The Gambling Weblog

Previously I discussed the different odds given to different games found in casinos and online gaming sites. Knowing the odds is a great way of determining your chances of winning in a particular game.Below are some more discussions of the different odds in some casino games:

Roulette – Do not think that by putting one bet on red and the other on black at the same time would mean that you will break even. The green “0” and “00” are there to give casinos a 5.25 per cent edge in roulette. In order to get better odds and slightly higher chance of winning, try to find a game that only offers one “0”.

Video poker – To get better odds try to find a Jacks machine or something even better that pays 9 coins for every full house and 6 coins for a flush. By doing this you lower the house edge to between 0 per cent and 5 per cent. Video poker is actually considered as a better game compared to slot machines. If you factor in the perfect play and comps you can actually make a run that would eventually see you getting ahead of the casino at the end of the day.

Craps – One way to get better odds is by avoiding the high odds bets on the craps table. You should only try to play the line bets, among these are the pass, don’t pass, come and don’t come bets. Do this and you lower the odds of the casino to just 1.4 per cent. There are some casinos that offer a type of game called crapless craps. Some people think that this is a better game in terms of odds, but the truth is that it actually increases the casino’s odds.

Spend some time at the craps tables and you will see and hear a host of hedges, the most common of which are hedges that increase or decrease your chances of winning or losing on the Pass Line. But are hedges really worth it?

A classic craps hedge consists of utilizing one bet to offset another bet. For example, you place a $5 Pass Line bet and then ask the dealers to give you a one-dollar “Any Craps” — 2, 3, 12 — in order to offset the possible loss of that Pass Line bet when any of the craps numbers appear.
Thus, there is no way to lose on the Pass Line by utilizing such a scheme. You’ll win $40 on the 7 and 11, which will show up eight times (on average) in 36 rolls, but you’ll lose $8 on the Any Craps, for a net gain of $32. However, when any of the craps numbers appear– and they’ll appear four times for every 36 rolls on average — you will lose $20 on the Pass Line but win $28 on the Any Craps (which pays off at 7 to 1). Therefore, the hedger is ahead of the Pass Line game at this point to the tune of $40.
However, when a point number — 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 — is rolled, the Pass Line bet does not win or lose. The shooter now has to make that point before he rolls the dreaded 7. And what of all those Any Craps bets you’ve been making for a buck? What happens to them? The 24 times on average that a point number rolls is a loser for the Any Craps bet. So, the Pass Line win is now reduced by $24. Still, by the end of the betting sequence, and in the long run, the hedger is guaranteed a win on the Pass Line come-out rolls of $16. Has our hedger successfully protected his Pass Line bet from being diminished by the craps numbers? No.

At first, advocates of hedging will be delighted to look at the above figures and see just how “protected” their Pass Line bet is by the Any Craps hedge. But can hedging advocates answer “yes” to the following question? “Will I win more or lose less by betting this way?” Sorry, you’ll lose more. Here’s why:
If you merely played the Pass Line sans hedging, you would have won $40 on the eight times the 7 and 11 appeared, lost $20 when the 2, 3 and 12 appeared; yet, you would have been ahead $20 for the full sequence in the long run. Contrast that with our hedger who wins only $16. The cost for hedging is a 20 percent reduction in our overall Pass Line come-out win in the long run. In this case hedging is a bad investment.
So, my advice is to take a pass on the Pass Line hedges.

