5 – Winning Casino Craps. Winning Casino Craps was written by Edwin Silberstang and published in 1979. Silberstang wrote this book to teach players just as much about craps as anyone else knows. The information he provides gets you to the same level as casino managers, dealers, pit bosses and other players. There isn't a 'best time' to play slots at the casino. And there is no way for you to tell when a slot machine is ready to hit and it is going to pay out. If you are still looking for easy cheats to win at slots, you are playing for the wrong reasons. Best Slot Machines to Play in 2020. In this video, we discuss winning strategies for the casino game craps. Gambling at the casino is all about timing, luck, and money management.
- Best Way To Win At Casino Craps Online
- Best Way To Win At Casino Craps Games
- Best Way To Win At Casino Craps Rules
- Best Way To Win At Casino Craps Tournament
With only a little searching on the internet, you'll find pages that claim to have 'solved' craps.
You'll also find sites promising to teach you how to win 'consistently' at craps.
They claim that you can make profits on a regular basis by shooting dice and betting on other shooters.
This isn't one of those pages.
That's because I'm not a liar.
Here's the truth about how to win at real money craps almost every time you play.
Winning Craps Systems
I can tell you where to find the winning craps systems. They're right next to the unicorns in the zoo and the mermaids in the aquarium.
How do craps systems work?
They use a combination of bets that are meant to hedge against losses. They also usually involve raising and lowering the size of your bets based on what's happened on previous rolls and previous bets.
Often, they try to capitalize on hot and cold streaks.
Here's the problem:
Some of those negative numbers are bigger than others, but they're all negative.
And if you double or triple those bets because of something that happened on a previous bet, you still have a negative number.
And yes, you will see winning and losing streaks at the craps table.
The problem is that you have no way to predict when these winning and losing streaks will begin or end. They're only available in hindsight.
The nature of gambling games – craps especially – is to be streaky.
But a streak can win or end at any time.
Here Are 10 Easy Steps to Beat Craps – Yeah, Right
I don't have a problem with writers offering tips for how to beat craps. Heck, I offer tips for craps players in some of my posts, too. My problem is the overselling of these tips.
But heck, even that's not too bad.
What's really bad are people who take your money in exchange for some kind of unbeatable craps system. These craps systems are NOT unbeatable. In fact, in the long run, they can't win.
You can't defeat the math at the craps table by combining various bets at the table. There are NO craps bets with a positive expectation. The closest you can get is a bet called the odds bet which has no house edge at all.
But just because that bet is a break-even bet doesn't mean it can help you get an edge at the other bets. In fact, you're not able to place an odds bet unless you've placed a pass bet first, which has a house edge.
But there's one possible exception to this…
Taking the Odds Bet on Someone Else's Bet
I read a book by Frank Scoblete where he suggested becoming the 'odds man.' I haven't tried this in a casino, so I don't know if it's a viable strategy or not. I do know that it won't get you an edge over the casino.
Here's how it works:
You find a craps player who's betting the pass line or the don't pass line – but who isn't taking or placing odds.
You ask that player if you can make odds bets on his bets.
If the casino allows this, and if the other player allows this, you can place or take odds without having to make the negative expectation bet that precedes the odds bet.
But this still doesn't give you an edge.
The odds bet is, in the long run, a break-even proposition.
There's a big difference between breaking even and making a profit. Sure, in the short run, you might see a quick profit, but over enough time, this strategy is just a break-even strategy.
A break-even strategy is far better than a losing strategy. I suppose if you take advantage of some comp drinks, it might even be considered marginally profitable.
Why Does the House Have a Mathematical Edge in Craps?
The mathematical edge in craps resembles the mathematical edge for every other casino game. It's just a function of offering bets that pay off at less than the odds of winning.
The easiest example to understand is the even money bet.
Most people realize that if you place an even money bet and have a 50% probability of winning that bet, you'll break even in the long run. By definition, a 50% probability of winning means you'll win as often as you lose.
And since even money means you're betting the same amount you'll win, you'll eventually see results close to a net loss or win of $0, regardless of the size of your bets.
