Throwing Station

This is a picture of my throwing station. It is used to improve your throwing skills. I kept it compact so it is more portable and easier to store when not in use.

Amazing Las Vegas Offers

Today, I received two interesting offers in the mail from two Las Vegas casinos. I wonder which is better. Which would you select - feel free to weigh in.

Offer #1 - As our loyal guest, we want you to turn up the heat on your winter season with three complimentary nights in a Luxury Suite at The Venetian or at The Palazzo, Sunday through Thursday, based on availability. Additionally, i would get a $45 Table Match Play.

Offer #2 - The Plaza - exclusive offer. Please enjoy your offer of only $25 per night (Sunday through Thursday) Plus $10 in free slot play or promotional chips.

New Website

Please check it out at www.HowToPlayCrapsAndWin.com and let me know what you think. Additionally, you can sign up for my monthly craps newsletter.

Las Vegas - January 2011

I has been a while since my last post so I will get right to it.

This trip to Las Vegas was for 8 days. We stayed at four different resorts, The Stratosphere, Mandalay Bay (The Hotel), Monte Carlo, and The Orleans.

RESORT REVIEW

The Stratosphere - Played craps for a while at a $25 average, but because the room was already comped they could only cover some of our food purchases. Fellini’s is a great Italian restaurant located in the Stratosphere. We first ate the in 1998 after we walked from Luxor to the Stratosphere and back, but that was when we were younger. Also featured here is CRAPSLESS CRAPS, although the odds are not as great as a regular game of craps, it may be worth playing if a controlled shooter where playing.

Mandalay Bay (The Hotel) - Simply amazing!!! I approached the check in counter and upon arriving asked if there were any upgrades available. The man behind the counter checked the computer and said that we could be upgraded to "The Hotel" for $10 a night. After thinking about it for a while we figured why not. It was the best $20 upgrade I ever had in Las Vegas. . The room had a living room with a mini bar, a desk, a sofa, and a lounge chair. There were two bathrooms (one even had a TV in it), a tub, and shower. The bed was very comfortable as well. Also the “Do Not Disturb” / Housekeeping sign was digital versus having a hanging piece of paper from the handle.

Monte Carlo - I have stayed at the Monte Carlo a number of times and I was again pleasantly surprised. Upon check-in I was informed that since I had stayed at the Monte Carlo before there may be an upgrade available. Sure enough I was upgraded to a room with a view of the Strip. The morning craps crew (around 8 AM - 10 AM) was great and the pit boss runs a great game while making sure your "action" is credited to your account for comps. The Dragon Noodle and Diablo's are the restaurants I frequent at the Monte Carlo. Another great stay.

The Orleans - This is an off strip resort casino with very large rooms and a good number of local residents patronizing the casino. This was the first time we stayed here and I would stay again. I also had a $50 food credit which could be used at ANY, yes ANY restaurant on the property. This is different than most strip casinos. Again we had a view of the strip from our large room.

During this trip I was able to play craps 42 times, winning 38 times and losing only 4 times. For the most part meals were comped, as long as you asked for the comp after you were done playing.