Don’t Pass bettors can also get tangled up in the hedges in numerous ways.
Here’s one advocated by some gaming writers. Place a Don’t-Pass bet of $20 and when the point is 6 or 8, you Place bet the same number for $18. The thinking here is that if the 7 appears, you will win $20 on the Don’t Pass and lose $18 on the Place bet, giving you a $2 guaranteed profit.
However, if the either the 6 or 8 hits, you will win $21 and lose $20, giving you a guaranteed $1 profit. Overall, you’ll win $17 betting this way.
The problem with this betting scheme is obvious. When a Don’t Pass bet has made it past the come-out roll, it is the odds-on favorite to win as a 7 will appear more often than any single number. Even though the 6 or 8 will appear five times for every six appearances of the 7, the Don’t bettor is still favored to win one betting unit — in this case $20 (he’ll win six times on the 7 for $120 but lose five times on the 6 or 8 for $100).
How much will you win on the guaranteed hedge? A total of $17. That’s $3 less than had you played it straight! It is also a reduction of 15 percent in winnings. Not good.
This same hedge is also advocated for the other numbers as well, with the same dire consequences.
Again, you bet $20 on the Don’t Pass and if the 5 or 9 is the Point, you also Place bet that number for $15. If the 7 hits, you win $20 on the Don’t Pass bet, but lose $15 on the Place bet — for a guaranteed win of $5. When the Point rolls, you win $21 on the Place bet, but lose $20 on the Don’t Pass bet for a guaranteed win of $1.
So what does this all add up to? Had you simply stuck with your Don’t Pass bet on the 5 or 9, you would have won $120 when the 7 rolled and lost $80 when the 5 or 9 rolled as the 7 is a six-to-four, or three-to-two, favorite over the 5 or 9.  That’s a net win of $40. By hedging, you won $30 when the 7 rolled and $4 when the 5 or 9 rolled for a net win of $34. That’s $6 less! Your winnings have again been reduced by 15 percent because of hedging. Bad news.
The same scenario holds for the hedging of the 4 or 10. Again, you bet $20 on the Don’t Pass and if the point is 4 or 10, you Place bet that number for $15.
If a 7 hits, you will win $20 on the Don’t but lose $15 on the Place bet, for a profit of $5.  However, if the point is rolled you win $27 on your Place bet, lose $20 on your Don’t Pass bet, and wind up ahead $7 overall.
This sounds good until you take a look at what you actually would have won had you just stuck with your Don’t Pass bet of 4 or 10. You would have won $60 because the 7 is a six-to-three, or two-to-one, favorite over the  4 or 10.
You would win six times ($120), lose three (-$60) and been up $60. How much did you win with the guaranteed hedge?  You won $30 when the 7 rolled and $21 when the 4 or 10 rolled, for a win of $51. That’s $9 less! Again a reduction of 15 percent in your overall win! Just awful.
By hedging on the Don’t Pass after you have successfully maneuvered through the toughest part of Don’t betting, the come-out roll where you lose eight times for every three times that you win, you have increased your overall losses dramatically.
Now, a clever craps player might say, “Well, if that come-out roll is so dangerous to me because I lose on the 7 and 11, why don’t I just hedge my come-outs and let my numbers stand when they are up against the Point?”
This article continues with Part 2.

Frank Scoblete’s website is: www.goldentouchcraps.com

Imagine the two dice are rotating on a horizontal axis at the same time. If they stay straight and continue rotating, the numbers on the right and left sides of each die will never show.
If you set, grip and throw them properly, you should only see the numbers that are on the vertical axis.
There are only six different dice sets as follows:

The 2354 Set:
Set both dice identically so when you rotate them toward you, all you see are the 2, 3, 5 and 4 on the vertical axis. The totals showing are all hard ways – the hard four, hard six, hard ten and hard eight.
Called the “hard way set”, this is one of the most popular sets.
If you look closely, you will see that the ones and sixes have been eliminated.
In addition to fewer sevens, you would not be able to throw a two, three, eleven or twelve with this set.
This set is terrific for hardways, place bets and 6s and 8s.
Set this quickly by placing the ones and sixes on both horizontal axis.

The 1364 Set:
Both dice are set on the vertical axis for 1, 3, 6 and 4. This method eliminates the 5’s and 2’s on the horizontal axis so it is impossible to roll a 3 or 11. It actually increases the frequency of sevens so it is used only for don’t bettors and the come out. You can set this quickly by placing the fives and twos on both horizontal axis.

The 1265 Set:
Another don’t bettor set is the 1, 2, 6 and 5. You will have the fours and threes eliminated on the sides so these numbers will not roll. This set will produce more sevens but no fives or nines so if you see someone laying the fives and nines, he’s probably using this set. Set his quickly by placing the fours and threes on both horizontal axis.

The 1265/2354 Set:
Both die can be set differently. For example, set the first die as 1, 2, 6, 5 and the second die as 2, 3, 5, 4. Although this may take a little longer to set, it has terrific advantages – only two sevens, and two each of the 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. This set would be excellent for place bettors after the come-out!
Set this one by placing the four and three on one horizontal die axis and the one and six on the other.

The 1265/1364 Set:
Additionally, you can set the first die to 1, 2, 6, 5 and the second to 2, 3, 5, 4. On the first die, you are eliminating the 4 & 3. On the second die, you are eliminating the 2 & 5. This combination gives you two of each of the 5, 6, 7 and 8.
This is the famous “6-T” set, because if you place the two sixes together to form a “T” you master this set in one quick motion.
This is set by placing the four and three on one horizontal die axis and the two and five on the other.

The 1364/2354 set
Lastly, my favorite. Set the first die to 1, 3, 6, 4 and the second to 2, 3, 5, 4. This set will produce only two sevens, but three each of the six and eight. There are also no twos or twelves and one each of 3, 4, 10 and 11. Set this one by placing the five and two on one horizontal die axis and the one and six on the other.

When pre-setting the dice, it doesn’t matter exactly where the numbers are located, as long as the proper ones are there.
With my favorite described above, it is okay to set them 6, 4, 1, 3 on one and 4, 2, 3, 5 on the other.
With this particular set, you will be eliminating the 5 & 2 on one die and the 6 & 1 on the other die.
As long as these numbers remain on the axis, it doesn’t matter where the other numbers end up.

The advantage of dice setting is that it doesn’t cost you anything but a little practice.
I say, “If you’re going to shoot anyway, why not set the dice?”

Larry Edell’s website is: www.thecrapshooter.com