Super Craps

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Super Craps © 2003 Silverthorne Publications All rights reserved

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Sam Goldsmith

Super

Craps

SILVERTHORNE

PUBLICATIONS




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Super Craps

COPYRIGHT © 2003 Silverthorne Publications

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Without limiting the rights under the

copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book,except for inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Address all inquiries to the publisher:

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7200 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Suite 172

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109United States of America

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For information on Super Craps, please visit -http://www.silverthornepublications.com/SuperCraps

Manufactured in the United States of America

The material contained in this book is intended to inform and educatethe reader and in no way represents an inducement to gamble legally or illegally.

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.silverthornepublications.com/




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Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Why Craps? 12

The Game 20

Seven is King 34

The Bets 42

Winning with the Seven 60

Wrong Betting Strategy 69

Right Betting Strategy 85

Three Days at the Tables 98

Variations of Play 116

What It Takes to Win 132




4

Introduction

Why are you reading this book? Is it because you want to

be entertained? Well, that's certainly valid. Is it because you are

looking for a system or method which will make you rich? That's alittle better.

Applying the methods, techniques and strategies in Super

Craps may make you rich. But as a minimum, it shouldn't make

you poorer. Most people approach casino gambling with about the

same amount of preparation that is used to pick a movie to attend.

This approach may get you to the casino, but the likelihood of

coming out of it with more money than you started with isdoubtful.

OK, you recognize this. That's why you bought this book to

begin with. You know that you have to know more than you do to

win at gambling. So you have already separated yourself from the

crowd. But you still may not have the whole picture.

I know from experience that many people expect to learn

one secret that will make them instant winners at gambling. A lot

of books have been written purporting to reveal this secret, and I

am not going to run down all books on gambling. I have written a

number of them, and I know that each of these books I have written




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or published, including this one, will help make the reader a better

gambler. So I am going to tell you the biggest secret to winning at

gambling right now. No suspense. No waiting until the last

chapter. Are you ready?

You have to have guts, knowledge, bankroll, discipline and

patience.

Guts are required before entering any gambling endeavor.

You need the intestinal fortitude to enter a contest where the odds

favor the opposition, and to keep a cool head, successfully apply a

winning strategy and leave a winner. Knowledge is deceptive.Most people manage to acquire some knowledge of a game and

then think that their limited knowledge is all they need to become

winners. Knowledge is important. I am still amazed by the

number of people who will walk up to a craps game and ask how

to play the game. If you don't understand the game, a casino is not

the place to learn it. But knowledge is not everything. You may

know every wager and every payoff in craps and still be a lousy

player. You need all of the ingredients to be a winner.

Bankroll is the amount of money you bring for gambling.

Different games and different systems require set amounts of

bankroll. Yet people ignore this. They will take whatever money

they have and enter a craps game. Usually their wagers are too

large for their bankrolls. The results are all too predictable. They

lose. They blame their lousy luck, the crooked dealers or the

crummy book where they learned the gambling system. Having anadequate bankroll is a key ingredient for winning.




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Discipline. Without it, everything else falls apart. How

many times have you been up while gambling and ended up

playing until all of your money was gone? Without discipline, you

are dead in the water. No system will save you from yourself.

Patience is the final category. It deserves a special mention

in a book about craps. Because craps players probably have the

least patience of any casino players. Craps is fast. Craps is

exciting. The fortunes of craps players can rapidly change with

just a few dice rolls. So players get antsy. If they lose a few

wagers they rapidly up their bets to recoup losses. If they get a few

bucks ahead, the size of their wagers jump. And eventually thegame gets them. They have no patience to wait out a few bad rolls.

They try to recoup everything in a couple of rolls.

You want to know the one thing that illustrates the stupidity

of most craps players? They will stay at a table until they lose

every single chip. For many, the last few rolls seem to be

dedicated to losing their last chips so that they can take a break.

Why they can't leave the table with chips in their hand is beyondme. People don't act like this at any other endeavor except

gambling. Can you imagine going to the corner drugstore, paying

for an item which costs $5.95, handing the clerk a ten dollar bill

and walking away? Craps players do it every day.

The information contained in Super Craps is enough for

anyone who applies it to become a winner. But I can't predict that

you will become a winner. That is up to you.




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I do know that the author of this treatise, Sam Goldsmith, is

an excellent craps player. He has to be. He plays the game for a

living. Several times a week he matches wits with the casinos and

nearly always comes out a winner. When he has a losing session,

he limits his losses and walks away from the table.

When he is winning, he may continue to play for hours, so

long as winnings come his way. When the tide turns, he walks.

He is the toughest player in the world to beat. He never loses

control and drops a bundle. And when he is winning he keeps on

pressing the casino for all it is worth. He is a firm practitioner of

the old stock market adage of "Cut your losses and let your profitsrun."

Whenever I come across a reputed "winning" gambling

system, I always take it with a grain of salt. There are almost as

many gambling systems out there as there are gamblers. More than

one pit boss has remarked that the casinos love system players,

they will send taxis to the airport to bring them in.

To say that I am skeptical of gambling systems would be an

understatement. Nearly every system has such obvious and fatal

flaws that it will fail in short order.

I have developed a list of criteria I use to review any

gambling system I come across. Checking a system against these

tests will eliminate most systems in short order.




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First, the system or strategy has to be definable. This would

seem obvious, but most gambling systems are not well defined

enough that other people can play them and experience the same

results as the author. Many of the gambling books I have read over

the years recite the author's extraordinary experience and how he

won at such and such game. But when you look for a knowable,

definable strategy, there isn't one. I remember one memorable

craps treatise I read some years ago where the author won

$250,000 or some such amount by playing the old pass line - come

bet with odds strategy and happened to hit some hot craps tables.

The book recounted each of the author's trips and thememorable rolls when he rolled the dice for thirty minutes or some

such nonsense. "Great" I thought. Now how can I do this?

The answer is you can't. The author was either spinning a

yarn or had a very lucky run at craps. Strategy? System? Well, if

you want to try his system and only use it on hot craps tables, I

wish you the best. But the practical side of this is that there is no

way to define his strategy in such a way that it can be used to wintime after time. It was a product of luck or timing or happenstance.

It may or may not ever happen for you.

Secondly, the system needs to use a realistic and

controllable amount of bankroll. Some systems require simply too

much money to be practical. For example, if a system requires that

a player start with one dollar wagers, eventually increases the

wagers to as high as $2,000, and requires a bankroll of $5,000 per session, then this system is simply unrealistic. If you come across

a system like this, do not try it.




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Other systems do not even consider bankroll requirements

or set them too low. Be suspicious whenever someone tells you

that you don't need much money to play because his system is so

good.

I look for a reasonable bankroll requirement as compared to

the amount of hourly winnings the system can produce. The

winnings possible with the system should bear a reasonable

relationship to the bankroll and the size of the bets used. A system

fitting this description can be adjusted up or down depending on

the player's preference, but will produce winnings proportionate to

the session bankroll used.

The losses or draw-downs produced by the system must be

reasonable and as small as possible. There are many systems

which produce small winnings per session with occasional monster

losses which wipe out all of the winnings. These systems must be

avoided. A reasonable system will not allow for ten hours of work

to be wiped out in one losing session.

The system or strategy must produce consistent results. I

have always shown winning broken down as winnings per session

or winnings per hour in every book I have published about

gambling. Most authors don't. Beware of systems and authors

who can't or won't show all aspects of the system. It is either not

definable and therefore unpredictable, or if it is predictable it

produces losses.




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And finally the system must be profitable. Sound easy? It's

not. The reason most systems fail one or more of the above tests is

that they are not profitable. It is easy to come up with a gambling

system. Anyone who has knowledge of the game (or a lack of

knowledge in some cases) can do so. So what? If it doesn't meet

all of my tests and produce a profit over a reasonable period of

time, why bother. Anyone can figure out how to lose money at

casino gambling - no system needed.

Sam Goldsmith's Super Craps strategy passes my tests

easily. It is definable and therefore teachable. It does not depend

on some extraordinary streak of luck.

The Super Craps strategies are adjustable to different

bankroll levels. It is not just a high roller system. Neither is it a

nickel and dime proposition. Winnings of over a $1,000 a day are

reasonable and doable with a moderate bankroll.

The losses or draw-downs are reasonable. You will not

experience ten hours of winnings wiped out in one bad session.You will have some losing sessions. These are unavoidable. No

system wins 100% of the time. But your losses will be infrequent

and of reasonable size.

You will be able to win consistently. The system is geared

to the player wanting to win $150 to $200 an hour at craps. But it

will accommodate the $50 an hour player as well as the $500 an

hour player.




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And it is profitable. I have had very good experience

playing craps with Sam's system.

I present this system to you without apology. It is a good

one. And it is Sam's story from this point on. Best of luck.

Martin J. Silverthorne

Publisher




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Why Craps?

Dice have been used as gambling devices for several

thousand years. Even the language of dice reflects its influence on

history. When Caesar made his decision to take his army across

the Rubicon in defiance of the edicts of the Roman Senate, he

chose his response from the language of the dice player: "Iacta

alea est." The die is cast.

Gambling with dice is pervasive. It has been found in

almost every culture, from American Indians to Africans. The

Greeks and Romans used dice made of bone or ivory, others used

dice made of bronze, onyx, alabaster, marble or even porcelain.

Craps is of American origin. Some time after 1800 around

New Orleans, the American Blacks begin playing a version of the

game, no doubt adapted from the English game Hazard, which the

French sometimes called Craps.

The New Orleans version of Craps moved up theMississippi on the nineteenth century river boats. By about 1890

the game began appearing in the form of Bank Craps in some




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American casinos. The big casino game at this time was Faro, and

Craps did not become really popular until World War II when

thousands of GIs learned backroom Craps.

Street Craps, also called private Craps, backroom Craps or

even back alley Craps, was where a lot of us first cut our teeth.

I learned to play Street Craps before I was old enough to

buy a drink (at least legally). I used to cut school at lot and hang

out around some of the pool halls. I didn't know beans about the

game, and I used to regularly bet pennies or even nickels in the

games where I was tolerated.

An old Craps hustler let me in on the secret of beating the

game. With Street Craps, the players bet against each other. In

order to make a bet, you had to find a player to take your action

and fade your bet. The hustler explained to me that about two-

thirds of the players would always bet right, that is, with the

shooter. Almost a third would bet wrong (against the shooter)

when someone else held the dice, and would switch to betting rightwhen they got their hands on the dice.

A very small percentage - maybe two or three percent of the

players - would bet wrong 100% of the time.

And only this small percentage of wrong betters stood much

of a chance of being long term winners in the game.

Street Craps always favors the wrong better. The

mathematics of dice, which we'll talk about a bit later, favors the




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wrong bettor in the back alley game. Most people don't know this,

and most players wouldn't change their betting if they did.

There are a couple of problems with betting wrong all of the

time. For one thing a lot of players don't like it. They figure you

are running some kind of scam or are a dice hustler (which of

course my mentor was). The second risk is that when the dice get

hot and stay hot, the wrong bettor can find himself facing

escalating losses which can wipe out hours of winnings in a few

minutes.

The hustler figured a way out of these problems. He betwrong nearly all the time except when the dice got hot. Then he

would go with the shooter for a few rolls. This strategy kept him

from getting labeled as a hustler or con man and also protected his

bankroll.

But when he switched to betting right, he would always

drop the size of his wagers and only increase his right bets if the

shooter kept popping numbers and winning his bets.

On the wrong side he was willing to increase his bets after a

couple of losses, figuring that every roll has to come to an end and

hanging in there with the shooter for a couple of passes was just

good business.

And he made some pretty good money using the system. I

never learned to hustle dice games. I played if there was a gamegoing and did pretty well using the hustler's system.




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The casinos have simplified the game of craps by banking

the game. It is no longer necessary to find another player to fade

your bet; the house or bank fades all the bets. This can be a real

advantage for the wrong bettor. He doesn't have to disguise his

moves because the house doesn't really care how he bets since they

figure that they hold the hammer on all players anyway. But the

house did one thing to hurt the wrong bettor. They took away his

mathematical advantage over right betters.

With street craps, the right bettor (betting for the dice to

pass) fights odds of about 1.4% against him. The wrong bettor

(betting for the dice to miss) has an advantage of about 1.4%working for him. This is why the only sensible way to bet in Street

Craps is to bet wrong.

When the casinos cleaned up the game, they barred the

number 12, or in some cases the number 2, as a win for the don't

bettor on a come out roll. With this rule change, the wrong bettor

bucks about the same odds of losing as the right bettor. So in

theory it doesn't make much difference which way you bet in bank craps, the house holds the hammer on all bets.

Except that it is still possible to play a version of the old

hustler's system. It has been modified to work for Bank Craps.

You give up a little because the casino takes the Come-Out 12

away from the wrong better. But every other advantage for the

wrong bettor stays in place.

So why play craps? Because its origins are ancient?

Because some old dice degenerate taught me how to beat the

game? Naw. Not good enough. I don't think that anyone ought to




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play the game unless they play to win. Not for fun. Not because

the game is the number one casino action game. These reasons are

not good enough. The only reason to play the game is to learn how

to hold the hammer over the bastard casinos.

And I am not trying to talk anyone into taking up gambling.

I don't have to. Nearly everyone gambles. And most do it badly.

If you don't gamble, don't take it up on my account. But if you do,

I want to present a little theory on why you should consider Craps,

and if you do pick Craps, how you can learn to hammer the game.

Let's assume that you don't know zip about casino gamblingand you are thinking about the choice of games. I plan on

presenting a pretty good case for choosing Craps. But don't take

my word for it. Consider for a minute the house edge or advantage

over the player in most casino games. Table 1 summarizes the

house advantage in certain casino games.




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TABLE 1. HOUSE ADVANTAGE

IN CERTAIN CASINO GAMES

Keno Average about 25%

Slot Machines 2% to 25%, use 10%as an average

Big Six Average about 18%

Roulette Double zero - 5.27%

Single zero (AtlanticCity) -Single zero and

en prison (Europe) -

2.70%

1.35%Baccarat Player -

Banker -1.36%1.17%

Blackjack No strategy -Basic strategywith multi decks -Card countingtheoreticaladvantage -

5% to 20%

1.5%

2.0%

Craps Pass, Come,Don't Pass, Don'tCome -Odds Bets:Single odds -Double odds -Place, field, proposition bets -

1.40%

0.8%0.6%

1.5% to 16.7%




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If you look at the numbers in the table, the only number

with a minus in front of it, meaning the player has an advantage, is

for card counting at blackjack. I didn't come up with this number,

it is the number the card counters like to use. I don't believe it. I

have never met one card counter who successfully made a living at

blackjack. Most of them develop elaborate systems, try them a few

times to see how miserable they really are in the real world, and

then write books and newsletters. I have my own approach to

blackjack, and I'll go up against the card counters any day. But

that's another story.

Ignoring the unproven claim of card counters, where do yousee the best numbers in Table 1? For those of you who cut classes

like I did, best means lowest numbers, as in the lowest house edge

against the player. The best numbers are in the craps section.

When you can get numbers down to less than one percent against

you, the game is beatable. If you know what you are doing. And

that's why I'm here: to show you what to do to beat craps.

Craps has some advantages over the other casino games thatdon't show up in tables of house advantages. It is the only game

that lets you bet that a number won't show. Ever try that in

roulette. Walk up to the table and tell the croupier that you want to

bet a no-36 on the next roll. They'll send for the men in little white

coats.

But in craps you can always bet that a number does or

doesn't show. You have the ultimate flexibility in putting together a winning strategy.




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The old hustler always went with the probabilities of

winning. He wasn't playing for fun. He followed the dice and tried

to stay on the side that was winning. And that's what I am going to

show you how to do.




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The Game

If you have ever played craps in the back room of a store,

or on an old bed cover spread on the floor, you have played street

craps. The shooter would establish his point, and everyone wouldstand around until he made his point, or sevened out.

The casino version of the game is called Bank Craps. The

casino acts as the bank, rather than players betting against each

other. In addition, numerous other bets are allowed.

In the casino version of Craps, you can bet Pass or Don't

Pass, Come or Don't Come, make Place bets, Buy and Lay bets, or bet the Hard Ways or any one of several proposition bets. You

can make one roll bets like the Field, or make bets which stay up

until a decision occurs, like Pass Line wagers. You have a great

variety of bets which can be made. A right bettor (one who

expects the shooter to make his point) could have as many as

twenty bets on the table at one time.

Craps is the traditional game of high rollers. It is the fastest

and most exciting casino game. It is the only casino game where

it is possible to run a $100 stake into $10,000 in a couple of hours.




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And it is the most vocal of all casino games. Walk into any

casino and listen to where all the noise is coming from. It's the

craps players yelling up a storm. Every throw of the dice evokes a

new response of whoops and hollers.

Now stroll back to the Blackjack tables or the Roulette

wheel. Hardly a whimper from the players. The Blackjack

players are using hand signs to signal the dealer. A Blackjack

player could play for a week and not utter a word. In Craps, the

players are constantly talking to the dice, the dealers and each

other.

CRAPS LAYOUT




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To the novice player, the game appears very intimidating.

Everyone else knows what they are doing, or so it seems. Once,

when I was showing a lady companion how to play the game, she

looked down for her bet and it was gone. "What happened to my

bet?" she asked. The shooter had rolled a come out craps and her

Pass Line bet had been whisked away by the dealer. She felt like

she had hardly settled in and they already had the audacity to take

her bet.

The game moves very fast to the newcomer, but after you

learn the game, you will notice the times when the game is sloweddown (to your irritation) much more than speeded up. The game

is fast, but it only seems fast when you don't understand the bets or

what the dealers and players are doing.

Because of the speed of the game, and the variety of bets

available, what is normally the best casino game for a player

becomes a trap for many. Many people lose money at a ferocious

rate at Craps because they lay down too many bets and have no patience. Most casinos figure to keep about 20% of the drop, that

is, win 20% of all money exchanged for chips at the craps table.

The thing I like best about Craps is that when you start to

win, there's not a damn thing the house can do about it. Blackjack

card counters get thrown out for winning. Winning Craps players

can cause the casino bosses to break into a cold sweat, but they are

not thrown out. Usually the bosses start engaging in "slow down"tactics at a table where the players are killing the house. The

boxman may reprimand the shooter for his shooting style. (I've




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seen players chewed on for shooting too high, too low, too hard or

too soft — you tell me).




