Poor craps play and live dealers

FROM CANCUN SKIP: Congratulations on your new book "Confessions of a Wayward Catholic." As an alumnus of Catholic schools and college I am looking forward to reading your confessions. We need more books by good authors like you; particularly on gambling!

I am back from a weeklong trip to Las Vegas and had a great time playing Video Poker and Craps. My 5 a.m. walks from the South Strip are necessary to help me lose some weight so I can continue eating and drinking at all of my favorite restaurants and bars. This trip I walked from New York New York Casino to Casino Royale and back every morning and took all of the stairs, no escalators for this fat Catholic boy.

Casino Royale has always been special to me. I learned to play craps there many years ago sitting at the "tub." On this trip I discovered that 100x odds $5 table is gone, likely forever according to the suits in the pit. This is sad to me since I always play max odds there, occasionally the 100x odds, and have done well. Still a $3 table with 20x odds is pretty impressive mathematically and unique on Las Vegas Boulevard.

My question is this. What is wrong with craps players? Don't craps players read your books? I played $3 pass line bets and come bets with $60 odds. When I am more adventurous I bet $5 on the line with $100 odds. I tip $5 for the crew when my point wins. My pass line bet is as low as I can get it and my free odds are at maximum. I play the same at Bellagio, $25 pass line and max (3x 4x 5x) odds. The numbers change but the principle does not. The principle is based on solid, indisputable mathematics. I learned it from you!

At Casino Royale there were two well dressed younger men in their 40's both playing green on the line and no odds. Very strange by my way of thinking. If a player does not want to play $1 checks then a $5 on the pass line with 4x odds, the same $25 at risk pays at least $29 and as much as $45. In my book, even a $29 win on the 6 or 8 beats the hell out of $25. The dealers know this and I know this but these two dummies did not have a clue. I tipped some of my winnings to the dealers. They tipped some of their winnings directly back to the casino.

They appeared to be experienced players. They knew all the proposition bets inside and out. I have never made a horn bet in my life but these guys were pitching $5 checks at the stick hollering "horn high yo" every other roll of the dice. Yes. They did win some of these bets, but the lousy payback makes it a stupid bet. The stickman never asked me if I wanted a prop bet. He knows by my play that I know better.

When these guys got their turn to shoot the dice they were harassed by the crew for short rolls, two handed dice handling, delaying the game by massaging the cubes and the like. Why play at Casino Royale and put up with somewhat surly and impatient dealers when green players are treated better at Harrah's and the Mirage next door? There is only one answer. They are stupid.

Keep up the great work. Your job is not nearly over yet.


FRANK RESPONDS: No need to get upset by the play of others -- leave that to me! I get paid to shake my head and think, “Why are you making such bad bets?” And brother do players make such bets. I always thought that a good bet is as exciting as a bad bet since you have a much better chance of coming home a winner by making good bets. I seem to be in a minority in this respect.

I am sending you a copy of my book “The Virgin Kiss.”

FROM BAZ: I’m e-mailing you from across the pond and I wonder if you could help me. A few weeks ago I was a bit bored so I went online to one of those “live dealer” sites, put a few pound in and using a chart from your book “Beat Blackjack Now” started to win a few Quid, my question Frank is this: Are these so-called “live sites” really live or is it another way for the casinos to take money off you on the computer?

Anyway, I'm a great fan of your books, pity they don’t play craps over here as it looks like a lot of fun.

FRANK RESPONDS: If an Internet company says it uses live dealers I am guessing that it does. However, in a regular game of blackjack it really doesn’t matter if it is a live dealer or a computer, the game is the same.

My new book “Confessions of a Wayward Catholic” is now available on Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/kvux22v and on Kindle http://tinyurl.com/pfnqhph.

Visit my website at www.frankscoblete.com.