Four weeks ago, Preacher and Mrs. RollTide4Ever made our first casino trip after a way too long absence. Since that time, I have been chained to my computer writing code for cryptocurrency. If any of you are coders, message me; I would be glad to share my experiences. But i came up for air, so here is our trip report.
Neither of us want to fly until Covid restrictions, which are silly at this point, are gone. So we drove 7 hours to Biloxi. That might sound far, but in Texas terms, that’s much closer to us in The Woodlands than is El Paso, Texas. (FYI, casinos in Texas are on the ballot in the upcoming election, with my support.) Biloxi has 10 casinos in the city or nearby. RollTide and I visited 4, and really enjoyed being back at the tables.
Like Doc and Alligator, RollTide and i take SR1 and SL1 on opposite sides of the stickman, but I’m the southpaw in this duo. Unlike that fearsome dice duo, Preacher and RollTide love crapless. What’s not to like about 6x payout on 2 and 12, and 3x payout on 3 and 11? And, no more wasted numbers! Here’s the rub – on crapless tables, the importance of sticking with the Golden Touch betting method is greatly magnified, including the 5-count. When a table has 10 box numbers instead of the usual 6, exposure is a much bigger matter.
Out buy-in was more modest than ordinary. While we both practice regularly, it had been so long since we had stepped up to a table. Even so, we never left a table without a profit. While the grasshopper has not yet surpassed her teacher, RollTide regularly had 20+ rolls and one 34 roll. My rolls honed in on 40, but then would come the inevitable. And it was not the 7-out. No, my back would give out, and I would have to pass the dice to RollTide. At that point, I would sit in my Rollator, until RollTide’s roll was done, then we’d have to retire. It’s now a month later, and I am feeling stronger, still have a ways to go.
One thing I have tried to instill in RollTide is how to adapt to table conditions. Layouts change, dice change, and players change – all of which contribute to the conditions of a table session. I should also mention dealers, but we had only positive experiences with all the dealers we had a the different tables. On more than one occasion the stickman would quietly step back when I was throwing. Of course, same as Doc and Alligator, Preacher and RollTide tip while we play.
We had a very interesting experience at one table, at a casino we visited on our last day. It was one of the new LED tables. We were walking buy, and we stopped to watch. The action of the dice on the hard glass (perhaps polycarbonate) intrigued me greatly. I could see some of the momentum of the dice being somewhat absorbed, somehow, surprising me. The absorption was enough that the dice never bounced off the table, when I was sure they should. The table was only 8 feet, and SL1 and SR1 were open (which on that table, was Terminal 5 and 6). I looked at RollTide, who said, “Let’s try it.”.
The table minimum was an absurd $1 and the maximum bet was $3,000. So, we bought in, feeding our Benjamins into the dollar validator – just like you would for a slot machine. I was next to get the dice. I entered my Pass Line bet using my terminal. I saw no All Tall Small, but I was a bet called “Hot Shooter!”. If I recall correctly, at 8 rolls it pays double, at 12 it’s triple, all the way to 50 rolls it pays 500 to 1. I dropped a dime, but should have dropped a hundred.
Of course, there are no dealers, just a stickman. And he was in the boxman position. Did I mention the table was only 8′, meaning, with my arm extended, I had under 3′ to reach the wall? I took the dice, pressing down on them as I slid them forward into position. I discovered that, unlike wool and microfiber, the firmer I pressed, the stiffer the resistance between the dice and the LED screen. The coating has an exponential effect on the movement of the dice, vertically AND laterally.
For my first throw, I slowed down to allow for a 3.5′ shot instead of my normal 8.5′ shot (remember, no stickman between SR1 and SL1!). I also lightened my grip for the short throw and to lessen the backspin. As I expected, the LED coating grabbed my dice landing 5″ from the wall, my dice bouncing once with a small hop and full stop. But I underestimated the coating, so neither of my dice touched the wall. The stickman didn’t care. Nevertheless, I adjusted to land 3″ from the wall – that’s all she wrote. After 8 rolls, the table lights ion flames with the words “HOT SHOOTER” parading around the sides. I hit 34 rolls, then came the inevitable “back out”. RollTide also went “HOT SHOOTER”, 20+ rolls. She saw me adjust, and followed suit. She hit the somewhat larger bumper on the backwall, twice, the 2nd ending that profitable roll. The next shooter started with, “It will be hard to follow you two.”
We stayed for three profitable rolls each, Hot Shooter each time, then retired. Also, there are no chips, of course. So, I don’t even remember what the Hot Shooter bets paid me. It was a great and fun trip.
Replies:
Posted by: HardNine on August 5, 2021, 3:36 pm
Great report! I’ve yet to play Biloxi, but have indeed rolled the hybrid table and love it. Horrible rating, but it’s about the $$$. The big issue I’ve seen across the number I’ve played, is poor cleaning of the surface, resulting in uneven response from the surface.
Again, great report, and congrats on the great return to the tables!!!
Posted by: Dominator on August 5, 2021, 4:22 pm
Great read Preacher and a great description of those type of tables!
Did I say great shooting as well?
Great shooting!
Dom
Posted by: Finisher on August 6, 2021, 12:18 pm
Great shooting. Wonder why they use real dice ?
Posted by: Cotton Lob on August 6, 2021, 1:36 pm
Thanks for the details and photo.
Nice to see what is happening out in the world.
Posted by: HardNine on August 6, 2021, 2:56 pm
@finisher, part of the allure to Craps Players is the control they have on the game (perceived or not). Holding the dice is a huge draw once you’re over the fear of the game itself. A significant number won’t play video or bubble craps for this reason, in my opinion. These hybrid tables do have programming to throw virtual dice, and I believe those are running in FL and CA, and I even saw that version in Milwaukee last year in a venue that had removed all physical touch table games when they opened after initial COVID closure.