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When the shooter starts to make pass after pass with lots of

numbers in between the action can get serious. When the majority

of players have black ($100) or pink ($500) chips in play, the

casino can drop $50,000 to $100,000 in short order.

I have seen individual players win over $100,000 at the

craps table. The bosses will try to slow down the game,

excessively examine the dice between rolls, bring in fresh racks of

chips and in general make total nuisances of themselves, but the

players are allowed to keep on winning. Don't you like this game?

I recently showed a young man how to play Craps in acasino. He was a died in the wool Blackjack aficionado, with

delusions of counting down multiple decks and all that crap. After

an hour at the Craps table I asked him what he thought. He calmly

turned to me and said, "Well, I guess I'm finished with Blackjack."

If you have played the game before, forgive me my waxing

eloquent. If you haven't played, then please take the time to try it

and better yet, use my system so you will win.

Most casinos will have at least one craps table, except for

the slot palaces specializing in the one-armed bandit trade. Some

states allows slots and blackjack, or some other combination of

casino games, and exclude craps. The "real" casinos will have at

least one craps table. The big joints in Nevada and Atlantic City

will have eight or more craps tables per casino.




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Within the last year, I experienced some of the most

enjoyable Craps in Mississippi. Those Southern boys know how

to play the game with a vengeance.

The area where the craps tables are grouped is called the

craps pit with the casino employee in charge of this area known as

the craps pit boss.

A casino craps table may range in size from 14 to over 20

feet. They look like oversized billiard tables. In the old days

some of the floating craps games and games in sawdust joints used

to convert billiard tables by attaching boards to the sides of billiardtables to act as backstops for the dice. This was also handy when

the law showed. Pull the side boards down and the boys were just

having an innocent game of billiards.

The number of players who can play at a craps table is

limited only to the number who can squeeze in. If the table is

crowded, it is considered polite to ask if you can fit in, rather than

just shoving your way into the table. Some craps players have been known to shove back, and asking is usually the better policy.

If the table is crowded, the nearest dealer will usually ask the

players to scoot over, if you ask nicely.

The table is covered with felt which is usually colored

green, but I have seen them in shades of blue, purple and even eye

jarring red. I don't recommend the red ones for all night sessions,

too hard on the eyes.




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The possible craps bets are marked on the felt in a pattern

of betting areas called the craps layout. In the old days, these were

drawn on billiard tables with chalk, now they are all nice and

printed.

The table layout has three sections. The middle section,

called the center, rests under the watchful eye of the person on

stick. The end sections are mirror images of each other, with one

dealer per end.

The center bets contain the lousiest bets in the game such

as the hard ways bets and a number of one-roll bets. I will tell youabout these bets, but in general, you can enjoy a long and

successful craps career without ever tossing a chip to the center

section for a wager.

The more important wagers are available on the end

sections of the table. Here you will find Pass Line bets, which are

made by over 90% of all craps players, Place bets, Come Bets,

Don't Pass wagers, Don't Come Bets, Field bets, the Big 6 and Big8 wagers, and Buy and Lay bets. Odds bets, which are not marked

on the table, are also made on the end sections of the table.

There are usually four casino employees at a craps table.

The person seated in the middle of the table, in front of the

casino's chips, is the boxman. Today, many of these boxmen are

box woman, so I guess you ought to call them box people, which

doesn't quite sound right. Anyway, these box whatevers are the people in charge of the craps table. They drop your cash into the

dropbox when you buy in, watch the dealers, settle disputes with




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players, and in general act as managers of the game. Many times a

floor person will be standing behind the boxman. If you have

casino credit and need a marker to buy in, the floor person will

accommodate you. They will also rate you if you are trying to get

a comp (a freebie from the casino, usually a meal).

Many times the floor person may be joined by the pit boss,

the big honcho of the craps pit. If the game is very active, another

boxman may be brought in as well.

Recently, playing in Mississippi, I played at some tables

with no boxmen. I hadn't seen this before. I asked one of thedealers about it, and he told me that it saves the casino about

seventy grand a year per table. I think eliminating the boxmen

may be one of those cases of being penny wise and pound foolish,

but time will tell if it becomes a trend.

In addition to all the bosses, there are three working stiffs

who handle all of the players' wagers. The dealer in the center of

the table is called the stickman and handles all of the center betsfor players, calls the game and moves the dice around with a stick.

The dealers on each end handle the bets for the end sections of the

table.

There are four dealers to a crew, and they rotate positions

every twenty minutes, with one of the crew taking a break at that

time. Each dealer takes turns at the stick and at each end of the

table.

An active stickman can really liven up the game. The

action of the game can be announced in a very enthusiastic and




28

colorful fashion. This tends to stimulate the players to make more,

and bolder wagers, which is exactly what the house wants. The

person on the stick will constantly extort players to make bets in

the center of the table where the odds range from miserable (Hard

Six or Hard Eight — 9.09% in favor of the house) to ridiculous

(any of the one roll bets — house odds from 11.11% to 16.67%).

The stickman often uses craps superstitions to exhort the players to

make the worst bets. One craps superstition is that if the player's

point is one of the even numbers of 4, 6, 8 or 10, for which there is

a corresponding hardway bet, betting the number to show the hard

way will help bring out the number.

In general you can ignore the betting advice of the dealers

on stick. Their recommended bets are the best wagers for the

house, not for you.

Each table has its own table limits. These limits are usually

shown on small plaques at each end of the table on the side rail,

next to the standing dealer. Both minimum and maximum bets for

the table are shown. Typical table limits are $2 minimum, $200maximum (smaller casinos) or $5 minimum, $1,000 maximum

(larger joints). Minimum wagers will vary from casino to casino

and from table to table in the same joint. A $5 minimum table

may be operating next to a $25 minimum table. Table minimums

will be raised whenever more players are available such as at night

or on weekends. It is always to the casino's advantage to have

higher minimums set. Many players, who should be making $2

wagers, will make $10 or even $25 wagers if that's what the housemandates.




29

From a player's viewpoint, higher minimum wagers can be

devastating. If the house does not offer a minimum wager within

your range, then don't play the game. Many players have no idea

of the relationship between the bankroll used for a craps session

and the minimum wager which should be used, and get cleaned

out in short order playing beyond their means.

If you want to play where the maximum wagers won't

restrict your style, try the Horseshoe Club in downtown Las

Vegas. The place caters to craps players, offering ten times odds

and wall-to-wall craps tables. Your maximum wager is limited to

the amount of your first wager. If you want to bet a million bucksa pop, just clear it with one of the Binion bosses, they will

accommodate your action.

While we are on the subject of downtown Vegas, I want to

mention quarter craps. Some of you eastern players who have

been weaned on ten buck minimum tables may sneer, but I have

had some of my best action on the quarter craps tables. For

twenty bucks, you can begin your craps education. Here, for five bucks, you can have several bets working for you.

Casinos use checks or chips in place of cash at the craps

table. Chips come in $1, $5, $25, $100, $500 and $1,000

denominations with twenty five cent chips thrown in for the tables

which allow them. Each chip is colored differently. One dollar

chips may come in any color, or the casino may use dollar slot

tokens as chips. Five dollar chips are usually red, $25 chips, greenand $100 chips, black. Five hundred dollar chips are usually pink.

The big $1,000 chips come in various flavors. I'm sure you will

remember the color if you are playing with them.




30

Cash is not used at the table, so you must change your cash

for chips. When you first arrive at the table, you lay your cash on

the table and ask the dealer for change. Watch the table before

you barge in. Wait until the shooter has thrown the dice. It is

extremely bad dice etiquette to have the dice bounce off your arm.

Do not hand the cash to the dealer, place it on the table

when the dice are not rolling. If you want a certain number of

chips of different denominations just ask the dealer.

The dealer will hand your cash to the boxman who will

count it, drop it into a slot in the table where it falls into thedropbox, and tell the dealer the amount of chips to give you. The

dealer will place the chips in front of you, and it is your job to pick

up the chips and get them off the table. Your chips may be kept in

the rail in front of you on the top of the sidewall of the table.

When you have finished playing, you must take your chips

to the casino cashier to convert them to cash. The craps table only

takes cash for chips, not vice versa.

With your chips in the rail in front of you, you are now

ready to begin playing. I recommend that you keep one hand over

your chips. Some thieves like to snatch chips from careless

players and you should keep you eye on your chips.

Unless you are the only player at the table, the craps game

will be in progress when you arrive. The game consists of a seriesof mini-games. A player who rolls the dice is called the shooter.

This player will roll the dice on one or more Come Out rolls until

a point number of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 is rolled. After a point




31

number is rolled, the shooter will continue to roll the dice until one

of two things occurs. If a 7 is rolled before the point number, the

shooter has sevened out and a new shooter will try his or her hand

at making a point. If the point number is rolled before a 7, the

shooter has made the point and has the opportunity to shoot again.

Each mini-game consists of the shooter establishing a point

and then rolling the dice in an attempt to repeat the point number.

Of course, in Bank Craps, a lot of wagers can be made in between.

After a shooter fails to make his point and sevens out, the

dice will be offered by the stickman to the next player. The dicerotate around the table in a clockwise fashion, with each player, in

turn, being offered a chance to roll the dice. The only requirement

to shoot the dice is for the shooter to make a Line bet, that is a bet

on the Pass Line or Don't Pass Line.

Any person who does not wish to shoot the dice may refuse

when the dice are offered. There is no stigma to not shooting the

dice and many players do not shoot as a rule. Usually the playerswho are betting against the other shooters (Wrong bettors in craps

parlance) by making such wagers as Don't Pass and Don't Come

bets, will refuse to shoot.

A marker or "buck" is used on the table to indicate whether

a shooter is in the "coming out" phase of the game or whether he is

trying to roll an established point. When the player is coming out,

the marker or buck rests in the Don't Come betting area, with the black side marked "Off" showing. After a point is established, the

buck will rest on the backside of the point box for the shooter's

point, with the white side marked "On" showing.




32

It is important to know which phase the game is in before

betting. Some bets are made only before the Come Out roll, other

bets may be made at any time during the game, while still others

are made only after a point is established.

One more word of advice before moving into the intricacies

of the game. Keep track of your own bets. Dealers track

individual bets by positioning the chips in each betting area to

correspond with the position of the player at the table. By

observing where your chips are placed by the dealer you can tell

exactly which bets are yours. When the table action is heavy it is

not uncommon for a dealer to miss paying off a winning bet, or to place your winning chips in front of another player. It is your

responsibility to watch your own bets and know when they win or

lose so that you won't reach for another player's winnings or let

another player pick up your winnings.

Whenever you win a bet, remember to pick up the chips

promptly. Chips left on the table will probably be considered to

be a wager and if you forget to pick up your winnings, you will probably be making another wager whether you intended to or not.

Many players act like the dealers are the enemy at the craps

table. They're not. Most are decent people working at a thankless

job where obnoxious players are the rule rather than the exception.

There are a few dealers with an "attitude." When I

encounter one of these people, I just change tables. Life is tooshort and all that. But most dealers are competent, efficient and

friendly if you give them half a chance. A good dealer will

remind you to take odds or to make some bet that you normally




33

make. Most dealers are rooting for you to win. A dealer's salary

is very low, and dealers depend on tips or tokes to make a decent

living. When you are at a table with friendly, helpful dealers, you

should plan on toking them.

Many players toke dealers by tossing a couple of chips for

the boys on the hard way bets. These are long shot bets which pay

either 8 for 1 (Hard 4 and 10) or 10 for 1 (Hard 6 and 8). Most

dealers appreciate a bet made on their behalf on a wager with a

better chance of winning. If you are wagering on the Pass Line,

you should make an occasional Pass Line wager "for the boys."

When you make a wager for the dealers, tell your dealer that the bet is for the dealers. He will tell the boxman, and if the wager

wins, you will have toked the dealers. You will notice that when

you make a dealer bet which wins, a dealer will place the winnings

in his breast pocket.

It is not necessary to tip the dealers if you are losing. They

will understand. If you are winning, they appreciate the

occasional tip. It is better to tip the dealers while you are playingrather than tipping as you prepare to leave. When the dealers

know that you are not a stiff, their normally good service becomes

even better.

I have had many occasions when I have been overpaid by

dealers whom I was regularly tipping. I have also had losing bets

ignored and left up. If a dealer overpays you should never call

attention to it. I have felt in many occasions that the dealers wererepaying me for my tipping, with an unspoken agreement between

us.




34

Even if you are not rewarded by overpaid bets, the

atmosphere at the craps table will improve once you are perceived

to be a tipper, and you will enjoy the game more. What's more, all

of the casino personnel will respect you as a class gambler who

knows the rules and respects and appreciates the hard work the

dealers perform.




35

Seven is King

All of the possible payoffs in craps are determined by thecombinations possible with two six-sided dice.

Each die is imprinted with from one to six dots so that the

lowest number which can be rolled with two dice is a 2 (1-1) and

the highest number, 12 (6-6). Together, a total of thirty-six

combinations are possible ranging from 2 to 12.

Casino dice are different from the ordinary dice sold with

most games. The casino dice measure about 3/4 of an inch in

diameter and are precisely made so that each side is the same size

as every other side. They are made of clear transparent plastic and

usually colored red.

Each die has a code number imprinted on it corresponding

to a numbering scheme used by the casino where the dice are used.

The code numbers of the six to eight dice used at a craps table are

noted by the boxman, so that no other dice resembling the official

dice may be introduced into the game by dice cheats.




36

The combinations of numbers possible with a pair of six-

sided dice are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 for eleven

numbers. Not all of these combinations are equally likely to

appear. The differences in the likelihood of different

combinations appearing form the basis for all payoffs and

probabilities in craps.

The most common number is 7. There are more ways that

a 7 can be rolled than any other number. If you examine a die,

you will notice that the totals of any two opposite sides always

total 7.

A 7 can be made no matter what number is on one die, for a

7 can be made with either a 1 or a 6 showing on one die, which no

other number can do. For instance, a 6 cannot be rolled if a 6 is

showing on one die, and an 8 is not possible with a 1 showing.

The key number in dice is 7, and it determines most of the odds of

the game because of its unique status determining winners and

losers, on both come out rolls and against established points.

The following table shows the various ways that dice can

be rolled:




37

TABLE 2. COMBINATIONS OF DICE

Number Combinations

Ways

Number Can

be Made

2 1-1 1

3 1-2, 2-1 2

4 1-3, 3-1, 2-2 3

5 1-4, 4-1, 2-3, 3-2 4

6 1-5, 5-1, 2-4, 4-2, 3-3 5

7 1-6, 6-1, 2-5, 5-2, 3-4, 4-3 6

8 2-6, 6-2, 3-5, 5-3, 4-4 5

9 3-6, 6-3, 4-5, 5-4 4

10 4-6, 6-4, 5-5 3

11 5-6, 6-5 2

12 6-6 1

Total 36

All point numbers are measured against the possibility of a

7 being rolled in determining the correct odds against rolling a

point number before a 7 is rolled.

The point numbers are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. If any of these

numbers are wagered on, either through Pass Line wagers, Come

bets, Buy bets or Place bets, the odds are always against that

number being rolled before a 7 is rolled.




38

The advantage the 7 has over any point number is

overwhelming. Table 3 shows the odds against rolling any point

or box number before a 7 shows. These odds are determined from

Table 2, where the number of ways a number can be made are

compared for each number versus the six ways a 7 can be made.

TABLE 3. ODDS OF ROLLING

A 7 VERSUS POINT NUMBERS

PointNumber

Ways to

Roll PointNumber

Odds

Against

PointNumber

4 3 2-1

5 4 3-2

6 5 6-5

8 5 6-5

9 4 3-2

10 3 2-1

In addition to the point numbers, there are other numbers of

2, 3, 7, 11 and 12 on which wagers are made. One-roll bets can be

made on any of these numbers. With these bets, the player is

wagering that the number will appear on the next roll of the dice.

Table 4 shows the correct odds against any of these numbers

being rolled on the very next roll.




39

TABLE 4. PROBABILITIES OF

2, 3, 7, 11 OR 12

BEING MADE ON NEXT ROLL

Number Ways to Roll

Odds Against

on Next Roll

2 1 35-1

3 2 17-1

7 6 6-1

11 2 17-1

12 1 35-1

In my approach to craps, you will not make the one roll

bets. The casino does not pay these long shot bets at high enough

odds to make any of them worthwhile.

The wagers we like are the ones where the odds are in our

favor to win. Take another look at Table 3. Do you see any

numbers which have an advantage of being rolled over a 7 being

rolled? The 6 and 8 come close, but even these numbers are

16.67% less likely to be rolled than a 7. An obvious strategy for

beating craps would hinge on putting the 7 to work for us. There

are wagers available in the game where the casino will pay us 1 to

1 for a win where the odds are overwhelmingly in our favor.




40

Look at the probabilities of a 4 or 10 showing before a 7 is

rolled. If we wager that a 7 will show before either a 4 or 10, we

have a 2 to 1 bet in our favor. And if the casino would pay us

even money on our wager, we'd have a stranglehold on it, wouldn't

we?

The wagers which can put the 7 to work for us are Don't

Pass and Don't Come wagers. I will explain these wagers as well

as the other major craps bets in the next chapter. Those of you

who already know the game will be quick to point out that there is

no free lunch in craps. You may agree that a bet against any point

number showing before a 7 is rolled is a good bet, but you may point out the difficulties of getting the wager up.

In craps, the number 7 cuts two ways. On come out rolls,

Right bettors, wagering Pass Line or Come will win if a 7 is rolled,

and Wrong bettors, betting Don't Pass or Don't Come will lose if a

7 is rolled. That is the bane of Wrong betting. Once a Don't bet is

in place it has a devastating advantage over the house, but it must

run the gauntlet of the first roll.




41

But what if there was a way to take the sting out of 7s

rolled on come outs? Then the Wrong better would have the

casino by the throat, wouldn't he? You'll have to wait a chapter

before we expand these concepts into a workable system. The

next chapter discusses the various wagers available at craps. If

you already know the game, you may want to skip this chapter.

For novices, I recommend reading it, just so you don't miss any of

the good stuff that follows.