But you don't have a 50% probability of winning the even money bets in craps. The probability of winning an even money bet in craps is always slightly less than 50%.
In this case, the probability of winning the pass line bet is 49.3%, which is close to 50%, but it still gives the casino an edge. The casino will win this bet 50.7% of the time.
In the long run, you can't win with those odds.
And that's arguable the best bet at the table. (The probability of winning the don't pass bet is higher by 5/100 of a percent, but that's such a small number that it's not especially interesting.
What if I Hedge My Bets?
Hedging your bets doesn't work. The idea is that you bet on one outcome, but you also place a bet on another outcome that will compensate for when your initial bet loses.
This sounds good in theory, but it doesn't work in the long run for one simple reason:
Your original bet AND your hedge both have a house edge.
In other words, you're just adding one negative expectation bet with another hoping to get a positive expectation.
But that's not how negative numbers work.
Add any set of negative numbers together, and you'll get a negative sum.
Okay, But What if You Could Control the Outcome of the Die Rolls?
The biggest potential I see for beating craps is learning how to exert some control over the outcome of the die rolls. The idea is that by holding the dice in a specific position ('setting the dice'), and then by throwing the dice without a lot of force ('a controlled throw'), you can reduce the probability of losing by enough to shift the already low house edge in favor of the bettor.
Is this possible?
Frank Scoblete thinks so, but he suggests a lot of hare-brained strategies, so I don't lend him much credence.
But I've also seen Michael Shackleford say that he's seen some pretty impressive demonstrations, and I have a lot of respect for him.
Do I think it's practical to become a controlled dice shooter?
Let's talk about what that would involve in the next section.
What Would It Take to Become a Controlled Shooter?
I've seen being a controlled shooter called different things. Scoblete calls such shooters 'rhythmic rollers.' I've also seen them called 'dice setters.'
The verbs used to describe this approach varies, too. I've seen it called 'controlled shooting' or 'dice setting' more often than anything else.
The idea is to learn how to roll the dice well enough that you can reduce the odds of rolling a 7 by a significant enough margin that you flip the odds from favoring the house to where they favor the bettor. (This assumes that you're betting the pass line, of course.)
The first thing you would need to do to learn how to set dice is to find an instructional video, a book, or a coach. Those aren't hard to find, but I wouldn't spend a lot of money on such a thing.
The next thing you'll need is somewhere to practice. This includes having a realistic craps table with similar dimensions to what you'd find in an actual casino. It also includes having room for that craps table.
Then you need to practice what you've learned from the video, book, or coach on that table.
Finally, you'll need to track your results. This is where the rubber hits the road. To be statistically sure of how well you're affecting the odds, you'll need at least 1000 trials.
And the more trials you record, the more accurate your accounting of your skill at dice throwing will be.
One more thing…
I suspect that dice control might be like other feats of athleticism or skill. Some people just might not have a knack for it. It's possible that some people just might be able to learn how to do it, even if it is possible, and even if they do practice.
95% of poker players lose money in the long run. This means that only 5% get an edge.
My guess is that a similar percentage of dice shooters have the knack for controlling the dice. It might even be a smaller number than that.
Conclusion
Craps is a great game, and I love it. And you can win a fortune playing craps in almost no time at all.
That's because I'm not a liar.
Here's the truth about how to win at real money craps almost every time you play.
Winning Craps Systems
I can tell you where to find the winning craps systems. They're right next to the unicorns in the zoo and the mermaids in the aquarium.
How do craps systems work?
They use a combination of bets that are meant to hedge against losses. They also usually involve raising and lowering the size of your bets based on what's happened on previous rolls and previous bets.
Often, they try to capitalize on hot and cold streaks.
Here's the problem:
Some of those negative numbers are bigger than others, but they're all negative.
And if you double or triple those bets because of something that happened on a previous bet, you still have a negative number.
And yes, you will see winning and losing streaks at the craps table.
The problem is that you have no way to predict when these winning and losing streaks will begin or end. They're only available in hindsight.