As Preacher noted, there are a LOT of great aspects to this table. Pace of game is constant as well. It may be slow when they have the timers set too high, but at one of them, they’d set it to stick control and they could hit “Dice Out” button on their console. I’ve done well on those tables. You definitely need to learn the screen to get your bets out, as well as understand what happens under certain circumstances (bets turn on/off and when). Initially, the buy bet, although on the win, was ON THE WIN! If you bought the 4, the 5% was charged ON THE WIN. You could buy for any amount (no $20 min to buy), so if you bought for 10, you’d win 20-5% or $19, but should have been only $.50 VIG to win $19.50. That is now fixed.
Posted by: Preacher on August 8, 2021, 1:28 am
@hardnine Yes, at this Biloxi casino, the LED craps table was Vegas style vig on the win. The downside was that the true odds were limited to 2X. Nevertheless, I still made Come Bets – the primary method for me to control exposure. I don’t care if they allow 1X odds, no way I will go “all inside” or “across” – that’s not how risk is managed. Of course, after the first collection, I press every win by 1/2 the previous bet, and I never regress. My betting method and risk management is built entirely on Come Bets. Some might watch my bets, and point out that I had $1500 sitting on the table at the end of my roll. I’ll agree, say, “That $1500 means I made $3000 getting there, which I would otherwise not have.” But take away the Come Bets? In my opinion, there’s no rhythm to a craps roll without Come Bets.
I have a good friend who believes in having dominant numbers, usually 2, for which I could see a place for Buy/Place bets. My understanding and experience has been that, sure, many times, I absolutely nail the nine (9) 6 to 8 times, and never hit a 5. On more than a few occasions, I nail the 6 and hit the 8 just once. Of course, when that happens, I was very focused, nothing could distract me, I largely landed in the same spot. But, put me on a different table, and I repeat the success the same way as before, I’m hitting a different point more often than any other. With regular practice, my posture, grip, swing, roll out (not “release” but roll out), I’m a consistent factor. But I can’t say I have found any two tables the same.
Of course, the seven to rolls ratio (SRR) is worth knowing, to understand your advantage over the House that you can expect, in the long run. And, if I regularly played at the same table at the same casino, I expect I would see a pattern developing, beyond avoiding the 7 – at least until the layout is changed.
Check with me again after I have been able to keep the same grip and swing for more than a year at a time. Even surgical success requires adaptation. I have tried to convince the Houston VA of the need to maintain a Craps Player Surgical Unit on call, but no success, as yet.
Posted by: Skinny on August 8, 2021, 5:47 am
Some might watch my bets, and point out that I had $1500 sitting on the table at the end of my roll. I’ll agree, say, “That $1500 means I made $3000 getting there, which I would otherwise not have.”
Preacher,
I chuckled to myself when I read your post, especially the part I quoted above. I can’t count the number of times I have heard people talk about how much money I have left on the table. My answer to them is identical to yours.
In fact I wrote an article about this very thing and this next paragraph from that article says it all.
“Whenever anyone looks at the amount of money a good player has on the table when the shooter sevens out and thinks, “Wow, look at how much he left on the table”, they are looking in the wrong place. They should be looking at the chips in his rails. If he is a solid player, I guarantee he has made double, triple or more times the amount he left on the table. If he had not bet more, he would have left less on the table but made far less money. It is not about how much you lost when the seven came, it is about how much you would not have made if you did not bet enough. “
I am ecstatic to see someone who really gets it.
Here is the entire article I called, “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy“
Posted by: Dominator on August 8, 2021, 3:07 pm
That is a great article Skinny and you and Preacher is right about that. One thing we say in class now is you have all those come bets with odds on the table and the 7 shows on the comeout roll and all those odds are given back to you, I say it is like Christmas getting them all back because if that 7 rolled one roll earlier they were gone. That is also why we say DO NOT replace all those bets but start over with come bets.
As far as your friend Preacher on dominate numbers, …… maybe on a particular roll but I challenge your friend to do the math and record 5000 rolls and see if one of two numbers show more than stats say. I would bet not
Dom
Posted by: Finisher on August 8, 2021, 8:56 pm
HardNine I asked that question because they use to have a craps machine that you could set the dice and throw them . They changed the machines to the Bubble type and that along with a different pay for dollars in for points . That now it is hard to become 7 Star .
Skinny and I had many posts about this machine .In the end he was correct about the math but did not get about the coin in coin out thing with points . It seems that more casinos are doing a better job with the points as far as craps goes . On that machine I could get any were from 5 to 75 points in a session , now I am lucky to get one point . So I no longer play it .
Good Rolling.
Posted by: BigCasino on August 10, 2021, 4:39 am
Preacher,
Glad you and the new student got a change to get out and have some fun with live gaming. I can’t imagine an 8 foot table ! Some one like DOC with his wing span shooting from SL1 could almost reach out and drop the dice.
JackD.
Posted by: HardNine on August 10, 2021, 4:31 pm
@Preacher, Absolutely agree! What a great way to play on there. When you know your edge, you know your edge. The 2X odds really stinks, but you work it into your game plan and play the plan.
Agreed especially on the money in the rail as you, @Skinny, @Dominator also noted. That’s the true measure. I see way too many people get all weird and turn bets off, pull bets and/or odds down only to have the roll extend. Even two more hits could cover what you pulled down and you end up in the same place with no further upside potential.
Keep playing the plan! I’m lovin’ it!
