Craps Journey | Dice Setting, Dice Control, Dice Influence & Betting Strategy

Happy new year everyone. I’ve had a couple of weeks break from casino visits during the holidays. But lots of practice in the mean time. Casino : Treasury $400 buy in Half table SO left side This is the first time I had to wait to get on a table. I waited 30 mins of my very small 1.5 hr time slot on Friday afternoon before needing to go back to work. I was thinking no one was going to leave but a couple of sucker hands cleaned out 2 spots. I didn’t mind getting straight out. As I’ve been practicing for that. I really wanted to shoot but had 3 in front of me. I fumbled trying to get my players card out and missed my buy in opportunity. I thought I’d do the right thing and not buy in until the dice were off. Of course the mad Russian guy was back and he was on fire and I was missing out. Oh well. Had a big spender to my right dropping $100s everywhere. He actually new how to play and wasn’t pissing his money away. Saw him regress and also doing $500 DP twice (which he won on both times). He had a nice soft random toss and I did a $22 inside which I wish I could have taken a photo of his chips next to my 1 unit on the inside boxes. The whale and the minnow. My turn finally and I’m at 1hr 15min mark. I could feel I was under the pump with 15 mins left on my casino window. Set for hard ways today. I surprised myself with hitting my landing zone first time. I was aiming for snake eyes on the don’t pass line. Even the stick man commented with “nice toss”. Didn’t trust myself as the time pressure was getting to me. Did a $10 PL and $22 inside. Hit 1 point on the 10. And slowly pressing. Did press the 9 up 1 then up 3 with $1 to get to $25. I’m happy with that progression for now. Had a 10 roll hand. Guess what, 7’d out around 15 mins. Classic lesson there. Self fulfilling prophecy. Colour in $437 (+$37) in 1hr 30mins

Casino : Treasury $300 buy in SL1 Half table 2 players to start and went to 6 3 new players at the table really slowed things down. Bad bets, late bets and hands all over place interrupting the shooting. Glad I was at SL1 Thinking back I was never like that. I only played dark side no odds, which made it easy for me to not get into trouble. Had 3 ok rolls today. 2 regulars had good hands. The newbies were apart from getting in the way, farming the field and were enjoying the wins and not realising they were actually losing more than they were winning. Did a couple DC action bets on the newbies. Went in softly with $6 six and eight on the regulars. No SIA (Shoot It All – One Hit Can’t Miss) strategy today. Take and press and expanded out. Worked ok with $12. Also did a couple of $22 inside on regulars that didn’t work at all. Oh well. Concentrated on my own shooting. 3 finger over hand. But today I let my fingers go to bottom of the dice and not the top. I’ve been trying that a bit in practice to see the difference. I was keeping the dice mostly together with not to much back spin, just focussing to get them neatly to the back wall. Hands were 12 rolls, 10 rolls, 12 rolls respectively. Did $10 PL with $44 inside and pressed one unit first then 2 units to get to 5 units then take and press. Felt comfortable with that, so didn’t push it like I’ve been practicing from 2 to 5 units in one go. Stuck around a bit longer than normal but the table was filling up and I had to return to work. At SL1 I should stay longer as I was getting comfortable with the position and the toss I was using. No dice off the table today. The mad Russian was back and really got upset when one of the newbies got in his way to place a late $10 field bet. Of course 7 out. Even the dealers were warning the guy that he would get upset and he didn’t disappoint. Just as I was leaving, the guy who gave me $25 to bet the hard ways couple of weeks ago came up to the table. Would have enjoyed shooting with him again. I said hello and thanked him for it again and told him I would have enjoyed hitting some hard ways for him again. Colour in $407 (+$107) in 1hr 30mins

Casino : Treasury Brisbane $200 buyin SO left side Half table Just 2 players. Myself and an older Asian guy with his wife at SL2 Been practicing at SO so wanted to see how I’d do. It was a fast game with just 2 players especially because we were not doing prop bets. First 2 hands of mine were ok 8-10 rolls each, started with $10 PL and $22 inside. Made some money before 7 pressing one unit at a time. Trouble was the dice kept jumping off the table. And I mean repeated no rolls. Even the box man was giving me tips. But not getting upset prob because no one at the table. I got so sick of it I lobbed a bit harder one throw landed on the angled edge bottom of diamond and one dice jumped back into the dice bowl with the other dice. I joking said same dice. Everyone had a little chuckle. Since I was up a bit I thought I’d try something I’ve learned over at Heavy’s Axis Power Craps forum that I’ve been practicing at home. $10 PL and $44 inside Then on first hit press up 3 units by dropping $1 or $4 depending what number hit to get up to 5 units. Alas it wasn’t to be and I 7’d out at 4 rolls. But I can see the merit in it for when you need to back yourself. Tried to recover a bit before my time was up. But couldn’t make it happen – needed more time and evidently way more practice. I should have moved to SL1 and asked the other guy to move over a bit. I find SO is very hard. 12ft table. I really need some advice so I’ll take a video and maybe someone can see where I can improve. Colour out at $159 (-$41) in 45 mins