The nature of gambling games – craps especially – is to be streaky.
But a streak can win or end at any time.
Here Are 10 Easy Steps to Beat Craps – Yeah, Right
I don't have a problem with writers offering tips for how to beat craps. Heck, I offer tips for craps players in some of my posts, too. My problem is the overselling of these tips.
But heck, even that's not too bad.
What's really bad are people who take your money in exchange for some kind of unbeatable craps system. These craps systems are NOT unbeatable. In fact, in the long run, they can't win.
You can't defeat the math at the craps table by combining various bets at the table. There are NO craps bets with a positive expectation. The closest you can get is a bet called the odds bet which has no house edge at all.
But just because that bet is a break-even bet doesn't mean it can help you get an edge at the other bets. In fact, you're not able to place an odds bet unless you've placed a pass bet first, which has a house edge.
But there's one possible exception to this…
Taking the Odds Bet on Someone Else's Bet
I read a book by Frank Scoblete where he suggested becoming the 'odds man.' I haven't tried this in a casino, so I don't know if it's a viable strategy or not. I do know that it won't get you an edge over the casino.
Here's how it works:
You find a craps player who's betting the pass line or the don't pass line – but who isn't taking or placing odds.
You ask that player if you can make odds bets on his bets.
If the casino allows this, and if the other player allows this, you can place or take odds without having to make the negative expectation bet that precedes the odds bet.
But this still doesn't give you an edge.
The odds bet is, in the long run, a break-even proposition.
There's a big difference between breaking even and making a profit. Sure, in the short run, you might see a quick profit, but over enough time, this strategy is just a break-even strategy.
A break-even strategy is far better than a losing strategy. I suppose if you take advantage of some comp drinks, it might even be considered marginally profitable.
Why Does the House Have a Mathematical Edge in Craps?
The mathematical edge in craps resembles the mathematical edge for every other casino game. It's just a function of offering bets that pay off at less than the odds of winning.
The easiest example to understand is the even money bet.
Most people realize that if you place an even money bet and have a 50% probability of winning that bet, you'll break even in the long run. By definition, a 50% probability of winning means you'll win as often as you lose.
And since even money means you're betting the same amount you'll win, you'll eventually see results close to a net loss or win of $0, regardless of the size of your bets.
But you don't have a 50% probability of winning the even money bets in craps. The probability of winning an even money bet in craps is always slightly less than 50%.
In this case, the probability of winning the pass line bet is 49.3%, which is close to 50%, but it still gives the casino an edge. The casino will win this bet 50.7% of the time.
In the long run, you can't win with those odds.
And that's arguable the best bet at the table. (The probability of winning the don't pass bet is higher by 5/100 of a percent, but that's such a small number that it's not especially interesting.
What if I Hedge My Bets?
Hedging your bets doesn't work. The idea is that you bet on one outcome, but you also place a bet on another outcome that will compensate for when your initial bet loses.
This sounds good in theory, but it doesn't work in the long run for one simple reason:
Your original bet AND your hedge both have a house edge.
In other words, you're just adding one negative expectation bet with another hoping to get a positive expectation.
But that's not how negative numbers work.
Add any set of negative numbers together, and you'll get a negative sum.
Okay, But What if You Could Control the Outcome of the Die Rolls?
The biggest potential I see for beating craps is learning how to exert some control over the outcome of the die rolls. The idea is that by holding the dice in a specific position ('setting the dice'), and then by throwing the dice without a lot of force ('a controlled throw'), you can reduce the probability of losing by enough to shift the already low house edge in favor of the bettor.
Is this possible?
Frank Scoblete thinks so, but he suggests a lot of hare-brained strategies, so I don't lend him much credence.
But I've also seen Michael Shackleford say that he's seen some pretty impressive demonstrations, and I have a lot of respect for him.
Do I think it's practical to become a controlled dice shooter?
Let's talk about what that would involve in the next section.
What Would It Take to Become a Controlled Shooter?
