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Cheap Craps Guide As a man was
walking, a dirty and shabby looking bum asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner. The man took out two dollars and asked, "If I
give you this money, will you take it and buy whiskey?" "No, I
stopped drinking years ago," the bum said. "Then
will you use it to gamble? the man asked. "I
don't gamble anymore, I need everything I can get just to stay alive", replied the
bum. The stranger asked, Then will you
spend the money on green fees at a golf course?
"Are you NUTS! I haven't played golf in twenty years!" The
man said, "Well, I'm not going to give you two dollars...instead, I'm going to take
you to my house for a terrific dinner cooked by my wife." The
man replied, "That's OK!! I just want
her to see what a man looks like if he gives up drinking, gambling and golf!!"
Benefits of
Cheap Craps
Ive long
talked about the benefits of playing craps at low-limit tables. Low bankroll
exposure, low entry-fee Pass Line or Place bets, and low-level multi-stage
regressions or progressions are just a few of the benefits. At the same
time, low-minimum tables usually have a maximum-bet allowance which satisfies all but the
highest of press moves in the event that your shooting gets grooved-in and
starts to throw off innumerable repeaters.
Drawbacks of
Cheap Craps
Cheap tables
generally tend to be busier than their high-buck brothers, but they are also a perfect
place to try out or perfect your game in a real, live casino environment. In addition, in
a multi-table pit where several tables are open, the lowest-limit table tends to get
short-shrift in the comp-ratings game. Floor
Supervisors tend to rate all players lower than their actual bets would warrant. The culprit is
the perception that people at a low-min table are low-stakes players, and therefore
dont deserve to be rated as high or as frequently. This phenomenon varies from shift to shift,
casino to casino, and is also geographically-dependant. On the other
hand, sometimes the exact opposite occurs. In some cases,
the largest player in terms of rail-bankroll and bet-size, will actually be
rated much higher. That is because the size
of his bets so clearly outstrip those of the other players.
If he is a steady toker; then the increase in comp-ratings can
be anywhere from 20% to 40% higher than his action would normally warrant. Another
drawback however, is that cheap tables may not always be open, or the cut-rate limits may
not be available in the lowest-denomination that you are looking for at the time you are
actually looking for it. Finding Cheap
Tables
Most casinos
gauge and set their table-limits by the amount of action or the number of players that are
currently on the game, and the volume they expect as the gaming-day progresses. At other more competitive joints, you will
possibly find the cheapest-limits available 24-hours a day. You also may
have to search out the cheap tables, and be prepared to juggle your schedule to get the
least crowded conditions. That means that
off-hour play is the norm, rather than the exception when looking for
low-buck, frequent shooting opportunities, together with decent comp-ratings.
Cheap Tables
Validate Your Talent
Heres the
reason for taking your show on the road to a low-limit table. Even if you
practice endlessly at home, you still need the challenge and proof of real-game exposure. You may be a craps-wizard at home, but find that
your real-world casino-game falls seriously short. On the other
hand, you may find the casino environment and layout is more accommodating of your
success, and actually corroborates your Precision-Shooting skill-set. Either way,
cheap tables provide the opportunity to validate your skill, or to point up the fact that
more refined at-home practice is required. All of that can be
accomplished while you are in the cheap seats minimizing bankroll-risk. So lets
take a look at these low-priced games.
QUARTER Craps
Playing
solo at the 25-cent level is probably the ultimate cheap way to realistically fine-tune
your game. While it is not often that you
will be the only player at one of these tables, it actually isnt that rare either. Eldorado
Casino Way out in lovely downtown Henderson, NV, this place offers either a
quarter game during off hours, or a $1 game during busier times. The Eldo is part of the Boyd Group of
casinos along with Sams Town, Stardust, California, and the Fremont Hotel. To take
fullest advantage of their 10x-Odds, you have to bet at least $1 on the line. The table is open 24-hours on the weekend, but if
there is insufficient action during the week, you can expect it to close around 3 am and
reopen at 10 or 11 am. The best times to find
their quarter game is during the day from mid-afternoon to early evening. Ive
never received any heat for Precision-Shooting at these tables. Joker's
Wild Also located in Henderson, this small gaming-house also belongs to the
Boyd Group stable. You will find a 25-cent minimum during early hours, but theyll
raise it to a 50-cent game at most other times. In
both cases, you can use 10x odds with either limit. Thats
the good part. The bad
part is that the tables close at 1 am. during the week.
On the weekends, they sometimes relent with a 3 am closing. Table-max is $500 at both Jokers Wild and
Eldorado. Again, I have never received any
heat for Precision-Shooting at these tables. Las Vegas Club Ive written extensively about this casino in my Walking with a Vegas Ghost - Part V article, as well as my piece entitled, Making Adjustments in Craps and in Life. I like playing at the LV Club. Youll only find the 25-cent tables on
Tuesday through Thursday, from 2 am. to 9 am. Otherwise,
expect to find $1 or $2 tables. If you play
at the 25-cent level; then your max-bet is set at $25.