42

The Bets

I am going to briefly review the bets available at Bank

Craps. This is not intended to be an in depth discussion of all

craps bets. The Super Craps strategy does not employ all craps bets. If you want to learn more about every craps bet, as well as

craps betting strategies, I suggest the book, How to Play Craps

Like a Pro, available from Silverthorne Publications.

Pass Line Bets

Pass Line bets, also called front line, or Do bets are the

basic bets made by Right bettors, those bettors who are betting thatthe shooter will make his point.

The bets are made by placing chips in the long narrow

space on the craps layout marked Pass Line in this country, or Win

Line in some games outside the United States. The house pays the

wager at even money (1 to 1) and enjoys a percentage advantage

of 1.414% over the wager. It is the most common bet at craps.

A Pass Line bet is made before a Come-Out roll. Come-

Out rolls occur during three different circumstances:




43

1. When a new shooter is starting.

2. After a natural (a 7 or 11) or a craps (a 2, 3 or 12) is

rolled on a Come-Out.

3. After a shooter has made a point and is rolling the dice

to establish another point.

A Pass Line wager wins on a Come-Out if a 7 or 11 is

rolled, and loses if a craps number of 2, 3 or 12 appears. If anyother number is rolled (a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10), that number becomes

the shooter's point. If the shooter repeats the point number before

a 7 is rolled, the Pass Line wager wins. If a 7 shows before the

shooter is able to repeat the point number, the Pass Line wager

loses.

Don't Pass Bets

Don't Pass wagers, also called back line or Don't bets are

the basic bets made by Wrong bettors, those bettors who are

betting that a 7 will be rolled before the shooter makes his point

number.

The bets are made by placing chips in the area marked

Don't Pass or Don't Win. In a private craps game, the wager gives

the player a favorable percentage of 1.414%. In Bank Craps, thecasino bars either the two sixes or two aces on the come-out roll.

When the barred combination appears on that roll, it is a standoff,




44

there is no action for the wrong bettor. With either the 2 or 12 win

barred, the Don't Pass wager gives the house an edge of 1.402%.

The wager pays even money, that is, 1 to 1 for a win. Don't

Pass wagers are much less common that Pass Line bets. At a

typical craps table, you will see one or two Wrong bettors, with

the remaining players making Pass Line bets.

A Don't Pass wager wins on a Come-Out roll if a 2 or 3 is

rolled if the 12 is barred or on a 3 or 12 if the 2 is barred. If the

casino bars the 3, don't play there, they are taking advantage of

you. If a 7 or 11 is rolled on a Come-Out, the bet loses. If anyother number is rolled (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10), that number becomes

the shooter's point. If the shooter rolls a 7 before repeating the

point number, the wager wins. If the shooter repeats the point

number before a 7 is rolled, the bet loses.

A Don't Pass wager is at its greatest disadvantage on the

Come-Out roll. There are 8 ways in which a 7 or 11 can be rolled

for a loss, and only 3 ways a 2 or 3 can be rolled for a win. Thus,on a Come-Out roll, the Don't bettor faces 8 chances of losing

versus 3 opportunities of winning.

Come and Don't Come Bets

The difference between a Come bet and a Pass Line wager

is only in the timing of the bets. Pass Line wagers are made on a

Come-Out roll before a shooter has established a point. Come bets are made after a point has been established.




45

Come bets win or lose exactly like Pass Line wagers. If a

natural of 7 or 11 shows on the first roll of a Come bet, the bet

wins. If a craps number is rolled on the first roll, the bet loses. If

any other number appears, that becomes the point number for that

Come bet.

Likewise, a Don't Come bet differs from a Don't Pass bet

only in its timing. Don't Pass wagers are made before a shooter's

Come-Out roll, while Don't Come bets are made after a point is

established.

Come bets and Don't come bets are made by placing chipsin the areas of the craps layout marked Come and Don't Come

respectively. After a point has been established for that wager, the

dealer will move a Come bet inside the front part of the box for the

come number. When a point is established for a Don't Come

wager, the dealer will move the wager to the back part of the box

for the particular number.

The bets pay even money for wins. Pass Line and Come bets must be left up once made, as these wagers enjoy a temporary

advantage on Come-Out rolls, and the house will not allow you to

make these wagers only on Come-Outs. Once you make the bet,

you are stuck with waiting to see if the shooter can repeat the

number.

Don't Pass and Don't Come wagers may be pulled after

Come-Out rolls, as the player has the house at an overwhelmingdisadvantage once the bets are up. Anyone who pulls a Don't Pass

or Don't Come wager after it is established, is making the single

most foolish move in craps.




46

Odds Bets

Odds bets are the only wagers in craps where the house has

no advantage over the player. But there's a catch. The odds

wagers can only be made in conjunction with Pass Line and Come

bets for Right bettors or with Don't Pass or Don't Come bets for

Wrong bettors.

Because the Odds bet must be coupled with another wager,

the Odds bet only reduces the house advantage over a particular

wager. Remember, there is no free lunch in craps.

With Pass Line and Come bets, as well as Don't Pass and

Don't Come bets, the odds are taken only after a point is

established. The house will define the size of the odds bets which

may be taken by allowing single odds, double odds, five times

odds or some such multiple. These multiples define how large the

odds bets may be in relation to the original wagers.

For Pass Line wagers, odds bets are made by placing the

chips representing the wager directly behind the Pass Line wager.

For Don't Pass wagers, the chips are placed next to the Don't Pass

bet in the Don't Pass betting area. With Come and Don't Come

bets, where the dealer has placed the wagers in Point Number

Boxes, you will have to have the dealer make the wagers by

placing the chips to be used for the Odds bet on the table and

telling the standing dealer what you want.




47

Odds bets may be pulled down at any time, at the player's

discretion. If the odds are taken or laid in conjunction with a

Come or Don't Come wager, you will have to have the dealer's

assistance. Odds bet taken are automatically off on Come-Out

rolls unless you instruct the dealer otherwise. Odds laid are

always working unless you take them down or tell the dealers that

your odds bets are off.

Odds bets pay in exactly the same proportion to the point

number as the number's chance of being made as compared to a 7

being rolled first.

The following are the odds payoffs for odds taken on Pass

Line or Come bets:

Number Odds Payoff

4 or 10 2 to 1

5 or 9 3 to 2

6 or 8 6 to 5

These payoffs are determined mathematically by

comparing the number of ways a number can be made as

compared to the number of ways a 7 can be rolled. Since there are

only three ways a 4 or 10 can be made, compared to six ways a 7

can be rolled, the odds of rolling a 4 or 10 before a 7 is 6 to 3,

which reduces to 2 to 1. With four ways of rolling a 5 or 9,

compared to six ways of rolling a 7, the odds are 6 to 4 or 3 to 2.

With five ways of making a 6 or 8, the odds of rolling either of

these numbers before a 7 are 6 to 5.




48

When single odds are taken, the wagers should conform to

the following rules:

1. Odds taken on 4 or 10 are always the same or less than the Pass

Line wager. If $5 is wagered on the Pass Line, with 10 as the

point, the odds wager will be $5 or less.

2. Odds taken on 5 or 9 are always for an even amount. If $5 is

wagered on the Pass Line, with 5 as the point, the odds wager

should be for $4 or $6, so that the wager, which pays off at 3 to 2

may be paid off correctly.

3. Odds taken on 6 or 8 are always in increments of five units

dependent on the betting unit the player is using. A $3 Pass Line

wager, with 6 or 8 as the point, may take $5 odds. A $15 Pass

Line wager may take $25 for odds ($5 is the basic betting here)

when 6 or 8 is the point. A $75 Pass Line wager may have $125

taken as odds with a point of 6 or 8. In general, casinos offering

single odds allow players with three unit wagers to round the odds portion of the bet up to the nearest five units, when the point is 6

or 8.

For example, assume you make a $5 Pass Line wager and

the shooter's point is 5. If you take $6 for odds, you total wager

will be for $11, consisting of a $5 Pass Line wager, and $6 in

Odds. If the shooter repeats the point number before a 7 is rolled,

you will be paid $14 in winnings, consisting of $5 for the evenmoney Pass Line bet, and $9 on the $6 Odds wager. Of course,

your original wager of $11 will be returned, so you will receive a

total of $25 for the $11 wager.




49

With Wrong bets, Odds must be laid rather than taken.

Since the 7 is more likely to be rolled than any point number, the

player must lay more odds than the payoff for a winning wager.

Odds are laid as follows:

Number Odds Payoff

4 or 10 1 to 2

5 or 9 2 to 3

6 or 8 5 to 6

Odds should be laid so that the correct payoffs can be

made. When single odds are laid, the wagers should follow the

following rules:

1. Odds laid against a 4 or 10 can be as much as double the size of

the original wager. If $5 is wagered on Don't Pass, odds of $10 or

some lesser even amount may be laid.

2. Odds laid against a 5 or 9 should be divisible by three. Here

you will lay three units to win two. With a $5 Don't Pass wager,

odds of $9, $6 or $3 can be laid.

3. Odds laid against a 6 or 8 should be divisible by six. Here you

will lay six units to win five. With a $5 Don't Pass wager, odds of

$6 can be laid to win $5. With a $3 Don't Pass wager, the house

will still allow you to lay $6 odds. With a $15 Don't wager, you

may lay $30 to win $25.




50

Place Bets

Place bets are some of the most popular bets in Bank

Craps. The point numbers can be played by making Pass Line

wagers, which give the player the opportunity to bet on one

number, Come bets which allow the player to wager on multiple

numbers and Place bets which also allow the player to bet on

multiple box or point numbers.

Place bets are made by placing the chips on the table,

usually in the Come betting area, and telling the dealer thenumbers you will to "Place."

Place bets differ from Come bets in a number of ways.

They win or lose in basically the same way: the number on which

you have wagered must show before a 7 is made. The differences

between Come and Place bets are:

1. For a Come bet to win the number must be repeated. A Come bet which has 6 as a point can only win if the 6 is repeated before

a 7. With Place bets, a 6 needs to made only one time for the bet

to win.

2. Come bets are always working, even on Come-Out rolls. Place

bets are automatically off on Come-Outs unless the player

stipulates otherwise.

3. Place bets may be pulled at any time by the player. Come bets

must stay in place until they are either won or lost.




51

The flexibility of Place bets attracts many players. Place

bets may be made and pulled after a couple of wins. With Come

bets, once the bet is established, the player must wait for a

decision. Many times a hot shooter will make his point and then

roll a 7 on a Come-Out roll. The Place bets are safe as they are off

on the roll, but the Come bets will all go down with the

appearance of a 7. The Come bettor must start all over in

establishing his bets, while the Place bettor will have his bets in

place with the first roll after the Come-Out.

Place bets pay off at less than true odds. Table Five showsthe correct odds for payoff on the point numbers, the Place bet

payoffs, and the house edge on each wager.

TABLE 5. PLACE BET ODDS AND PAYOFFS

Place Number

Correct Odds

Versus a 7

Casino Payoff

on Place Bet

Casino

Advantage

4 or 10 2 to 1 9 to 5 6.67%

5 or 9 3 to 2 7 to 5 4.00%

6 or 8 6 to 5 7 to 6 1.51%

Place bets should always be made in multiples of five units

for bets on 4, 5, 9 or 10, and six units on wagers made on 6 or 8.

In quarter craps, where a twenty five cent chip is the basic chip,

the minimum Place bets are $1.25 (five chips) on 4, 5, 9 or 10, and

$1.50 (six chips) on 6 or 8.




52

Buy Bets

Point numbers may also be bought . Buy bets pay off at

correct odds, but you must pay the casino an amount equal to five

percent of the wager in order to receive true odds. The effect of

this commission paid to the casino is to give the house an edge of

4.76% over a Buy bet. Because the house vig is larger than any of

the Place bets, except for the 4 and 10, only the 4 and 10 should

ever be bought.

If your Place bet on 4 or 10 is larger than twenty units onone number, or ten units each, if both the 4 and 10 are place, you

should Buy the numbers rather than placing them. With a $20

wager on one or both numbers, the casino will charge you a $1 vig

for the privilege of buying the numbers. A $20 Place bet on the 10

will pay off $36, while a Buy bet on the same number will pay off

$40, less the $1 commission, for a net $39. So long as your

combined wager on the 4 or 10 is at least twenty units (which is

five bucks at twenty five cent craps), the Buy bet is a better dealthan the Place bet.

Lay Bets

The Lay Bet is the opposite of a Buy Bet, and is used by

Wrong bettors who are wagering that a 7 will show before the

number laid against. Lay Bets are paid off at correct odds, but the

bettor must pay the house a commission on the projected win toget this payoff.




53

Lay bets may be made at any time and normally work on

Come-Out rolls unless called off. They are made by placing your

chips on the table, along with the required commission and telling

the dealer what you want to do. The dealer will place the bet in

the back part of the box for that number where the Don't Come

bets are placed.

Because of the five percent commission paid on possible

winnings, it is necessary to lay enough so that the possible win is

at least $20. On the 4 or 10, $40 would be the minimum lay bet,

as a win, paid at 1 to 2, would pay $20. On a 5 or 9, you would

lay $30 to win $20 (paid at 2 to 3), and on a 6 or 8, you will lay$24 to win $20 (paid at 5 to 6).

Lay bets may be added to, reduced or removed at any time.

Big 6 and 8 Bets

Big 6 and Big 8 bets are prominently marked on the craps

layout. These bets can be made at any time. Like the Place bets,with these wagers you are betting that the number you bet on,

either 6 or 8 or both, will repeat before a 7 shows on the dice. If it

doesn't show before a 7, you lose your bet. If a 6 or 8 (whatever

you bet on) is rolled before a 7, you win your bet.

These wagers usually pay off at even money. With an even

money payoff, instead of the correct odds of 6 to 5, the wager

gives the house a 9.09% advantage. In Atlantic City casinos, the bet pays off at 7 to 6, the same as Placing the 6 or 8.




54

Some players play the Big 6 and Big 8 at $1 or $2

minimum tables and wager less than the $6 required to make a

Place bet on 6 or 8.

My advice is to never make these bets, except where the

wagers are paid off the same as Place bets. If you are short of

bankroll and want to bet on the 6 and 8, you should find a twenty

five-cent craps table, where the 6 and 8 can be placed for $1.50

each.

Field Bets

Field Bets are one-roll bets that one of the numbers shown

in the field, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11 or 12 will show on the next roll. Seven

out of the possible eleven dice numbers are in the field, which

makes the wager look like a good one to many players.

The Field Bet is paid off slightly differently in downtown

Las Vegas and in Northern Nevada. In downtown Las Vegas, thecasinos pay off a 2 at 2 to 1 and a 12 at 3 to 1. In Northern

Nevada, some casinos pay a 2 at 3 to 1 and a 12 at 2 to 1. In either

case, field numbers other than 2 or 12 are paid at even money.

With either the 2 or 12 paid at 3 to 1, the house edge is 2.77%.

Most casinos pay 2 to 1 on either a 2 or 12, and even

money on any other field number. With these payoffs, the house

advantage is 5.56%.

In either case, the house edge is too high for Field Bets to

offer much interest to those who want to win at Craps.




55

Proposition Bets

We now come to the center of the table, where bets are

placed and paid off by the stickman. There are a number of bets

available, none of which are worthwhile. In order to complete our

review of craps wagers, I'll cover them.

Hard way Bets

A Hard way Bet is a bet on one of the even numbered point

numbers of 4, 6, 8 or 10 that the number will be rolled as a pair, before either a 7 or the number rolled any other way shows. For

example, if you bet the Hard 6, you are wagering the a 6 will be

rolled as a 3-3 (a pair) before it is rolled as a 1-5, 5-1, 4-2, 2-4, or

before a 7 is rolled. Rolling a number as a pair is referred to as the

"hard way." If the number is rolled any other way, it is referred to

as the "easy way."

Hard way bets can be made any time and stay up until theyeither win or lose. They may be called off on Come-Out rolls.

Casinos usually pay 9 to 1 (usually shown as 10 for 1,

which is the same payoff) on the Hard 6 or 8, and 7 to 1 (8 for 1)

for the Hard 4 or 10. With Hardway wagers on 6 or 8, the house

edge is 9.09%. Hardway bets on the 4 or 10 give the house an

11.11% edge.




56

Any Seven

This is a one roll bet which pays off at 4 to 1 (5 for 1) if a 7

shows on the next roll. Since the correct odds of a 7 being rolled

are 5 to 1, this wager gives the house an edge of 16.67%.

Any Craps

The Any Craps wager is a one roll bet that a craps number

of 2, 3 or 12 will show on the next roll. The bet is paid off at 7 to

1 (8 for 1). Since craps numbers can be rolled only four ways out

of thirty six, the true odds on rolling a craps number are 8 to 1.The lower payoff gives the casino an advantage of 11.1%

Betting the 2, 3, 11 or 12

These are all one roll bets which win or lose depending on

the whether the number bet on appears on the next roll of the dice.

The 2 or 12 can be rolled only one way, and the oddsagainst rolling either of these numbers on the next roll are 35 to 1.

The casinos usually pay these wagers at 29 to 1 (30 for 1), for a

house edge of 16.67%.

The 3 or 11 can be rolled two ways each, and the correct

odds against rolling either number on the next dice roll is 17 to 1.

With typical payoffs of 14 to 1 (15 for 1), the house edge is

16.67%.

The house loves the action on any of these bets with the

sucker like odds in favor of the casino.




57

Horn Bets

With this wager, the 2, 3, 11 and 12 are covered with one

bet. At least four chips must be used for the wager. If any of

these numbers show on the next roll, the casino will pay the usual

payoff for that number, and keep the three losing chips.

Hop Bets

Hop bets are not shown on the craps layout. They are bets

that a particular number or a particular dice combination will showon the next roll. Numbers with one way of showing, such as a 3-3

or a 5-5, are paid at 30 to 1 (correct odds are 35 to 1). Wagers on

numbers which can be made two ways, such as 5-4 or 2-3 are paid

at 15 to 1, where the correct odds are 17 to 1.

Table 6 shows the correct odds on all craps bets.




