Question: WHEN IS A "BAD BET" A GOOD THING TO DO? 

We all know (or should know) that craps, like any other gambling games, is a zero sum game. If one knows the math of the game, you already know that the pass line only has 1.41% house vig. With true odds or FREE odds the house has no edge at all. This is why the casinos do not give you any comp credits for the odds bets behind the line or odds on come bets. While playing at your favorite casino game you want to use your players card to get as many comps as possible, not particularly "playing only for comps" alone, but playing for as many comps as you can get off your play. 

For example, lets take player "A". He plays the pass line with full odds and come bets with full odds. He will never place a prop bet, or bet any high vig bets. If he plays the "don't side", he will play the same way with no high vig bets. Player "A" buys in for $1,000.00 for each time he plays. Playing the game this way will give player "A" a very low comp. rate dollars per roll. Also he may be deemed an advantage player, and it will be marked on his rating card in the computer. The casino does not like the advantage player, - remember they are worried about their bottom line. Always about the money!

Player "B" goes to the casino for the very first time, he/she sets up a credit line of say $10,000.00. He/she also buys in for $1,000.00 same as player "A". Right off the bat player "B" will get a higher rating because the casino knows he has at least $10K they can potentially get. Now being the first time at that casino, if player "B" does bet some high vig. bets - hard ways and crapper bets- his rating will automatically go up. And he won't be deemed an advantage player. Once established, that person will generally receive more comp points. Now on his second visit, this player makes all advantage plays with no high vig. bets. He is already in the computer with the first rating from his first visit, and the chance of the pit changing his rating or player status is very slim. 

But be careful when you bet not to confuse a precision shooter with a random player. If you see someone playing a lot of high vig. bets, the question would be: is this player a "bad player" making bad bets? Or a precision shooter that is able to hit those numbers. A good example of this occurred on our last venture with "Heavy" Axis Power Craps at the SweetHeart Deal in Feb of 2006. Our live casino session with the class was at the Casuarina on Flamingo. "Heavy" had the dice for his first come out roll. He bets the whorl bet, and all of the players at the table followed his lead. He set for the whorl and hit craps, Yo and one seven on his first five throws. Now was this a bad bet? In my opinion the answer is "No". Everyone also pressed up one unit after each hit, making for a nice Cha-Ching $$$$. It was a case of high vig bets making large returns on monies invested, and at the same time receiving good comps.

In the game of craps it is all about the timing. On my last casino session with a student at TI, a gentleman at the end of the table had to color up and leave. He put his $420.00 for "color coming in", but his buddy said "wait put it all in the Field". So the gentleman put the $420.00 in the Field and the shooter hit "ACES" paying two for one. Now his color-up looked like $1260.00, instead of the original $420.00. The suit asked me if I thought he made a bad bet, and I said "No"- just because of his timing of the play". If a "5"- "6"- "7"- "8" came up, this would not of been a good play. The Field, with its 16 ways to win and 20 ways to lose, and "Aces" paying double - "12" paying triple, the house edge is only 2.78%. The only problem is that it is a one-roll bet.

The very next roll was the Hard "8" square pair. It is all about the timing of the game. And this comes back to the luck factor. There are two kinds of luck, - good and bad. And we still need as much of the good luck as we can get.

If you mask your play with some bad bets, and also mask your dice setting, you should be good to go without any problems or casino heat. Another good way to beat the casino heat!

The Dice Coach

Another 20 minute roll!  I think between that little modification and adopting your betting tactics, that this will work well in the long run.  Thanks again!  - Bill -