Thats right, they have a 25-buck max if you are a quarter player. On the other hand, they will allow you
to exceed that level right up to their normal $200-max if all of your base bets (PL and Come) are at least $1 or $2. A pretty fair deal if you ask me. These tables take some careful
metering of throwing energy and dice-trajectory. They
vary the thickness of their felt-underlay from two layers of used felt, all the way up to
eight layers of felt plus one layer of 3/8th inch high-density foam. Once you dial-in these tables, they
produce the sweetest grapes on the Downtown LV vine. Hacienda Hotel-Casino Literally in the middle of nowhere, you will
find this recently rebuild hotel located just outside of Boulder City, near the Boulder
Dam.
As you can see,
their craps table is a land-barge. Its
an 18-footer that offers a 25-cent game at most hours.
Surprisingly, it is usually open 24-hours a day, and both their buffet and
coffee-shop are unexpectedly good. I
rarely take the drive out to this table simply because there are better alternatives
closer-by. On the other hand, if you are
doing the Dam-tour thing; then The Hacienda is close enough to warrant a closer low-limit
look.
Edgewater
Hotel-Casino For
this quarter game, youll have to drive out to Laughlin, NV, which is on the banks of
the Colorado River. You can read all about it
in my Laughlin
Table Report - Part II article. There are
multiple free daily shuttles out to Laughlin, which include a free buffet if the 90-minute
desert drive doesnt appeal to you. Their 25-cent
tables are always crowded, but the upside is that there are a couple of very skilled
Precision-Shooters who make their homes in nearby Bullhead, Arizona. They frequent all of the tables in Laughlin, and
their apostles cut their dice-setting teeth at cheap tables like the Edgewaters. At busier
times, they crank the limits to either 50-cents or even $1.
Dicesetters receive NO heat here at all, but they like to move the dice
quickly to grind out up to 150 rolls per hour.
DOLLAR Craps
For me, a
one-dollar table is the ultimate celebration of free-enterprise and
entrepreneurial-opportunity in the gaming business. While the
mega-toilet Strip hotels set their tables at an industry-standard $5 mark, the smaller
houses show some price-point flexibility to attract enough market-share to sustain
viability. Simply
stated, if you dont have volcanoes, dolphins or fountains; then cheap tables will
still bring in the tourists. At the top of
the $1 heap I would have to favor my first selection. Sahara
Hotel-Casino Twenty-four hours a day, youll find one-dollar minimums
and 5x-Odds. Its a large, decent casino
with skilled, but slightly jaded dealers. Their
three tables provide a reliable rolling surface and a good chance for a profitable hand. I
cant tell you the number of times when the patient wait for the dice to come around
to my shooting-position has paid off in handsome dividends at the Sahara. The only
caution I would add is that the Pass Line can get jammed up with chips along with
corresponding stacks of Odds bets. It makes
for a bit of a mine-field for precise and successful dice targeting and roll-out. They book
great bands into the Casbar Lounge and you can hear them clearly from the tables. However, be forewarned, the bar that is right
beside the craps tables is head-office to a large number of hookers who call this place
home, so dont let that distract your concentration. Boulder
Station Being out on the Boulder Highway strip pretty much
guarantees a low-limit table. As youll
see shortly, the Boulder Strip is home to several low-buck operations. Of all
the Station Corporation casinos, Boulder Station is near the bottom end of the
quality-scale, but it is near the top in terms of good roll-quality tables. With 10x Odds, you should only expect
solo-shooting opportunities in the off-off-hours. Even in
the high-action hours during the day, the proficient dealers keep the dice moving quickly. There are a couple of very talented shooters who
frequent this place, and with a $1 minimum bet, it can make for some frenzied action when
the table heats up. El
Cortez You used to be able to find a sweet 25-cent game here, but alas it is no
more. However, both of their tables will always book a one-dollar bet right around the
clock. Top off
your $1 Pass Line Precision-Shooting bets with 10x Odds, especially if your throwing is
grooved-in on their long, but non-bouncy tables. I have covered the playing conditions in
this particular gambling-den even further in my
Master of ALL
Well
Slave to SOME! article. You can
expect to find a hard and worn felt surface, and very few qualified shooters. There are a
ton of note-book toting system players, and even more long-pre-throw-ritual
random-rollers, so youll want to carefully avoid exposing your bankroll to the whims
of random luck. Smiles are as rare as long
rolls at this smoky enclave. Unfortunately, El Cortez players are
also known for their lack of hygiene, and their lengthy and recent criminal records, so
dont be flashing tasty rolls of cash to the hungry masses. Its not unusual to see freshly
released inmates from the nearby Clark County Detention Center wearing their
institutional-issued clothing. As well,
youll see many day-pass psychiatric patients from the nearby mental hospital at the
tables with the plastic ID-tags still on their wrists, and the house-arrest
radius-restriction warning-devices strapped to their ankles. All in all, it makes for interesting play
mates in the craps pit.
