He was laughing, but he really wanted to come right back.

“And he did! He rolled another 8, then a 6 so we won our pass bets. The other guy is looking a little mad now, but he digs out a few $100 bills for more chips. And he keeps taunting, with even more edge in his voice. But the bearded guy was a cool customer, and he just kept rolling 6s and 8s.”

I suggested the doubts must have been creeping in for the don’t bettor.

“Oh, he was getting steamed. Finally, he grabs his girlfriend and leaves. He must have lost a grand. The bearded guy and I were betting smaller, so our wins combined didn’t add up to that. But it was fun to beat the guy who had us pegged as losers.

“And you know what? When that dude had gone, the stickman turned to the shooter and said, ‘I want to thank you for that. He’d been bothering our players all last night.’”


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