Craps Tips
by
Gayle
Mitchell
Craps Tips include how to play,
strategies and some basic
lingo.
These Craps Tips quick bytes of information provide an educational
lesson.
1) Let’s run through the
numbers: 2,
3, 12 are craps-losers.
7 and 11–a ‘natural’-winners.
2) Point Numbers
are 4, 5,
6, 8, 9 & 10 and these
points must be repeated before a 7 is rolled.
3) When a player is
handed the dice
to throw, the first roll
is called a ‘come-out’ and a 7 or 11 immediately wins.
Whereas the 2, 3, or 12 immediately
loses.
4) If the player throws
any of the
other numbers: 4, 5, 6,
8, 9, 10. --the player continues to throw until either that same point
number
is rolled again, in which case the player wins, or until a 7 is rolled,
in
which case the player loses.
5) Any other number has
no
significance to the pass-line
wager. This explains why the 7 sometimes wins, and sometimes loses.
If it is thrown
on the first roll, it
wins.
If
it is thrown when the player
tries to repeat his first-roll number, it loses and is called a 7-out.
Craps
Tips:
Strategy
6) Keep your pass
line or don’t pass bet to the
table minimum; use progressive
betting when taking or giving odds. That’s where the real money is won.
7) The Odds bets are
determined by a
probability chart and
are based on 36 combinations a pair of dice can be rolled.
8) For instance, the 7
can be rolled
in six combos (combinations);
which is the highest combination probability.
The 6 and 8 can be rolled in five combos, and
the 5 and 9
can be rolled
four combos, while the 4 and 10 can be rolled three combos each.
9) Be sure to place
correct amount on
odds bets (as
illustrated below) or casino pays only even money.
6 and 8 - 6 to 5
odds. Pays
$6 for
every $5 wagered.
5 and 9 - 3 to 2
odds. Pays
$3 for
every $2 wagered.
4 and 10 - 2 to
1 odds. Pays
$2 for every $1
wagered.
Therefore, placing the 6
and 8 is a
good bet.
10)
Always repeat a winning parley bet.
11)
Don’t advance in your betting progression until you win two parlays in
a row or
win with odds.
12) Don’t Pass/Don’t Come
are
excellent bets at a ‘cold’
craps table.
13) Be wary about making field or
proposition bets.
14) Craps
Tips: Best bets: Under 3% house edge being
any intelligent player’s
goal.
Pass
line -1.41%
Don’t
pass line - 1.40%
Come
-1.41%
Don't
come -1.40%
Place
6 and 8 to win -1.51%.
Multiple
odds blows the house edge away:
Single
odds - 0.85%
Double
odds - 0.61%
Triple
odds - 0.47%
5
x odds - 0.32%
10
x odds - 0.18%.
15) Craps Tips and Terms:
Hook: imaginary line that
separates players 3 and
4 OR on larger tables, players 4 and 5.
It dictates where the
dealer will place the players’ Come,
Don’t Come, Place, Buy or Lay Bets and helps to eliminate
misunderstandings.
16) The words SIX and
NINE are used
instead of 6 and 9 for
the same reason.
More
Craps Tips from Larry Edell
At the craps table
itself, there
is only one person who is seated and that person is the boxman.
He (or she) takes
care of things,
for both the table and the players.
He keeps an eye on
the payoffs,
the bets, and more importantly, the average bets of all the players who
want to
be rated.
I’ve found that if
you tip the
dealers, the boxman takes it upon himself to bump up your average bet a
little.
He has an obvious personal interest in this, as all of the dealers
split the
tips.
He would rather have tippers return to his casino than
non-tippers.
The boxman also
handles player
disputes and is charge of the table’s chip bank, which is directly in
front of
him, by the middle of the table. The boxman is the most experienced
casino
employee at the table. Occasionally an inexperienced dealer might make
an
unpopular decision and the boxman can overrule it.
The man with the
stick is called
the stickman. He technically is one of the three dealers, and they all
rotate
around the table, so each dealer takes turns with the stick.
The stickman retrieves the dice and pushes them to the shooter, taking
care not
to display the dreadful seven that, of course, is bad luck.
The stickman also
takes care of
the proposition bets, and helps the other two dealers, who are on the
opposite
side of the table (next to the boxman) and handling all of the players’
bets.
Behind the tables
is
an area
called the “pit”. Players are not allowed to walk through this area.
In the pit are
floor
persons, who
are one step above the boxmen. Their primary functions are to watch out
for
cheaters and to keep track of rated players. When you first check in
and ask
for a marker, or when you leave and ask for a comp, or if you switch
tables,
this will all be handled by a floor person.
Supervising all of
this is the pit
boss. He is in charge of the casino personnel at all of the tables. You
will
rarely see him.
If you have a dispute regarding ratings or
table play you will
be speaking with a floor person, not the pit boss.
So, let’s say
something strange
happens during your play and the dealer closest to you disagrees with
what you
want.
For example, you have a $10 hard six and the
shooter
throws wildly. The dice bounce around all over the table and somehow
end up
sitting on top of each other. If they were separated on the table it
would show
your hard six, but the dealer suddenly calls out “no roll!”
Your first appeal
would be to the
boxman, who could overrule the dealer. If he doesn’t, you can yell,
“Stop Play,
I want to talk to the pit boss!” They really will stop play and a floor
person
will come over and see if he can resolve the situation first by talking
to the
boxman. If he can’t, he’ll call over a pit boss.
Usually, it won’t
get that far.
The boxman knows that it is more important to keep the players at his
table in
his casino, than it is to pay off a few hundred disputed dollars.
Casinos are
very competitive these days and they will do a lot to keep you as a
regular
patron.
Now that we know
the
casino
personnel, let’s take a quick look at the craps table itself, and learn
some
things that many players often overlook.
There are signs on
both sides of
the table announcing what the minimum and maximum bets are.
For
example, one
sign might say “$10 to $1,000, 2X odds”. This means that the minimum
flat bet
is $10, the maximum flat bet is $1,000 and the casino offers two times
odds.
There are usually several tables in the pit area, with
different stated limits.
It is not uncommon to see four tables, each with different minimums –
$1, $5, $10 and
$25. Usually
on
weekdays, the minimums are lower, and on weekend evenings, the minimums
are as
high as the traffic will allow. In the evenings, when all the tables
are in
use, the house usually raises all of the minimum bets.
If
you are a $1 player,
it is easier to find a low minimum table in the daytime.
Those minimum and
maximum bets
apply to flat bets only, not proposition bets. If you want to bet
higher than
usual on the 2, 3, 11, 12 or hardways you better ask the dealer what
the upper
limits are as they are never posted. Sometimes it’s as low as $50.
On the table
itself, there are
grooved chip holders in the sides to hold your chips. You can also use
one of
these racks to track the table. Just use a red chip for pass-line
winners and a
white one for don’t pass winners. This way you can see which way the
table is going.
For example if you have four red chips and only one white,
you’ve got a hot
table, and you might want to increase your bets and odds. If you have
more
white chips than red ones, you might want to switch to the “don’t” side.
The dealer will
never make
hand-to-hand contact with you, your money or your chips. If you want
your cash
turned into chips, drop it on the table and say “change”. He will take
your
money, convert it into chips, and push the chips back to you. Even when
you win
a bet, he will either place your winnings next to your bet, or push
them toward
you. Never try to hand anything directly to a dealer.
Finally, remember
to
have fun
while you’re playing.
Talk to the other players and dealers.
Try to make some
friends.
Tip the dealers if they help you and use your chip
racks to keep track
of the table direction.
And, as always, good luck at the
tables!
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