Craps is a game of numbers and odds. You
have to understand the numbers if you are going to experience any
long-term success playing the game. The rules of the game are such that no
matter how you play, the odds always favor the casino. The payoffs for
bets are expressed proportionally based on the probability of the losing
combinations to the winning combinations. You are expected to lose. So,
when you do win, you had better recognize your accomplishment with pride
and satisfaction.
One of the elements that makes playing
dice so much fun is that the dice do not always perform according to
probability. It is during these rare windows of opportunity that the craps
player is able to pull down some profit. Occasionally, subtle signs can
tip off the perceptive player when the game is favorable or about to
become favorable. One, for example, is what I call, “can’t and won’t”. The
shooter can’t make the point and for some mysterious reason, the dice
won’t seven out. The shooter rolls box number after box number as place
bets and come bets repeat. It can be a “hay-day” for the come and place
better. Other indications are evident when the shooter rolls past the
“superstitions” that are believed to be the precursors to the “7-out”. The
shooter dodges the superstition, holds on to the dice and rolls the
winning point instead.
This fact or occurrence is grossly
overlooked by those individuals playing a one-dimensional game that
adheres to a limited belief that only dice setters are the only ones
worthy of shooting dice. Dice setters overcome with the dogma of their own
self-importance as a shooter miss out on the easy money. One cannot afford
the luxury of being a snob when it comes to craps. Yes, in anyone’s hand,
the dice can act out of probability and some monstrous hands occur at
random from random rollers.
It is possible to recognize certain signs
as indicators that a player is about to have a winning hand. What are some
of these indicators to be looking for? Let’s set the scene. First, you
have to have an awareness of how the game is going. Watching previous
shooters and noting how they have been rolling. Games develop a
“personality”. A game’s personality is a composition of all the players,
gaming personnel, prevailing conditions and developing rolls.
In a typical game the average number of
rolls per shooter will be between 5 to 8 rolls. The dice are following the
mathematics of probability for a seven to show once in about every six
tosses. The seven is adhering to probability and players are paying to
play. This constitutes a short game for the players commonly referred as
chop dice. The action is too choppy for any method of play to perform. The
house odds are at work and the casino gathers money from all the players.
The signs indicate exactly what is to be expected. No one can hold on to
the dice as the game moves quickly along from shooter to next. It’s a
losing game. The “personality” of this type of game reflects a typical
craps game, short hands, chop dice.
Now, just about the time you figure to
cut your loses, a random roller comes along and breaks away from the short
hands. The shooter rolls twelve, fifteen or more times and perhaps makes a
few passes. The game is in what I call “no man’s land”. No other player
has approached a hand close to this achievement. Suddenly, the cold game
heats up with a few winning points and anything can happen now. Will this
shooter break-a-way with a thirty-minute hand? It could happen. The dice
are dumb and do not know what they should do in any player’s hand. What
are the signs to be looking for besides the fact that the shooter is
having the longest hand of any player?
Sometimes, during a hand like this, the
seven continues to adhere to probability. However, when it does make its
appearance, it is during the come out roll when it is a good thing for a
pass line better. This is one indicator to be aware of during a long hand,
the absences of the seven or that when it does roll it shows up when it is
safe, for the players, during the come out roll. This is the dice acting
out of probability. The point repeats before the seven and the seven shows
up when it is safe. Thus, the game is extended.
The next time you witness a game like
this, observe to see if the seven makes its appearance politely on the
come out roll. It is a good sign when probability produces the seven at
the right time.
The hitch to cashing in is to recognize
when the ice is melting. The dice do fluctuate unexpectedly and unusual
things can occur. Probability though mathematically correct, does not
always adhered to the rule. It is at those times when the dice seem to
ignore probability that the long hand comes along. The player able to
recognize the opportunity can make up their losses quick, along with a
handsome profit. It is a matter of perceiving energy and paying close
attention to the subtle signs signaling when the opportunity comes
knocking. That is why finessing the game by playing scared, avoiding
random rollers, will cause you to miss out on the money. You catch more
fish when your line is in the water.
In the Dice Busters™ program, I teach
students how to seize opportunity by perceiving energy. I also teach a
proven method of play that takes care of any opportunity even if you don’t
see it coming. In fact, it is like auto-pilot. If you are capable of
discipline and follow my dice strategy, you will never miss an
opportunity. The key is to be at the table, in the game, when the hot hand
comes along. It is all about positioning yourself to be in the right place
at the right time. You have to play a conservative game that extends your
bankroll and gives your money the best shot for winning and that is what
“Playing 4 Keeps” delivers.
