CRAPS FOR LOW ROLLERS
(OR FOR HIGH ROLLERS THAT ARE TIRED OF LOSING)
PLAYING THE GAME FOR FUN AND PROFIT
ISBN 978-1-61623-268-9
COPYRIGHT © 2009-2012 Alan K. Long
All rights reserved.
Published by Alan K Long
Smashwords Edition
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Alan
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YOUR LEVEL OF SUCCESS IN ATTAINING THE RESULTS CLAIMED IN THIS BOOK DEPENDS ON THE TIME YOU DEVOTE TO THE METHOD, IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES MENTIONED, YOUR FINANCES, KNOWLEDGE AND VARIOUS SKILLS AND OTHER FACTORS. SINCE THESE FACTORS DIFFER ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUALS AND ARE BEYOND MY CONTROL, I CANNOT AND DO NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANTEE YOUR SUCCESS, NOR AM I RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OF YOUR ACTIONS.
CRAPS FOR LOW ROLLERS
CHAPTER
(OR FOR HIGH ROLLERS THAT ARE TIRED OF LOSING)
PLAYING THE GAME FOR FUN AND PROFIT
Keep this in mind...maybe, just maybe, you really are an unlucky person. With that said, it's time to play craps to win!
A friend of mine once told me that the only way to leave Las Vegas with a small fortune is to start with a big one.
If you are a “High-Roller” with deep pockets or a “Whale”, as the casinos fondly call you, then this book is not for you, but maybe it should be. Furthermore, this is not intended to be an all knowing book to teach you how to play craps.
This book is designed for the recreational player that wants to learn to play for fun and would like to win on a regular basis to pay for your trips to the casino and build some valuable casino “comp” time.
This book is not about how to play craps; it is, however, a book about how to win at playing craps. I will cover almost all of the basics of the game so you will have a working knowledge of the table layout and various bets including some that you can incorporate into your own style of playing. Many of the craps wagers that you see players make are sucker bets and don’t apply to my winning strategy.
Furthermore, this is not a “dummies” type of book. Entire chapters can be written on almost any subject and stupid examples given to drive the point home. I hope you don't feel you need a five page chapter on why Money Management is important.
This is very important! To win on a regular basis you need four things: KNOWLEDGE OF THE BETS YOU SHOULDN’T MAKE, LUCK, MONEY MANAGEMENT and DISCIPLINE. If I could only have one of the four I would pick luck of course, but since I can’t control the luck I would chose Discipline. Discipline is the one thing I can control. If I have the Discipline the Money Management will fall into place. If you don’t get anything else out of this book then please learn the Discipline and Money Management.
The casinos count on us for two things...not to maximize our profits and not to control our losses. They count on us to go for the big win...the big hit! Whatever it takes they want us to bet on the long-shot. Casinos lose a lot of money on the hot roller and in most casinos the craps pit is one of their most profitable areas. That should tell you that hot rollers don't come along very often and even when they do most players don't lock in their profits.
I was the winner of the 2005 Craps Championship at one of the largest locals’ casinos in Las Vegas using the strategy I am going to show you. This strategy was so effective that rules were established to prevent me from using it in future tournament play.
Some dealers might even call me a “grinder”. I actually like the term because I grind out a profit using the same bets over a period of time and set my limits. Some dealers don’t like “grinders” because this style of play makes them work. It does take some effort to push all of those chips over to my side of the table.
On the other hand, all of the dealers I work with like me because I make simple bets and almost always include them in my wagers. Come to think of it they like the tips (tokes) more than they like me.
A lot of other crap players don't like grinders because they don't like the grinder style of play. Grinders don't go for the “big” hit. High-Rollers would rather everyone throw away money just like they do. Just watch, most of them, the High-Rollers, leave the table empty handed.
It’s always pretty easy to locate the Craps Pit (Pit: The area comprised of all of the tables in a casino. Floor supervisors walk around in the pit and keep an eye on the games in progress and on the casino employees) in almost any casino. Just listen for the loudest players. If you are like most people you’ve probably have always wondered what all of the excitement was about at the craps table. You may have even stopped and watched for awhile and still didn’t understand the emotion about the roll of the dice. It comes down to the thrill of the game. Craps players are the most animated and vocal players in any casino with the possible exception of the sports book betters during a game or event. The game is fast and can give instant gratification for your bets…or instant loss.
One of the main reasons craps is so popular is because it gives the player as close to a chance of winning that you can get in a casino and in many respects is a better bet than playing Black Jack (21). Keep in mind that there is no game in the casinos that actually gives the player an even break.
Proper craps betting, meaning by-the-book, takes a lot of time to learn and in the end the casino still has the edge and you will lose. There are hundreds of books available that claim playing craps is not as hard as it appears. WRONG! To learn to play the game by-the-book takes a lot of time. There are simply too many bets and wager combinations for most people to keep track of.
