Yo! Eleven!

Act 30:

“It’s never too late… To Change A Losing Game

We all get in a rut sometimes. The first step is to recognize that. Then refuse to accept it. Vary your life. Explore new things. Set new standards. Take a different approach. If you think you can, you can. Remain positive.” – Patrick Lindsay

Quote in book: “The winner sees a green near every bunker” ~ Anonymous

BTW - This is my second post of the night. I posted a "Bucket List" blog also. Make sure you scroll down and/or go to it and read that, too.

I felt like Mr. Lindsay’s words were leading me to write about the same thing I’ve been writing about, so I’m gonna turn this one on it’s head and talking about “Gaming” as in Gambling! When most people think of gambling and vegas, they think of slots or black jack or poker. When I think of gambling, I think of Craps! My parents taught me how to play and most of the time I play, I win. I just don’t play that often anymore, because it’s so expensive and you need a big bank roll to play the way my parents taught me. Over the years, I’ve had a couple of friends ask me how to play. I’m gonna help you “change your losing game” in vegas/gambling establishments by teaching you how to play Craps. I’ve taught a bunch of people before and I even had a vegas themed new year’s eve party where I turned my condo into a casino w/ stations. Aaah good times… KNeier this is for you… I wasn’t able to teach you when we went to vegas. Here you go!

So, the problem w/ craps is that it’s got sooo much going on, that people get intimidated. Don’t get intimidated. I’m gonna break it down to the most important thing that you have to pay attention to, just forget everything else on the table until you’ve mastered this and you’ll do fine! Here’s a pic of half the craps table. The other half is the exact same.

Forget everything on the table except the Pass Line! Now, when you first walk up to a Craps table look to for the On/Off button.

Wait until the button is “OFF”, then go ahead a put $ on the pass line. How much? On the table there should be a small sign that says “Min Bet = $xx Max Bet = $xxx. If you look up at the picture of the craps table, it says the Min is $1 and the Max is $1000. Typically in Vegas, the Min bet is now $10 or $15. If you go during the week, you can probably find $5 tables, but on the weekends the minimums go up and it’s really hard to find $5 tables especially at well known casinos. Let’s say the table minimum is $10.

Now the button is set to “OFF”, the next throw of the dice is called the “Come Out” Roll. You have $10 on the Pass Line. You win $$ if the roller hits 7 or 11. It pays even money. (This is the only time you are rooting for a “7”). You want the roller to get them all out of the way. You lose your bet if 2, 3 or 12 are rolled. These are “Craps”. Any other number that’s rolled is called your “Point” (4,5,6,8,9,10). Here’s a table to keep things clear

Roll	Outcome
2, 3, 12	Lose
4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10	Point
7, 11	Win

Once the point is set… The button is set to “On” now. Here’s what your “pass line” bet means this... You want the “point” number to come BEFORE a 7 comes. So, ANY other number that rolls… you don’t care about! You are only looking for two numbers when the roller rolls. The “point” and 7. If the “Point” comes before the 7, you win even money on your “pass line” bet. If the 7 comes before your “point” number, you lose your bet. It’s that freaking simple! Once the roller hits either the “Point” or the “7”, the button then gets set back to “Off” and it becomes the “Come Out” roll again.

Roll	Outcome
7	Lose
Any other #	N/A
Point	Win

That is basically how you play Craps. If you just play the “Pass line” and forget about everything else, Craps is so much less intimidating. Now, that’s not really how you win the big bucks, so here’s how you can actually make money by JUST playing the “Pass Line”. Play the “odds”. Here’s how.

Once the point is set... Make sure you put extra money “behind” your bet (behind the line). For different "points", the odds are different. So sometimes you have to put a different number of chips back there, depending on the minimum bet to make the chips work out to a whole number. If I can’t figure it out, just ask the dealers to help you. Just say you want to “play the odds” or “buy the odds” and they’ll tell you how much to put, if you do it wrong. Also, there is a limit as to how much “odds” you can bet. It usually says on the same sign as the Min and Max bet. It'll say “10x” or “5x” odds. This means you can bet up to 10 times or 5 times your bet on the “pass line”. Nowadays, it’s very rare to see 10x odds. 3x, 4x, or 5x are typical. Below is a table of what the “odds” are.

Number	Odds
4 or 10	2:1
5 or 9	3:2
6 or 8	6:5

Based on the table if you play $10 on the “Pass Line” and you’re conservative like me. I just play 1x or 2x odds, The bullets below will tell you how much you'll win. For comparison, if you didn’t play odds and you’re "point" comes, you win $10. Here’s what you could win for just an extra $10. Play 1x odds @ $10.

• Your “point” was 4 or 10, for your $20, you’ll win $30.
• Your “point” was 5 or 6, for your $20, you’ll win $25.
• Your “point” was 6 or 8, for your $20, you’ll win $22.

Here’s what you could win for just an extra $20. Play 2x odds @ $10.

• Your “point” was 4 or 10, for your $30, you’ll win $50.
• Your “point” was 5 or 6, for your $30, you’ll win $40.
• Your “point” was 6 or 8, for your $30, you’ll win $34.

So, if you get a roller who’s getting their “point” You can see how that really starts to add up. That’s my simple lesson on How to “WIN” at Craps. Now, that was just ONE aspect of Craps. That was ONLY the “pass line”. If you go look at the table again, there’s sooo much else going on: Like “Playing the field”, “Come Bets”, “Place Bets” “Hardways”, “Don’t Pass”, “Don’t Come” (wow some of those are dirty… but they are real terms. I promise!) If you’re really interested in more tips and lessons, contact me and I’ll give you the skinny. Or maybe we should just have a Craps night at my place! Whoo! Whoo!

Here's a little tip about how to throw the dice that will increase your odds. You can tell which players play a lot at the table, cause they will do it too. Arrange your dice the same every time. Do it like a free throw. Same motion, same throw, every time! Don't leave it up to chance by having them roll around in your hand. That stuff they do in the movies where you "Blow on it for luck" is just a bunch of crap.

Oh…One last thing any Craps player should know. There are “code names” for all the numbers. Here’s a little guide to help you out, so you can understand what the dealers (or players) are yelling out. Some of these I’ve only heard once or twice.

2	Snake Eyes
3	Ace Deuce or Craps
4	Fo' Sure
5	No Field Five
6	Jimme Hicks
7	7 out or Frontline Winner
8	Square Pair
9	Centerfield Nine
10	Puppy Paws or A Pair of Sunflowers
11	Yo! Or Yo! Eleven
12	Box Cars

Go out and try Craps, if you’ve never played before. Let me know how you do. I would never steer you wrong. It works… When my dad and my brother were on our first cruise, they were the only ones rolling and together they won $600 in 15 min. I won almost $1000 in one weekend in vegas. Just remember, you have to know when to walk away!