Just finished a Shreveport/Bossier City trip. Overall, the trip was a success. While I did not have any serious extended rolls (a couple in the 20s), I managed the games well enough to pay for the trip, i.e., overall, I netted a decent win given the swings of the games. Most importantly, I learned a couple of things that I can share. If it helps even one of you to play better and take some money from the casinos, then it is worth writing about.

First, for the first time, I got into consistent $50 unit play and, not only did not lose my composure or my trip bankroll, but actually made money. Psychologically, I think that is a breakthrough of sorts. After all, if you can control the dice, you can make more money by wagering more. Apples for apples, A 30 roll hand with $50 units will produce more money than a 30 roll hand with $5 units. You can have some fun with $5 units, but if all things are the same, you are going to make more money with bigger units on the layout. So, stepping up to a bigger level of risk was a big step for yours truly. I plan to go ahead and park at that level for a while until multiple green chips on the numbers become as second nature as red chips on the numbers.

Second, I’m learning that for me, I should not go big the first turn at the table. Personally, I get the first play jitters for whatever reason. This trip, I dug myself a big hole on the first foray but as this post suggests, I finally dug my way out with disciplined play. I am the type of player who needs to settle into the atmosphere and the pace of casino play before going big.

Third, the set of the dice is important, IF you know what numbers a set is likely to hit for you, above random expectations. A turning point in the trip happened when I had two turns with the dice using one particular set. Both turns, I got 3 heavy numbers up and sevened out before hitting any of them. (When you have more money on the layout, you also can lose more!) Statistically, I have determined that one of the sets I like to use hits a lot of 6s and 8s. As I waited for the dice to come back to me, I decided to stick to one major rule I have. Three tries only. If there is no result after 3 hands, walk away and come back later. I looked at the chips in the rail and realized I did not have enough money left to play three $5 natural bets with 10x odds. Knowing I had a statistically confirmed 6/8 set in the tool kit, I decided to play the last hand with that hybrid set. I had yet to use it in a casino despite the fact that it performed very well over the last 2500 rolls. As it turned out, the math for that set was validated in live play. I took a $5 PL bet on the 5 with no odds and placed the 6 and 8 for $60 each. There wasn’t much left in the rack after that was done. I swallowed hard and began to try to throw the best shot I had. The set began yielding one 6 or 8 after another. Pretty soon, I was back even and just kept playing. Nothing will settle you down faster that racking up some wins! Once I got my table stake back, I started racking $50 on every hit and placing $20 on the 4 open numbers, beginning with the point. In a few hits, the box was covered with $50 unit bets. I got the 4 up to $100 and hit it a couple of times. I bought the 4 and 10 even though the house was charging the vig up front. Still a little better than placing it. To make a long story short, that session put me in positive territory and I didn’t look back from there. I don’t think the count got much above 20 or 25. It just hit a lot of numbers.

Fourth, I learned a second game….video poker… and, using the Stickman’s play card without deviation vs a 9/6 Jacks or Better game, I actually won money and built some points up. With correct play in this low variance game, I actually think you can make some money at VP. I haven’t learned how to bet the game yet other than to always go to at least 5 units. What I mean is that with craps, you know when to press, how to judge what is a good win for the BR at risk, what is a reasonable win expectation for a given investment, etc. It ‘seems’ that on a $1 unit machine, if you put $200 into the thing and play 5 units correctly, you can make $25 – $40 on a session almost reliably. Another thing I tried to do on one occasion when I hit a nice run was to use a trailing stop loss method to protect the profit, similar to a stock investment. For example, if you’re up 100 units, keep playing but stop if you drop down to 50 units. If you keep winning and go to 200 units up, move the stop loss up to 150 units, etc. Seemed to work pretty good in a game where your own discipline rather than a 7 ends the game. And, you can rest up and play for a long time when you play right.

But, this is a craps post, so enough VP. I’ll discuss that on the ‘Other Games’ board.

Finally, this time, my squeeze went with me, and we had some great dinners and nice wine. I’ve got a couple of nice places to eat now that I didn’t know about before.

Not really an exciting trip report compared to recent ones from Vegas, but this game is a game to be played, not mastered. Had fun and learned some new stuff. Didn’t see or hear from any other DCs while I was there. Usually, you see one or two at a table somewhere in La., but not this time. Southern gaming is definitely a different thing than Vegas, but it is really great. If I didn’t have to drive so far, I’d play with my southern friends all the time in La.

No more live gaming for me until November and December when there will hopefully will be a little team play with the Griz, Breeze and whoever else shows up.

Well…whatever you do guys…

Keep On Rollin’

Alamo

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