It’s been 12 months since I last played craps at the casino.
Wow how time flies.
Regular listeners will know that I promised myself I wouldn’t gamble at the casino until my house renovations were complete. However it’s Christmas time and work friends wanted to go to casino. So what can I do. Peer pressure got me there today.
I’ve never played roulette before. Never. And my work friends wanted to show me how. So what the heck, I’ll give it go.
Bought in $200 on a $5 table. And the dealer cut me out some blue colour chips. My friends were showing me to bet a street and 6 lines. I wanted to do $5 red and black with target 3 play method. But wouldn’t you know it. $25 min. What a rip. I did it a couple of times and lost $50 in 2 spins. If I wanted to waste my money I’d rather put $25 on the field on the craps table.
What I did find amusing was the hole in the table for the automated chip sorter. The lady dealer was scraping in all the chips at the end of each spin decision. Several players had joined us. And there were chips every where. I had no idea how the dealer was tracking the none coloured chips. At one point I was about to say to the dealer, you need a bigger hole, but caught myself at the last second.
Once I bled down to $100 I pulled the pin. I lasted awhile, but it’s as boring as watching grass grow. I find baccarat to be more stimulating and that’s saying something because I’m like a robot playing baccarat. In fact I can work on my laptop or phone and play the mini bac machines without missing a beat on either work or the game.
My friends lost their money at roulette as well. So it was now time to introduce them to craps. Which was my ultimate plan.
Grabbed my $100 chip from roulettte leftovers and they had just opened the craps table at 2pm. Both sides and all the old regular players from a year ago were there. Crazy. Two of the dealers remembered me. They should I guess I used to go every week. And I’m a courteous player and always nice to them.
Bought in for a further $200.
My friends joined me and we took SR1, SR2, SR3
With 2 virgin shooters on each side I thought my luck would be golden.
The table was very cold. No one could make a point. I noticed this and I shot from the dont’s both times I had the dice and set for the all sevens set. Why buck the trend. Lay double odds each time. Each time won.
On my last hand I wanted to back myself as I was getting my confidence back. I put $10 on the pass and point went to 6. I backed it with $25 odds. Alas five rolls later and 7 out.
For when my friends had the dice. I went $10 pass line. And my friend at SR1 went on the only decent hand of the session. 3 points made and going for his forth. About 17 rolls total. Made some money back on that hand. Was very happy for him.
My friend at SR3 was getting into it and she reached into her purse and before I could say no don’t do that, she throws money on the table mid roll just as the shooter at the other end of table got the dice. Hands in the bowel blocking the end wall, money now on the table stopping the shooter. The regulars were groaning. They could see she was new, the dealers knew she was new. But they appeared to be more upset with me for letting it happen.
Guess what the next roll was. You guessed it. 7 out. Way to make friends and influence people at the craps table. The regulars were not impressed.
It was very nice to introduce new players to craps. Super nice that the craps table is still there. And both sides open. A real treat.
One of my don’t bets didn’t get paid on a seven out. So I got the dealers attention and just motioned to my don’t bet that was still on the table. They paused for a second thinking about it. And just paid it. I was glad I didn’t have to get into It with them or the box.
I pulled the pin at -$180 after 1.5 hours. Slow cuts ground me out. Everyone was in the same boat. Now I normally have 50% stop loss limit which I stick to. This is the first time I went over it and I attribute that to having my friends there and not wanting to leave. I’m going to have to be aware of that more in the future.
The dealer tells me it’s been that way for 3 weeks. Ice cold. The streak is on. Should have stuck dark side. Oh well.
Now I have to tell everyone about the new casino being built in Brisbane. It’s called Queens Wharf. And it’s going to be huge. There are 8 cranes on site and I took a photo of the cranes.
The other thing I want to mention is a shout out to Coach Fav from “Casinos USA” podcast. His latest episode was thought provoking about gambling addiction in general and being aware of your feelings around gambling. I’m a recreational gambler and I just happen to love craps, it’s my hobby. So much so, I have a home table and play at home to relax and focus on something other than work and family. A bit of me time.
