Secrets of Craps and Other Casino Games

By Edward J George

This book’s centerpiece is a Line Betting strategy for Casino Craps, which is the very best way the game can be played. Comprehensively, the book presents a complete system of casino craps play. It’s the product of the author’s nearly thirty years of studying and personally playing the game.

The sequence of chapters works its way from the nuts and bolts of casino gambling through to a comprehensive treatment of the nature and practice of playing Passline and Comeline craps to best possible advantage. Among the topics covered are game rules and odds, casino comps, betting strategies, table selection, bankrolling and risk of ruin, game cycles, survival tactics, and the likelihood of becoming a lifetime winner. Opening chapters are mostly written for those who are unfamiliar with craps or also possibly unfamiliar with casino gambling in general. Still, veteran players may also benefit from these early chapters even though it might only amount to a familiar game being presented from a unique perspective. In contrast, the book’s middle and later chapters should undoubtedly prove interesting to anyone with a regular inclination and passion for the game.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Editions Dedicaces
• Release date: Aug 3, 2014

Edward J George

Edward J George is retired from the Department of Defense Science and Engineering Corps he served as a Human Factors specialist in aerospace test and evaluation. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern Colorado in 1976 and a Masters Degree in Experimental Psychology from Montana State University in 1979. He is a collector of gambling literature and a student of gambling systems. He’s been a regular patron of Nevada’s casinos and a dedicated craps enthusiast for more than a quarter century.

Book preview

The Quest

Any gambling venture is about the drama and excitement of putting money at risk in pursuit of a significantly larger amount.  But recreational gambling is also about having fun in a more general sense of the word. Recreational gambling is a hobby, a pastime, a way of adding interest and pleasure to leisure time hours. It’s just as much about having a fun filled adventure as getting a fair shot at the cash. Thoughtfully approached, the modern brick and mortar casino can provide a rich ground of play where both ends can be readily satisfied. From my perspective, the strategic emphasis should be on the thought and preparation that goes into the adventure. To rob a little wisdom from the Chinese classic, The Art of War, the successful warrior wins first and then goes to battle. (1) So it is with the well prepared recreational player in pursuit of the winning weekend.  This book is primarily about putting together a first class system for playing craps.  Still, many of the concepts and strategies herein are fundamental to casino gambling irrespective of the game one chooses to play.

Regardless of whether you’re budgeted for minimum stakes or you’re a high roller (high dollar gambler), the formula for successful recreational gambling is the same.  Have a good grasp of every game you play and otherwise know how to exploit the various opportunities the casino makes available for a good time and a winning edge.  The more knowledgeable you are about the games and how the casinos operate, the greater the range of potential opportunities. Here are some important up front details.

The Odds

Even if the money is only a way of keeping count, the sweetest victory for the true gambler is to penetrate the casino defenses and escape with a sizable win. To have a consistent shot at this goal you’ll need to understand what you are up against.  Central to the problem of playing a winning game is the fundamental issue of gambling odds. If you don’t understand the odds you won’t be able to distinguish the good wagers from the bad.  Odds will get a lot of attention in the chapters that follow, but here is a taste to get things going. 

In gambling, odds and edge are two commonly used terms. They are not technically identical in meaning, although they are often informally used as if they were. Odds express either the likelihood of an individual wager being won or the amount the player is paid if the wager does win.  Odds are expressed as a ratio like 3 to 1 for example.  In contrast, the game’s edge, which is determined from the odds, can either be for or against the player. Since casino games typically favor the house, the popular phraseology is casino edge, negative edge, or edge against the player, all of which mean exactly the same thing. A game’s edge is expressed as a either a decimal value (0.0) or percentage (%) that the player can expect to lose or win on every dollar they wager. It’s therefore referred to as the percent edge or just edge.

For example, if a slot machine gives a 95% payback, then you can expect (on average) to lose five cents from every dollar you put into it. This equates to a 5% casino advantage or a 0.05 edge over the course of all wagers.  At first glance it might seem like a small amount, but 5% can quickly add up to a significant outlay of money.  Once a slot player gets into the rhythm of things, they can pull those handles or press those buttons as much as 400 to 800 times an hour. If they’re wagering $1 each time, their longrun cost will be $20 to $40 an hour.  That can be more than some people make for an hourly wage on a daytime job. 

Most slot machines require multiple coins per crank to qualify for the top jackpot money.  This raises the cost of play still higher. Since the typical player reinvests the frequent small payoffs in still more pulls or presses, a losing streak can quickly rip through a $100 if only playing quarter or just nickel machines.  Not all slots are set to a 95% payback.  Some have better payback, while many others are significantly worse. Obviously, the astute slot player will favor the casinos that offer the best odds and then only play the most generous machines within. Identifying the good machines takes inside knowledge and legwork, but it will shave many dollars off the hourly cost of play, or even afford a small percent edge in one’s favor. Similar considerations apply to practically any game the casinos offer.

Las Vegas has a wide variety of games and a multitude of different versions of them. Each version is distinguished by subtle differences in the rules, which can affect the odds and thus the percent edge. The more complex games typically offer several different kinds of betting options, each with its own payoff schedule. Depending on the game and the version, the percent edge can be anywhere from a -30% to as much as +1% or better in rare instances. Examples of games with large negative edges are the Big Wheel which can be as high as -24% and Kino which can be an even higher -28.6%.  In contrast, the game of craps carries a basic house edge of only -1.414% when properly approached.  Others including Baccarat, Blackjack, Sports Betting, Table Poker, and some selected machine games afford comparable if not significantly more favorable odds to the skilled player. However, any of them can be expensive in the shortrun, particularly for the inexperienced player. As the old saying goes, knowledge is power.  The only way to protect against a severe mugging is to know the odds associated with every wager you make and what your bankroll limitations really are. Some modicum of study is essential to effectively accomplish this.

If a bunch of different games are going to be sampled it’s good to have a general introduction to casino gambling in your library. A good introductory book will cover all the popular games and their associated rules and odds. (2 and 3) I can’t help but caution you that a quick first read in the hotel room just before going out to play is not a good idea.  It’s much like trying to figure out an unfamiliar weapon on the threshold of a major battle.  The issue goes back to taking time to prepare before launching off to the casino.  Solid mastery of any game requires study and practice aided by at least one good book specific to it and probably more.  Be selective. There’s a huge amount of gambling literature on the market. Some of it is priceless while unfortunately most of it is marginal. The parenthesized numbers between sentences that occa-sionally show up in the narratives refer to a few of my favorites. They are identified in the notes and references appendix. If you want a great selection of books, videos, and software to choose from, the Gamblers Book Club in Las Vegas is a worthwhile side trip. (4)  

Gambling Economics

There is one issue that every gambling writer should feel obligated to tackle. Can the weekend warrior go up against the casino and legitimately expect to win? My answer is a guarded yes, but don’t expect it to be walk in the park.  The casinos thrive on extracting a profit on every game they bank. To ensure their profit they must sustain a longrun edge over the overwhelming majority who come to play. The huge success of the gambling industry in Las Vegas and elsewhere testifies to the casinos’ ability to do just that. Still, the casinos do have exploitable holes in their defenses. Most of the holes are small and subtle and the big ones that occasionally get unearthed usually have short lives before they are discovered and neutralized. Only the well studied and obser-vant players are likely to achieve and sustain a winning edge.  The accomplishment ordinarily takes a substantial investment in study, practice, thought, and disciplined play, and of course cash. 

The greatest obstacle to regular winning is using gambling as an outlet where the highest premium is put on enjoyment. The typical recreational player seeks time off from the ordinary grind of life to relax, to party, extend social boundaries, and ride the winds of chance. If expenses are held within reasonable limits, casino gambling can be a therapeutic indulgence in an otherwise financially disciplined life. If your pleasure is to spontaneously blow into town just for a party, stage show, or prizefight, then all the best to you. If the casinos were not inherently entertaining, then we should wonder what their worth at all. But there’s a dynamic element operating between living the casino highlife verses making a concerted effort to get at the money.  Although an ideal recreational balance will presumably satisfy both motives, extreme pursuit of one is ultimately at the expense of the other.  Believe me, I know.

At the heart of it, gambling will always be about the excite-ment of putting money on the line in uncertain situations. The critical issue boils down to how much it’s ultimately worth in terms of the time, cash, and energy taken from life to satisfy the indulgence. Several value issues get involved when attempting to arrive at a personally acceptable answer. From my perspective, recreational gambling is not so different from golf, tennis, bowling, chess, or any other performance oriented pastime. The common goal is to indulge the activity at the highest possible level of skill and as inexpensively as opportunity allows. An all expen-ses paid weekend at Pebble Beach would be a huge win for most amateur golfers.  Similarly, a cost free holiday in quality casino digs is a solid win for the weekend casino warrior. In gambling lingo, covering all expenses is called cracking the nut. Any money taken home above and beyond what was used to cover the trip is just frosting on the cake.

Although doable, the commitment, effort, and risks invol-ved in making any kind of long term profit from recreational gambling are considerable. Limited time and overhead expenses alone significantly diminish the probabilities of a substantial longrun net gain. Differences in personality and financial solvency dictate that gambling is not for everyone. If someone has a low tolerance for the losing side of things, they may simply lack the temperament that gambling requires. Operating in parallel is the matter of financial resources.  Gambling is what we do with some of our spare income, not what we do with essential income. If someone is using essential income to gamble, they don’t possess the financial security or discipline to justify the indulgence.

Even if you can afford to gamble regularly, effective financial management is still a priority. I once saw a TV program that showcased the qualities of the typical American millionaire.  Contrary to myth and legend, the stereotypical millionaire was self made rather than born and characteristically began their occupa-tional life as a blue collar worker. Of greater importance, they lived beneath their financial means, kept their mortgage debt low, put at least 15% of their yearly income into secure investments, and never used credit cards. This formula for accumulating wealth has something in common with successful gambling. It could be translated as follows. Always gamble beneath you’re means, keep lodging and other incidental expenses low, don’t compromise either essential income or core savings, and never gamble on credit cards or borrowed money. The economics of cost verses benefit are inherent to everything important in life. Not giving gambling fair respect in that regard can be a serious if not disastrous error. 

By strict definition, gambling encompasses any kind of wager were the mathematical probability of winning is unfavo-rable. What distinguishes the professional from the ordinary gambler is that the professional never knowingly risks money on unfavorable wagers. They are more like a high-risk investors then gamblers per se. Although professionals are not immune to losing streaks, they earn money over the long haul because they enjoy a favorable edge on virtually every wager they make.  Sounds easy don’t it?  Just identify the favorable betting situations, then sit back and rake in the profits. Unfortunately, favorable betting situations are often difficult to identify and not all that easy to exploit. Hell, if professional gambling wasn’t difficult and labor intensive, we could all quit our daytime jobs. 

Somewhere short of this, the challenge for the recreational player is to squeeze the maximum possible value out of the time and cash that does get invested. The more the odds can be leveraged to the players favor, the more value added. The time-honored mandate to go big to win big applies more to the upfront thought and preparation than it does to the amount of money wagered. 

Casino Comps

There are things peculiar to the casino environment that will shave costs if you are aware of them. Again, slot machines provide a useful example.  Slots are usually the game of choice for people visiting the casino for the first time. Table games like Craps, Blackjack, Roulette, and Poker often intimidate beginners with their apparent complexity, seemingly high minimum stakes, and the obligation to social interaction. On the other hand, slot machines are cheep, private, and everybody knows how to play them. Just put your money in the slot and pull the handle.  Where’s the slot? 

Slot machines are the first thing seen and heard when approaching the casino gambling hall. Glittering one-armed monsters, challenging the approaching player to take a shot at the fortunes they guard.  In the lore of the orient, slots are known as the Hungry Dragons. I don’t play slots, but I do occasionally play video poker, which is really just a more sophisticated form of slots. The casinos traditionally put slots and video poker in the same category in terms of the comps (complementary gifts) they dispense to attract and keep your action. Most casinos offer slot club memberships that pay bonus points on the amount of action you give the casino.  A slot player’s action is equated in terms of the number of handle cranks or button pushes multiplied by the average amount wagered. This is called money put in action.  When you join a slot club, you’ll receive a plastic computer card to insert into the machines whenever you play them.  The card allows the casino to track your action and give you credit for it. The cards work in any of the casino’s machine games, which nowadays can include slots, video poker, keno, and many others. You can play any machine in the casino you desire and still get credit for all your accumulated action. 

Regardless of whether you win or lose, the bonus points earned are redeemable for cash rebates, memorabilia, meals, and count toward those coveted complementary rooms. The high rollers and whales (very high dollar gamblers) get upgraded comps like penthouse suites, airline tickets, limousine service, better brands of booze, and who knows what else. (5) Relative to their actual redemption value, bonus points can reduce the cost of playing against an inherent casino edge. The outstanding addition-nal benefit of slot club membership is your inclusion on the casino’s mailing list. This entitles you to periodic offers of reduced room rates or outright free rooms and other perks. Every free room or free meal lowers trip expenses and thus increases the value of your gambling dollar. Learning to play the comps game is an important component of a successful casino gambling strategy. (6 and 7)

Machine games are hands down the largest moneymaker for the casinos. The competition in Las Vegas for the machine player’s business is correspondingly intense. At any time the value of slot club membership can differ substantially from casino to casino. This affords the machine players the opportunity to pick and choose, taking advantage of the best deals available. If you play the machines with any regularity at all, then become a slot club member in every casino that takes your fancy. You may not even have to give them any action.  Just being on their mailing list can be enough