I've seen being a controlled shooter called different things. Scoblete calls such shooters 'rhythmic rollers.' I've also seen them called 'dice setters.'
The verbs used to describe this approach varies, too. I've seen it called 'controlled shooting' or 'dice setting' more often than anything else.
The idea is to learn how to roll the dice well enough that you can reduce the odds of rolling a 7 by a significant enough margin that you flip the odds from favoring the house to where they favor the bettor. (This assumes that you're betting the pass line, of course.)
The first thing you would need to do to learn how to set dice is to find an instructional video, a book, or a coach. Those aren't hard to find, but I wouldn't spend a lot of money on such a thing.
The next thing you'll need is somewhere to practice. This includes having a realistic craps table with similar dimensions to what you'd find in an actual casino. It also includes having room for that craps table.
Then you need to practice what you've learned from the video, book, or coach on that table.
Finally, you'll need to track your results. This is where the rubber hits the road. To be statistically sure of how well you're affecting the odds, you'll need at least 1000 trials.
And the more trials you record, the more accurate your accounting of your skill at dice throwing will be.
One more thing…
I suspect that dice control might be like other feats of athleticism or skill. Some people just might not have a knack for it. It's possible that some people just might be able to learn how to do it, even if it is possible, and even if they do practice.
95% of poker players lose money in the long run. This means that only 5% get an edge.
My guess is that a similar percentage of dice shooters have the knack for controlling the dice. It might even be a smaller number than that.
Conclusion
Craps is a great game, and I love it. And you can win a fortune playing craps in almost no time at all.
But the idea that you win at craps consistently or 'almost every time you play' is ludicrous.
If the casinos thought you had a way to beat craps, they'd back you off the game – just like they do with card counters.
When's the last time you saw the casino tell a craps player he's too skilled?
Yeah, me neither.
Years ago I read an article published by Michael Bluejay about how much better the odds of winning a million dollars in a casino was than playing the lottery.
Bluejay worked with Michael Shackleford, also known as the Wizard of Odds, for several years.
His system was parlaying a $10 bet 17 times. In other words, you start with a bet of $10 and double up after each win. You have to win 17 straight bets to win a million.
Of course winning 17 bets in a row is an extreme long shot, but it turns out that it isn't near as long as hitting the lottery, or even a big progressive jackpot slot machine.
The odds of doubling your way to a million starting with a $10 bet playing the player bet in baccarat or the don't pass line bet in craps is less than 170,000 to 1.
But what if you only want to win $100,000?
What does this do to the odds?
If you use the Bluejay system the odds of doubling your way to $100,000 starting with a $10 bet playing baccarat or craps bets as described above improve to less than 20,000 to 1. If you start with a $20 bet they improve to less than 10,000 to 1.
Starting with a $100 bet reduces the odds to just over 1,000 to 1.
It's clear that these are all long shots, but when you compare them to many lotteries that have odds of over 100 million to 1 to win the big prize they don't look bad.
All of this made me start thinking about legitimate ways to make $100,000 gambling.
You can follow the method described above, or you can try one of ones I describe below.
Some of them are extreme long shots, taking a chance at one lucky break, and others have a better chance to work but may take longer.
The simplest way would be to bet $100,000 on a single event, like red or black at the roulette table, or on the player at baccarat, or on a sporting event.
But when I made the following list I made the assumption that you don't already have $100,000 to gamble with.
1 – Slot Machines
Many slot machines have top jackpots that pay $100,000 or more. Some of the big progressives have a secondary prize that pays this much, and some of the machines that don't even offer a progressive jackpot have top prizes this big.
The odds are long, but often you can risk $1 to have a chance at winning $100,000.
If you don't get lucky and hit a big win the slots will consistently drain your bankroll.
2 – Keno
You can find keno games that offer a top prize of $100,000 or more for a bet of $1.
Keno has the worst house edge in most casinos so just like the slot machines it's not a game where you're going to grind out any profit. You need to get lucky and hit the big win in order to make any money.