Nevada
Palace I have a full report on these one-dollar 10x-Odds tables in my Mini-Table
Craps Tour with the Vegas Ghost Part V" Heres a sneak peek of their
type of excellent mini-tub table.
Westward Ho
Im not a huge HO fan. They have one table which is set at a one-dollar minimum and a
one-hundred dollar maximum. With only 2x-Odds
allowed, I dont play here very often, but if I am in the area, I will occasionally
give it a try. You are
unlikely to find any skilled setters here. Instead,
youll find a steady stream of tourists who are just passing through on a
tire-kicking, daiquiri-tasting tour of the Strip. Golden
Gate This place has some very tough $1 tables.
They can handle twenty-four players at each of their two land-barges. By the way, the rumor is true. If you stand at the end of one of their tables,
you can actually see the curvature of the earth as you gaze down at the horizon that forms
at the far end of the table. I
chronicled this casino in several articles including the piece entitled, Long Tables =
Po$$ibilitie$ - Part III. At busier times, you should expect them to jack
up the minimums to either $2 or $3, with 5x-Odds. My
conventional throwing techniques dont work very well here, but my
Long-Ranger grip and throw has generated sufficient cash to keep me coming
back on a semi-regular basis. If I am staying
Downtown, Ill usually schedule at least one quick hit n run session here
each day. Silverton
Located south of Mandalay Bay, this is the former Boomtown Casino. Silverton provides ample shooting opportunities
because the tables are rarely full. They only
have one craps table, but it is always set at $1 with 2x-Odds, so you can try out your
Precision-Shooting pretty much unimpeded. Ive
never been hassled for Precision-Shooting, and the crew is anxious to please anyone who
tokes. They have an extremely generous
match-play program here. You can pick up a
bonus sheet everyday that you are in Las Vegas.
It contains multiple even-money match-play coupons as well as 2-for-1s
on any Field bets, and a ton of free food offers. You
have to sign-up for their free Players Club card to pick them up. Barleys Brew Pub & Casino Ill have a full report on these
$1 tables in an upcoming Mini-Tub Tour article.
You can look forward to seeing that info in Irishsetters excellent
monthly Dicesetter.com e-newsletter. Fiesta
Henderson The
former Reserve Hotel-Casino is now in the Stations Casino fold, although they use a
separate rating-system from the Stations Boarding Pass players card data-base. You can read about which Players Cards are useable
at any other casinos in my Casino Credit Update - Part III article. You
wont always find the Fiesta tables set at $1. They
sometimes crank up the minimum bet to $2, $3 or even $5 during happy hour, and
then lower it back to a buck after they roll up the sidewalks in Henderson at 11 pm. Playing
conditions are fairly good, but I prefer a shoot n scoot strategy, especially
if the tables are more than half full. It can
take a painfully long time for the dice to cycle the table, even in choppy conditions. Jerrys
Nugget At this North Las Vegas grind-joint, youll find one table with a $1 minimum allowable bet. Ill
tell you right now that they DO NOT like winners here.
They have
nothing against dice-setters, but they cant stand to lose their money to
anyone. Believe me when I tell you that they
actually take it personally. I make
one quick hit n run session here about once every two or three
days when I am in town. I dont wear out
my welcome, and again, they have never hassled my shooting.
They offer 2x-Odds, as well as an excellent comped Prime Rib dinner for
fairly low qualified-play. Casino
Royale I left my other favorite $1 casino for the last. I generally only play at their $1 sit-down
Crapshoot table, and I usually avoid the other two always-crowded 20-player main tables. The whole
Casino Royale subject is covered quite well in my
Mad Professor's Mini Tub Tour - Part II article. Oh, and
dont forget that CR also offers 100x-Odds even on $1 flat bets. Thats right, 100x-Odds are available on
their two main tables. On the $1 Crapshoot tables, youll have to be satisfied with
10x-Odds. If you want to read more about the
100x-Odds subject and what it means to your game, I would invite you to read my,
The Ground Zero
of Opportunity article. In
Part Two of this series, well take a look at more $1 tables, and talk
about the huge number of casinos that offer $2 games.
Each provides some excellent low-cost Precision-Shooting opportunities. Until
then, Good
Luck & Good Skill at those cheap tables
and in Life. Sincerely, The Mad Professor
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