The dice are dumb. The dice do not look
up from that table and decide what they are going to do based on the
experience of the next shooter. The dice will roll out of probability in
anyone’s hand be it a dice setter or a random roller. It is an expression
of energy and learning to read the energy is a skill that you can develop.
The more skill you add to your game, the more you increase your advantage
when playing the game.
The game can change in the blink of an
eye. I have seen more productive dice tables with random shooters than a
table full of dice setters. The random shooter is not to be scorned or
shunned. All players in the game are worthy as the next shooter for a
potential monster hand. Honor the random shooter. You make a big mistake,
if as a dice setter, you alienate yourself and your game from the
possibility of any shooter rolling a hand.
The challenge is having a method of play
that allows a player to hang with any combination of players long enough
to find the shooter on the table. It may be a dice setter or it may be a
random roller. One thing for sure, if your game depends on the ability of
dice setting, you have nothing else to fall back on when that method is
not performing. You are as likely to lose just as much money, clinging to
the frail hope that the next dice setter is going to be the one.
Meanwhile, as you stand waiting for the dice to return to you, the random
rollers are having a good roll or two and you miss-out on easy money for
being a snob.
I was playing at the Gold Spike in
Tunica, Mississippi. The fellow next to me was a dice setter. I had just
happen to saddle up next to him when I made the discovery during his turn
with the dice. He had a nice toss and rolled a small hand. I rolled next
but he did not play during my turn. I had a three-point hand. He made a
comment about wishing he’d got in the game with me.
The dice setter would not play unless he
was shooting or another dice setter was shooting. So, we stood there and
talked about dice and dice setting waiting for the dice to return. It was
a Friday night, the tables were full and it took the dice an hour to go
around the table before returning to us. Normally, I would have continued
playing, but talking and playing do not mix. I have to be 100% engaged in
a game in order to notice all that is going on with a game. While we
talked, two random rollers had three-point hands and a third player had a
four-point hand. I would have more than doubled my bankroll had I stayed
the course and continued to play.
After the four point hand, the next three
shooters rolled short point and out hands. I sensed that the game was
breaking down. It felt like the opportunity had come and gone and I missed
it while I was talking and waiting. My friend picked up the dice and
rolled a “point and sevened out”. I followed him with an equally poor
showing. The dice setter, betting on my setting, loaded up on my hand and
lost the rest of his profit won earlier. I played extremely tight sensing
the energy was gone and colored up about 15 units profit. My new friend
left even for the session. It would be another hour for the dice to
return. Standing there for an hour, perhaps we had gone cold waiting for
out next turn. In reality, the opportunity appeared and ignored, and the
game was settling back into the math of probability.
During the hour that I was in that game I
witnessed three three-point hands and one four point hand. The dice
setter’s first hand was a two-point hand. That is what I call walking
right into it. Nothing to brag on as far a monster roll, but several
random rollers had profitable hands as the dice performed out of
probability.
Now, hind sight is always 20/20 and “what
if’s” are just that, speculation. I know if I had played my game, I would
have more than doubled my bankroll.
This is the main point of this article to
be aware of if you are a dice setter and team up with other setters. The
idea that as setters, you are special or better than the rest is a trap.
Don’t get caught in the ego trap of thinking your are going to win every
time by the hand of a dice setter. No one is that good. In any one’s hand,
the dice can perform out of probability. Honoring all players is honoring
that the dice will and do act out of probability. In anyone’s hand a
monster roll can occur. You have to position yourself in a worthy game.
You have to play to extend you bankroll. You have to play alert to the
subtle signs of the energy present. You have to be in the game when the
opportunity comes along.
To play craps trying to finesse the game
picking who will roll a hand and who will not is utter nonsense. Yes, as a
dice setter you must have the confidence in your skill and believe in your
ability. It is however, only one small part of the game. To depend solely
on the idea that only dice setters are worthy of betting action, you
restrict the possibilities of opportunity. That is why what I teach in
Dice Busters is such a great way to play the game. It provides you with a
method of playing each player. It minimizes loss through minimal exposure
of your bankroll. It automatically sizes opportunity when the hand comes
along. When the dice break away from probability, you must have a
dependable method of play that will extend your playing time so that you
are in the game when the dice roll your way. |