The Secrets of Qualifying a Shooter

Pssst… Wanna know a secret? How about the secrets of qualifying a shooter?

When you're playing craps, do you ever walk up to a table and put your money on the layout in the middle of a roll? After all, dice have no memory, so what difference could it make? Well, it makes a big difference. First of all, craps pros will approach a table and look at the chips in the player's racks to see how they are all doing. They also may wait one or two points to see which way the table is going and if there are any profitable Don't players betting. They think carefully and then qualify the shooter before they start betting.

Wanna know the secrets that craps pros use in qualifying their shooters? Let's find out how they do it.

Craps pros look for shooters that bet big on themselves while they have the dice. Sometimes, these shooters will only bet $5 passline while someone else is shooting, but $25 or $50 while they have the dice themselves. Who knows, maybe they have a craps table at home and have perfected some method of rolling numbers, or perhaps they are accomplished rhythm rollers, and have been doing it for years. At any rate, if they have confidence in themselves as shooters, you should always be ready to back them up with a big bet. The dealers know when one of these guys comes along. They will try to talk to him, break his rhythm, maybe even send a cocktail waitress over, just to break his concentration. When you see this happen, try not to distract him yourself - don't smoke, talk to him, or distract him in any way. These "rhythm players" should be left alone.

I was at a table with one of these players and he kept rolling number after number. He was arranging the dice in a certain way, and threw them so they always landed in approximately the same spot in the far corner of the table. After he made three points in a row, the pit boss suddenly asked the guy about his rating, but was waved away. The dealers kept talking to him, and he ignored them. Then, the pit boss brought in some new racks of chips and started to replenish his supply, still trying to stop this guy. Nothing worked, he kept on shooting numbers. After his fifth point was made and people began to crowd the tables, the dice were examined. "Same dice" he called, and the dealers finished their examination and reluctantly returned the dice to him. Then, a slightly tipsy man came to the table and squeezed in right next to the shooter. He actually pushed himself in and bought in for a whole $10. He began to talk loudly to the shooter, who clearly didn't like him there. If something like this happens, you should take your bets down, even if the shooter leaves his up. You really have to watch for things like this, and take your bets down if anything unusual or out-of-the-ordinary occurs. Needless to say, the next roll was a seven, and the shooter colored out and left. So did the drunk, who had pushed himself in for one roll only for some strange reason and then went elsewhere.

The lesson here is simply to keep your eyes open and be aware of all the other players, and especially the shooter. If he is throwing numbers, it doesn't matter if he sets the dice, says a prayer, blows on them, or has his "niece" shoot for him. The only thing that matters is results. Once the dice go around the table, you should be able to determine the good and bad shooters by their previous performance. If someone looks confident of his abilities, he could be a good shooter. And if he shoots a lot of numbers while he bets big on himself, you should bet along with him. Hopefully your bets will stay up, along with his for a very long - and profitable - roll!

Pssst… Now you know the secrets of qualifying a shooter.

The Crapshooter
© 2007 by Larry Edell