Best Way To Win At Casino Craps
I walked into the casino with my ‘toolbox’ of strategies and made my way to the craps tables. There were two $10 minimum tables open, both with about 8 or so people playing at each. One table stood out as no one at the table seemed happy, two players were looking over at the other table trying to decide if they should move to that table. The most basic of all craps bet is on the Pass Line, which is also known as “right way” betting because you’ll be backing the shooter – along with most players at the table – to win. For beginners, the Pass Line bet can be thought of like an ante of sorts, or the minimum wager you need to get into the game. In this video, we discuss winning strategies for the casino game craps. Gambling at the casino is all about timing, luck, and money management. Suggestions for Winning at Craps. Numerous books have been written about winning at craps, but the free advice contained in this article should get you started without eating into your budget. I suggest giving each of these a try during your next few visits to the casino, then stick with the ones that deliver the greatest success.
Years ago I read an article published by Michael Bluejay about how much better the odds of winning a million dollars in a casino was than playing the lottery.
Bluejay worked with Michael Shackleford, also known as the Wizard of Odds, for several years.
His system was parlaying a $10 bet 17 times. In other words, you start with a bet of $10 and double up after each win. You have to win 17 straight bets to win a million.
Of course winning 17 bets in a row is an extreme long shot, but it turns out that it isn’t near as long as hitting the lottery, or even a big progressive jackpot slot machine.
The odds of doubling your way to a million starting with a $10 bet playing the player bet in baccarat or the don’t pass line bet in craps is less than 170,000 to 1.
But what if you only want to win $100,000?
What does this do to the odds?
If you use the Bluejay system the odds of doubling your way to $100,000 starting with a $10 bet playing baccarat or craps bets as described above improve to less than 20,000 to 1. If you start with a $20 bet they improve to less than 10,000 to 1.
Starting with a $100 bet reduces the odds to just over 1,000 to 1.
It’s clear that these are all long shots, but when you compare them to many lotteries that have odds of over 100 million to 1 to win the big prize they don’t look bad.
All of this made me start thinking about legitimate ways to make $100,000 gambling.
You can follow the method described above, or you can try one of ones I describe below.
Some of them are extreme long shots, taking a chance at one lucky break, and others have a better chance to work but may take longer.
The simplest way would be to bet $100,000 on a single event, like red or black at the roulette table, or on the player at baccarat, or on a sporting event.
But when I made the following list I made the assumption that you don’t already have $100,000 to gamble with.
1 – Slot Machines
Many slot machines have top jackpots that pay $100,000 or more. Some of the big progressives have a secondary prize that pays this much, and some of the machines that don’t even offer a progressive jackpot have top prizes this big.
The odds are long, but often you can risk $1 to have a chance at winning $100,000.
If you don’t get lucky and hit a big win the slots will consistently drain your bankroll.
2 – Keno
You can find keno games that offer a top prize of $100,000 or more for a bet of $1.
Keno has the worst house edge in most casinos so just like the slot machines it’s not a game where you’re going to grind out any profit. You need to get lucky and hit the big win in order to make any money.
3 – Win a Poker Tournament
Poker tournaments run around the world every day. Many of them have small buy in’s and small pay outs, but some have pay outs in the millions. Most of the WPT and WSOP events pay over a million to the first place finisher and many have final tables that all pay over $10,000.
It’s a challenge to win a poker tournament with hundreds or thousands of entrants, but if you’re a decent player your chances are much better than playing the lottery, slots, or keno.
If you enter a tournament with 1,000 players for $2,000 and the top 10 players all win at least $100,000 you have a one in 100 chance of hitting your goal. And if you win the tournament you’ll win considerably more than $100,000.
Poker tournaments are hard to win and it helps considerably if you’re a good player, but even as an average player you have a realistic chance to do well.
And even if you don’t make it to the final table and just sneak into the money you stand a great chance of doubling your buy in or more.
4 – Grind It Out at the Poker Tables
Everything I’ve talked about so far is based on longer odds. But if you can win on a consistent basis playing poker you can grind out $100,000. It just takes time.
A good poker player can win around one big bet per hour playing limit Teas holdem. So if you play $20 / $40 you just need to play 2,500 hours.
If you play 40 hours a week it’ll just take 63 weeks to reach $100,000.
