Playing Craps

27 April 2023

By Royal Flushes

CINDY: Blackjack has many more players now than does craps.

ABBY: At one time craps dominated the casino world but when card counting came in, around 1963 or so, the player population started to drift over to the game of blackjack because they thought it was beatable.

CINDY: It was beatable by a select few. Just a really, really select few.

ABBY: A really, really few select few.

CINDY: But craps, along with roulette, are now the second-place finishers in the table-game popularity contest. Slots, of course, dominates everything by a huge margin.

ABBY: As an aside, think of this; craps is still an overwhelmingly male-dominated game. You do not see many women playing the game, even today. So. half the casino population stays away from the game. In blackjack at least half the players are women. That is also one of the reasons for blackjack’s success rate, not just the card counting revolution.

ABBY: We both find craps to be the most exciting game in the casino. When a table is going good, wow!, you are in for cheering, heart-pounding moments. When it’s going bad? The moans are similar to a funeral procession in a house of worship.

CINDY: Most players bet with the shooter making numbers and avoiding the 7 during the point cycle of the game. On the come-out roll where the player is trying to roll what will be the point for that hand, a 7 and an 11 will be winners. That’s eight ways to win.

ABBY: And a 2, 3 and 12 will be losers. That’s four ways to lose. The come-out roll for the shooter favors the players. Once a point is established, the game favors the house.

CINDY: Keep in mind that many numbers have more than one way to be made. The 7 for example has six ways to be made, while a 2 or 12 each have one way to be made.

ABBY: There are some players, just a few mind you, who bet against the shooter making numbers. They are rooting for the seven during the point cycle of the game. That seven will hurt the player who bets with the shooter but will be a winner for the player betting against the shooter.

CINDY: Those players are called “don’t players” or “darksiders.” They are not popular with the “right siders” who bet with the shooters. It is somewhat rare to see a darksider get emotional during a game. They seem to slink to the table, make their bets, and when they win, they take their win in a furtive manner.

ABBY: Or we just see it that way since we are not fans of darksiders either. I have been at tables where there are obnoxious darksiders, usually younger players but some old grunts too, who seem to get a kick to cheer when they win and they see other players getting clobbered.

CINDY: To each his own. But luckily, there aren’t many loud darksiders. I think there would be fistfights at the table if there were. Actually, there aren’t many darksiders at all.

ABBY: Most of the time, you won’t have any darksiders at your table. They are a somewhat rare breed of player.

CINDY: And may they get even rarer.

ABBY: You’re not killing them off?

CINDY: No, no, I am wishing they see the light and become right siders.

ABBY: Next week, some betting tips on playing craps!

CINDY: The right way!