58

TABLE 6. CRAPS BETS, PAYOFFS

AND CASINO ADVANTAGE

Bet Casino Payoff

Casino

Advantage

Pass Line 1 to 1 1.41%

Come 1 to 1 1.41%

Don't Pass 1 to 1 1.40%

Don't Come 1 to 1 1.40%

Taking Odds —

Pass or Come

4 or 10 2 to 1 none

5 or 9 3 to 2 none

6 or 8 6 to 5 none

Laying Odds —

Don't Pass or

Don't Come

4 or 10 1 to 2 none

5 or 9 2 to 3 none

6 or 8 5 to 6 none

Place Bets

4 or 10 9 to 5 6.67%

5 or 9 7 to 5 4.00%

6 or 8 7 to 6 1.52%

Buy Bets

4 or 10 2 to 1 4.76%




59

Lay Bets

4 or 10 1 to 2 2.44%

5 or 9 2 to 3 3.23%

6 or 8 5 to 6 4.00%

Big Six and Big

Eight

1 to 16 to 5 (AtlanticCity)

9.09%1.52%

Field

With 2 and 12 paying 2 to 1

With 2 or 12 paying 3-1

1 to 1 except 2and 12

1 to 1 except 2and 12

5.55%

2.77%

Hard ways

4 or 10 7-1 11.11%

6 or 8 9-1 9.09%

Any Craps 7-1 11.11%

2 or 12 29-1 16.67%

11 or 12 15-1 16.67%




60

Winning with the Seven

There is no question that the seven dominates the game of

craps. It cuts both ways, that is, causes wins and loses, for both

Right and Wrong bettors.

Right bettors, who bet with the shooter by wagering Pass

Line or Come, enjoy a temporary advantage over Wrong bettors,

but only on the Come-Out roll. On Come-Out rolls, there are

eight ways a right bet can win, and only four ways it can lose. A 7

or 11, which can show eight ways on a pair of dice, are instant

winners on a Come-Out for the Right bettor. The craps numbers

of 2, 3 and 12 can only show four ways, giving the Pass Line or Come bet an 8 to 4 or 2 to 1 advantage on Come-Outs. The other

twenty four possible combinations out of the thirty six possible

dice combinations, represent point numbers.

After a point has been established, it is all downhill for the

Right bettor. Because of the dominance of 7 in craps, the least

disadvantage for a Right bettor is with a point number of 6 or 8.

Here the Right bettor is at a disadvantage of 16.67% to the house,

the same as some of the lousy proposition bets. With a point of 5

or 9, the player's disadvantage is 33%, and facing a point of 4 or

10, the house holds a 50% advantage over the Right bettor.




61

The only things which keep a Right bettor in the game are

strings of Come Out wins, which occur occasionally, and the

occasional hot roll. Otherwise, the plight of the Right bettor is

grim. He faces overwhelming odds against a point number being

repeated before a 7 shows.

The Wrong bettor has his own set of problems. He has an

additional obstacle to overcome on Come-Out rolls. Betting Don'tPass or Don't Come, the player faces eight ways of losing on

Come-Outs and only three ways of winning. If a 7 or 11 shows he

will lose the bet. These numbers can appear in eight ways. He

will win only if a 2 or 3 (in Northern Nevada a 3 or 12) shows.

And a 2 or 3 only have three combinations possible out of the

thirty six dice combinations. Once the Come-Out has been

passed, the odds swing overwhelmingly in favor of the Wrong

bettor. But strings of Come-Out loses can beat the Wrong bettor badly as can the occasional hot shooter who continues to make

points and roll lots of point numbers in between.




62

In either case, the number 7 does its damage on the player.

The Right bettor is blessed by the 7 on Come-Outs, but cursed by

it after a point is established. The Wrong bettor is cursed up front,

but once he survives a Come-Out roll, the 7 is his friend.

To further complicate the plight of the craps player, my

studies of casino games have shown that craps is choppier than

either Roulette or Baccarat. By that I mean that trends are shorter

and more likely to be interrupted by counter trends.

In general, a good way to approach gambling is to find a

table trending in a certain way and then to jump on the trend.With the other table games, trends of moderate length of five to

eight decisions are fairly common. In craps, they are fairly rare.

An easy way to play Roulette, for example, is to bet that the

evenmoney wager which just showed will repeat. In roulette,

you could wager on red or black to repeat. You may face short

periods where red and black alternate, thus defeating the system,

but on nearly every table I have ever played, black or red willdominate for five to eight decisions after just a few spins of the

wheel.

Likewise with Baccarat. Either the Player or the Banker

side will develop moderate trends of domination, and the simple

system of betting the previous winning side to repeat is usually a

good way to select bets.

Now we come to Craps. This game seems to go out of its

way to defeat players betting for a repeat. Pass Line wins are




63

followed by Come-Out craps, thus negating the Pass Line player's

win. Wins on players sevening out, are followed by Come-Out 7s,

killing the Wrong bettors. Switching to betting for the previous

winning side to repeat is almost an exercise in frustration for craps

players. Most players just choose one side or the other and

continue to bet until the casino grinds them down.

The reason for the excessive choppiness of Craps is the

dual role played by the 7 and the changing ways of winning and

losing on Come-Out rolls as compared to other rolls. The same

numbers can appear in Craps and have totally different outcomes

for Right and Wrong bettors, depending on the order in which thenumbers are rolled. With Roulette or Baccarat, order has no

meaning. If Black appears four times out of five spins, then the

player betting Black will win on four out of five plays. If the

Player hand wins in four out of five deals, then the bettor betting

Player will win on four out of five hands.

Assume the numbers 11, 7, 6, 3 and 6 are rolled in that

order. Let's compare the wins and losses of a Pass Line wager versus a Don't Pass wager for these numbers, assuming that we

start with Come-Out roll.




64

Outcome

of Roll

Pass

Line

Outcome

Don't Pass

Outcome Explanation

11 Win Loss Come-Out roll

7 Win Loss Come-Out roll

6 Point established

3 No effect

6 Win Loss Point made

Total 3 Wins 3 Losses

Now, let's consider the same numbers being rolled, but with

the order changed. Once again, we will start with a Come-Out

roll.

Outcome

of Roll

Pass Line

Outcome

Don't Pass

Outcome Explanation

3 Loss Win Come-Out roll

6 Point established

11 No effect

7 Loss Win Seven Out

6 Point established

Total 2 Wins 2 Losses




65

The order in which the numbers are rolled makes all of the

difference. For this reason, the same numbers can be rolled with

more or less similar frequencies and produce drastically different

results for the players. Of course, 7 is the critical number for all

craps players.

My studies of the game show that 7s tend appear in short

groups, where the 7 will be rolled more frequently than its

probability of showing, interspersed by less frequent, but longer

periods where the 7 won't appear at all. These longer periods,

where 7s appear infrequently, or if they do show, it is on Come-

Out rolls, are called "hot rolls." If we average both types of trends, we will find that a 7 will show once every six rolls, just

what we would expect.




66

The Right bettor is chopped to pieces by the short groups

dominated by 7s, and hopes to recoup when the hot roll appears.

The Wrong bettor wins fairly steadily during the 7 dominated

short groups and is destroyed by the infrequent, but deadly hot

rolls.

What to do about these situations has plagued craps players

and craps experts for decades. The standard solution for the Right

bettor is to wait for a qualified shooter, that is, one who proves

himself by making a point and then repeating a point number.

Only after this qualification will the Right bettor risk money on

the shooter.

The conventional advice for the Wrong bettor is to limit

losses to two bets per shooter. If a shooter causes the loss of two

wrong bets, then a wrong bettor will back off and wait for a new

shooter.

Each of these techniques addresses the problems the two

types of players face. The Right bettor is seeking to improve his performance by "choosing" his shooters, with some qualifications

set for a shooter. The Wrong bettor hopes to avoid the devastating

hot rolls by limiting losses to any one shooter.

After many years of play, I am convinced that the heart of

any successful winning Craps system is the ability to have the 7

working for you most of the time. I believe that players can buck

the 7 for short periods by betting Right, but that the Wrong bettorshave the advantage most of the time.




67

Let's look again at the advantages a Wrong bet has after a

point is established. Table 7 compares the odds in favor of a 7

showing over any point number and the advantage of player's bets

against any of the point numbers.

TABLE 7. ODDS IN FAVOR OF ESTABLISHED

DON'T PASS AND DON'T COME WAGERS

PointNumber

Odds in

favor of 7

over PointNumber

Payoff

for Don'tBet

Correct

Payoff

reflectingtrue odds

Don't

Players'Edge

4 or 10 2:1 1:1 1:2 50%

5 or 9 3:2 1:1 2:3 33%

6 or 8 6:5 1:1 5:6 17%

Column one shows the point numbers for each case.Assume that you have wagered Don't Pass and the shooter

establishes a point of 4. Following the row across for points of 4

or 10, we see that the odds in favor of a 7 being rolled before a 4

are 2:1. The next column shows the payoff we will receive if a 7

shows before a 4, 1:1. The correct odds payoff for this wager are

1:2. The final column shows our advantage over the house on the

wager, in this case, 50%.

It's pretty clear that the Wrong bettor has it over the casino

sixteen ways from Sunday once his bet is established. The

problem with the Wrong betting is, and always has been, getting




68

past the Come-Outs. But you would have to agree that if we could

find a way to minimize the impact of Come-Outs, then having bets

on the table with advantages from 16.67% (17% rounded) to 50%

in favor of the player would be the way to go?

I will show you how to minimize the negative impact of

both Come-Out 7s and hot rolls in the next chapter. I will show

you the strategy I use day in and day out to beat the Craps tables

using Wrong bets




69

Wrong Betting Strategy

Basic strategy

In order to maximize our potential with betting Wrong, wewill concentrate on two different types of wagers: Don't Pass and

Don't Come.

As discussed in the previous chapter, little streaks can come

up in Craps, which are just long enough to make or break a betting

strategy. By choosing to wager on both Don't Pass and Don't

Come, we gain a number of advantages over wagering exclusively

on either wager singly.

We will have only one Wrong bet on the table at a time.

Many systems advocate that many wagers be made

simultaneously. My experience has shown that many wagers just

increase your chance of losing.

With Wrong betting, the all important number is 7. Once

your wager is up and established, every time a 7 shows you will

win. To lose an established Don't Pass or Don't Come wager

requires that the shooter roll (repeat) the point number on which

the Wrong bet is wagering against before a 7 shows. With




70

multiple Wrong bets, a hot shooter can knock down your wagers

one at a time, causing multiple losses from one decent roll. With

only one bet risked at a time, your risk is more limited. And if the

bets are made properly, the potential winnings are high enough to

satisfy any player.

We will start a session by buying in for the correct bankroll

and observing the first shooter. The outcome of the first shooter's

roll will determine whether we begin betting on the Don't Pass or

Don't Come.

Let's say the first shooter sevens out (rolls a 7 beforerepeating his point number). We will now make our first wager on

the Don't Pass side. If the shooter had made his point, our first

wager would have been on the Don't Come side.

We will tolerate only a maximum of two consecutive losses

per side selected, in this case, Don't Pass. If our first Don't Pass

wager loses to a Come-Out 7, we will try one more bet on this




71

shooter. If this Don't Pass wager also loses, we will wait and

observe the roll. If the shooter makes another point, we will begin

wagering Don't Come. If the shooter sevens out, we will resume

betting Don't Pass.

We will add another rule. We will continue to bet on either

Don't Pass or Don't Come until we lose two consecutive bets.

Assume we have a Don't Come bet up and the shooter rolls a 7.

Even though the shooter sevened out, we don't switch to betting

Don't Pass. We will stay with Don't Come wagers until we lose

two consecutive wagers.

There is one more rule we use when betting either Don't

Pass or Don't Come. If the shooter rolls our point number, causing

the loss of our bet, we will cease betting on this shooter and wait

until the shooter sevens out. This rule applies even if we are

betting Don't Come.

The rules we have covered so far are:

1. We will observe a shooter's roll whenever we first enter a

game, or after we have lost two consecutive wagers betting either

Don't Pass or Don't Come. This observation roll is called a Setup

Roll. The outcome of the shooter's series of rolls will determine

our next bet. If the shooter makes his point, we will bet Don't

Come. If the shooter sevens out, we will bet Don't Pass.

2. Once we have picked a side by observing a Setup Roll, we willstick with that same side until we have lost two consecutive

wagers. After losing two consecutive wagers, we will skip betting

until a new Setup roll has been completed, per rule 1 above.




72

3. Anytime that a point number is repeated, causing a loss of our

Don't Pass or Don't Come wager, we will cease betting on that

shooter and not begin betting again until the shooter sevens out.

4. After backing off on a shooter, per rule 3 above, we will

resume betting on the same side after the shooter sevens out, so

long as we had not previously lost two consecutive wagers.

Let's illustrate this technique with a brief example. We

walk up to a table, buy in and watch the first shooter. He makes

his point. After the Come-Out roll, we place our bet in the Don'tCome betting area. The shooter rolls a 5. Our Don't Come wager

is moved to the rear of the box for the number five by the dealer.

The shooter rolls two other numbers and then repeats the 5. Our

Don't Come bet is lost because the shooter repeated the number

we were wagering against prior to rolling a 7. Because we had a

loss from a number repeating, we cease betting on this shooter and

wait till he sevens out. Assume that he rolls a couple of more

numbers and then sevens out.

After the new shooter establishes a point, we will make a

new Don't Come bet. Even though the previous shooter sevened

out, we will stick with betting Don't Come for now, because we

have only lost one consecutive bet. We make our Don't Come bet

and a 9 is rolled. Our bet moves to the box for the number nine.

Two rolls later the shooter sevens out. The dealer pays our

winning Don't Come and places the chips in the Don't Come betting box. We pick up our chips and wait for the next shooter to

establish a point so that we can make a Don't Come wager.




73

We will continue betting Don't Come in this manner so

long as we don't lose two bets in a row. We will continue our

example. Assume that we have now won five Don't Come bets,

with only one loss. We make a new Don't Come wager. The

shooter rolls an 11. The Don't Come bet goes down. Because this

loss did not occur because of a number repeating, we immediately

make a new Don't Come wager. The shooter rolls a 4 and two

rolls later, repeats the 4, wiping out our Don't Come wager. We

have now lost two consecutive bets on this shooter, so we stop

betting. The outcome of this shooter's rolls will determine our

next wager, as with two consecutive losses, this roll becomes a

Setup Roll. The shooter rolls a few more numbers then sevensout.

Because the shooter sevened out, we now start betting on

the Don't Pass. If the shooter had made his point, we would

resume betting on Don't Come.

Please notice what may seem like a conflict in rules. We

have one rule which says that if a shooter makes a point number,causing the loss of our Don't Pass or Don't Come wager, we will

cease making any more bets until the shooter sevens out. We have

another rule which requires us to back off betting if we have lost

our second consecutive wager betting either Don't Come or Don't

Pass. In the previous example, we lost our second bet to a number

repeating. If this had been our first loss in the series, we would

have waited until the shooter sevened out, and made our second

Don't Come wager with a new shooter. Since we had lost our second wager on Don't Come, we were required to observe the

remainder of the shooter's roll as a Setup Roll, and since he

sevened out, we switched to betting Don't Pass.




74

While this "switching" aspect may seem confusing, it is

part of the power of this system. Most systems or betting

strategies require that the player continue to try the same betting

pattern over and over. The Super Craps system anticipates that

short term craps patterns can easily destroy the player who insists

on making only a set pattern of wagers. Rather than using a

mechanical betting pattern, we let the dice determine how we will

bet.

We may spend a whole game betting nothing but Don't

Pass. If so, we are delighted, for it means we have not lost two

consecutive wagers, or that if we did, the shooter sevened out in aSetup Roll and we resumed betting on the Don't Pass and

eventually won.

We may switch back and forth from Don't Pass to Don't

Come several times during a game. We can't forecast what might

happen. What we do know is that the dice rolls will determine

where we should bet.

This approach to playing Craps evolved after many years of

trying every possible combination of betting. I have bet Pass Line

plus the Odds and Come Bets with Odds. If have tried hedge

betting systems, such as betting Don't Pass and Placing bets. I

have used Lay bets to hedge Don't Pass bets against Come-Out

sevens. In short, I have tried just about every possible system you

can try at Craps. And you know what? This system works the

best.

With this Super Craps wager selection strategy, you will

always play at an advantage over the house once a bet is




75

established. To prevent long runs of Come-Out losses from

destroying the system, we limit our losses per shooter. To prevent

hot rolls from knocking down our wagers as number after number

are rolled, we refuse to lose more than one time to a repeating

number from a hot shooter.

Nearly every system I have ever seen is purely mechanical

and leaves you at the mercy of the Craps rolls. With this system,

the flow of the table determines your wagers.

A betting series

We will use a preset betting series for making our wagers.

While where and when we wager will be determined by the dice

rolls, we will use a set of rules for determining the size of our

wagers.

The size of your wager is determined by your bankroll. We

will have a whole chapter on this later. Needless to say, you pick

a bankroll that you are comfortable with and this bankroll governsthe size of the wagers you make. If your bankroll is $20, you

won't start out making $5 bets; this size bet is too rich for your

bankroll. Likewise, if your bankroll is $500, you won't need to

only make $1 bets.

I am going to show you the betting series I use for a $500

table stake. By table stake, I mean the amount I buy in for. My

bankroll is larger than this; however, I would never risk my entire bankroll in one session. Don't panic if this is larger than the

amount you are comfortable with. The principles of what I am




76

going to show you apply to different size bankrolls. I am merely

going to demonstrate the system using a $500 bankroll, which fits

my comfort range.




77

With a $500 buy in, I will use a series of bets as follows:

$10 $25 $50 $60 $80 $125 $150

My first wager will always be the lowest wager in the

series. When I begin playing, I always wager $10 first. If I lose

this wager, then my next wager will be for $25. If I win this

wager, I will be back to $10 again.

After any loss, you will increase the next wager to the next

highest bet in the series. If I lose a $25 wager, my next wager will

be for $50.

Any time I win a wager, my next wager will be the next

lowest wager in the series. If I win my $50 bet, my next wager is

for $25.

If I win two bets in a row, or win two out of three bets, my

next wager will be two levels down. Assume I have just lost a $50

bet. My next wager is for $60, which wins. I drop back to $50and win again. Because I have won two bets in a row ($60

followed by $50), I drop back two bets, and my next wager is for

$10. Let's assume that after winning the $60 wager, I lost the $50

wager. I would move my bet up one level and wager $60.