Casino : Treasury $150 buyin Low buyin kids ransacked my wallet in the morning without telling me. I have my meger bank roll stashed away in cash at home which I draw from for my sessions. Mrs CJ has a strict no bank withdrawals allowed from our normal everyday bank accounts for my craps hobby. Fair enough. Had to be ultra careful Got SL2 with 4 players on half table Started out slow with $10DP and $6 six and eight. One hit can’t miss play. Did ok Treaded water quite well on the other rollers. One shooter (regular) didn’t like me doing $10 DC on his rolls. He was a big man with a thick Russian accent and I couldn’t really understand what he was going on about. But got the message. He had a good rhythm roll style, so I backed him next time (which ended up being worth it). My turns. Set for 3V and kept bets low trying to stay as close to 10% of buyin as I could and still back myself. $10 PL and $22 inside (depending on the point didn’t place that) Got 3 hands in today. My toss was not to good, dice splitting in flight a lot, spent most of the time trying to get them to stay together. My practice through the week was exclusively from SO, so should have moved to SO when I had the chance. 10, 8 and 6 rolls respectively. On one hand, I got my six up to $30 from 6, 12, 18, to 30, and same bet that once. The others rolls from everyone else were mostly short and they were getting frustrated. Since I was treading water with them I was ok. Nothing special about today to report. Really wanted to stick around for SL1 but had to get back to work. Coloured out $183 (+$33) in 50 mins

Casino : Treasury Brisbane $200 buy in SO left side Half table 5 shooters There was space but an older Asian lady (grandma) would not let me in. I patiently waited for the hand to end and then asked to make some room. She wasn’t happy but I moved in anyway. Thought I’d try different bets today. Tried the one hit can’t miss play with $10 DP and $12 six and eight. Tried a couple of $15 DC. Dice weren’t flowing in my direction today. Nice shooter at SL1 had a 16 roll. Missed it. He had great control. Lovely to watch. Told him I liked his style and was looking forward to his next roll. My turn. Set 3v. $10 PL. Point set to 9, and tried $66 inside including the point. Hit the 6, 5 and 9 and upped them 2 units to $30, $25s.  Hit a few more non paying numbers for me. But good for others. Getting ready to take and press… 7 out in 8 rolls. Oh well. Didn’t mind as it was a positive thought day for me, and really learning to stretch myself. Couple of guys playing both a $10 DP and PL and then laying odds on DP in the hook started to piss off the older guys at SL1 and SL2 and grandma, citing they weren’t playing properly and should be on the chocolate wheel instead.  I didn’t get involved. 2nd half table opened up and grandma quickly moved to other end giving me some room. Virgin lady shooter to finish off. She had a good roll. The old men at SL1 and SL2 (picture the old men critics from The Muppets – Statler and Waldorf) were loving it. Landing a couple of horns with $750 payout and giving her some chips, promising to give her $100 each if she rolled another. Did a $15 DC and the dealer didn’t move it to the nine. I told her but by then the next number rolled. A ten and told her to move it to ten. Lucky the very next roll was nine. I thought her luck was up and then lay $30 odds on $15 no ten. Wouldn’t you know next roll 10. Oh well. Told my muppet chums I bet she has a monster but had to run back to work so couldn’t try anything for a recovery or see out the rest of the game. I’m finding myself starting to recognise player level and skill. It’s very interesting and could make for a good study in human behaviour. Colour up $94 (-$106) in one hour

Casino : Treasury $200 buy in SO left side Half table 5 players Wanted to gauge the table again so no bet on first 2 shooters. Problem. 2nd shooter made 3 points and rolled a nice hand of around 16. Oh well. Tip toed in with $10 PL to kill the time while the dice worked around. Lost a bit with crap CO numbers then didn’t go back up. Next 2 rollers were great but I was to chicken to back them more than $10 PL. Must have been over 20 rolls each. Oh well. The hard ways were flying chips going everywhere. I’ve never made a prop bet in my life so I find it hard to follow. Dice come to me and I’m not comfortable at SO. Rested the dice against the back wall at 45deg before toss which helped me stabilise. Set for all 7s and 3v. Had a nice hand of around 16 with 2 points. Lots of hard ways. Started with $10 PL few naturals and $22 inside. The guy next to me who I’ve seen few times now big spender says why am I not on the hardways. I say I’ve never done it before and he gives me $25 chip and says go for it. So I put $5 each hard ways. And kept the $5 change. Cheeky. But I’d made him a few dollars so fair enough. But it was very generous of him. Going well got my 6 from $6 up to $30 yay by going up 1 unit at a time. Just waiting to start take and press. Lost one hardway on easy 8. Went back up on it. Then the second half of table opens up. Must have been a good 5 mins getting setup. Tossed and one dice jumps up into a woman’s chest nearly going into her dress. I should have come down or turned off. Next roll seven out. Really wanted to get a hardways if anything just to validate that guy giving me $25 to bet it. Oh well. Had to get back to work. But really enjoyed the session. Lots for me to think about how I’m betting. Coloured up $266 (+$66) in around an hour

