This article dates all the way back to 2004, when I first starting publishing my thoughts on casino craps on-line. Some of the items I include may sound a little redundant. If it seems like we’re repeating ourselves, it’s probably because we’re talking about some REALLY important aspects of the game. Think about it.
What are the seven deadly craps sins?
1. Betting when you don’t have an advantage. Players who wager on every shooter who touches the dice are driven by false hopes and unreal expectations. A random stroke of good fortune can make things even worse – reinforcing the player’s mistakes and leading him to repeat them in the future. Be content to win consistently on your own hands and the hands of qualified shooters you trust. Anything else is just gambling.
2. Playing with an insufficient bankroll. You see it everyday – players stepping up to the table, buying in for $100, then putting the entire stake into action. The player has about as much chance of winning as a gang-banger armed with a cap pistol shooting it out with the police. If you are an advantage player you should size your wagers according to two things – your bankroll and your positive expectation. If you are betting beyond that you are just asking for trouble.
3. Failing to maintain discipline. I define discipline as how you manage your emotions at the table. For some players, losses are a catalyst that triggers irrational actions. They lose control of their emotions and stay too long at the table. They double up after losing in an effort to “get back” in the game. They just know that “things have to turn around” eventually. But hanging around and trying to get even is the gambler’s curse. Instead of increasing your bets in an effort to recoup your losses all at once, view your play as Lance Armstrong did the Tour de France. You’re not going to win every leg of the race; it’s the overall final decision that counts.
4. Impatience. In our eagerness to play, it is not uncommon for crapshooters to believe they see something that isn’t really there. It may be a Don’t trend or a streak on the sixes and eights. Or you may think another shooter at the table is tossing with an edge and you mistakenly try to capitalize on it. Relax. The game isn’t going anywhere. Don’t play just to get in the action. Wait until you know you are playing with an advantage – then strike.
5. Failing to set objectives. It is amazing how many players step up to the table without a win objective or loss limit in mind. Refusing to properly and intelligently approach theses aspects of the game will set you up to fail. There’s an old Management by Objectives theory that applies quite well to what we do every day in the casinos. “What gets measured gets done.”
6. Buying a betting system. A system is nothing more than a betting strategy that you pay for. Most of these systems have one thing in common. They are so complex that the average player cannot follow them. Still want to try? Virtually every system on the market is available on-line in one form or another for free. There’s nothing new in the world of craps betting – except the packaging. Save your money for the tables
7. Playing a hunch and other superstitious claptrap. Let’s face it. In craps, hunches are a dime a dozen and superstitions are bad luck. If you are going to place money in action or take money out of action – at least have a valid reason for doing so. That means you put money into action when you have an edge – and you take it down when you don’t.