3 – Win a Poker Tournament
Poker tournaments run around the world every day. Many of them have small buy in's and small pay outs, but some have pay outs in the millions. Most of the WPT and WSOP events pay over a million to the first place finisher and many have final tables that all pay over $10,000.
It's a challenge to win a poker tournament with hundreds or thousands of entrants, but if you're a decent player your chances are much better than playing the lottery, slots, or keno.
If you enter a tournament with 1,000 players for $2,000 and the top 10 players all win at least $100,000 you have a one in 100 chance of hitting your goal. And if you win the tournament you'll win considerably more than $100,000.
Poker tournaments are hard to win and it helps considerably if you're a good player, but even as an average player you have a realistic chance to do well.
And even if you don't make it to the final table and just sneak into the money you stand a great chance of doubling your buy in or more.
4 – Grind It Out at the Poker Tables
Everything I've talked about so far is based on longer odds. But if you can win on a consistent basis playing poker you can grind out $100,000. It just takes time.
A good poker player can win around one big bet per hour playing limit Teas holdem. So if you play $20 / $40 you just need to play 2,500 hours.
If you play 40 hours a week it'll just take 63 weeks to reach $100,000.
If you play 50 hours a week it takes it down to just 50 weeks.
Of course many variables come into play. You may play at a different limit or play no limit holdem.
But the main point is if you can learn the skills and strategies needed to become a winning poker player all you have to do is play long enough and you'll grind out $100,000.
5 – Sports Betting
Sports betting is another area that allows some bettors to consistently turn a profit. Just like poker it isn't easy, but some punters do it.
The size of your bets and your ability to beat the sports book directly influence if you can make $100,000 betting on sports and how fast you can do it.
The keys are developing a winning system, managing your bankroll so you don't run out of money on a down swing, and sticking with your system.
Though it isn't quite the same thing, some bettors are able to develop winning systems betting on horses and dogs as well. The way to reach $100,000 is basically the same.
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6 – Counting Cards
Just as some poker players are able to grind out $100,000 at the tables over time, some blackjack players who learn how to count cards can grind out a consistent profit over time.
Learning how to count cards isn't as difficult as many believe. Anyone with average intelligence can learn fairly quickly, but using it effectively at the tables and getting away with it are also skills that you need to develop.
Even if you're able to learn how to count cards and get away with it the profit is slow and the swings are still big.
At best you work with an edge of less than 2% and most of the time it's closer to a half percent.
This means if your average edge is a half percent and your average bet is $100 and you play 100 hands per hour you make $50 an hour on average.
But one problem card counters face is they usually can't play for hour after hour at the same table, or even in the same casino, like poker players can do. So it's hard to play 40 or more hours per week. It's possible, but it's a challenge.
7 – Win the Lottery
I talked a little bit about the lottery in the first part of the post, and the odds are the worst you can find on this page. But for a small investment of a dollar or two you have the chance to win millions.
Some of the big lotteries have second place prizes of $100,000 or more, so the odds aren't quite as bad if that's your goal.
8 – Roulette
If you place a bet of $2,857.14 on a single number on the roulette table and win you're up a cool $100,000. And the odds are only 37 to 1 against you, so it's not out of the question for it to happen.
If you don't have that much to risk you can bet $81.64 on a single number and let it ride if you win. If you win twice in a row you win just over $100,000.
9 – Video Poker
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Jacks or Better video poker machines pay 4,000 coins for a royal flush, so if you play max coins on a $25 machines, making a bet of $125, if you hit the royal you walk away with $100,000.
The odds are long, but they're considerably better than most slot machines and the lottery.
Conclusion
Now you know at least 9 ways to win $100,000 gambling. Some of them are long shots like playing the lottery, keno, or slot machines. But a few of them are more realistic like poker, blackjack, and sports betting. They just take more time.
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The games you choose to play and the way you go about shooting for $100,000 depends on how you want to play. If you get a thrill out of the chance at a big return for a small investment you can find plenty of opportunities.
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But if you enjoy grinding out a small edge over time you can do that too. Once you decide how you want to try to win $100,000 gambling you can get started any time.