Craps Lesson

by Larry Edell

It was late at night when the young man strolled up to the crap table. Up till now the table had been ice cold and everyone was losing their shirt. However all eyes now focused on this newcomer as the dealer pushed the dice in front of him. The young man put $3 on the pass line, picked up the pair of dice, and flung them to the far end of the table. "Yoleven" announced the dealer, "pay the front line".

All the player frowns turned to smiles as the dealers at last started to pay off. The dealer announced "the same shooter is coming out" as the players finished making their next round of bets. The young man put three white chips on the pass line, picked up the dice and flung them down the table. One die came to rest with a six showing, the other rebounded against the padding, spun around for what seemed like eternity, then came to rest with the five showing. "Yoleven, pay the front line " yelled the dealer. Suddenly, the players knew that something good was going to happen with this young shooter.

Players who had been betting white ($1) chips were now betting reds ($5) and the red chip players were betting greens ($25). The young shooter again bet $3 on the pass line, flung the dice, and this time the table seemed to jump about 10 feet as the dealer roared, "Another Yoleven, pay the front line". Players were cheering wildly as the dealers were paying everyone off. All the screaming and yelling at the table could be heard throughout the casino.

There was no doubt in the players' minds that this could be the start of that monster roll all crap players dream about. As they were feverishly piling chips on the layout, curious onlookers who heard the commotion tried to squeeze their way around the table and make bets before the next dice roll.

The dealer pushed the dice with his stick to the young man. True to form the young shooter again made his $3 bet on the pass line, picked up the dice, and to the screams of veteran players shouting "hands up'", threw them to the other end of the table. "Winner winner seven, take the don't pass and pay the pass line" yelled the stickman as bedlam rained at the table. The players were cheering and screaming with delight as the boxmen were passing piles of chips to the dealers to pay off all the winning bets.

All the excitement brought the pit boss to the table who wasn't happy with what he saw. Several players were now betting black ($100) chips, some even wagered $500 on the pass line, the table maximum. Markers were being written as fast as the pit crew could handle all the action. The boss called for more chips to be brought to the table. He also called for a crew change in the hopes this would bring bad luck to the shooter. But, it didn't.

In the course of the next 15 minutes, this unknown youngster held those dice and threw nothing but point number after point number. The number seven was no where to be seen or heard. He continued wagering $3 on the pass line and after a point number was established made a maximum of two additional $3 come bets Players betting against the young shooter were getting creamed. Players betting with the youngster were winning and pressing or increasing their bets. The dealers were paying off hundreds even thousands of dollars to them. They in turn were tipping the dealers after every winning coup. Everyone was happy, except the pit boss. It was his worst nightmare watching the dealers pay off thousands of dollars of the casino bank to these lucky players. But all he could do was watch and sweat as the youngster kept rolling those numbers.

Finally after 15 minutes of a monster roll the young shooter sevened out. The pit boss breathed a sigh of relief but the damage was already done as the casino lost an estimated twenty thousand dollars in a short 15 minutes. His fellow players gave the youngster who made it all happen with his hot roll a round of applause. Several tossed him some red and even green chips as a gesture of appreciation for his excellent roll.

As the dice were passed to the next shooter the youngster nervously slid his piles of chips to the dealer and asked to "color up". He walked away from the table with a black chip ($100) and a few green chips. His heart was still pounding and he couldn't wait to tell his young wife how much he had won playing craps. All of a sudden he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and staring him in the face was the very pit boss that had just sweated through his monster roll. "Young man", he said, "if you knew how to play craps, you could have just won a couple thousand bucks". He walked away saying nothing else.

The young shooter was perplexed by his comment and didn't fully understand what the pitboss was trying to tell him. But who cared anyway, as he clutched onto his winning chips anxiously looking for his wife to share the good news of his winnings.

How do I know the facts of this story so well? I was that young shooter and this was one of my first learning experiences at the crap tables. It wasn't until several years later after I studied and learned more about craps that I finally comprehended what the pit boss was trying to tell me that night. He was right - I could have won thousands on my monster roll if only I would have increased my bets as I was making point after point.

If you are new to craps, don't make the same mistake. Gradually increase your bets as you win. A simple 50% betting increase will do. Or better yet increase your betting on the odds portion of your bet, keeping your pass line wager equal to the table minimum. Learn these tricks and you'll be able to capitalize on that monster roll.