Suppose the $60 wager won. I would have won two out of three

bets ($60 won, $50 lost, $60 won) and I would drop back two

levels and bet $10 for my next bet.

This betting series, or a larger or smaller one, depending on

your bankroll, will be combined with betting using our strategy for

betting Wrong.




78

Table 8 shows a typical series of Wrong bets combining the

bet selection strategy and the betting series.

TABLE 8. TYPICAL SERIES OF WAGERS USING

BET SELECTION STRATEGY AND BETTING SERIES

Bet Event OutcomeBet Out-

come

Running

Total

1 Setup Roll 7-Out — —

2 DP—10 7-Out Won bet +10 +10

3 DP—10 Point made Lost bet -10 -

4 Observe roll 7-Out

5 DP—25 Point made Lost bet -25 -25

6 Setup Roll Made point

7 DC—50 7-Out Won bet +50 +25

8 DC—25 7-Out Won bet +25 +50

9 DC—10 Come Out 11 Lost bet -10 +40

10 DC—25 Point made Lost bet -25 +15

11 Setup Roll Made point

12 DC—50 Come Out 7 Lost bet -50 -35

13 DC—60 7-Out Won bet +60 +25

14 DC—50 7-Out Won bet +50 +75

15 DC—10 7-Out Won bet +10 +85

16 DC—10 7-Out Won bet +10 +95

17 DC—10 7-Out Won bet +10 +105

18 DC—10 7-Out Won bet +10 +115

19 DC—10 Come Out 7 Lost bet -10 +105

20 DC—25 7-Out Won bet +25 +130




79

We will start by observing the shooter as shown in Line 1.

Here the shooter sevens out. Because it was a Setup Roll with no

wager made, there is no effect on a bet or on our running total of

wagers.

Having observed that the previous shooter sevened out, we

select Don't Pass and make a $10 wager on Don't Pass. The next

shooter sevens out and we win our bet, as recapped on line 2.

We repeat our $10 Don't Pass wager with the next shooter

as shown on line 3. Here the shooter makes a point and we lose

our bet. Because we lost a wager by a point repeating, we waituntil the shooter sevens out before resuming wagering as shown

on line 4.

The shooter sevens out and we make a $25 Don't Pass bet,

shown on Line 5. We lose the bet. Having lost two consecutive

Don't Pass wagers, the next series of rolls between Come-Out rolls

is another Setup Roll as shown on line 6. The shooter makes his

point, so we switch to betting Don't Come.




80

Line 7 shows the results of our first Don't Come wager.

We bet $50, which wins when the shooter sevens out. Following

our win, we drop back to a $25 Don't Come wager, which also

wins as shown on line 8.

We wager $10 again on Don't Come and lose when the

shooter rolls an 11 on our first Don't Come roll. We immediately

make another Don't Come wager for $25 as shown on line 10.

The shooter hits our point number, causing another loss. We have

now had two consecutive losses on the Don't Come, so we observe

another Setup Roll on line 11. The shooter makes his point, so we

resume betting Don't Come.

We wager $50 Don't Come and lose when the shooter rolls

a Come-Out 7. Since our loss was not caused by a number




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repeating, we bet again on the first roll following the new Come-

Out roll. We wager $60 and win this wager when the shooter

sevens out, as shown on line 13. Since we won a bet, our next

wager drops one level and we wager $50 Don't Come as recapped

on line 14. This wager also wins when the shooter sevens out.

Having won two bets in a row, we drop back to $10 on

Don't Come and win again as shown in line 15.

We stay at $10 Don't Come bets and win three consecutive

wagers as shown on lines 16, 17 and 18. On our next Don't Come

bet of $10, the shooter rolls a Come-Out 7 and we lose our bet.

We come back with a $25 Don't Come wager after the next

Come-Out and win, as depicted on line 20. At this point, we have

played for about twenty minutes and we decide to take a break.

Our winnings are now $130, and we decide to reward ourselves

with a stroll around the casino.

Why does this system work so well? We haveaccomplished several things with it. First, we have reduced the

impact of adverse Come-Out rolls by limiting our losses to two per

betting side. If we pick Don't Pass and the shooter rolls a 7

followed by an 11 on a Come-Out roll, we will not fight the losing

trend. We will back off and wait for the next shooter.

Likewise, we limit the ability of a shooter to knock down

our Wrong bets one at a time by repeating numbers. Whenever we lose an established Wrong bet because of a repeating number,

we wait until the shooter sevens out and then resume betting.




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Finally, the switching aspect of moving our wagers back

and forth from Don't Pass to Don't Come helps us avoid short

adverse patterns which will destroy the player who only makes a

single, fixed pattern of bets.

I know that mathematicians can argue that it makes no

different how bets are selected or how much is wagered each time.

That is the theoretical argument which concludes that no one can

ever win at Craps, at least not over the long run. Maybe I just

haven't lived long enough yet. I continue to win, on a slow steady

basis. How slow? I'll elaborate on this in the pages to come, but

suffice it to say, my winnings exceed $1,000 a day every day I play.

There is much more to winning at Craps than a winning

system. Patience and discipline are two big ingredients. Let's

consider patience for a moment.

Craps players are notoriously impatient. Most players

won't even wait until their chips are placed in front on them whenthey are buying in. They will tell the dealer, "$10 coming," or "$5

Hard 8," before the chips have even reached their hand.

For some reason, most Craps players seem to feel that

every shooter is the make or break shooter for them. They rush to

get their money out and usually get clobbered.

The idea of occasionally missing a roll is an anathema tothese players. "What if the next roll is the big one," they ask. I

say, "So what." There are hundreds of Craps tables operating




83

twenty four hours a day. Missing one roll is not going to hurt

anyone and may help you.

The Super Craps bet selection approach promotes patience.

It forces the player to wait for things to change and then to jump in

and start betting. I know this will drive many players loony; they

just can't stand to wait. And I pose a question for you who feel

this way. Do you really want to win, or just keep throwing a

bunch of chips on the layout until you walk away broke?

Like it or not, the player who constantly makes Pass Line

bets, backed up by Odds and then makes two or more Come bets,also with odds, is going to lose.

The players who constantly Place all of the box numbers,

and then press up (double) each winning wager are doomed to

failure. Yet this is the way that 90% of all players play.

And let's not forget our quiet friend down at the corner of

the table. This gentlemen only bets Don't Pass. He stands therestaring down at his chips, ignoring the screams of the Right bettors

when their bets start to win. He plays for hours grinding away at

the house and then sees his winnings dissipated with one hot

shooter.




84

There has got to be a better way. And there is. You just

saw it. But I am going to add another feature. I know that

standing there observing a shooter is more than most of you can

stand. I am going to show you another way of winning while you

wait. It is a limited Right betting strategy which can be mixed

with the Wrong betting strategy we have just discussed. Stay

tuned. The next chapter will fill you in on all the exciting details!




85

Right Betting Strategy

Basic strategy

Our basic strategy for Right betting, or betting with theshooter, entails sneaking in some bets once in a while. We will

not bet Pass Line or make Come bets. The only bets we will make

are Place bets, and then only on certain point numbers, and under

certain prescribed circumstances.

Place bets have several advantages for us that make them

the only candidates suitable for our Super Craps system. First,

Place bets can be made and pulled down at any time. Pass Lineand Come bets, once made, must be kept up. You will recall that

with Pass Line and Come bets, the bettor has an advantage with

the Come-Out roll, and after a Come-Out suffers a major

disadvantage as compared to the all important 7. The best Come

or Pass Line bets are on the numbers 6 or 8, and even with these

numbers, the house holds a 16.67% edge over the wagers.

With Place bets, the house disadvantage is not as great once

the bet is established. In fact, if we restrict our Place bets to only

the 6 and 8, we find that the house's edge over these Place bets is

1.52%. The house edge on 6 or 8 Placed is comparable to the

house edge of 1.40% over Don't Pass and Don't Come bets.




86

There are some other reasons we will risk money on

Placing 6 and 8 and not Pass Line or Come bets. With Pass Line

and Come bets, the shooter must roll a number twice before we get

paid. Take a Pass Line bet, for instance. If the shooter rolls a 6 onthe Come-Out, then he must roll another 6 before our Pass Line

wager wins. The shooter must roll two 6s, or any other point

number for Pass Line or Come bets to win. With a Place bet, the

shooter need roll the number only once for a win.

Another reason we like Place bets is that they are

automatically off on Come-Out rolls. Many Right bettors will

laboriously make Come bets and even a shooter who has made a

point will wipe out all of the Come bets on a new Come-Out roll.

There is no way to protect these wagers, as the casino will not

allow these bets to be called off on Come-Outs. With Place bets,




87

there is no such problem. Place bets are always off on Come-

Outs, so that we don't have to worry about Come-Out 7s wiping

out our wagers.

A final reason we like Place bets, and especially the 6 and

8, is that we are paid more than even money when we win. A

Place bet on 6 or 8 pays 7 to 6, while a Pass Line or Come bet on

the same numbers only pays 1 to 1. I know that you can take

Odds with Pass and Come bets. I know that Odds wagers

theoretically reduce the house advantage. But underline that word

reduce. Let's compare the payoffs of a Place bet and a Pass Line

or Come bet with Single Odds on a point of 6 or 8.

Place Bet on 6 or 8 Payoff:

Bet Payoff Payoff/Bet

$6 $7 116.67%

For every dollar wagered on a 6 or 8, the house will return$1.1667 for a win.

Now let's look at a Pass Line or Come bet with Single Odds

on the same numbers:

Pass Line or Come Bet with Single Odds on 6 or 8:

Pass or

Come

Bet

Single

Odds

Bet

Total

Wagered

Total

Payoff

Payoff

/Total Bet

$5 $5 $10 $11 1.10%




88

You might argue that I'm being unfair to Pass Line and

Come bets because you always take Double Odds with your

wagers. Okay, let's look at how Pass Line and Come bets with

Double Odds pay. And to make it interesting, we'll throw in these

wagers with ten times odds (some Craps tables now offer ten times

odds).

As shown below, with Double Odds, a Pass Line or Come

bet returns 1.13% of the amount wagered. With ten times odds,

we get $1.18 back for each dollar wagered. So you have me here.

If you are willing to wager ten times odds, you will receive aslightly better payoff betting Pass Line or Come when the point is

6 or 8.

Pass Line or Come Bet with Double Odds and Ten Times

Odds on 6 or 8:

Passor

Come

Bet

Odds

Bet

Total

Wagered

Total

Payoff

Payoff

/Total Bet

SingleOdds

$5 $10 $15 $17 1.10%

10xOdds

$5 $50 $55 $65 1.18%

Before you get too smug, thinking your Pass Line or Come

Bets with ten times odds will outperform my Place bets, let my

pose a couple of questions? How will you make sure that your




89

Pass Line and Come bets only have 6 or 8 for points? And, how

will you pull your bets off on Come-Out rolls?

All things considered, Place bets are the way to go if you

want to only occasionally make wagers on point numbers, if you

want to make sure that your wagers are only on the point numbers

of 6 or 8, and you want to be paid off at a higher rate. And, of

course, only with Place bets can you put your bets up and take

them down at will.

When to Place the 6 and 8

Now we come to the all important question of when we

make our Place bets. I am not about to change my philosophy

about Right bettors. Most Right bettors lose fairly steadily

throughout the course of a game of Craps and then make what

money they make during a hot dice roll.

If we could jump in when the dice were hot — and by that I

mean the shooter is rolling number after number without rolling 7s — then we might have a fighting chance of making some money

betting Right.

Many so called Craps experts advise players "to pick their

spots" at the Craps tables. Earlier I touched on the "Qualified

Shooter" theory, where a Right bettor waits until a point is made

and then bets with the shooter on the rolls following the point

being made.

Other experts advise to watch the enthusiasm level of the

tables. If the players are enthusiastic, then bet Right.




90

I haven't found either one of these theories to be very good

at helping me decide when to "jump in" a Craps game. The

qualified shooter theory works very sporadically and is not a good

guide of when to bet Right. The enthusiasm of the table theory is

laughable. I have seen tables where the shooter makes number

after number and no one says a peep. Other tables will explode if

the shooter rolls one Come-Out 7. You can't rely on the emotions

of Craps players to judge a table.

So what do you use? After investing a lot of time and

money, I have found one dependable time to bet Right, and only by Placing the 6 and 8. I will wait until a shooter has rolled four

rolls without a 7. That's it. Just four rolls.

Sounds like you will making Place bets all of the time,

huh? Only four rolls? Yep. You won't be betting that often.

Most shooters do not roll the dice four times without a 7 showing.

The majority of shooters roll only three or fewer rolls after a

Come-Out roll before a 7 shows. Why do you think I like Wrong betting so much?

But when a shooter rolls four numbers, the odds increase

slightly that he or she will roll a few more numbers before

sevening out. How do I know this? Well, there is no

mathematical theory to support it. Dice have no memory as they

say, and every dice roll is an independent trial. So runs make no

difference, right?




91

Hogwash. I have developed this theory the hard way, at the

dice tables. And I will throw in a little theory for those of you

who like to know why you do something.

Remember I stated that most shooters won't roll more than

three rolls before a 7 shows. Well, a 7 will come up on the

average once every six rolls in the long run. How do we get from

one 7 every three rolls to a 7 every six rolls? We get some long

runs of numbers rolled, with no 7s, interspersed with lots of little

rolls where the 7 shows frequently. Mathematicians will not

dispute that this is the way that random events are distributed. An

average is only that. To understand the average you need to look

at how the events are dispersed.




92

And after thousands of hours playing this damned game, I

will tell you that sevens appear very frequently most of the time,

and occasionally there are rolls of many numbers between the

appearance of the ominous number seven. And, based on trying

just about every system known to identify these long runs, I will

tell you that the most reliable way to time making Place bets is to

wait for the shooter to roll four consecutive rolls without a 7

showing.

So here's how we implement this strategy. We pursue the

Super Craps Wrong betting strategy and we keep track of the

number of rolls each shooter makes after a point is established. Iusually do this by setting aside a dollar chip for each roll. After

the shooter has rolled four rolls, we place the 6 and 8. We will

leave these bets up a maximum of four rolls. If neither a 6 nor 8 is

rolled in four dice rolls, we pull the bets down.

After placing the 6 and 8, we will pull the wagers down

after each bet wins. Assume that we have counted four

consecutive rolls without a 7 being rolled and we place the 6 and8. The shooter then rolls a 3. The next roll is a 6, giving us a win.

We pull both of the bets down.

So, after we place the 6 and 8, we will leave our wagers up

for the lessor of four rolls, or the number of rolls it takes for either

the 6 or 8 to be rolled, giving us a win. In either case, we will then

pull both wagers down.

After pulling our wagers down, we will resume counting.

Whenever the shooter has rolled four consecutive rolls without a 7

showing we will place the 6 and 8.




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During a hot roll, you may find yourself placing the 6 and 8

several times, and pulling the wagers after either a win or four

rolls without a win. You may be tempted to modify this strategy,

arguing that you are losing money by pulling the bets down while

the shooter is rolling numbers.

Don't modify the strategy. Any hot roll is only one roll

away from ending. And no one knows when the roll will end.

Use my approach. It will not only reward you amply during a hot

roll, but more importantly, it will limit your losses when the

shooter sevens out.

When points are made, I will continue my count through

the Come-Out roll, so long as a 7 is not rolled on a Come-Out.

Let's assume that the shooter has rolled two numbers, for a count

of two and then repeats his point number. Our count now standsat three. If he rolls another number on the Come-Out, then I

would place the 6 and 8 as soon as a point is established. Under




94

no circumstances should you ever have the Placed 6 and 8

working on a Come-Out roll. If the shooter hits the four count

during a Come-Out roll, wait till after a point is established to

Place the 6 and 8.

A Betting Pattern

With a $500 table stake, I will begin by placing the 6 and 8

for $6 each. So long as I continue to win, I will continue to Place

these numbers for the same amounts of $6 each.

If I have a loss, I will increase my wagers following a losson the next qualified roll. Assume that I have just Placed the 6

and 8 for $6 each and the shooter sevens out, causing me a loss of

$12. I will wait until we have four consecutive rolls and then

Place the 6 and 8 for $12 each. As soon as I have one hit at this

level, my bet goes back down to $6 each on the next qualified roll.

Table 9 shows the levels of Place bets to use with a $500

table stake.

TABLE 9. PLACE BET OF 6 AND 8

WITH A $500 TABLE BUY IN

Level 1 2 3 4

Place Bets on 6 & 8 $6 $6 $12$12

$24$24

$48$48

Total Wagered $12 $24 $48 $96Value of Win $7 $14 $28 $56




95

This table shows the four levels of Place bets I use with a

$500 buy in. If I lose my Place bets at the $6 and $6 level, I will

wager $12 and $12 on the 6 and 8 following the next qualified

roll. If I also lose these wagers, my next Place bets will be for $24

and $24, at the appropriate time.

After I have raised my wagers, I will drop them to the next

lower level following a win. Assume that I have lost Place bets of

$6 and $6 and then raised my wagers to $12 and $12 after a new

shooter rolled four no-seven rolls. If I also lose these wagers,

meaning that the shooter sevened out before I had any win, I will

Place $24 and $24 on the 6 and 8 when the next shooter qualifies.If I win a wager betting $24 and $24, I will lower my bets one

level to $12 and $12 with the next qualified shooter.

You will always raise and lower your Place bets one level

when using this system. A single win is all that is required to

lower your Place bets a level the next time your are able to make

them.

This strategy is conservative. The odds of winning either a

6 or 8 showing before a 7 is rolled are 10 to 6 (the numbers 6 or 8

can be rolled five ways each, or a total of ten ways; a 7 can be

rolled six ways). Your chances of winning using this strategy are

very good, and if you will wait until a shooter has rolled four

consecutive no-seven numbers, your odds are even better.




96

The suggested betting series is also conservative. It

recoups losses fairly slowly, but also keeps the size of your bets

from escalating rapidly during a period of losses. If we have lost

bets at the $6 $6, $12 $12, and $24 $24 levels, and then win

wagers at the $48 $48 level, followed by wins at $24 $24, and $12

$12, we will be $14 ahead, as shown below:

Lose $6 & $6 $ (12)

Lose $12 & $12 (24)

Lose $24 and $24 (48)

Total Loss $ (84)

Win at $48 & $48 56Win at $24 & $24 28

Win at $12 & $12 14

Net Win $ 14

Many times, we will have losses from several shooters

sevening out, and then recoup all of our losses during one hot roll.