I’d also like to thank Coach Fav for mentioning another podcast called “You Can Bet on That” hosted by Mark and Dr Mike. So I’m now going to pass along the same recommendation to my listeners. If you like to follow my Craps Journey you’ll really get into their show. Now I have no idea why it took me so long to start listening to their show. But I think maybe I thought I wasn’t interested in games other than craps, and I didn’t know how much they talk about craps. But I’m actually enjoying learning about other casino games and gambling in general. Make sure you subscribe and listen to their back catalog of episodes, which has proven to be no mean feat since they are nearly up to 200 episodes. And it’s nearly at 180 hours of air time in total. Congratulations to them for reaching 200 episodes which they will hit in the next few weeks. But what I like best is they are die hard craps players and very experienced gamblers in general, they have a great rapport with each other and clearly are life long friends that both enjoy what they do.
Until next time. Hope you got a little something out of this episode. Enjoy your Craps Journey.
Each year we host a Halloween party and 2019 was no different. This will be the 3rd year since introducing playing craps at the party.
Well the Halloween party was a hit. Had 12 people around the table and a couple in the wings that had to watch as there was no more space left. The 3rd shooter went on a hot roll and hit 4 points and multiple numbers. Rolled for about 45 mins and I called the game before he could seven out. The other players where happy winning but really wanted to throw the dice.
We only did one 1 hour session. I gave everyone $160 and dropped the minimum on the props to $1 with $5 min on everything else.
I was so busy dealing that I didn’t get to take any photos. Or videos. My wife is very disappointed that we don’t have any photos. We were just too busy hosting. I should have got one of the kids to take photos.
The winner this year was $726 and got there with a ballsy all in play on the field for the last roll. Last number was 9. He got lucky and jumped the lead. Next behind him was $500ish. I think next session that time boxed to an hour I’ll have to let the roll continue until it naturally ends. Or I need to look into how craps comps are run and do it that way.
Everyone doubled their money at least and were very happy with themselves.
We have a golden arm award and a overall craps winner. Here’s the leader board so far.
2019 Golden Arm – Matthew, Craps Champ – Darren (reclaimed title)
2018 Golden Arm – Scott, Craps Champ – Madonna
2017 Golden Arm – Steve, Craps Chap – Darren
Next year I’ll have someone on the camera with photos and videos. It’s really fun teaching and watching new players embrace the game.
On another more somber note I need to mention my casino comps.
I got some comps sent to me for October and since I’ve been so busy I couldn’t get to casino to validate them and get them added to my players card.
I thought I’d go to casino today on November 1st and get the comps validated, not to play (since I’m still renovating my house – see previous entries about that). You can validate on any table game or machine. I would do my $1 baccarat target 3 play special, get validated to redeem my comps in 5 mins and leave.
Went to the drink machine to get my free softdrink and my card was denied. I thought that was strange and continued to the bacarrat machines, put my card in and $0 and zero points. WTF is going on. Now I’m worried my card is faulty. So I head to the conceirge desk and they check the card and tell me it’s all correct. I have no comps and no credits and I can’t redeem my comps from October because it’s now November 1.
Needless to say I was exasperated with this and asked what’s going on. Since I’ve been away from the casino for over 6 months with no play they cancelled my comps. I was not aware of this little nugget of wisdom, if I did I would have dropped in to play a game machine for 5 mins to keep them valid.
I had $200 comps to spend and they are now all gone. They expired 2 weeks ago in mid October. I was going to take the wife to dinner and drinks and use the points on room at the newly renovated Gold Coast casino.
I tried to sweet talk them to give them back to me but they said it was not possible. I call BS on that. Anything is possible. But I didn’t labour on it with them because I refuse to be the customer from hell and go off on a rant and abuse the casino staff and ask to see manager and all that. They must have to deal with some people that have lost far more than $200 in casino comps.
On the plus side, while I’ve been away the from casino, I’ve been playing baccarat and blackjack on their casino app (using target 3 play method of course – and winning), and I’ve earned enough points to get 2 x $50 gift cards. So that’s at least 2 dinners and drinks.
Oh well I always learn the hard way. It’s the only way I seem to find things out. Just once, I’d like to learn my lessons the easy way.