If you play 50 hours a week it takes it down to just 50 weeks.
Of course many variables come into play. You may play at a different limit or play no limit holdem.
But the main point is if you can learn the skills and strategies needed to become a winning poker player all you have to do is play long enough and you’ll grind out $100,000.
5 – Sports Betting
Sports betting is another area that allows some bettors to consistently turn a profit. Just like poker it isn’t easy, but some punters do it.
The size of your bets and your ability to beat the sports book directly influence if you can make $100,000 betting on sports and how fast you can do it.
The keys are developing a winning system, managing your bankroll so you don’t run out of money on a down swing, and sticking with your system.
Though it isn’t quite the same thing, some bettors are able to develop winning systems betting on horses and dogs as well. The way to reach $100,000 is basically the same.
6 – Counting Cards
Just as some poker players are able to grind out $100,000 at the tables over time, some blackjack players who learn how to count cards can grind out a consistent profit over time.
Learning how to count cards isn’t as difficult as many believe. Anyone with average intelligence can learn fairly quickly, but using it effectively at the tables and getting away with it are also skills that you need to develop.
Even if you’re able to learn how to count cards and get away with it the profit is slow and the swings are still big.
At best you work with an edge of less than 2% and most of the time it’s closer to a half percent.
This means if your average edge is a half percent and your average bet is $100 and you play 100 hands per hour you make $50 an hour on average.
But one problem card counters face is they usually can’t play for hour after hour at the same table, or even in the same casino, like poker players can do. So it’s hard to play 40 or more hours per week. It’s possible, but it’s a challenge.
7 – Win the Lottery
I talked a little bit about the lottery in the first part of the post, and the odds are the worst you can find on this page. But for a small investment of a dollar or two you have the chance to win millions.
Some of the big lotteries have second place prizes of $100,000 or more, so the odds aren’t quite as bad if that’s your goal.
8 – Roulette
If you place a bet of $2,857.14 on a single number on the roulette table and win you’re up a cool $100,000. And the odds are only 37 to 1 against you, so it’s not out of the question for it to happen.
If you don’t have that much to risk you can bet $81.64 on a single number and let it ride if you win. If you win twice in a row you win just over $100,000.
9 – Video Poker
Jacks or Better video poker machines pay 4,000 coins for a royal flush, so if you play max coins on a $25 machines, making a bet of $125, if you hit the royal you walk away with $100,000.
The odds are long, but they’re considerably better than most slot machines and the lottery.
Conclusion
Now you know at least 9 ways to win $100,000 gambling. Some of them are long shots like playing the lottery, keno, or slot machines. But a few of them are more realistic like poker, blackjack, and sports betting. They just take more time.
The games you choose to play and the way you go about shooting for $100,000 depends on how you want to play. If you get a thrill out of the chance at a big return for a small investment you can find plenty of opportunities.
But if you enjoy grinding out a small edge over time you can do that too. Once you decide how you want to try to win $100,000 gambling you can get started any time.
One thing is for certain when playing craps: Due to the house edge on every bet in the casino, the longer your play the same strategy, the more certain you will eventually lose to the casino.
Every bet, every strategy and every system is subject to the house edge that favors the casino. The casinos have made sure of that. That’s how they amass their fortunes. If you’re playing one single strategy, there will be times the dice are rolling in your favor and you’re racking up the winnings, and there will be times when you’re losing and depleting your bankroll.
In the long run, as you continue to play one strategy, those wins and losses will start to average out to the house edge of that strategy, which obviously will always lead to the casino winning and you losing. So, even if you’re ahead, the longer you play an individual strategy, the more you ensure the casino takes your money.
Unless you’re an advanced player with the ability to influence the dice, the only way to change that certainty, and give yourself a real opportunity to beat the casino in the long run, is to alter your strategy to fit the current trends on the table.
To win at craps, you need to maximize your ‘DO’ bets when the table is ‘warm’ and ‘hot’, switch to and maximize your ‘DON’T’ bets when the table is ‘cold’, and limit your risk and protect your bankroll when the craps table is ‘choppy’.
We’ve all seen the person who walks up to the craps table, buys in for $5,000 and immediately starts playing $640 across with quarters on each of the hardways without spending even a minute to assess the current trend on the table. Well, in 15 minutes and $2,500 in loses later, they’re scratching their head wondering what happened.