However, the times when we will be called on to wager $48 and

$48 will be few and far between, and we will find that this strategy produces reliable wins.




97

In the next chapter we will look at putting the Right and

Wrong betting strategies together for three exciting days of craps

play




98

Three Days at the Tables

Just how effective is this Super Craps strategy? Most

gambling writers are long on theory and short on showing you

actual results. I am going to invite you to join me for three days atthe Craps tables, playing the Super Craps strategy.

The reason most gaming writers do not show you actual

results of their systems, is that the systems do not perform well in

actual casino conditions. These writers will work out strategies

with paper and pencil and then tell you what the theoretical results

might be. I am different. Everything I have written down

describing the Super Craps system is exactly what I use to battlethe casinos. You may be a little overwhelmed at this point. Hang

in there. I will continue to describe the strategy and show you

more examples of how the system works. If your understanding is

a little fuzzy now, just bear with me. I think we can clear things

up for you.

I am going to share with you actual results of playing with

the system for three intense days of Craps play. I have three days

for several reasons. First, these days play were typical of how the

strategy has worked over hundreds of games. I did not "hand

pick" some games just to show the system in the best light.




99

Secondly, and this is the main reason I am focusing on

these three days, is that for three days of Craps sessions I recorded

a large amount of statistical information about my sessions. For

example, I kept track of the number of dice rolls in each playing

session. This is not something you ever have to do. Quite frankly,

I did not enjoy playing this way; it made the game seem too much

like work. But I did it for a purpose. My purpose was to collect as

much specific information about the system's performance over athree day period of playing Craps as I could.




100

My three days of play covered 3,434 total rolls of dice.

This represented about thirty five hours of table play. During this

period, I kept track of the number of sessions I played, the number

of dice rolls per session, the amount won through Wrong betting,

broken down into Don't Pass and Don't Come wins and the

amount won through Right betting.

Throughout these three days of play, I began each session

with the same amount of money, $500.00. I would stop each

session when I had either won approximately $150 from Wrong

betting, or had lost the session. By starting each session with the

same amount of money, I was able to develop statistics about theaverage amount which was won per hour for a $500 table stake as

well as much more useful information. I could have won more

money if I had increased my table stake after my winnings started

accumulating, but for the sake of developing comparative

information, I started each session with exactly $500.

Over this period of 3,434 rolls, I won a little less than

$3,000, $2918 to be exact. This broke down into $2,495 fromWrong betting and $423 from Place betting. To be fair, I made

Place bets only during the last fifteen sessions out of the twenty

two sessions played. This occurred because I originally set out to

test only the Wrong betting strategy and then decided after seven

sessions had been completed, to test the Place betting strategy as

well. If I had played all twenty two sessions using both the Right

and Wrong betting strategies in each game, and if the averages for

Right betting had been consistent, then I would have won$3,115.40 for the twenty two sessions.




101

Using this adjusted amount, my average wins per hour

were about $89.00 (3,115.40/35 hours). This was the net amount

won, including the sessions where I lost money. The average net

amount I won per session was (using adjusted totals) $145.59.

For sessions where I used both the Wrong and Right

betting strategies and won the session, my average win was

$221.43. Losing sessions using both betting strategies averaged

$351.50. These numbers might sound a little frightening until you

realize how seldom I lost a session.




102

Out of twenty-two total sessions, I had three sessions where

I lost all of the bets in the Wrong betting strategy, and two

sessions where the highest wager in the Place betting strategy lost.

Any time that I would lose all of the bets in a betting sequence,

e.g., the highest possible bet for either Wrong or Right betting, I

would call the session completed.

If we compute the percentage of games won for each

betting strategy, we find that both Wrong and Right betting

strategies won 86% of the sessions played.

The amounts won through Don't Pass wagers and Don'tCome wagers were: $1,370 from Don't Pass wagers and $1,125

from Don't Come wagers for a total of $2,495 won through Wrong

betting.

I won a total of $423 for the fifteen games where I made

Right bets, for an average win of $28.20 per session. I did not

track how many of these wins came from winning Place bets on a

6 versus 8, but the amounts should be about equal.

Using the adjusted total of winnings of $3,115.00, my net

average winnings were about $89.00 per hour. This works out to a

return on the session bankroll used of 17.8% per hour. If we

compare this with the way investment returns are usually

computed, it is simply astounding. Assume that we decided to

play Craps for thirty five hours a week, and used $500 to start each

session. At the winning rate of 17.8% per hour, we would win$3,115.00 per week or $161,980 per year if we played for fifty-




103

two weeks. This would work out to a return 326.96 times the size

of our session bankroll of $500.00 or 32,696% per year. Try

comparing this number with typical investment returns of 10% or

even 20% per year!

For Wrong betting alone, we averaged $71.29 per hour,

which, when compared with our session bankroll of $500, works

out to 14.25% per hour. Converted into winnings per year,

playing thirty five hours per week, we compute winnings of

$129,748 per year, for an annual return from Wrong betting of

25,950% per year.

With Right betting, making only Place bets on the 6 and 8

in accordance with our timing schematic, we made $17.17 an hour

for a return on our session bankroll of 3.55% per hour. With play

of thirty five hours a week, this works out to an annual return of

6,746% per year.

We may want to consider that computing our returns in this

manner severely penalizes the Right betting strategy. Why?Because while Wrong betting requires the entire $500.00 session

bankroll in order to make all of the wagers called for the betting

series ($10 + 25 + 50 + 60 + 80 + 125 + 150 = $500), Right

betting, by Placing only the 6 and 8, requires a Session Bankroll of

only $180.00, computed by adding up all of the Place bets to be

made if we lose every single Place bet ($6 + 6 + 12 + 12 + 24+ 24

+ 48 +48 = $180.00).

If we compute our win rate for Right betting, using $180.00

as the session bankroll required, we compare winnings of $17.17

per hour to $180.00 for a return of 9.53% per hour. This return,




104

playing thirty five hours a week, works out to 17,345% per year.

This is still less than the annual return of 25,950% earned by

betting Wrong, but not by as large a margin.

The main reason that the percentage returned from Right

betting is lower than Wrong betting is that using the Place betting

strategy, we make fewer wagers per hour than with the Wrong

betting strategy. In other words, the lower return from Right

betting does not show that it is a less effective strategy than betting

Wrong; instead it reflects that we do not bet as often betting Right

and therefore earn a lower percentage return on our money per

hour. On a risk adjusted basis, I would suspect that the twostrategies are very comparable.




105

Before I totally lose you with all of these numbers, let's

consider what these results mean for us, in a general way. First,

you should recognize that we have a winning system here. It is

very reliable and very consistent. Because of these factors,

winnings can be forecast with some accuracy. By this I do not

mean that we are always confident about winning any given

session at the tables. Every session is a new battle with the casino,

and we can never be confident that we are going to win. We know

that we are likely to win a session, but we never want to become

complacent. Nothing is ever certain in Craps, except that it is

damned hard to win consistently. Please don't ever forget that.

But what we do know is that over a reasonable trial period,

where I kept careful track of the results of the sessions, we won

almost $3,000, and won about 86% of our playing sessions. And

we know that we started each session with the same bankroll of

$500. I mentioned to you earlier that I could have won more

money if I had increased the size of my table stake. Normally I

would have done this, but I didn't because the main purpose of this

play was to test the system and record the results.

What I could have done (and normally would do) was to

increase the size of my session bankroll as my winnings reached

certain predetermined levels. You can do the same thing, and it

dramatically improves the winning potential of the Super Craps

strategy. But you must plan any increases carefully, and only after

you have won enough to protect yourself from losing sessions.

The bane of most gamblers is increasing wagers too rapidly

after a win. You see this all the time at most tables, where Place

bettors constantly tell the dealers to "press my bet," meaning to




106

double it and only return any winnings left after the bet is doubled.

Many gamblers act as if every minor streak was going to turn into

a monster roll and last for thirty minutes. As you and I know, the

dominate number in Craps is the number 7, which always shows

sooner or later.

In deciding to increase the size of our session bankroll, we

are going to be very conservative. Many of you will want to

double your session stake after winning a session or two. This

may or may not turn out alright, you can never predict whether

you will win or lose any given session. But the risk to you is very

great if you follow this approach. You are emulating the Place bettors who rapidly press their wagers, have numerous wins

during a roll, and end up losing money because they left too much

money on the table when the shooter sevened out.

Our conservative approach to increasing our session

bankroll considers the total bankroll we have brought for our play,

not just the amount we have won in a session or two. I always

bring at least five times the intended session bankroll on anycasino excursion. If I am buying in for $500.00 per session, I will

have $2,500.00 available as my total bankroll. This bankroll is not

the amount of money I have in my checking or savings account, it

is the amount of cash I have with me, either on my person, or in a

casino safe deposit box.

The strategy I will use is to wait until I have doubled my

total bankroll from $2,500 to $5,000 before I double my initial buyin from $500 to $1,000.




107

So, one or two winning sessions are not enough for me to

increase the size of my session bankroll. I will wait until the total

bankroll that I have with me has doubled. And this bankroll will

never be less than five times the size of my session bankroll.

During my three day marathon Craps session, my winning

rate was 17.8% per hour, using a buy in of $500. For purposes of

illustration, let's assume that our return was just 15% per hour.

With a return of 15% an hour, we would average winning

$75 an hour using a session bankroll of $500. It would take about

33.33 hours for us to win $2,500 and double the size of our Craps bankroll, increasing it from $2,500 to $5,000. Unless we want to

play Craps on a marathon basis, like I did for three days, we are

not likely to double our bankroll on any single casino excursion.

It may take us a couple of trips to accomplish this. The key is to

be patient. If you let the Super Craps system work for you and are

patient, your gambling bankroll will double.

After doubling your gambling bankroll, to $5,000 in thisexample, you may start buying in for double the original session

buy in. With a $1,000 session bankroll, all of the bets in the

betting sequences I have suggested will be doubled. Your first

Don't wager will be for $20, rather than $10. When you Place the

6 and 8, you will start with $12 on each number, instead of $6

each.

With a $1,000 session bankroll, if your winning rate of 15% continues, you will now average winning $150 an hour.

Guess what? In another 33.33 hours of play, you can double your




108

gambling bankroll again, moving up from a $5,000 to a $10,000

bankroll.

With a $10,000 Craps bankroll, your session bankroll

becomes $2,000, and with a win rate of 15% per hour, your

theoretical hourly winnings become $300 an hour.

Another 33.33 hours of diligent play will double your

gambling bankroll again. Now you will have a total bankroll of

$20,000, and your session buy in can be for $4,000. At these

levels you will have to start watching table maximums. Your

highest Don't wager will be for $1,200, and your largest possiblePlace bet will be for $384. With a 15% an hour average return,

you can expect winnings of $600 an hour with a $4,000 buy in.

You may want to go for a $25,000 Craps bankroll, which

allows a session bankroll of $5,000. On the average, it will take

only an addition 8.33 hours to move from a Craps bankroll of

$20,000 up to $25,000.

With a $25,000 total bankroll, your buy in will be for

$5,000, and with a 15% an hour average return, your average

winnings should be about $750 an hour.

Table 10 shows the total bankrolls for each level of play,

the session bankrolls used, the average wins per hour, using a 15%

return, and the number of hours of play required, on the average,

to increase your bankroll to the next level.




109

I want to emphasize that this table is hypothetical. It does

not represent the actual results of my play. I typically have not

bought in for more than $1,000, or for $2,000 on occasion. It is

not that I do not believe in the system.

TABLE 10. HYPOTHETICAL RESULTS OF INCREASING

BANKROLLS

Session

Bankroll

Win per

Hour at

15%

Total

Bankroll

Needed

Hours to

Reach

Next

Bankroll

Level

Amount

Won

Before

Next

Level $500 $ 75 $ 2,500 33.33

hours$ 2,500

1,000 150 5,000 33.33hours

5,000

2,000 300 10,000 33.33hours

10,000

4,000 600 20,000 8.33hours

5,000

5,000 750 25,000 NA NA

It has worked very well for me. It is simply that I do not

feel comfortable buying in for more than $1,000 to $2,000 a

session. A $5,000 buy in seems too high for me. I start to exceed

my comfort level in playing the game. Quite frankly, I enjoy

playing Craps a lot, but the higher buy in inhibits my ability to

enjoy the game.




110

You will have to examine your own playing style and

comfort levels to make these kinds of decisions. I have

acquaintances using this system who always buy in for $5,000 or

even $10,000 and are reportedly doing well with the system. If

you decide to play at this level, the casinos will bend over

backwards to accommodate you, for you will be considered a

moderate level high roller. If you want to play at this level the

choice is yours. But don't feel like you have to play at these levels

to benefit from the strategy. I am content with my $1,000 and

occasional $2,000 buy ins, as my goal is to make $1,000 a day

without playing marathon sessions. If you want to make a lotmore, then be my guest.

For the sake of considering the possibilities of Super Craps,

let's compute what you might win if you played thirty-five hours a

week for fifty weeks. We will assume that you begin playing with

a $2,500 total bankroll and $500 buy ins. You will increase the

size of your buy in as rapidly as possible, using our guidelines of

doubling your bankroll before doubling the size of your sessionstake.

As shown below, if you increase your session bankroll to

$5,000 per session and then continue to play at this level, your

possible earnings are $1,253,252.50 per year!




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Calculation of Hypothetical Yearly Earnings

Description: Hours of Play: Amount Won:

Play to increase bankrollfrom $2,500 to $25,000

108.33 hours $ 22,500.00

Play with $25,000 bankroll 1,641.67 hours 1,231,252.50

Total 1,750.00 hours $1,253,752.50

You can play all kinds of games with this data. Your

hourly wins will average about $716 per hour. Assuming you put

in 250 days, your daily winnings would average a little over

$5,000 per day.

I am not sure that I could stand to play Craps in this

fashion. I know that some of you believe that you could stand

almost anything to make over a million bucks in a year. But the

reality is that playing Craps nonstop as a business is a very tough

way to earn a living.

These results must be considered to be theoretical. I have

not done this, nor do I know anyone who has. I believe that it is

possible, if you have the stamina for it.

However, it is possible to win respectable amounts of

money with much less than a full time investment in Craps play.

Table 11 shows the hypothetical results of different levelsof play with different time investments.




112

If you are a very casual player and will play no more than

thirty-five hours a year, and you would consider winnings of

$2,625 per year to be reasonable, then you should play with a

$2,500 bankroll and a $500 buy in. If you want to win more for

your thirty-five hours at the tables, you should consider using a

larger bankroll. With a $5,000 bankroll, your thirty-five hours

should be worth $5,250 per year, with a $10,000 bankroll —

$10,500 per year, $21, 000 a year playing with a $20,000 bankroll

and $26,250 a year using a $25,000 bankroll.

More hours invested with a higher bankroll equates with a

larger win. If you want to win $100,000 or more per year, youwill not be able to do it with a $2,500 bankroll unless you want to

play more than 500 hours a year. However, if you use a $20,000

bankroll, and play more than 200 hours a year, you should be able

to earn over $100,000 a year.




113

TABLE 11. HYPOTHETICAL WINNINGS

SHOWING PLAYING TIME AND BANKROLL

Total Bankroll

$2,500 $5,000 $10,000 $20,000 $25,000

SessionBuy In $ 500 $1,000 $ 2,000 $ 4,000 $ 5,000

ExpectedHourly Win $ 75 $ 150 $ 300 $ 600 $ 750

Hours Played per Year:

YEARLY WINNINGS FOR

EACH LEVEL OF PLAY

35 hours $ 2,625 $ 5,250 $ 10,500 $ 21,000 $ 26,250

100 hours $ 7,500 $15,000 $ 30,000 $ 60,000 $ 75,000

200 hours $15,000 $30,000 $ 60,000 $120,000 $150,000500 hours $37,500 $75,000 $150,000 $300,000 $375,000

One thing that should be obvious from this illustration is

that the amount of possible winning are directly related to the

amount of bankroll and the time spent on the game. Most

investors understand these concepts quite well. It is reasonable to

expect to earn more on $10,000 invested than on $2,500.

Likewise, if $10,000 invested for five years should earn more than

the same amount invested for six months.

While these truths are obvious to most investors, they are

not for many gamblers, and that is why I repeat them. Many

gamblers will bring $500 to the casino, hoping to win $5,000.

With such high expectations and such a low bankroll, they are

almost doomed to lose.




114

The Super Craps approach to play forces you to be more

patient in your approach to the game. It also emphasizes slow

steady winnings. If the win rate seems too slow for you, just

review the last two tables in this chapter. Slow doesn't necessarily

mean low, it just means that it takes a longer time investment to

produce winnings.

If you take $2,500 to a casino and play for two hours, don't

be surprised if you don't win exactly $150. On my three days of

play I started off with a loss. If I had computed my hourly win

after two hours, I would have been in the hole. Do not expect to

win the exact hourly amounts I have used in the illustrations in thischapter. As you play for longer and longer periods, your average

winnings should be close to the averages I have shown you. If

they are not, then you are probably not playing the strategy

correctly. Also remember that anything can happen for a session

or two of Craps. It is possible to lose two sessions back to back,

although not likely. If you are in a losing streak, become extra

cautious. If never hurts to back off from wagering for a couple of

shooters. I am not suggesting that you constantly try to secondguess the system. Don't do that. What I am suggesting is that

even though the Super Craps approach works very well, you can

and will encounter short term losing streaks and you can back off

from wagering during one of these periods.

I want to show you some variations of betting and

strategies for using this system. Before you read further, make

sure that you understand the system as presented fairly well. If you can't remember exactly how to use it, I recommend that you

review the portions of this book necessary to refresh your

memory.




115

In the next chapter I will cover betting variations which can

make you an even stronger player.




116

Variations of Play

Matching Betting levels to Your Bankroll

You may have gotten the idea that the Super Craps strategyrequires a $500 bankroll or higher. Most of my illustrations have

been based on using a $500 Session Bankroll because this is my

minimum level of play. Once you understand this strategy, I am

sure that you will feel the same way.