Diamond Jo Casino Hosts Its First Craps Tournament

In February, I received a promotional mailer from Diamond Jo Casino in Iowa for a $100 entry fee Craps Tournament on March 6, 2010. Upon closer inspection of the mailer, it revealed that my invite included a waiver of the $100 entry fee. As the event came closer, I began to practice throwing from various positions at the table.
On March 6, 2010, Diamond Jo hosted its first ever craps tournament. It consisted of six qualifying rounds and then a final table. The qualifying rounds were set up as follows; up to 16 players would be present at the table. Rounds would begin on the hour and last 30 minutes and if someone was in the middle of a roll as time expired, they would be allowed to continue until the point is made or the shooter sevens out. The top two players in terms of total chip count would advance to the final table. In the event of a tie, there would be a roll off to determine the winner. The players involved in the tie, would get one roll and only one roll, and the shooter with the highest total moves on. Additionally, players who did not qualify for the final table would have two additional chances to make it to the final table. The first being the top two players in terms of total chips would move on and second the rest of the players who did not qualify would have their names thrown into a drum and two more people would be chosen at random. The final table would also feature 16 players with the top 12 earning some type of prize. Not bad at all, the challenge would be to make the final table.
I was set to play at the 4PM round and so I decided to arrive a bit early to observe the action. Early rounds had players with $1200 moving on to the money round. That was encouraging, since making 20% at a table is not too difficult. When the 4PM round started, I drew position 7, which was two shooters to the right of the stickman.
The basic rules were as follows, a $10 minimum pass line / don’t pass wager had to be made each game. All proposition wagers were $25 minimums. The first up was shooter #1, who was positioned right next to the dealer. I proceeded to place my Don’t Pass Line wager. A few rolls later, the point was established and I was already down about $50. I then took odds on my Don’t Pass Line wager and placed a Don’t Come wager. Another box number was rolled and I placed a second Don’t Come wager. The same number was rolled. Eventually, the shooter threw a seven and the dice were passed to the next shooter via a random draw of the remaining shooters. One thing to note is that the payouts were somewhat slow and confusing. In defense of the crew, they are used to payouts based on wagers ranging from $5 to $10 table minimums. Next up was shooter #6, she made her first point and then established a second point. At this time, they announced that there was under 10 minutes left in the round. I noticed the guy next to me in position 8 had somewhere in the neighborhood of $3000 - $3500 on the rail and approximately $500 on the table. Now was the time to make my move or I would be out. The point was a 9 and I had wagered $200 on the Don’t Pass Line. I placed a Don’t Come wager of $200 and a 10 was rolled. This was good. I laid $200 odds on the 10 and placed another Don’t Come wager. The next number rolled was a 5 and I laid $200 odds. I had about $160 or so in front of me and figured why not. I was “All In”. I glanced around the table, there were two people who had been completely eliminated. The guy next to me was down to about $500 and a quick survey of the remaining players revealed a similar situation, with the majority of the players “All In”. Then it hit me, if a seven was rolled, I have a real good chance of winning. Just as soon as the thought crossed my mind, a 10 was rolled. OUCH! Two rolls later a 5 and then a 7 were rolled. When it was all said and done, I had $1032 in front of me, and I was about $50 short of 2nd place. Oh well I had a great time either way.

CRAPS WAGERING SYSTEMS WANTED

We want your favorite craps wagering strategies.

I have been playing craps for a number of years and have seen a lot of different wagering systems, some worked and some did not. A number of them appear to be the same, but carry a different name – why? I thought it would be a good idea to compile as many wagering systems as possible, analyze them and put them all in one book.

Enter as often as you like, for each submission, your name will be put into a drawing for a free book once it is published.

To qualify, here is what I need:
1. Name of the wagering system
2. A detailed description of how the wagering system works
3. Other information pertaining to the wagering system


Please provide your contact info so that we may get a hold of you for questions or to notify the winner
1. Your name
2. Email address

All submissions become the sole property of ESC Holdings llc and may be used in any manner, commercial or otherwise, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised throughout the universe in perpetuity. The number of winner will be determined by the number of submissions

Craps Table Setup

The craps table shooting surface has been completed and the felt placed over the top. The past couple of days the table has been tested with a number of throws to see how it compares to a real casino table. So far, so good.

Craps Table Plans

I am still gathering parts for the craps table assembly. The local hardware stores are out of the inserts that I am looking for, but in the end the plans for this table will be available to purchase. If you need additional information please reply to this post - thanks.

Attaching the table surface pieces together

I have been research ways to attach the pieces of the table together. Right now the best method seems to be using a threaded insert on one pieces and then running a bolt through from the other piece. This will allow me to assemble and dis-assemble the table if I need to move it. One day I will post some construction photos.

Craps Table Construction - Table Surface

The table surface of the craps table has been cut out. The next step is to determine how to assemble the surface so that it can be quickly disassembled in the event it needs to be moved. Any ideas?

Craps Table Construction Update

Some of the components have been traced onto the plywood. The plan is to start cutting out the pieces and documenting how to assemble the craps table. I was reviewing the data gathered during the July Vegas run and discovered that I have maybe played in 75% of the casinos on the strip. i have a goal of playing craps in all of them in one year, so I guess I will need to go back out there......