It’s been a long time since I checked in. 10 months in fact. It’s been one massive year for me so far.
I’m still on my craps journey, just not at the casino this year yet.
It’s a self imposed exile. Here’s why.
I’m renovating our old house to turn it into a rental and have promised myself and the wife, no casino until it’s done. This gives me an incentive and reward to go when I’m done.
That was in January this year, and it’s now mid October. The time is getting away from me.
I’d moved my Craps table to our new house. But it’s been in storage in the garage. Since it’s taking so long for me to complete the renovations and be in two places at the same time, I’m now staying at my old house 4 nights a week to try to get the place finished faster.
Since it’s coming up to party time for our family during Oct, Nov, Dec the wife told me to move the craps table back to our old place. Apparently when I host a Craps night we are just too darn loud.
The first craps get together was for my old boys soccer team breakup which happened in September. Here’s a photo of some of guys getting into Craps.
Then the next session after that I’ll host a work colleague Craps game.
It’s quite amusing because the only thing in the house is literally a Craps table, a BBQ and my tools and paints for the renovations.
Then after that I’ll have to move the table back to my new house for our yearly family Halloween Craps get together.
I’ll have to take some videos of my home table with a game in full swing which I throw onto the podcast in November. I’ll let you know when it’s out.
Should make for some interesting viewing.
You can see how I approach teaching the game to newbies and my dreadful dealing skills.
Now as an extra bonus for you. Here’s a time lapse of my craps table assembly. This was my second time setting up this table, and I’m still tweaking the installation.
I’ve added wheels onto it so I can move it around the space easier.
I need to add in some more nut inserts to make this faster for next time, between the legs and the table top.
The side rails are bolted to the table top – so it’s very strong.
In the end this took 2 hours, and it would have taken 1 hour if I had of had a second person to help.
On another side note I want you to check out 2 great craps podcasts called
1. Casinos Usa
It was our work Christmas party and rather than just stand around and talk rubbish to each other I thought I’d bring out my A1 sized craps layout that I printed for just betting practice on the kitchen table. You can download a PDF of it from my website.
I have a set of dice and stash of old chips that I keep at work. So I quickly had 6 people now learning how to play craps. And several others looking on. I gave everyone $250 dollars and away we went.
It was a good session and they enjoyed it and started to see why I like it so much.
One guy turned $250 into $2050 playing don’t pass with a couple of ballsy all in moves and a $25 hard ten. Truely great to see.
Once that session was done, I packed my gear and escaped from our work Christmas party around 6pm and quickly got to casino 2 mins later. I’m very fortunate it’s only 200 meters away from where I work. Co-incidence, maybe. But I’ll take it for as long as I’m working there.
It’s been so long since I’ve played craps in the casino I’m surprised I knew where the table was.
Half table was open as per usual. And it was packed with 6 players. Looking at the chip racks which were mixed I knew I’d get a spot soon and the regulars had had their fun and gone.
I headed back to work to pickup my bag. And collect some colleagues that said they were keen to hit the craps table with me.
They had settled into drinking the night away. So I grabbed only one who was keen and left the party. Unfortunately he was already drunk and in no condition to gamble. I should have put him in a taxi and sent him home.
Now you aren’t allowed to take back packs into the casino but women can take in large handbags. I consider that an absolute joke. And total discrimination. But if you want to gamble it’s the house rules are the house rules.
So I had to put our back packs into the lockers for $5 each. I don’t mind the $5 and it’s actually one of the safest locker offerings in the city. With several cameras monitoring the area and all the security guards on the payroll.
On returning to the table there were only 4 players now and I slipped in at SL-2. I stuck my drunk work friend in the hook near the dealer out of the way. He had no idea what was going on, but was just happy to watch the theatre of the game.
It’s been a long time in between casino sessions for me. Nearly 4 months. But I wasn’t nervous at all. I used to get very nervous to the point where I would have trouble throwing. I guess that’s a good thing. And showing my increased time at playing the game is starting to overcome any of the nerves.