But you may not be comfortable with buying in for $500 to

try a system you are learning. Relax. I will show you variations

where you can buy in with as little as thirty bucks. The beauty of the Super Craps strategy is that it works for any size bankroll,

whether large or small.

The Basic Super Craps Strategy entails making Wrong

bets, using our bet selection process with the following series of

wagers: $10 $25 $50 $60 $80 $125 and $150. During the same

session, we will place the 6 and 8 using a series of $6-6, $12-12,

$24-24 and $48-48. For this level of wagering we need to buy in

for $500.




117

However, we can use the same approach with as little as

$50. Our Wrong betting series becomes: $1 $2 $5 $6 $8 $13 and

$15. At this level of betting, we will not be able to make Place

bets. They are simply too rich for our bankroll.

We can play with $50, $100, $150, $250, $500, $1,000,

$2,000, $4,000 and $5,000 buy ins using variations of the size of

bets for Wrong and Right betting. But we can't start making Place

bets until we have a Session Bankroll of at least $150. And we

will need to find a table which uses 25¢ chips to be able to make

Place bets. Only with a bankroll of $500 or higher can we make

Place bets at Craps tables with $5 minimum wagers. This is

another reason I like to make $500 my minimum buy in.




118

However, you are giving up very little if you drop Place

betting from the Super Craps strategy. Your hourly winnings will

be somewhat smaller, and you will have to endure periods where

the shooter is hitting a lot of numbers without participating. But

the Wrong Betting side of the strategy is strong enough that you

can be very successful using only this part of the strategy.

Table 12 shows the bets to be used for different Session

Bankrolls. You will notice that no Place bets are made for

bankrolls less than $150. With $150 and $250 buy ins, Place bets

may be made, but only at tables using 25¢ chips. Let me explain.

TABLE 12. BETS USED FOR

DIFFERENT SESSION BANKROLLS

Session

Bankroll

Wrong

Betting Series

Place

Betting Series

$50 1 2 5 6 8 13 15 None

100 2 4 10 12 16 25 30 None

150 3 5 15 17 25 40 45 1.50 3 6 12

250 5 13 25 30 40 62 75 3 6 12 24

500 10 25 50 60 80 125 150 6 12 24 48

1,000 20 50 100 120 160 250 300 12 24 48 96

2,000 40 100 200 240 320 500 600 24 48 96 192

4,000 80 200 400 480 640 1,000 1,200 48 96 192 384

5,000 100 250 500 600 800 1,250 1,500 60 120 240 480




119

With a buy in of $150 or $250 you may make Place bets.

But your minimum bets are $1.50 each on the 6 and 8 with a $150

bankroll, and $3.00 each on the 6 and 8 with a $250 bankroll.

These wagers can only be made at tables using 25¢ chips. There

are a number of these tables in downtown Las Vegas and a few on

the Las Vegas Strip. If you want to play with a lower buy in and

still be able to make Place bets, then you will need to find one of

these tables.

If you are playing where there are no 25¢ tables, and you

want to play with a lower bankroll, I suggest that you just notworry about making Place bets and not use this part of the strategy

until you are able to buy in for $500 or more.

You can use Table 12 to compute the Betting Series for

additional Session Bankrolls. Say that you want to play with a

$750 buy in. You can add the betting series for $500 and $250

buy ins as follows:

Buy

In Wrong Betting Series

$250 5 13 25 30 40 62 75

500 10 25 50 60 80 125 150

$750 15 38 75 90 120 187 225

A couple of the bets are a little awkward to use: $38 and

$187. You can adjust the new betting series to round these bets

off to numbers divisible by five, and therefore capable of being




120

made without using dollar chips. To do this we should maintain

the integrity of the betting series by adding and subtracting equal

amounts to the bets we wish to change, so that the total of all

wagers remains the same. Here's how we could do this:

Series Betting Series Buy In

Computed

Series

15 38 75 90 120 187 225 $750

Adjustments +2 -2

Adjusted Series 15 40 75 90 120 185 225 $750

Using Table 12, you can construct different betting series

geared to different buy ins you may want to use. In addition to

constructing the series for $750, like we just did, you may

consider betting series for buy ins of $400, $1,250, $1,500,

$1,750, $2,500, $3,000 and $3,500.

These different levels may be especially helpful if you

decide to increase the size of your buy ins in smaller increments

than I have suggested. You may start by playing with a $150 buy

in and jump to $200 when you have enough winnings to support

this level (you need a total bankroll five times the size of your

Session Bankroll). From $200 you may want to jump to $250,

then $300, then $400 and so on. The possibilities are almost

endless, and the only rule you need to remember is to only

increase your buy in after you have won enough to support this

level of wagering.




121

If you use $200 or $300 or other "intermediate" buy in

amounts, do not adjust the series used for Place bets. Use the

series for the next lowest bankroll level as shown in Table 12. For

instance, if you compute the Betting Series for a $300 buy in, you

will make Place Bets using the series shown for a $250 buy in.

Different Betting Strategies

You are not limited to using only a variation of the Betting

Series I have shown in the previous discussion. There is another

approach to betting which is very effective, and you may like asmuch or even more than the ones I have shown you.

Before we discuss a new Betting Series, you need to

understand the concept of a Parlay wager. A Parlay wager is

nothing more than a winning wager that we leave up for two

consecutive wagers. If we are wagering $10 and win, we will

leave our original wager of $10 plus the winnings of $10 up for an

additional wager. If we win this wager also, we will have won atotal of $30, an amount equal to three times our original wager.

Any time a Parlay wager wins, we will have won an

amount equal to three times our original wager. The odds of

winning two consecutive even-money wagers back to back is

approximately 4 to 1, so that we can expect to lose a number of

Parlay attempts.

In order to utilize the Parlay concept, we will use a Betting

Series consisting of eight wagers. Any time we win a wager in the




122

series we will attempt to Parlay the original wager plus the

winnings. Any time we lose either a wager in the Betting Series

or a Parlay wager, we will wager the next higher bet when we

make our next wager. If we win a Parlayed wager, we will drop

all the way back to the beginning wager in the series for our next

wager.

So, our betting rules are simple. We will increase our

wager one level after losing any wager or parlayed wager. We

will start the series over after winning any Parlayed wager.

The Betting Series that I like to use is: $10 $10 $12 $25

$25 $50 $50 $100. You will notice that this series has eight

wagers in it, compared to our original series of seven wagers. In

addition, our highest wager is $100, which is only eight times the

size of our first wager of $10. In our original Betting Series, witha first wager of $10 and a last wager of $150, our final wager is

fifteen times the size of our first wager.




123

But keep in mind that our largest possible wager with this

Parlay Betting Series is not $100, but $200. This is the amount we

will be called upon to wager if we wager $100 and win and then

Parlay the original wager plus the winnings.

Table 13 shows each bet in the Parlay Betting Series, the

Value of a Parlay Win, the amount we would have lost through

losing bets before winning the Parlay bet and the net amount of

our winnings after any Parlay win.

TABLE 13. WINS WITH A PARLAY BETTING SERIES

Betting

Series

10 10 12 25 25 50 50 100

Amount of

Parlay Win 30 30 36 75 75 150 150 300

Cumulative

Loss -0- 10 20 32 57 82 132 182

Net Win

AfterParlay

30 20 16 43 18 68 18 118

The Parlay Betting Series is very effective and produces a

high winning rate per hour. I have found that I seldom have to

progress beyond the fourth or fifth level of wager before I win a

Parlay. And after any win, I am in a position to either drop back

to the lowest wager and start the Betting Series over or count my

chips and consider calling the session over. One thing I like about playing the Parlay Betting Series is that it takes only two

consecutive wins in order to "win" the series and allow me to

reduce my wagers to the lower levels.




124

Like the Standard Betting Series, the Parlay Betting Series

is used only for Wrong bets and can be adjusted to a number of

different bankroll levels.

Table 14 shows the Parlay Betting Series to be used for

Session Bankrolls ranging from $30 to $3,000. I would not use

the Parlay Betting Series with a buy in larger than $3,000 as the

largest wager called for at this level of $2,000 (a parlayed wager

of $1,000) is at the table limit in most casinos.

TABLE 14. PARLAY BETTING SERIES

Session

Bankroll Parlay Betting Series

$ 30* 1 1 1.25 2.50 2.50 5 5 10

35 1 1 1 3 3 6 6 12

150 5 5 6 12 12 25 25 50

300 10 10 12 25 25 50 50 100

600 20 20 25 50 50 100 100 200

900 60 60 75 150 150 300 300 600

3,000 100 100 120 250 250 500 500 1,000

* Only use at 25¢ tables.

The lowest level Session Bankroll possible using a Parlay

Betting Series is $30. This may be used only at a 25¢ Craps table

as it calls for wagers using 25¢ chips. On tables where theminimum wager is one dollar and the dollar chip is the minimum

value chip used, you may use a Session Bankroll of as low as $35.




125

Like the Standard Betting Series, you can combine different levels

of betting series to compute the bets to be used for different

bankroll levels.

If you are playing at a $2 minimum table, and want to

wager using a $70 buy in, you can compute the Betting Series by

doubling the wagers used with a $35 buy in.

To compute the wagers for a $450 buy in, add the bets for

the $150 and $300 levels.

I have not shown the Place bets which may be used withany series of Parlay bets. Here I am going to allow you more

flexibility. You can Place bets at any level you want, so long as

you add an additional amount to your Session Bankroll to allow

for these wagers.

The sensible way to add Place Bets, using the Super Craps

strategy of only wagering on the 6 and 8 in limited circumstances,

is to add an amount somewhat less than the amount allowed for Wrong bets to your Session Bankroll. For example, if the amount

required to bet the series of Parlay wagers you have chosen is

$300, and if you want to risk a total of $90 on Place bets, then you

can buy in for $390, or $400 rounded.

Table 15 shows the amounts of additional bankroll you

need to add to the Session Bankrolls for the Parlay Betting Series

so that you may bet both Wrong (using the Parlay bets) and Right(using the Place Betting series.




126

TABLE 15. AMOUNTS NEEDED FOR PLACE BETS

Session

Bankroll Levels of Place Bets on 6 and 8

$45* 1.50 — 1.50 3 — 3 6 — 6 12 — 12

90* 3 — 3 6 — 6 12 — 12 24 — 24

180 6 — 6 12 — 12 24 — 24 48 — 48

360 12 — 12 24 — 24 48 — 48 96 — 96

720 24 — 24 48 — 48 96 — 96 192 — 192

1,440 48 — 48 96 — 96 192 — 192 384 — 384

2,400 60 — 60 120 — 120 240 — 240 480 — 480

* Only use at 25¢ tables.

Assume that you have a total bankroll of $5,000. Dividing

it into five parts, you decide to play with a Session Bankroll of

$1,000. You have also decided to use the Parlay Betting Series for

Wrong betting and the Super Craps Place Betting strategy. You

decide that you would like to use the Parlay series with an initial

bet of $20 for Wrong betting. Looking at Table 14 you see that

this series requires a Session Bankroll of $600. You next decide

to use the largest Place Betting series which your $1,000 Session

Bankroll can accommodate. Looking at Table 15, you select the

series requiring a $360 Session Bankroll.

You can now buy in for $1,000 a session and use a

maximum of $600 of your buy in for Wrong betting, using a

Parlay Betting series, and a maximum of $360 for Right betting,

using our Place Betting strategy. The $40 extra buy in is just that

— extra money because you did not want to buy in for the odd

ball amount of $960.




127

You can mix and match different levels of Wrong and

Right betting using Tables 14 and 15. My only caution is to keep

the amount of bankroll required for Place betting somewhat less

than the amount used for Wrong betting. I caution this, not

because the Place betting strategy is more risky, but because it

wins more slowly than the Wrong betting strategy. I believe that

you will enjoy higher wins for your time investment when you

load the betting in favor of the Wrong bets.

Playing With a Partner

The thought of playing craps with a partner may not haveever occurred to you, but it is an excellent way to increase your

chances of winning. With a partner, even if you have a loss, your

partner can win the session, increasing your chances of winning

overall.

The Parlay Betting Series works well for two partners.However, we do not want to have both partners betting in the

exact same manner. This would negate most of the benefits of




128

partnership play. Instead we will modify the way in which we

select our wagers. If you can't remember the original rules for

selecting wrong bets, they are summarized on pages 49 to 51.

Partner A will always start out making a Don't Pass bet.

However, if the shooter rolls a Come-Out 7, he will switch to

betting Don't Come for his next wager. He will limit his losses to

two losses per shooter.

Assume that Partner A chooses the $300 Parlay Betting

Series, with the wagers of $10 10 12 25 25 50 50 100. His first

wager of $10 will be Don't Pass, which must be made before aCome-Out roll. Let's say this first wager loses to a Come-Out 7.

He does not bet on the next Come-Out roll, but waits until the

shooter has established a point, then bets the second wager in the

betting series of $10 on Don't Come.

Assume that the shooter sevens out in a couple rolls,

causing a win for the Don't Come wager. Partner A is now ready

to Parlay his winning wager, making a bet of $20. But he will staywith a Don't Come bet for his Parlay attempt. We add another rule

that a Parlay wager will always be made on the same pattern

which resulted in the original wager winning. If we win a Don't

Pass wager, we will Parlay it betting Don't Pass. If we win a Don't

Come wager, we will Parlay it on Don't Come.

So after the shooter establishes a point, Partner A wagers

$20 on Don't Come. The shooter rolls three more times and a 7shows. Partner A wins his Parlay wager!




129

Having won a Parlay wager, he will begin his betting series

at the lowest level wager with the next shooter. Even though he

just won betting Don't Come, he wagers $10 on Don't Pass,

because he always begins wagering Don't Pass and sticks with this

pattern of betting until a shooter rolls a Come-Out 7.

Suppose that the next shooter rolls a 5 as a point and a

couple of rolls later repeats the number. The Don't Pass bet loses.

Because the loss did not occur due to a Come-Out 7, Partner A

makes another Don't Pass wager. However, having lost one wager

to this shooter, he is now wary. This is the last wager he will risk

on this shooter. Our wagering rules limit our losses to a maximumof two regular wagers per shooter. A loss of a Parlay bet is not

counted as a loss, so we will only stop betting on a shooter after

losing two regular bets.

Here are the rules which Partner A will use for betting

Wrong:

1. Unless he is parlaying a Don't Come win, his first bet willalways be on Don't Pass.

2. The maximum number of losses per shooter are two regular

wagers. If he loses two wagers on one shooter, he will stop

wagering until the shooter sevens out.

3. To reduce the impact of Come-Out sevens on his Don't Pass

wagers, any time he loses his first Don't Pass wager against ashooter to a Come-Out 7, his second wager against this shooter

will be on Don't Come.




130

4. A winning pattern is not to be broken. Parlay wagers are

always made on the same side as the original winning wager. A

winning Don't Come bet is parlayed on the Don't Come side.

Partner B will play with similar rules with the major

difference being that Partner B will always make Don't Come

wagers. Here are the betting rules which Partner B will use:

1. He will always wager Don't Come.

2. The maximum number of losses per shooter are two regular wagers. If he loses two wagers on one shooter he will stop

wagering until the shooter sevens out.

I have played with a partner on a number of occasions. The

system I have described is very effective. When you are playing

with a partner, one of the partners inevitably hits a winning streak

where almost every bet wins. After one of these streaks ends is anexcellent time to call a session over. With partnership play, good

wins can be generated even if one of the partner's results is

mediocre.




131

Playing with a partner is a powerful way to play and

something you should consider. Instead of your spouse or other

companion spending time at slot machines or some other pursuit,

you can enlist them and become a craps team. In addition to

increasing your prospects of winning you will gain a major ally in

your quest to beat the casinos and possibly enjoy the game even

more!




132

What it Takes to Win

To win takes guts, knowledge, bankroll, discipline and

patience. Notice that I didn't mention timing or luck in this list.

You don't have to be in the right place at the right time to win.You don't have to catch that once-in-a-lifetime "hot roll."

You don't have to be smart to win. You don't need a formal

education. You don't even need much money to start winning. If

you have the guts, the knowledge, the bankroll (even a small one),

the discipline and the patience to do it, you can start winning

tomorrow.

Guts

I doesn't take much guts to walk into a casino. Casinos are

filled with dorks and losers. That's how they make their money.

What takes guts is knowing when to walk out of a casino.

The average player plays until one of two events happens.

He or she either runs out of money or out of time.




133

The out of money part is easy to understand, although it

shouldn't be a part of your approach to gambling. Your pattern of

play is to continue doing or not doing whatever it is that you are

trying to do until the casino takes all of your money. Then it's

pretty easy to make the decision to quit. It's a no brainer. You let

the casino make the decision for you.

The other prevalent approach is to play on a time schedule.

"I have two hours for craps, and by God I am going to play craps

for two hours." This "schedule" approach to playing is frequently

interrupted by the "I am out of money" event, which, of course,

overrides the arbitrary time schedule.

There are many variations of these two themes. You can

play until not only have you lost all of the money you brought, but

have exhausted loans from friends, credit card advances and have

hocked your jewelry and your automobile. I would call this plan

the "lose all of your money at once" plan.

Or you may stretch the time schedule approach, by missingyour plane flight, and as a side benefit, putting your marriage in

jeopardy.

With either of these approaches or of the many variations

out of control gamblers invent every day, something or someone

other than yourself is calling the shots.

You might as well face the facts. If you play like this, youare a gutless gambler and you will never win consistently. Not

with my system. Not with the next system you decide to try. Not

ever.




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And, if you fall into one or both of these playing styles, and

you lose, which I know you will, you will blame everyone in the

world but yourself.

But you know who to blame don't you. It's you.

Super Craps is a very good strategy for winning. In case I

haven't mentioned it, I use it all the time and win very consistently.

But I can't just put the system on "automatic pilot" and expect to

win. The system will help me win, but only if I supply the other

ingredients necessary to win.

The first ingredient you need to add to your understanding

of the Super Craps strategy is the guts to walk out of the casino on

your terms.

I mentioned that I like to play for a target win of $1,000 a

day. Do you think that this just happens? The casino is sure not




135

going to tell me, "Sam, you better leave now, you just hit your

$1,000 win." If anything, the casino is going to make it easier for

me to stay. Because they know the secret of winning.