Craps Table Construction Started

I finally started working on the craps table. I purchased 6 sheets of birch plywood, which will be used to create the table surface and the outer perimeter. The attempt here is to create a realistic table.

Las Vegas 3

Well, I survived another trip to Las Vegas. Each time I go, its something new, that's one of the great things about Vegas. During this trip, I placed the book Craps Wagering Strategies Using Actual Roll Data - Las Vegas (2009-01) at the Gambler's Book Stop (you can check it out by clicking this link
http://www.gamblersbook.com/product.php?productid=19934&cat=0&page=1

the other location the book was placed was at the Gambler's General Store.

In between this, I played craps 32 times for a total of 26+ hours and there are 2 good table stories that came out of this trip.

Late one night, I jumped on a craps table downtown. It was a choppy table, and after playing for about 30 minutes, two people (Troy and Chad) bought into the game that caught my eye. When Troy got the dice and started shooting a lot of point numbers and made 2 points, but Chad did not make his first point, but the form and control they had was incredible!! The dice quickly moved around the table back to Troy. This time around he continued to throw a lot of point numbers and he also made 3 points. The dice were passed to Chad, who also rolled a lot of point numbers and he also made 2 points. I am sure he would have made a few more points had he not been distracted by the two women who were obviously drunk who kept bumping into him. Each time the dice went around both of these guys were good for several points and in some cases there were 9 - 17 rolls before the point was made. This made for some great place betting and hardway bets.

The other story was prior to heading to the airport to wrap the trip up we decided to play one last time at Luxor. As I approached the craps tables, I noticed an open spot next to a tall blonde. I buyin and glance to my left and discover that I was playing next to a Lady Gaga impersonator. Wow, what will be next??

Playing Craps With An Under Funded Bankroll At A Large Denomination Table

On a recent family trip to Ohio, we stopped by the riverboat. I went to play craps while my friend went to play poker. I only had $100 cash because originally I was told that we would not be going near a casino and I did not have any charts to record the roll data. Anyhow, we went to the poker to get my friend on the waiting list. Then we went back over to the craps pit to find the smallest denomination table, which was a $10 table. I knew my bankroll was not big enough, but I figured I'd give it a try because it was either that or go play poker. I opted to play craps with a small bankroll than poker because if I played poker, it is almost always a loss. Usually to some hump sitting on a garbage hand in early position against my pocket aces or kings. Then here comes the river card and boom I lose. I digress, anyhow back to the game at hand - craps. As you can guess, I did not last long, thus this post.

I tried playing at the $10 and held my own for a while. Then came one bad shooter after another. Finally, I got the dice back and made a couple of points to bring myself even. I decided to hang around to see if the bad shooters were still at the table, so I started betting the Don't Pass and Don't Come wagers. Within a couple of shooters I was back down to $10, so I walked away.

In the mean time my friend took his $200 and ran it up to $500 playing blackjack, and then they finally called him to go play poker. I ask him if I could spot me $200 and I will give it another try at the tables. This time the only thing open was a $15. The results were similar to the last session. This reinforces the idea of having a large enough bankroll to play through all of the ups and downs. All to often I see people come up to a table, just like I did and play with an under funded bankroll. This will most likely end in frustration.


To view my craps book click the link below. Actual Las Vegas roll data is compared to theoretical roll data.

http://crapsmaster.blogspot.com/

Publisher

This past week, I met with a publisher to determine the best method of publishing my actual roll data information. If nothing else, feel free to click on my ads.

Craps Table Plans

My next plan is to build a craps table someday. I have found numerous plans, but nothing seems to give the builder a complete set of instructions.

If you or anyone else you know has built a table and are willing to share the plans let me know.

Record Craps Roll Established in the Borgata

Have you heard of the lady who set the record for rolling the dice?
Playing for the second time in her life she bought in for $100 at a $10 minimum table at the Borgata in Atlantic City and rolled 154 times. She made 25 straight points - not bad for only your second try.

Check out the article below

http://www.nextshooter.com/longestroll


To view my craps book click the link below. Actual roll data is compared to theoretical roll data.

http://crapsmaster.blogspot.com/


Thanks