Casino : Treasury $200 buy in SR1 on full table Dice were at SL1 Took 3 shooters to read the table look at what everyone had and what was going on. Haven’t really done that before. Very interesting to gauge the players. And the dealers. Did a couple of $10 DP winners after they hit first point. AKA choppy table short leash play. After next shooter made 2 quick points I then did $10 DP 4, lay $20 in odds. Got a win on that as well. The 4 other players on SR passed the dice. My turn. Set 3V and had a nice roll of 14. Made 4 points. And dice were landing ok. Started with $10 PL and hit 12. Loaded up again on $10 PL and $44 inside. 25% of buy in. But it felt ok. Took 2 hits same bet and chips moved around as the point shifted to other numbers. Got it back to $22 inside and then started pressing 1 unit each hit Got the 6 up 3 units to $24 was really wanting to get it to $30 but it wasn’t meant to be. Each time at the tables I’m beginning to see patterns in the players. It’s very interesting to see their “way with the dice”. Everyone’s got their style and betting method. Today was first time I saw a guy play both sides. $25 PL and $25 DP. Then would lay 2x odds on the DP. I chuckled to myself as I’ve wargamed that play. I noticed he didn’t bet on me after I made my first point. Had just stopped in after work so quick hit and run as per usual. I always make a point of thanking the dealers and others for the game. I think the dealers are starting to recognise me now. Coloured in $302 (+$102) in 30 mins

Casino : Treasury $200 buy in SL1 Half table of 5 players 3v set Shooting much better. Aimed for close to back wall and much better dice dying after hitting wall. Really prefer this position. Interesting note: a whole family was playing, Mum, Dad and kids and they had something going with the pit boss since he was asking them what drinks they wanted. In Australia on the normal casino floor you usually have to get your own drinks. I thought it strange but I didn’t have time to ask them about it. They were all bleeding chips and throwing the dice off the table every second shot. It was a circus. They had very short hands. Bet dark on them got $10 DC set with single odds (second time laying odds – felt good – felt right). Got knocked off the DC few times with the 7. Should have done a DP instead. Got the dice and had a 13 roll hand with 2 points. Tip toed in with $10 PL and $22 inside Protected bets and then started pressing but got cut short. Still not consistent enough with toss and need to concentrate to remain focused. Stick change mid hand. And then they opened up the other side of the table. More delays 2 rolls after and I could feel the dice not sitting right in my grip and after a totally shocking throw got the 7 Had to return to work as really busy day, so no time to play with full table, which I haven’t done in over 2 years – before I started studying craps. Was ashame as SL1 was agreeing with me. I’ve decided that since my time is so short 30mins or less, I really need to adjust my betting on myself. I’m not making the most of my time with the dice. With on average 3-5 players on Friday early afternoon, unless someones on a decent roll I’ll only get one or two chances with the dice. Colour in $204 (+$4) in 20 mins

Casino : Treasury $200 buy in SL2 position on half table. 3v set Couldn’t get anything going. Had 3 turns with the dice no more than 6 rolls each. Concentrating on dice behaving same each toss and hitting my chosen landing zone. $10 PL and $22 inside Tried $10 DC a couple of times got hit by 11 Got one $10 DC up on 4 took $20 odds (my first time laying odds) and it bull frogged 4 straight back. It was a bit disappointing my first laying of odds didn’t work out. Will try again next week. One happy camper (not me) had a $25 horn going to start and hit 3 12s in a row, not sure how much he won, as he upped his first bet, but the dealers were taking a long time to work out the payout. Once he got the money he disappeared. Smart move. Had to get back to work so no time to try something different. Colour in $132 (-$68) in 45 mins

