Really, you can blame this one on my pal Shootitall. No, it’s not his progression. You’ll rarely see him with more than $10 at risk on the four or ten, and you’re more likely to see him laying it than playing it. No, this progression came about largely after watching Shootitall throw the four and ten – again and again and again. When it occurred to me that just about any time he touched the dice he’d toss two or three fours or tens, it became just as clear to me that I needed to come up with a better way to take advantage of it.
The first step was to bet with confidence, focusing all of my action on the four and ten expecting them to win. So, Buy the four and ten for $25 each. It’s a great bet when they only collect the commission on a win, but even when they collect it in advance, if you have a shooter who can toss a four or ten (or several of them) it’s a no brainer.
The first hit pays $50 for $1. In order to make Shootitall feel comfortable with the bets on the layout we’re not going to press that one. Instead, we’ll drop a dollar, collect two green chips and slap them in the rack. You now have $1 at risk to win $50 on the next toss of the dice.
Let’s say the four happens to roll next. We let the dice decide which number to press – the four or ten – and they chose the four. This time you’ll drop $2 and tell the dealer to make the four look like $50.
The next time the four rolls it will pay your $100. Drop $5 on the layout and tell the dealer to make the four look like $100. He’ll hand you two more green chips. Your profit stands at $75 minus the $8 vig paid so far.
Lo and behold, old Shootitall tosses another four. The dealer cuts out $200. You tell him to make the four look like $250. He asks for the commission – $12 where I usually play – and you lock up another $38 profit, which now stands at a net $115 or so.
The fifth four tossed kicks off $500. Have you figured out where we’re going next? Tell the dealer to make the four look like $500. He’ll take the $25 juice out of the $250 that’s out there and return $225 to you. Now you have a $500 bet and around $340 profit in the rack. And the next hit is going to pay your $1000.
Frankly, it’s rare to get beyond this point. Heck, it’s not all that common to get TO that point. But it happens more often than you think. And when the fours and tens start hopping up it’s time to make the play.
What is the next play? Pays $1000. Press to $1000.
After that? Press to $2500.
After that? Odds are you’ll be at table max.
But the real key to winning with this play? Have your bets turned off when the ugly numbers shows. A couple of weeks ago I had my four pressed up to $2500 when there was a disturbance at the table that led me to turn my bets off. Next roll – seven out. At which point I locked up an additional $2500. But that’s a different article all together.
Bet what the dice give you, get in, get up, and get gone.
