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Crapless Craps
-by heavy
You may have run across it at the Stratosphere in Vegas. Or was on some backwater boat in Mississippi? Or maybe it was at that Indian casino you visited
on vacation. Its called Crapless
Craps. Many players like this game, yet after
thirty years on the market, Crapless Craps is still difficult to find. Why? Primarily
because it is a proprietary game, which means casinos must pay a licensing fee to use the
layout. But theres also a certain
amount of player - and casino - reluctance to accept the game. Part of this comes out of confusion over the
payout schedules - still another set of numbers for dealers and players to learn. Then theres the vig substantially
higher than at the traditional game. Nevertheless,
Crapless Craps can be a profitable game for the skilled dice setter who plays the
best bets, then arranges his dice accordingly.
The basic Crapless Craps game is quite similar to traditional bankers craps,
however it does have a few unique variations. First
off, theres the addition of four new point numbers.
The 2, 3, 11, and 12 are point numbers in this game.
Since it is crapless, you cannot lose on the come out roll. But you dont automatically win on the eleven
either, so the only way to win on the come out is by throwing the seven. Traditionally, the best set for throwing the seven
is the hard 10 set with the 3/4 on the side. But
well get into this more later.
At first glance the Crapless idea looks good. Youre
giving up one natural, the 11, to avoid three
losers, the 2, 3, or 12. Remember, though,
that the probability of hitting a point of 2 or 12 is only 1/7, and the probability of
hitting a point of 3 or 11 is only 1/4. In
fact, giving up that sure winner on the eleven for a shot at winning on the 2, 3, and 12
boosts the house edge on the pass line to a whopping 5.382%. Placing single odds will reduce the vig to 2.936%. Double odds reduces it further to 2.081%. But it is not until you get to 5X odds that the
vig gets halfway respectable down to 1.042%.
However, most of these games offer nothing better than double odds. Therefore, the pass line bet should be avoided
unless you are shooting the dice.
Lets take a look at the true odds
aspect of these new point numbers at Crapless Craps. The true odds of any point rolling are based on
the number of ways that point can be rolled in relationship to the number of ways the
seven can be rolled. Imaging you have $5 on
the line and the shooter establishes the twelve as his point. You place full double odds behind the line bet
and have a total of $15 in action. What would
be the correct pay off if the shooter made the point?
There is one combination of the dice that adds up to twelve. The six-six.
But there are six combinations that add up to seven. They are one-six, two-five, three-four,
four-three, five-two, and six-one. Therefore,
the correct true odds on the twelve are six to one. In
our example, if the shooter made his point we would be paid $5 for our line bet, and $60
for our $10 free odds bet, for a total payoff of $65.
TRUE ODDS PAY-OFF FOR
CRAPLESS CRAPS
2 or 12 |
Pays 6:1 |
3 or 11 |
Pays 3:1 |
4 or 10 |
Pays 2:1 |
5 or 9 |
Pays 3:2 |
6 or 8 |
Pays 6:5 |
As you can see from the above chart, if the three or eleven is established as the
point, the correct true odds payoff is three to one.
Using the same example as above, a five dollar line bet with double odds would pay
a total of $35, five for the line bet and thirty for the free odds bet. The rest of the numbers pay the same as in a
traditional game. Sounds good, right? But remember, the elimination of the eleven as a
natural increases the vig in this game. A
pass line or come bet with double odds carries a toll of
2.081% compared to 0.60% in the traditional game.
Again, the line bet should be avoided until its your time to shoot the dice. Still, you should know the correct pay-off for
those times when you are shooting the dice. This
will also come into play with your buy bets - which we will get into later.
Now lets take a look at place betting for Crapless Craps. Obviously, the traditional 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10
bets are played and paid exactly the same as in a standard game. The vig on these bets is no different than what
you are used to. The major difference in this
game comes with the placing of the extreme outside numbers, the 2, 3, 11, and
12. The pay off odds for place bets on these
numbers is as follows:
EXTREME
OUTSIDE PLACE BET ODDS
2 or 12 |
Pays 11:2 |
3 or 11 |
Pays
11:4 |
As with the five and nine you must bet an even amount of money to get a correct
pay off on the extreme outside numbers. On a
five dollar table the minimum correct bet on the two or twelve would be six dollars. For a correct pay off on the three and eleven you
would place eight dollars. Placing an
incorrect amount will result in a reduced payoff, which increases the already considerable
vig. The
11:2 payoff on the 2 and 12 yields a house edge of
7.143%. The 3 and 11 run a close
second with an edge of 6.250%. That is why most veteran players buy
the extreme outside just as they would the four and ten.
