Lots of people sense
that craps is exciting, but are too cowed to
try it. They can't figure out the rhyme or
reason for wagers. Or what determines
whether anyone loses or wins - and, when the
latter, how much. And, they're afraid
they'll need too big a stake to play. All to
toss two dice and bet on how they'll land.
If you're willing to
forego being a shooter - itself a daunting
role novices often prefer to avoid - you can
calm your fears. Just make "Place bets" on
both the six and eight. These aren't the
archetypical craps wagers, nor the usual
"starting" bets. They're also not the "best"
you can do, edgewise. However, they're easy
to understand. And, taken together, are
equivalent to slot machines with 99 percent
return, superior to anything you can bet at
any other table game except blackjack, and
popular among solid citizens who regard
themselves as craps experts. After a few
sessions playing this way, you'll be
comfortable enough at craps to shift toward
a more advanced modus operandi.
Place bets on the six
and eight are two separate wagers, each
paying 7-to-6. For this reason, each is
booked in $6 multiples. At tables where the
minimum is $5, this is as little as $6 each
for a total of $12. Were the lower limit
$10, you'd need at least $12 each, and so
on. It's not really necessary to have equal
bets on the six and the eight, and you can
Place one rather than both. But the present
goal is a simple strategy that affords
action aplenty and a good shot at earning a
profit, not fancy footwork.
At the $6 level, you
earn $7 if the shooter rolls a six or eight
and your bet stays in action for the next
roll. You lose $12 if the shooter rolls a
seven, and have to start the process again
with another $12. Your bets are unaffected
by any other total. You'll have a decision
on 16 out of 36 possible results - 44
percent of all rolls. And your chances are
62.5 percent of winning $7 versus 37.5
percent of losing $12.
I'll skip the long,
boring passages detailing the mechanics of
actually making the bets. Instead, tell the
dealer you're new to the game and need help
betting the six and eight. This kindly
person will tell you where and when to put
your chips, will make change for you when
necessary, and will take care of the
payoffs.
It will be useful to
know a few procedural items in advance.
1) Determine betting
limits before starting. You'll be spared
trying to bet $6 in a high-roller game where
they scoff at such piddling sums. Limits
will be posted on the back wall of the
table, just below where the dealer is
standing.
2) Find a table with
room at the rail; shoehorning yourself into
a cramped crowd of rowdy rollers is bad
manners.
3) Look for the "puck," a disc about two
inches across. It'll either be on a numbered
box across the top of the layout -
white-side up showing the word "ON," or at
the end of the table - black-side up showing
"OFF." When it's "OFF," drop your cash onto
the table and ask for change. The dealer
will swap the money for chips, which you put
in the grooves along the rail. This is when
you tell the dealer you'd like help.
4) Whenever a six or
eight wins, the dealer will pay you at the
7-to-6 ratio. If you're amassing a lot of
white chips, the dealer might make a $7
payoff with $10 and say "drop me $3" or a
$14 payoff with $15 and ask for $1.
5) Ordinarily, your
bets are suspended during a "come-out" roll.
You'll neither win on six or eight nor lose
on seven. When you don't get paid on a six
or eight, this is probably the reason; ask
if you're in doubt, but don't arbitrarily
assume the dealer forgot to pay or tried to
cheat you.
What are your
prospects with this bet? Say you start with
$100 and play at the $6 level. You have more
than 70 percent chance of being in action
for at least two hours. And, if your target
is to quit when your earnings hit or top
$100, you've over 40 percent chance of
triumph. With a $50 goal, the likelihood
you'll make it exceeds 60 percent. And the
probability of an adrenaline rush is 100%,
no matter what. Or, as the poet, Sumner A
Ingmark, wrote:
Often you can be
successful,
Using means that aren't too stressful.