Make sure no one is peeking over your shoulder. I am

going to tell you the casino's secret weapon that makes 95% of all

gamblers losers. It's not the house edge or vig. In a game like

craps, where there are bets giving the casino a little over a one

percent edge, the vig doesn't ever come into play until the long

run. It's not the speed of the game, or the fact that the house has a

lot of bucks and can wait out your temporary forays into its

bankroll. And it's not because the casino cheats you. It doesn'thave to.

The casino wins because most players don't know when to

walk. They don't have the guts to walk out of the casino when

they are ahead. And they don't have the guts or the discipline to

walk out when they are losing.

Remember when I told you that I won 86% of my sessionsin my three day marathon of playing Super Craps? You may have

thought, "Wow, that's great, he wins nearly all the time." And you

would have been partially right. I do win nearly all the time. But

the losses are tough.

They are discouraging. They make me mad at myself for

having a loss. They sometimes make my blood boil. I want to get

that money back as soon as possible. But I don't try. I will walk away from the table after I hit a predetermined loss amount during

a session.




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And what about wins? I like to win. One of the reasons I

use the Super Craps strategy is that the wins come so regularly.

But once I have a win, I recognize that it can be a fleeting thing.

As long as I am at the tables, my money is in jeopardy. So, I set a

predetermined win amount before I begin playing. And when I hit

this amount, I walk away from the table.

With the Super Craps strategy, the amount of your Session

Bankroll determines your loss limit, so long as you adhere to the

buy in guidelines I have shown you. If you lose your Session

Bankroll, you walk. You don't reach in your pocket and pull outanother Session Bankroll. You don't even pull out another

hundred bucks just so you can keep playing. You walk.

I like to use a Target Win equal to one-third of my Session

Bankroll. If I buy in for $100, I will leave when I am $30 to $35

ahead. If my buy in is for $2,000, I will be looking to take a break

when my winnings are between $600 and $700 dollars.

While there is no question that the loss of a Session

Bankroll is a clear signal to take a break, sometimes the Target

Win is not as clear. What if you are well over one-third of your

buy in ahead and the wins are still coming? What you do is

continue playing until you lose a bet or two. Then you pull off.

Another tougher call is the game where you have been

gaining, but slowly and with lots of ups and downs. Here I willnot wait until I have hit my Target Profit. Quit after you have just

won a larger wager.




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The essential rule for pulling off the table is to leave after a

loss or after your target win has been hit. The rule is simple. But

it takes guts to pull it off.

Knowledge

I have seen people walk up to the craps table and start

making wagers and then casually ask the dealer "How does this

bet work?"

If you don't understand the game, don't play. I have

reviewed the craps game in this manual. If you have played thegame before, you probably found this review simplistic. If you

have never played the game, you undoubtedly found the game

confusing.

Before you risk real money, you have got to understand the

game. And you will never learn the game if you confine your

studies to reading about it. You have got to learn how to play the

game by actually playing it.

There are several ways to go about this. If you want a

simulated experience, you can buy one of the little craps layouts

sold in the gift shops where gaming occurs. If you are computer

literate, you can practice on one of the casino software packages

where craps is included.

But if you really want to learn the game, you have got toinvest some time playing it. But your play doesn't have to be

haphazard or cost you money.




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I have shown you versions of Super Craps where as little as

$30 can be used to play a session. This is the level where you

should start your play. Learn about the bets, the rhythm, the feel

of the craps game. Watch the other players. Even the ones who

sign markers for five hundred bucks a whack don't know as much

as you do. They just have a feel for the game. Watch how often

these folks sign for new markers. Their money goes fast, doesn't

it.

Enjoy the cadence of a good stickman. Watch the boxman

settle a dispute with a player. Watch the chips get raked in by the

dealers when the shooter sevens out.

Learn the payoffs on the bets you will make. Don't Passand Don't Come pay even money, so this isn't much of a

challenge. But the six and eight placed pay off at 7 to 6. If your




139

wager is for $48, you better know that the payoff is for $56, plus

your original wager of $48, for a total of $104. Dealers make

mistakes.

I have recently been playing in a lot of non Las Vegas

casinos in places like Mississippi and New Mexico. The games

are great. The dealers are usually friendly. But I have seen more

dealer mistakes than I ever saw in my years of playing in Las

Vegas.

A typical mistake I have encountered many times is not

being paid on a winning Don't Come bet.

Don't Come wagers are not common craps bets. When you

make these wagers, they will probably be the only Don't Come

wagers on the table. And dealers don't see these wagers that often.

So they forget to pay them off when a 7 is rolled. They go

through their practiced motions of picking up Pass Line wagers

and odds, raking in all of the Come and Place bets, paying any

Come Bets in the Come Betting Area and they forget the lowlyDon't Come bet sitting at the rear of the box numbers. It is your

job to watch your own bet.

Not only have I had dealers forget to pay off winning Don't

Come bets, I have had dealers sweep up these bets after a 7 is

rolled, when they should be paying the wager off.

I have had winning craps numbers rolled on a Don't ComeCome-Out and the dealer just stares at the wager instead of paying

it off.




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You don't have to become a Craps expert. It doesn't matter

if you ever learn anything about those proposition bets down in the

center of the table. You don't need to worry about computing odds

payoffs. But you better learn about Don't Pass, Don't Come and

Placing the 6 and 8, because you are responsible for your own

bets.

Bankroll

I have discussed bankroll throughout this book. It's the

money you bring for gambling. And the total amount you bring

should be at least five times the size of your planned session bankroll.

You can approach the bankroll issue a couple of ways.

You can decide on the size of your session buy in and then

accumulate the total bankroll needed for play. Or you can use the

amount of your bankroll to determine the size of your session buy

in.

But either way, you must bring a Total Bankroll at least

five times the size of your Session Bankroll.

Bankroll is more than just the money you can grab for a

gambling jaunt. It is your investment capital for your gambling

venture. It is the basis of anything else you hope to do with the

Super Craps strategy. Without it you are dead.

Most gamblers are extremely careless with their bankrolls.

And they end up losing them. With the thought of this loss in

mind, most gamblers start the contest with the casino woefully




141

undercapitalized. They don't bring enough money to do the job.

And the reason they don't bring more money is that they are afraid

of losing it. This fear is real, because it is based on their previous

experiences with casino gambling.

So we have a conflict when it comes to the amount of

bankroll. Many people feel they are being conservative when they

bring less, when in reality, by not bringing enough they are

guaranteeing that they will lose whatever they bring.

Craps is a game where you have got to have money to

make money. I don't know how many times I have seen down andout gamblers buy in for twenty bucks at a five dollar minimum

table. And they usually last about five minutes. With a buy in

only four times the size of the minimum bet required, they really

don't have much of a chance.

This same principle applies whether the buy in is for twenty

bucks or five hundred. A person buying in for $500 who makes

hundred dollar wagers is no wiser than his poorer relation whorisks twenty bucks and makes five dollar wagers. The Session

Bankroll has got to be large enough to do the job. And that

includes riding out losing periods and still having enough chips

left to come back and end up a winner.

With the Super Craps strategy, you don't have to guess the

amounts you need for craps play. But you must not cut corners

either. If you decide to use $500 as your Session Bankroll, youmust bring $2,500 as your Total Bankroll. If you only have

$1,500, your maximum buy in is for $300, not $500.




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I don't mean "bad" in a judgmental sense, as in "bad

people." They are bad at developing and applying the discipline

necessary to engage in battle with the casino and walk out of there

with the casino's money.

Discipline is tough. The casino has it and you probably

don't. They sit there with their bankroll exposed to one and all for

twenty four hours a day. They must accept any legal bet, and they

can't cut and run when you start to clean their plough. They have

to put up or shut up. But they have discipline. They will pay off

your winning bets and wait until the tide turns. A virtually

unlimited bankroll, at least as compared to the individual player's bankroll doesn't hurt, but that is not their real secret. They have

discipline and the players don't.

As a player, you have many advantages over the casino.

You don't have to give the casino a shot at your entire bankroll

every time you play. You don't have to play whenever the casino

wants you to — you pick the time and place. You can press the

casino when you are winning and walk when the casino starts towin. You have every advantage, except for the house vig, and if

you stick with the Super Craps bets, the house vig is almost

irrelevant. But the casino has discipline and the chances are, you

don't.

A funny thing happens to most people when they engage in

casino gaming. Their personalities change. Conservative people

become plungers. Quiet folks start screaming. People who woulddrive five miles to save a buck will drop a hundred bucks in five

minutes and just shrug their shoulders. People who budget every




144

household expense become raging spendthrifts. They don't have

discipline.

The casinos know this. They do everything within their

power to lull you into voluntarily handing them your money. I

believe that casino managers are the best applied psychologists in

the world. And even the ones who aren't world calibre at this

game keep raking it in. Because the players make it easy for the

casinos. I believe that a couple of rules in the craps games could

be changed so that the wagers would give the players a

mathematical edge and that the outcome would probably be that

the casinos would win more.

Blackjack has enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity

since the publication of card counting strategies. The first reaction

of the casinos was one of fear. Players could actually beat one of

their games. They reacted by clamping down on the card counters

and even changing the rules of blackjack. They should have

consulted me. I would have told them to relax, the publicity about

card counting would help the casinos win even more. But theydidn't ask me. They found out the hard way. Now the trend is

toward relaxing many of the retaliatory rules against card counters.

Because the players continue to come in and beat themselves at

the game.

You want to become disciplined? Get serious about your

gambling. Okay, maybe I am being too hard on you. You bought

this book after all. That shows you want to learn from someonewith more experience than you. But you may not be willing to

accept all that I am trying to tell you. I know that many of you are

looking for the secret that will make winning an automatic deal no




145

matter how you behave. And I regret to inform you that "there

ain't no such deal." And there never will be. You have got to

develop the discipline to overcome your own tendencies which the

casinos rely on to beat yourself.

Here's how the typical undisciplined gambler would use the

Super Craps strategy. First, he would use whatever bankroll he

could scrounge up, and then divide it into no more than two

Session Bankrolls. He would start out playing the system as it is

described until a hot roll ensued. After losing a couple of Wrong

bets as the shooter rolled numbers, our undisciplined gambler

would decide to start making Come Bets, because after all, I couldnot have known that this hot shooter would be making number

after number and if I did, I would probably be the first to advise

them to go for it.

So, out go the Come Bets with a few more Place bets

thrown in for good measure. Since the Super Craps strategy calls

for placing the 6 and the 8, placing the 5 and 9 in addition is only

logical and our earnstwhile player does just that.

This "new and improved" strategy does pretty well for a

few rolls. And then the inevitable happens. The shooter sevens

out. Down go the Come bets. The dealer rakes in the Place bets.

Our undisciplined player feels a lump in his throat. But never

mind. He still has the Super Craps strategy. So he jumps his next

wager up a couple of levels. He reasons that since he lost so much

on the other bets that a higher than called for wager is needed toeven things up.




146

The next shooter is uncooperative. He doesn't care that you

just wagered a large amount against him. He rolls his point. He

rolls a Come Out seven.

Now our undisciplined player is feeling panicky. He has

only a few chips left. Not enough to follow any system. So he

starts making Hard Way bets. A Hard 8, paying 9 to 1 or a Hard

4, at 7 to 1 can do wonders for a diminishing bankroll.

Finally, our chagrined player is down to his last chip. He

throws the chip to the stickman calling "Five dollar Yo." The next

roll is a craps. His bet goes down.

He immediately reaches in his pocket and pulls out the

remainder of his bankroll. And in about thirty minutes he is down

to two chips. His mind is racing. He reasons that since he didn't

follow my advice and bring five times his Session Bankroll, he

can correct that now by getting a credit card advance. His head is

pounding.

I will let you finish the end of this sad story. Our hero will

lose the credit card advance, develop an even worse headache and

decide that I mislead him about craps. And the dealers cheated

him as well. Hopefully at this point, he will finally leave the

casino. Some don't. They stay until they have lost everything,

even their dignity. And the fault is never theirs. It is that damned

casino. Or that lousy system which doesn't work.

You have got to use discipline every minute while you are

playing. Every ingredient I have shared with you is essential.




147

You can't apply just the techniques you like and expect to win.

You must learn to control every aspect of your own play.

Patience

Patience. The bane of all gamblers. If you want to make

money slowly, why gamble? Isn't gambling all about making a

killing in the shortest possible time?

I suppose it can be. You can win the lottery or the

Kentucky Derby. Or a rich uncle may die and leave you his

fortune. These things happen all the time. But let's add another ingredient. And that's probability. How probable is it that you

will win the lottery or a million dollar slot machine payoff? Or

that Uncle Ned, who has been living like a hermit all these years,

was really a stock market guru and plans on leaving you his

fortune?

I have to deal with probabilities every day. I have

encountered over ten thousand gamblers in my day. Do you wantto know what the smart ones do? Lean closer, I'll whisper it to

you. They lose money all the time, but still walk away with most of

their bankroll intact . They are not especially lucky, they do their

homework, lose some and win some, but they manage to win

overall. And their secret is their patience.

I hope that I haven't given the impression that even with the

Super Craps strategy, which is the best craps system I have ever seen, beating the casinos is easy. It is not. I have had lousy days

with this system. You know what I do when I am having such a

day? I walk. I do not double up my bets to recoup losses. I leave




148

the casino, hat in hand so to say, and forget about my losses. I

know that tomorrow is another day, the casinos will still be there,

and most likely I will win back the amount lost and then some.

One thing you can do, short of walking out of the joint, is

to pause your play in the middle of a session. Here's what I do.

Say that I have just lost three Wrong bets straight up, that

is, with no intervening wins. The table seems to be heating up.

Lots of bets are down on the box numbers. Now I can't forecast

what is going to happen next. I don't believe that anyone can do

that. But here's where I'm coming from. My Wrong betting isstarting to take a beating. I've got the 6 and 8 placed and these

wagers have won a couple of times. There is no law that says I

have to bet Wrong every turn of the dice.

So I may back off for a few rolls. I know, it sounds like I

am changing the rules, but I am not. I am just trying to show you

that even with a good set of rules like the ones in my Super Craps

strategy, sometimes it pays to be cautious.

Let's continue our example. The shooter rolls a string of

numbers and hits my Place bets several more times. He finally

sevens out. Now I make the next Wrong bet in the Betting Series.

What did I lose by backing off for one shooter? Nada. Zip. I

might have won my Wrong wager. Then again, I might have lost

it. But I listened to a tiny voice inside my head that said, "Maybe

this guy is going to continue this string of passes, and maybe Iought to back off."




149

The original Super Craps strategy did not use Place bets or

any other Right bets. It was a pure Don't betting scheme. But,

even with my discipline and experience, I had a hell of a time not

making some Right bets during a hot roll. The worst time for the

Wrong bettor is when a shooter is making number after number

and he has to just watch and wait until the table turns. For me, it

was awful. Yet I knew that nearly all Right bettors get clobbered

and I knew that my Wrong betting approach was the best way to

play the game.

So I started experimenting with limited Right betting. I

tried adding a couple of Come Bets with odds. I tried variouscombinations of Place bets. I tried different timing schemes. And

finally I came up with the Right betting strategy which is now a

part of the Super Craps strategy.

I like it. I admit that it was developed because I didn't

always have the patience to wait out hot rolls. Now I don't have

to.

But getting back to holding off a couple of rolls from

betting. There's almost no downside to missing one shooter's rolls

at a dice table. There is plenty of downside if you are

experiencing a string of losses betting Wrong. I am not suggesting

that you second guess every shooter. That will defeat you and

destroy the system. But if you have experience three quick losses,

and even though the Super Craps strategy says that you have to

have two losses per shooter before you back off, I have found thatmore often than not, it pays to back off after three losses and rely

on the Place bets to enrich you for the remainder of this shooter's

rein.




150

Another thing you will like about this approach is that it

allows you to participate in the manic mood swings of the craps

table. When the table gets hot, it is not much fun to sit on the

sidelines. So don't. After three consecutive losses of Wrong bets,

let your Place bets do your work for you. You can cheer the dice,

if you are so inclined, and when the shooter finally sevens out (as

they always do) you can calmly drop your chips for your next

Wrong bet on the layout.

Putting It All Together

I have been told that the Super Craps strategy is a "grindsystem." That is supposed to be a derogatory way of saying that it

takes too long to win with it. I take it as a compliment.

How much of a grind is it to play a few hours and win a

thousand bucks? Or, if you choose to invest more to make more, a

couple of thousand bucks? Or even five thousand bucks?

As part of your education, I want you to experience realcraps action. You will probably be a little intimidated the first

time, but hang in there. Watch the other craps players. If you are

a novice, you may be impressed by any high rollers who join your

table. "Wow," you are thinking, this guy just bought it for ten

grand.

I will tell you a couple of things about these jokers. They

put their pants on the same as you, one leg at a time. And I'll betyou a hundred dollar bill against a plug nickel that they didn't

make their money gambling. They had a good month in sales. Or




151

they own their own business. Or they are professionals of some

stripe — lawyers, doctors or accountants. Or their Uncle Ned just

died, and he really did play the stock market.

Watch their play. The chances are they play like there is a

fire in the other end of the joint and they have only five minutes

left to get all of their chips on the table. They make the dumbest

bets imaginable. And they get clobbered. Zapped.

I don't want you to think that I am picking on high rollers.

The average player is just as dumb. They just don't have the chips

to be as visible. They are making and losing stupid five dollar bets just as fast as the high roller's five hundred dollar ones.

While you are observing the wonderful characters that

inhabit every craps table, play the Super Craps strategy. Start with

less than a hundred bucks. Keep track of your chips. When you

are up about one-third of your buy in, get ready to take a break. If

you want to keep playing, wait till you lose a couple of bets and

then pull off. But while you are doing this, keep an eye on theother players who come and go. If there are some big winners at

the table when you pull off to take a break, check back in about

thirty minutes. But make a mental note of how large their chip

stacks are before you leave. When you decide to return to the

table, your winnings intact, chances are that the big fish, who kept

on playing will be down to nickels and quarters (dice jargon for

five dollar and twenty five dollar chips).



Guts, knowledge, bankroll, discipline and patience. I know

that you can learn these things. Look for me at the tables. Maybe

we'll share a knowing glance when we are taking our chips to the

cashier.

Super Craps

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