Robert R. Roto - June 3,

Copyright 2014 by Robert R. Roto

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-62914-169-5
eISBN: 978-1-62914-276-0

Printed in China

If, by some quirk of fate, all players suddenly refrained from making proposition bets, betting the Big 6 and Big 8, field bets, and place numbers, and everyone consistently made only line bets with maximum odds, the casinos might very well close up their dice tables. A .6% house advantage would not pay the salaries and other expenses incurred in running the games. Now, we wouldnt want that to happenwed have nowhere to play. So to all those uninformed, thrill-seeking players out there... keep those chips a-flying!

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my loving wife and best friend Nancy whose continuous support throughout this project was indispensable and also to our wonderful children Leigh, Alex, Katie and Collin for their patience, interest, and support.

SPECIAL THANKS

A very special thanks goes to Mark Ewald and to my sister Dr. Suzanne Roto Lake, for their literary expertise and advice.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would also like to acknowledge the following for their contributions: Phil Tatum, Damencele, Anita Mrozinski, Chris Crane, and Allan Wilson.

Preface

Michael enters the casino. He experiences an immediate sensory rush of sight and sound. He cranes his neck, surveying the floor, looking for his game. Out! Seven out! he hears from a distancethe perennial cry of the Stickman. Michaels ears prick up like a bloodhound hot on the trail. He is quickly off to the craps tables.

As he approaches, his heart pounds and his hands begin to sweat. The tables are full and people are screaming. As he begins to circle the pit, he sees a stogy old cigar smoker slam his hand down hard and twist away from the rails in disgust. He sees a beautiful blond dressed in black, adorned with gold jewelry, accompanied by her martini-sipping escort. She lets out a scream as she flings the dice across the table. At the same time, a group of college rowdies jump up and down, slapping high fives as if they just scored in the final two minutes of the big game.

Michael spots a small opening and squeezes in. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a hundred-dollar bill as he pokes his head out over the action. He reaches to hand the note to the standing dealer and says, four twenty-five dollar chips, please.

Set it down, sir, the dealer snaps. With that, the dice flyone crashing down on a pile of chips, the other careening off Michaels hand.

Hands up! one of the players barks. Michael drops the hundred and quickly retracts his hand.

Poor Michael. He has been at the table less than fifteen seconds and he has already made a number of mistakes, some critical and some just plain embarrassing.

For one thing, he should have known that all casinos have firm policies prohibiting players from giving or receiving chips or cash directly to or from the hand of a dealer. If this is done, the dealers employment can be terminated and the gambler can be ejected from the grounds.

Casinos can be very generous with perks and benefits. These are called comps (short for complimentary). Comps can only be earned if you ask for them, and this allows the casino to rate your play. Casinos issue small plastic cards, like credit cards, to players that want to be rated. It is essential to show this card every time you begin play at a tableanother thing Michael does not know. But dont worry, his embarrassment will be short-lived. Betting twenty-five dollar chips with a total of only one hundred dollars in play, it is highly unlikely, statistically speaking, that Michael will last for more than a few minutes.

Michael loves the action and can hardly wait to play. However, like the vast majority of gamblers, and particularly craps players, Michael is a consistent loser. He does not understand why it feels like the dice always go against him. It seems to him that other players are doing just fine. Michael can remember a couple of years ago when he went to the tables with just a few dollars and walked away with a thousand. Its this memory, along with his hopes and prayers that it will happen again, that keeps him coming back.

He has thought about trying to learn the craps game the right way. He fantasizes about gaining some kind of edge over the house. But he has little time for research. Of the few books he found on gaming, some included a section on casino craps, but they also included a dozen other games that he has no interest in or didnt even recognize... what the hell is Pai gow poker?! What Michael needs is a short, easy-to-read book devoted exclusively to casino craps. A book that is up to date and clearly explains todays game, along with basic, sound gambling tenets that genuinelystatisticallygive the player the very best chance of winning. A book that not only allows him to learn the game fast, but can also be used as a reference to deepen his understanding as time goes on. Perhaps most importantly, he needs a book that was written by a professional who has documented his winnings over the years, proving the value of his techniques.

Casino Craps: Strategies for Reducing the Odds against You is a book that finally addresses the specific needs of the countless gamblers who share Michaels predicament.

Introduction

Casino craps is an amazing, exciting game. Its the fastest game in the casino. When played correctly, it offers the player the very best chance of winning of any game in the casino.

Large amounts of money move quickly around the craps table at lightning speedwith most of it flowing into the casinos bankroll. This is because very few people know how the game is best played, and even those that have taken the time to study it frequently ignore their knowledge and make foolish bets. These bets may be exciting, with large potential payoffs, but they give the house an outrageous advantage that could never be overcome in any medium or long-range time frame. Casinos are predatory in nature and count on these thousands upon thousands of people who are all too willing to pull out money, lose it, pull out more, and quickly lose that. This need not be the case.

You can get basic craps betting and percentages anywhere; here you will get much deeper tutelage than that. We will cover all bets available at the table with a complete and simplified analysis. This book is about professional play, bet patterns, bet progressions, money management, and winning with fair consistency.

When played in an optimal way, casino games reveal a correlation between the complexity of the game and the amount of skill required on the one hand, and the potential house advantage on the other hand. Consider the following: