Casino Craps: Simple Strategies for Playing Smart, Lowering Risk, and Winning More

By Robert R. Roto

Of all the games in the casino, only one allows the player to engage the house in a fair fight. Craps, when played intelligently and prudently, reduces the house advantage to a miniscule .6 percent, a margin that can be overcome with smart betting and simple money management.

How could casinos afford to offer such a winnable game? What’s the catch? For players willing to devote a little time and patience learning the ins and outs, there is no catch!

Here is the most comprehensive, expert, and reader-friendly guide to casino craps ever written. Robert R. Roto, a documented lifetime winner, has dissected the odds like a surgeon and formulated several systems of variable risk and aggressivenessall guaranteed to maximize the player’s chances of winning. Whether you are betting with $5 or $1,000 chips, whether you play right” or wrong,” whether your strategy is to come in on the Pass line and then switch to Don’t Pass, or you employ the just diddo that” session rule, Roto will teach you how to milk the casino odds for every percentage point possible.

Too many players refuse to learn the nuances of the game, insisting instead on fattening the casino’s bankroll. Wouldn’t you rather join the author in the winners’ club?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Release date: Jun 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781510707016

Book preview

Introduction

Michael enters the casino. He immediately experiences a sensory rush of sight and sound. He cranes his neck surveying the floor, looking for his game. Out! Seven out! he hears in the distance—the perennial cry of the stickman. Michael’s ears perk up like those of 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 the stodgy old cigar smoker slam his hand down hard and twist away from the rails in disgust. He sees the beautiful blonde dressed in black and adorned in gold jewelry, accompanied by her martini-sipping escort, who lets out a scream as she flings the dice across the table. At the same time, a group of college rowdies is seen jumping 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 $100 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 fly—one crashing down on a pile of chips, the other careening off Michael’s hand. Hands up! one of the players barks. Michael drops the hundred and quickly retracts his hand.

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

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

Casinos can be very generous with perks and benefits that players can earn. These are called comps (short for complimentary). Comps can only be earned if you ask for them and if the casino can rate your play. Casinos do this by issuing 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 table; this is another thing Michael apparently does not know. But by 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. And players can be a very superstitious lot. Many believe that it’s more likely that a losing 7 will show when the dice hit off another player’s hand.

Michael loves the action and can hardly wait to play. Nevertheless, like the vast majority of all gamblers, and craps players in particular, Michael is a consistent loser. He doesn’t understand why it feels like the dice always seem to go against him. To him, it seems like the other players are doing just fine. To be sure, 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. It’s this memory, along with his hopes and prayers that this will happen again, that keeps him coming back.

He’s thought about trying to learn how to play the game of craps 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, most included a section on casino craps, but they also included a dozen other games that he has no interest in or didn’t 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 today’s game, along with basic, sound gambling tenets that genuinely and statistically give 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 quick reference to deepen his understanding as time goes on. Perhaps most importantly, he needs a book that was written by an expert who has documented his winnings over the years, proving the value of his techniques.

Casino Craps: Simple Strategies for Playing Smart, Lowering Risk, and Winning More is a book that finally addresses the specific needs of the countless gamblers who share Michael’s predicament.

Preface

Casino craps is an amazing game. It’s 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 around the table at lightning speed, with most of it flowing into the casino’s 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 the 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-term time frame. Casinos are predatory in nature and count on the thousands of people who are very willing to pull out money, lose it, and then pull out still 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 expert 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 skill required on the one hand, and the potential house advantage on the other. Consider the following:

As with most things in life, the more time and effort expended and the greater understanding achieved, the greater the reward. With proper bet patterns, bet progression, and money management, a less than one half of one percent house advantage can be overcome. We’re going to take the complexity and mystery out of the game of craps and explain it in clear, organized, understandable terms all laid out in a very actionable format.

What have you done to become a winner at this game? Maybe you’ve heard a few friends tell you their disjointed thoughts and fragmented theories on the game, knowing full well they lose most of the time. Maybe the casino personnel offered you their help on how to play. By the time you finish reading this book, you’ll have an expert’s overview with the best play strategies available. And with a little practice you’ll be prepared to meet the casino on virtually equal terms with the very best chance to win!

There are two ways to play this game: 1) for the thrill of high stakes action and the dream of making a fortune, or 2) for the purpose of making money with an expert’s eye on statistical correctness and disciplined money management. Ninety-eight or 99% of all gamblers fall into the first category. These players are not willing to spend the little time necessary to really learn this game and to practice the proper tenets once at the table. They simply want action and entertainment, and they’ll get it with dice. The problem is that it becomes very expensive action and entertainment when play is left to hunches, hot tips, gut feelings, and chance.

This book is directed at those who not only want to fall in the second category of calculated success, but who are also willing to invest the little time necessary to learn and practice correct play. These are the players who will be feared by the casino personnel, because they can intelligently fight them at their own game. The best way to become popular with the casino personnel is to ignore the strategies outlined in this book. They’ll smile big as you walk up to the table and make you feel right at home. They’ll serve you drinks and cajole you while you take a financial beating. They’ll pat you on the back and tell you, Better luck next time, and then quickly turn their attention to the next pigeon. They’ll take all you’ve got with no regard for your personal situation. I’ve never seen a floorman or a dealer say, Hey, buddy, I think you’ve had enough. They’ll take everything and wish it had been more.

Don’t let this happen to you. This game can be fought on virtually equal terms, and with proper money management and discipline you can be a winner. I’ve studied this game synoptically. I’ve studied the work of some very good gaming experts and some very bad ones. I’ve practiced and played and refined these winning concepts for years. It is not immodest to say I am a lifetime winner at casino craps. I want to share my knowledge and experience with you and give you the best chance at being a WINNER!

The Basics

Undoubtedly, anyone interested in reading a book on casino craps has, at a minimum, approached a craps table and for a few moments observed the players and the action. Many are intimidated by the craps table, with its fast action and players shouting out their bets all to the incessant play-by-play calls of the stickman. Even the layout of the felt would appear, at first glance, to be impossible to understand.

As with most things in life, a little education and familiarity will go a long way in allaying fears and clear the way for great things.

The Table

All craps tables are essentially the same. The standard table is twelve feet long by three and a half feet wide. They are heavy, wooden structures with a comfortably padded leather arm or resting rail to accommodate the players. Some players have been known to play nonstop for six, twelve, even eighteen hours or more. If this is your style of play, the casino will want you to be as comfortable as possible. They know that this kind of compulsive play is destructive to the player, and they’ll do what they can to encourage it.

On one side of the table there is a deep cut-out section that accommodates two standing dealers and the boxman. On the other side is a smaller cut out section for the stickman. Running the length of the padded armrests are wooden troughs perfectly suited to hold players’ chips. There are twenty-two sections. Theoretically, this would serve twenty-two players, but only if they were one hundred twenty-nine pounds each and stood sideways. Usually a table is full when fourteen to eighteen players are present. But it only takes one player with some money and a desire for action to get things going, and a full crew is required to service even that one player.

The Pit, the Crew, and Casino Personnel

Usually the casino will arrange eight tables in an oval or oblong configuration that encircles the area called the pit. This configuration gives the casino maximum control over all eight tables. Players are not allowed inside the pit except on very rare occasions.

When a player approaches the table, he’ll see three standing dealers and one seated person called the boxman. The crew consists of four dealers: two flanking the boxman, one dealer directly across from the boxman, called the stickman, and one dealer on break. The crew works straight through an eight-hour shift and switches positions around the table every twenty minutes. For example, the