Casino : Treasury $200 buy in SL2 for first time and I was more comfortable than at straight out. But much prefer SL1. One other player who set 2V and had a relaxed toss from way up high near chip rail was at SL1. Kept PSO and losing money like crazy. Was a regular as the dealers knew him. He got 2 points in 8 rolls after he disappeared for 10 mins and reappeared with more cash. Only to lose all that as well. Lessons for me not to do the same. I had 3 rolls of 6, 9 and 7 numbers, no points made. My setting is getting better. Toss landing still moving around. Trying to find the best place to land. Just stuck with $10 PL and was more interested in getting my toss dialled in. However I have to stop doubting myself. Even $22 inside same betting would have done ok. Tried a DC $10 after 3 count when I wasn’t shooting. Kept getting picked off. Tried a DP $10 got picked off. Got beat 7 times in a row. So called it a day. Always next week. Colour in $130 (-$70) in 35 mins

Casino : Treasury $200 buy in Straight out position 3 players only on half table Same big spender as last Friday pushing chips all over the place. He Burned through $1000 very quickly. One guy had a unique toss reverse pincer grip no setting. Looked great but random. Dice were jumping off the table Was nervous again slight tremble And was not confident in my toss which was very rough. Dice landing in different spots and rotating differently Short rolled once Set with all ninja craps alternate set for all sevens for co and 3v for point cycle $22 inside with $10 PL doing same bet Got 3 rolls in with nothing more than 4 count each Shot dark side on one and shot my self in the foot Played dark on the others Never have more than 30 mins which is good and bad. But not my day to shine. Coloured in $172 in 30mins (down $28)

Casino : Treasury Brisbane $200 buy in Got straight out spot. It was crowded half table. Got the dice after 2 mins. Didn’t trust myself from last time after being so nervous. so went in real slow Wasn’t really nervous today until after the roll. Then the nerves kicked in (had to go so left). $10 PL and $6 6 and 8 Rolled for about 25 mins. Didn’t keep exact count was around 20 or more (I’ll track better next time). Hit all the numbers (we don’t have fire bet / all tall small etc). Got to Press only once to $12 6 and 8, placed $5 5 and 9 with profits, only after I’d same bet a couple of times. Lots of 4’s and 10’s (which I wasn’t on) Just didn’t have confidence in myself. Players were hitting $25 hard ways and horns, chips were flying everywhere The box man grabbed the stick around 20 min mark, and threatened me to pass the dice if I didn’t hit the back wall every time. Only missed twice. The box man was joined by another suit and were in a long discussion and watching until I sevened out. Never had a long roll before, so that was new. Couple of players had the box numbers in the hundreds, which started to add extra pressure. A lot of money was on the table. Made everyone a lot of money. Would have made a decent amount if I had of run my usual $110 inside for 2 hits and regress and press. Was pleased with the result but my toss was still very rough. Tried to use some new sets I got from Ninja Craps (3V equivalent). But set it wrong quite a few times under pressure. Coloured in at $300 in 35 mins

Casino : Treasury Brisbane $200 buy in 1 other shooter and then just me. Never been on an empty table before. Weird feeling as the dealers have nothing to do. Great speed with dice. Very nervous and hungry and was shaking the whole time. Did $44 inside with don’t pass Layed single odds on don’t pass Got eaten at every try. Should have just played plain $10 don’t pass until my tosses calmed down. Would have left after losing $100 but needed the toss practice. Minimum is $5 on 3,12,2,11 and $20 horn Left an empty table. Such a shame. Started at straight out. Dice bouncing every where. Tried stealth setting. Hopeless at it. Couldn’t remember the sets. Awful. Did one dead cat with out hitting the wall 7 out won my don’t with odds and they allowed it Then moved to SL1 My tosses were much better. Very little roll back off the wall. Would have loved to have stayed. Perfect practice opportunity. Coloured in with $37. left in 15 mins

Casino : Treasury Brisbane $200 buy in Same people from last week at the table They are big spenders. Kept putting more money on table. Played differently today $44 inside 2 hits and down Wait a couple of rolls and then $10 don’t come The dealer worked out my play in 2 hands and was very good about it. Shooting from straight out $10 PL CO 7 then Roll count 6 Went $110 inside 2 hits down Did $10 DP on 4 then $20 odds Bull frog 4 Colour in $265 in 30 mins

Casino : Treasury Brisbane $300 buy in Half table from stick left Got stuck in hook near dealer Very hard to shoot Had players with $25 chips all over the place and they were doing lots of prop bets which slowed the game down a lot. They seemed to know what they were talking about but it was beyond me. Wasn’t setting correctly Dice all over the place Rolled 2 times Made a few points Betting was all over the place $6 6 and 8 Pass line with odds Tried DP on myself first time while shooting and struck out with 2 CO 7s switched to pass and then a few rolls and then 7. Should stick to a plan. If I had of gone out hard with $110 across and down or regress I would have won a fair bit. Tried $5 come but the limit is $10 come at Treasury Also made a mistake and dropped $30 on DC instead of $10 and of course got hit by 11 Need to play a lot more to calm the nerves and focus. Coloured up in 30 mins with $305