I started off playing my hybrid play of target 3 play on the pass line and don’t pass (not at same time) and $66 inside WOTCO with $22 inside pressing twice to $110 inside. Then same bet and regress to $22 inside and it’s press and collect from there. So I effectively play 2 seperate games at the same time.
My toss was a bit ordinary but it just felt so good to be back in the action of the game again that I really didn’t care. I was just focusing on hitting the same landing spot and keeping the dice low and slow and trying not to let them split apart to much.
I had one hand with 5 come out rolls before getting on a point.
I still don’t know how to take advantage of the come out game. I need to learn about world or whirl bet. Which I think is made up of the horn and any seven, but I haven’t practiced it and learnt the payouts so have no frame of reference for it… Yet. Anyone got some pointers for me to try?
Here’s my 5 hands
6,2,5,5,6H
11,7,8,6,10,3,9,9,7
9,9
9,4,5,9
9,5,4,7
6,7
3,2,12,7
3,9,8,11,7
7,8,7
On other shooters I just stuck to my target 3 play and $6 six and eight. You never know when someone will catch a good hand.
Unfortunately I personally had a couple of short PSO hands that made my bankroll suffer. And I didn’t want to stick around longer to dig my way out. So pulled up stumps (cricket reference to finishing the game)
Colour in $251 (-$149) in 1 hour.
I was surprised to note this was my exact colour in amount for my last casino session #47 back in Aug 18.
Fortunately for me my Baccarat results are more profitable than my Craps results.
We just had our annual Halloween party. And this year I was able to use the full table that I’ve talked about in previous podcasts and posts. Photo is below. Last year was just a makeshift half table. See episode 53 for all about that one and some photos.
With space for up to 10 players I was gearing up for a big craps session. We had quite a few new players from last year. And those that played last year were very keen but needed a refresher course.
I am still trying to work out the best way to get new players quickly into the game without completely confusing them with the myriad of bets that they see in front of them. Thinking back 25 years ago to when I first started playing craps I watched others and slowly picked it up that way. But I’m talking about quick ABCs to get started with little pressure. Perhaps you’ve got some ideas for me. If so let me know.
I’m going to instigate a standing Halloween party craps award. There will be 2. Craps champ with highest bankroll and golden arm with longest roll. I’ll get a little wall mounted award board where I can put up the names and show it off each year.
Another very interesting session followed where there were dark siders and passline players. Trying their luck with both sides trying to beat the game.
Each player had $150 of chips which I purposefully set low. I wanted to see if it would naturally end up with a more conservative betting approach than last year, where I gave them $300 each. It was a very different game to last year.
I was once again humbled that my party goers embraced dark side play on their first craps outing. You just don’t see many dark side players in Brisbane.
I explained the higher probability for rolling a seven over the other numbers each roll, and they just worked it out that dark siding would be a good idea.
That is until one of the players got on a monster roll. Over an hour. Banging out the place numbers. They couldn’t seven out. The prop bet players were left scratching their heads, wondering what was going on. Having lost a fair bit of money. Last year it was a horn number fest and they must have thought that’s a common affair and tried to do it again.
I had to call a time out for a drinks and desert break. Of course none of them know about energy draining events (EDE) and not to break the rhythm of the shooter. But I needed food and another couple of beers.
After the break they continued for a few more rolls and then 7 out. It was at that point I knew we had our golden arm winner for the night. They were very happy with themselves.
Someone asked me how I would have bet that hand. I felt a bit bad because I would have made quite a lot. Compared to what everyone else did. Even with a conservative press schedule, it would have left hundreds on the table.
It was then I realised that what they were missing was the benefit of watching what other more seasoned players do at the table. And picking up ideas of different bets to try and what the outcome of those bets are.
So in future even though I’m not going to shoot while I deal, I think it’s best if I deal and play as well. I can then explain the plays as I make them and the others can then play whatever bets they like.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable night. And I can’t wait to get last years and this years winners up on the wall. Then we’ll do it all again next Halloween.
PS For my fancy dress I called myself the dice doctor (if only) and had my eighties hair style back and dressed in scrubs. Definitely you would not want me operating on you. I looked thoroughly dodgey.