A Buy bet is similar to a Place bet except that you pay a 5% commission up-front in
exchange for receiving a true payoff if it wins. The commission is based on the amount
wagered. For example, if you wanted to make a $20 Buy bet on the number 11, you'd put down
$21 in the Come area and tell the dealer "Buy the 11". He or she will move $20
to the number 11 point box and place a BUY button on top it. The extra $1 (5% of $20) is
the vig for the house. The result is that you'll win $60 (3:1) instead of $55 (11:4) for a
place bet in the same amount. If your bet
wins and you want to keep it up, you'll have to pay the dealer another $1 commission. The
vig is returned if you remove the bet before it wins or loses.
Casinos have long allowed green chip bettors to buy the four and ten for $25 and only pay
a $1 vig. Since most casinos dont keep
fifty-cent chips at the table, the vig is traditionally rounded up or down
depending on the size of the buy bet. Because
of this rounding policy, you can often buy a number for as much as $30 and still pay only
$1 for the privilege. In some jurisdictions,
casinos are even more generous. Most
Mississippi casinos, for example, will allow you to buy a number for as much as $39 for a
$1 vig. That reduces the commission from 5%
to 2.56%. The very best casinos will fix the
break point at $39 and only charge the vig after the bet wins, which reduces the house
edge even further. The thing to remember is
that the vig not only varies from casino-to-casino it can vary from box man-to-box
man within the same casino. If you do not ask
for a better deal you will not get it.
Lets review the best bets in Crapless Craps.
Number one on the list is placing the six and eight - with a vig of 1.51%. Next on the list is the pass line with double odds
- which carries a vig of 2.08%. Last of all
is pushing the house for a better buy on the extreme outside numbers - which can get the
vig as low as 2.56%. Now lets move on
to the basic Crapless dice setting and betting strategy.
Strategies for Crapless Craps vary. Most
veteran players avoid the game entirely. However,
a few controlled rollers have found a solid way to attack this layout. The one I see most frequently requires a minimum
pass line bet with odds, placing the six and eight which bear the same 1.51% vig as
the traditional craps game then buying the extreme outside numbers the 2, 3,
11 and 12. In some jurisdictions - those
where casinos keep half-dollars in the bank so players can get a correct payoff you
can buy the extreme outside numbers for just ten dollars each and pay a fifty cent vig on
each number. So your total action for this
strategy including pass line, double odds, placing the six and eight for $12 each
and buying the extreme outside numbers for $10 each is $79 plus the $2 commission.
A strategy for players with less bankroll to work with
might be to place the extreme outside numbers for $6 and $8 each, then buy them out of the
payoff on the first hit. However, the vig on
this bet is substantially higher than on the buy bet.
Whenever possible, it is best to pay the additional $12 plus the commission for a
correct payoff. Remember, too, that
money management is the cornerstone of any good betting strategy. With that in mind, plan to incorporate at least
one regression move in your play, with an eye toward locking up a small win or minimizing
potential losses. But any good strategy
should focus on signature numbers for the dice arrangement to be used.
Since the game is
crapless, on the come-out roll you want your best shot at hitting a seven
or establishing a point of 2, 3, 6, 8, 11 or 12.
The recommended arrangement for these numbers is the hard-ten set the
5-5 up, the 6-6 and 1-1 facing up and down table, the 3-4 on the sides. When rolled on axis, four out of sixteen possible
combinations of the dice add up to seven, four combinations yield the six or eight, while
six out of sixteen combinations add up to an extreme outside number. Thats one way to make the two or twelve,
and two ways to make the three or eleven. If
you score a seven on the come-out roll great.
If you get up on any of our favored points thats great, too. Youll want to play maximum free odds behind
your line bet in order to reduce the vig and take advantage of the huge potential payoffs
on these numbers. But once the point is
established you should change your set for the balance of your roll.
Assuming you are successful in
establishing one of your preferred points, the correct dice set is one you are all
familiar with by now - the crossed-sixes. In
this arrangement, one die has the 3-4 on the sides, and the other has the 5-2 on the
sides. Rolled on axis, this set reduces the
number of combinations that add up to seven from four to two. You have one way each to make the two, three,
eleven and twelve, plus two ways each to make the six and eight. Thats a total of eight ways to win versus
two ways to lose on the seven.
So next time youre at Sams
Town in Tunica, The Isle of Capri in Kansas City, or yes, even the Stratosphere in Vegas
step up to the old Crapless game, wait for the dice, put five on the line and give
it a whirl. With a little luck and a lot of
skill it might be the most fun youve ever had shooting dice.
Back To Heavy On...
Copyright 2001 by Stephen Haltom - all rights
reserved.
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