Regardless of whether you’re playing $5 & $6 bets on a limited bankroll or buying in for $5,000, YOU DON’T WANT TO BE THAT GUY! You want to play SMART to win, and playing smart means betting according to the table trend.
There will be those (typically the ‘Math’ gurus) that will immediately jump in and tell you that identifying a craps table trend is impossible because, ‘Each roll of the dice is independent of the prior rolls, and any number can roll at any time, based on the probabilities of each individual roll’.
Technically, they’re correct. You can’t predict the next roll of the dice or when a table, or shooter, will turn ‘hot’ or ‘cold’, and you can’t predict when it will end, but we’ve all been there, and you certainly know when you’re in the middle of a ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ table run or a shooter is having a ‘massive’ roll.
Being able to identify current conditions and trends early, and matching your betting strategy to those trends, is your best bet at leaving with the casino’s money. It’s not easy, but if you know what to look for, the more you play, the better you’ll get at assessing current conditions at the tables and seeing trends start to develop.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
You’re looking for a ‘warm’ to ‘hot’ table or a ‘cold’ table. That’s where the money is and your observations need to start when you walk into the casino and approach the craps tables.
How many players are at the table?
- Most players play the ‘Do’ side of betting. If you see two tables with the same minimums and one is full and the other is empty, it’s not hard to figure out that the full table is warm to hot and the empty table is cold. It doesn’t mean that either table will continue on those trends, but you can be pretty confident that’s the current trend.
What’s the mood at the tables?
- You want to assess what the general enthusiasm is at each of the tables. People that are winning are smiling, there’s more chatter at the table, it’s louder, and there’s typically more energy on the hotter tables. If you’re looking at a quiet table, no one is smiling, the dealers are the only one’s socializing, the players keep looking up and over at the other tables, then you’re likely looking at a cold or choppy table.
Who’s reaching down into the craps table?
- Even if you can’t get into a position to see into the table, look to see who is reaching down into it. Is it the players picking up their winnings from each of the rolls, or is it the dealers sweeping the bets off the tables because another seven rolled? Again, another tell tale sign of what the current trend is at the tables.
How much money is on the table in bets?
- A great indication of whether a table is hot or cold is the amount of money that’s on the table relevant to the number of players at the table. If the table is warm to hot, you’ll see lots of money on place bets, heavy odds money, and you usually see plenty of money on the hardways and even on bonus bets like the ‘All Tall’ and ‘All Small’. Cold tables typically see little money on tables as players pull back on their betting or their remaining bankrolls don’t afford them bigger bets.
How much money is on the rail in front of the players?
- To further confirm what you’ve observed so far, take a look at the rail in front of each of the players. Are they loaded with lots of green and black chips, or are there only small handfuls of red and white chips. If people are winning those rails load up pretty quickly. On the other hand, the rails empty quickly when the table is cold.
Ask, Ask, Ask
- Lastly, don’t ignore the obvious. When you walk up to the table, ask the players to your right and left ‘how the table’s been’. Most will be honest but don’t forget, they’re seeing it from their perspective. If they’re placing ‘Do’ bets on a cold table, it’s going horribly for them, but if they’re playing the ‘Don’ts’, that same table has been great.
Craps Secrets Tip – When you buy in, throw a chip on the table and say ‘Any point for the table’, then try to get the dealer to confirm your observations. Ask ‘How long has the table been hot (or cold)?’. All dealers appreciate the tip and they’ll usually give you the scoop. And… the dealer will place your tip on the hottest number at the table.
While none of this is a guarantee, when you start stacking up one clue after another from the above, you’re going to right much more often than your wrong.
No trend lasts forever, and the trend you identified will certainly change. You need to remain diligent and observant to ensure you identify the change earlier than later. (If in doubt, just stop betting temporarily until you know where the table is heading.)
TRACKING THE TABLE
One of best ways to identify subsequent trend changes earlier is to track the table. Tracking keeps you diligent and aware without having to commit everything to memory. Whatever tracking system you use the key is to keep it as simple as possible so you can focus on your betting. There are many tracking methods out there, but I’ll walk you through what I track and how.
