Craps: The Truth About Craps

 

There is a singular truth about craps. It is a harsh truth and one that many craps players don’t know about, don’t care to know about, do know about but refuse to articulate or incorporate it into their strategies, or they just ignore it and pretend it has nothing to do with winning or losing or, strangely, with them.

That harsh truth is this: The best chance a player has to win is for him to make the very best bets in the game (and, sadly, there are only a few of them) as these bets will preserve a player’s bankroll. The worst chance the player has to win is to make what my mentor, the late Captain of Craps, called the Crazy Crapper bets – and these awful bets seem legion in the game and, yes, legions of players make them.

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Blackjack: Myths of the Game

It was an unbelievably hot afternoon in the summer of 1968 when the young couple arrived in Las Vegas. It was their first trip ever to this gambling Mecca and they didn’t know what to expect. Certainly the 120 degree temperature was nothing they had ever experienced in their native New Jersey. When they arrived at the Aladdin Casino Hotel, they were taken aback by the elegance of the casino. The adrenaline was already flowing through the young mans body as he couldn’t wait to play blackjack. They agreed that she would stand in the hotel check-in line and he would “check out the casino”.

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Poker: Smart Play on the Flop

The Lodge at Deadwood Gaming Resort

 

Playing A-x Suited: Bad Flop
Suppose that a jackal has raised the flop, and you have called his raise with Ad- 5d, and then the big blind calls as well. If the flop comes down Js-Qh-3d and the big blind checks and the jackal bets, fold your hand. You have missed the flop (you don’t have either a pair, a straight draw, or a flush draw); you have only two bets in the pot at this point; and you were the caller before the flop, not the raiser. There is no warrant for getting further involved in this hand. (more…)

Casino Court

 

Recently I was yakking with a friend about a lost $100K jackpot at a Florida casino when I realized it could have happened to any of us. That’s when it dawned on me that either the casino or the court often makes seemingly illogical and unfair decisions regarding who gets the jackpot cash. While researching this topic, I discovered a few interesting cases of interest I look forward to highlighting in this two part series for Gaming and Destinations.

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Craps: The Set Up of the Game

To a new player, craps looks like a very intimidating game. Just look at the layout; it resembles an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph that tells some elaborate sacrificial story. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Craps is a simple game, made even simpler because most of the bets are worthless to the smart player, although ploppies – the unschooled, unthinking masses of craps players – will fall all over themselves to wager on them and regularly watch their chips go to the casino.

If you have never played craps before, the next issues of Southern Gaming and Destinations are for you. I’ll explain how the game is played – in short, the who, what, when, where, why and how of it all. Even if you are a seasoned pro, a refresher course could be just what you are looking for.

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Smart Strategy: Taking it to the Casinos

Blackjack is the most popular casino table game and has been since 1965, shortly after Edward Thorp’s book Beat the Dealer became a sensation. Thorp correctly wrote that blackjack could be beaten by keeping track of the cards; in short, card counting. The general purpose of the game is to beat the dealer’s hand without going over 21.

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