Like any other game of chance, craps has a lot to do with luck. But if you play smart you won’t need a lot of luck. Playing smart includes, MONEY MANAGEMENT and DISCIPLINE. Keep it simple and you can win, but remember...never gamble or wager with more than you can afford to lose.
I don’t intend to give you my life “craps” story but feel it’s important to give you some background information about how I developed my winning strategy and why it works. You don’t need to be an expert in the game of craps to play, have a good time and to win.
I am not even going to even get into all of the odds and percentages of the game. They are really not important except for the few bets you will be making with this strategy. The one thing that is important to remember is that there is no bet in craps, or any other casino game, that does not favor the house. They always have the edge with every bet in every game!
Keep in mind the goal is to keep it simple and to make some money.
I would suggest you start with a minimum buy-in of $150. It is very import to have enough working capital to absorb a few losses and still stay in the game. It is not unrealistic to lose on four shooters in a row and watch for a turn in the trend of the dice. (Trend: how the dice are rolling at that point in time.) You will soon discover there will be times when a lot of 7's are thrown (stay out of the game) or a lot of crap numbers are thrown, etc. You need to know what the dice have been doing. The turn in trend may never come and you should leave the table after five losses and still have some money in your pocket. If you leave with a little money in your pocket you will feel much better about yourself than if you leave the table broke. Trust me. I will discuss trend/pattern later on.
All of the examples in this book are based upon a $5 minimum bet table but you can multiply that times the amount that you feel you can afford to wager. Example; if you want to place $10 bets your buy-in should be $300, etc. Just make sure it is not the rent money.
A very important set of rules that any gambler must have is what I call a “Stop Loss” limit and a “Stop Win” goal. Stop Loss is pretty self-explanatory, set your loss limit before you even enter a casino and stick to it. I will mention this again, if you need an entire chapter to explain why you need a Stop Loss then you should stick to playing bingo.
On the winning side you need to set your Win Goal. You should be realistic in your Goal. It is not realistic to expect to double your money every day! If your goal is to make $50 or $100 for your gambling session then you must stop when you reach that goal. Look at the Win Goal as a percentage of your investment (buy-in) and if you expect to make $100 your buy-in should be $500.
Look at winning at craps the same as you would investing in the stock market, for example, would you be happy with a 20% or 30% return on your investment? Of course you would. Some people will say they would rather lose $500 than to settle for a $50 to $100 profit. HUH??? Go play bingo or better yet go play in traffic. I will assume you are reading this book with the goal of winning some money.
Take your profit and use it to play another time. Be realistic. How much is enough? Your goal should be make money and keep it, not give it back by trying to make more. This is called Money Management combined with Discipline. Remember the Discipline I talked about on the very first page?
Even if you don’t get anything else out of this book this one rule will make you money starting with your first session.
I see it every day; a player is money ahead at some point but will continue to play until they give it all back. If you need to read entire chapters on this subject then you shouldn’t be gambling. Greed kills! Set a limit or goal and stick to it. Go back tonight or tomorrow and play again.
You don’t need a license to shoot craps!
I started playing craps as a curious onlooker about 10 years ago in a large local’s casino in Las Vegas. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun and appeared to be making a lot of money. Boy was I wrong about the money part! The more I watched the more I was seeing most of the players leave the table empty handed, even if they had been ahead several hundred dollars at one point, but, they still had a great time…for awhile.
One of the Dealers noticed me night after night watching the game but not playing. He kept asking me to join in but since I didn’t know anything about how to play I didn’t want to be the object of scorn that some of the “experienced” players seem to enjoy vocalizing on the inexperienced players. You should know the basics of play and also some table etiquette so you will feel more comfortable joining the table. As I mentioned, “craps players are the most animated and vocal players in any casino”. One thing to keep in mind, if you are new and hold up the play the next 7 out is all your fault. (7 out: When the Shooter rolls 7 after a point has been established, causing Pass Line bets to lose and ending the round. The dice are transferred to the next shooter. Sometimes incorrectly called “carp out.”) It's not really your fault but the pace of the game changed and some players feel you caused it. Hummm, maybe it was your fault!
Craps players are also very superstitious. You will soon find that out too!
After several weeks of coaxing the dealer convinced me to learn a little more about the game by actually playing. He offered to help me with placing the bets. I would strongly suggest you only try this for the first time when there are very few players. The dealers will have more time to explain things and help you. Another advantage of the slow time is there will be fewer seasoned players to scorn your ignorance of the game.
Since it was a slow night and not many players I thought I would give it a try. Let me point out that almost every casino craps Dealer is willing to help new players learn the game. They will not give you wrong information and feel if they help you win some money they will earn more tips (tokes) or “dealer bets”. More about dealer bets later.