Simple Tracking Method
The tracking system I use is simple and only tracks repeating number and rolls between 7s. To execute this system you need to use 2 rail sections at the craps tables. The rail directly in front of me is for my bankroll, and the section immediately to my right is my tracking rail.
You use both slots on the rail to track
- Rolls Between 7s
- The slot closest to the table is used to track the number of rolls between 7s.
- Stand 1 white chip for every non-7 roll and start creating a row from left to right
- When a ‘seven’ rolls, place a red chip next to the last white chip placed
- Track a total of 20 to 24 rolls, about 3 to 4 shooters, then start pulling chips from the left side of the row
- More than 2 ‘sevens’ within 12 rolls is a cold trend, less than 2 ‘sevens’ within 12 rolls is a warm to trend
- What you’re looking for is to identify changes to the current trend and this should help you see that clearly
- Repeating Numbers
- With a little overlap, you can fit 6 chips lying flat in the slot
- From left to right, they represent the box numbers (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10)
- When any box number is rolled, place a white chip in the spot for that number
- You can use a red chip to designate hardways if you play them
- Your looking for the hot numbers, numbers that are repeating
- Track a total of 20 to 24 rolls, and then start over
After getting some practice tracking the craps tables, you’ll be amazed at how in tune you can become with the trends that are happening. Does it always work? No, but it works well enough that once you start tracking the table and maximizing your winnings, you may never go back to blind betting again.
The goal of everything we’ve discussed around assessing craps tables and identifying trends, is to ensure we’re using the right betting strategy at the right time, to take as much from the casino as possible.
Let The Trend Guide The Strategy
Best Way To Win At Casino Craps
Contrary to popular belief, you should never walk into a casino committed to play one particular strategy. That’s the fastest way ensure financial ruin of your bankroll. Instead, you should walk into the casino with a repertoire (or toolbox) of strategies to use dependent on the trends at the table you’re playing at.
You need at least 2 to 3 ‘Right Side’ strategies to use when tables are ‘Hot’, 1 to 2 ‘Don’t Side’ strategies to use when tables are ‘Cold’, and at least 1 conservative, low money strategy to use (if you bet at all) to use when tables are ‘Choppy’.
You can find plenty of ‘Do’ and ‘Don’t’ strategies online, or you can check out the post on Winning At The Craps Tables.
EXAMPLE
Here’s an example of a recent visit I made to my local casino.
I walked into the casino with my ‘toolbox’ of strategies and made my way to the craps tables. There were two $10 minimum tables open, both with about 8 or so people playing at each.
One table stood out as no one at the table seemed happy, two players were looking over at the other table trying to decide if they should move to that table. Those were my first indications that this was a ‘cold’ table.
Reminder: You can make money on HOT tables and you can make money on COLD tables.
So I walked up to what looked like the ‘cold’ table and continued to assess the table.
- Very little money on the table aside from Pass Line bets.
- The rails in front of the players were light, with one player holding his last 12 chips in his hands
- One player in the corner playing the ‘Don’t’ side… His rail was loaded with chips
That was enough for me, I started playing one of my ‘Don’t’ strategies and immediately started tracking the table.
Best Way To Win At Casino Craps Practice
Sevens were rolling every 3 to 4 rolls with an occasional 5 and not a lot of repeat numbers showing either. It stayed that way for about 25 minutes which was more than enough for me to start trading green chips for black chips and obviously I was happy.
No trend lasts forever and all of sudden, the count jumped to 7 rolls and the 8 repeated 3 times during the roll and the point was made. Not sure if I was seeing an anomaly after losing that bet, I sat the next roller out. He had 6 rolls before a 7 and repeated the 5 twice and no craps numbers during his roll.
Nothing is a guarantee, but I came off my ‘Don’t’ strategy and switched to one of my ‘Do’ strategies. Next roller was mediocre and I was just under break even for his roll so I decided to try one more ‘Do’ bet before deciding the table might be choppy.
Thank goodness I did, because the table went immediately HOT and the next 3 rollers had monster rolls. After the 3rd hot roller, there was a Point-7 Out, so I colored up and left with much more than my original win goal for the night.
Does it always work out as perfect as that? Obviously NOT, but more than enough to make up for the times it doesn’t. Also, by having a toolbox of strategies for hot, cold and choppy tables, you’re well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented to you.
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In the meantime…
BEST OF LUCK AT THE CASINOS!!!