TABLE GAMES

LIVE VERSUS DIGITAL CRAPS

What Is The Difference?

For some craps players, there’s no difference between a video game, a digital craps table, and the real thing: three dealers with dice and chips flying across the layout. I disagree, but we get what we get most times in life.

ARIZONA GAME CHOICES

There are four types of craps games in casinos these days. The most generic is a single-player video game where you can make bets like Pass and No Pass, take odds, and bet the Field. The dice totals are computer-generated, and the game rates about a two out of ten on my fun meter.

In contrast, players have enjoyed the “Giant Dice” electronic games in Arizona for several years now. They offer a group atmosphere, players sit at their own monitors, making most of the wagers found on a standard live game, and everyone watches intently as the dice bounce oddly in the plastic bubble.

The downside is that it’s not a table with a shooter throwing the dice; you can only bet a fraction of what you can on a live game, and “It ain’t the same,” as several players have told me. Still, it’s twice as much fun as the video game.

FULL TABLE CRAP GAMES

With the adoption of real craps in Arizona late last year, players can get a better feel for a live game by playing at a digital craps table. It’s full-sized, and players do toss the dice, but there’s a strange disconnect having to place all your bets (under the pressure of a ticking clock) on a video screen at your own station.

The game sports just one dealer stickperson who offers the dice, retrieves them, and calls out the totals. There’s little conversation, no banter, and some boisterous fun. Still, the dealers can offer help if you’ve got questions about the wagers available or how to shoot the dice. But don’t forget the shot clock is in effect!

A real game, the standard offering in Vegas, takes three dealers and a Boxman to handle the action when crowds jam around the table. In Arizona, with the new wager limits (technically up to $100,000 at baccarat, blackjack, craps, and roulette), bets start at a $25 minimum and top out at $2,500 on the new games. There are always three dealers on the craps tables for those limits – and no clock. You can place wagers, take ‘em down, or turn some off on the next roll. Try that on a video game!

If you’ve got questions about a bet, want to take full odds on a wager, or need change, the stickperson will hold the dice up to let the inside dealers handle your action. That’s the service you need on a busy craps game.

But the best thing about a live game is the player comradery, rooting their wagers to be winners. You can be loud, silly, and excited every roll. A bonus is the stickperson’s corny jokes, dice slang like two-way bets (you and the dealers), snake eyes (a single dot on each of the dice), and boxcars for a total of 12.

You probably won’t hear my favorites like “nino-nineo, drunken wino!”, or “niner-niner, Boxman’s a whiner!” But you’ll hear “come-out roll, horn bet, high, low, and yo!” A busy craps game is off the charts fun. $

Writer Al Moe has worked in the casino industry for many years. He has lived and worked in Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe. He also attended the University of Nevada, Reno. He is an avid writer and blogger. His book, “Vegas and the Mob," is available online at Amazon.com. He is also the proud father of four beautiful girls.

A SIMPLE CARD COUNTING STRATEGY

How It Works, How To Play & How To Bet

If a blackjack player knows basic strategy and employs it flawlessly, casinos have about a 0.52% long term advantage, depending on the rules and number of decks used. This means, on average, for every $100 wagered, you would expect to lose 52 cents in the long run.

By learning and utilizing a very simple card counting system, you can reduce the house edge even further! This strategy is very easy to master and play. The system recognizes and keeps track of the two most important cards in the deck.

For the player, the most valuable card is the Ace. Besides being the essential element for a blackjack, it also enables the player to make hands because its value can be One or Eleven. The most important card for the dealer is the Five, because when hitting hands of 12 through 16, it will give them 17 through 21.

HOW THIS SYSTEM WORKS

As the cards are dealt from a new shoe, you assign a value of -1 (minus one) to all Aces, and a value of +1 (plus one) to all Fives. By doing this, you know if there is an imbalance of Fives versus Aces on the upcoming hand. You increase your bet when you are more likely to get an Ace, and bet the minimum when there is a surplus of Fives.

For example, if the cards are dealt for the first hand and there are three Fives dealt and one Ace, your count would be +2 (plus two) for the upcoming hand. (Three Fives at a value of +1 [plus one] each or +3, and one Ace with a value of -1 [minus one], so the count is 3 - 1 = +2). With this information you now know that for the next hand you are more likely to get an Ace as opposed to a Five.

BETTING

For a six-deck game, you will bet the minimum when your count is at +2 or lower. If you get a count of +3 or +4 for the upcoming hand, bet twice your minimum bet. When your count is at +5 or higher for the upcoming hand, bet four times your minimum. Here is a betting chart for a $10 minimum bet six-deck table:

COUNT BET +2 or lower $10 +3 $20 +4 $20 +5 or higher $40

Betting according to your count will reduce a casino's edge because you are increasing your wagers when the composition of the cards for the upcoming hand favor the player, and playing the minimum when the dealer has the advantage.

PLAYING THE HANDS

You must know and play basic strategy perfectly to maximize the reduction of the casino's edge. There is no room for hunches or gut feelings. How much of a reduction depends on the house rules, number of decks, how well you play basic strategy, and how accurately you keep track of the Aces and Fives.

While you will not have a mathematical advantage over the casino using this system, you will be able to reduce the house edge a little bit more than if you were just using basic strategy. In fact, after 25,000 hands you will have a 25% chance of being ahead!

If you decide that card counting is for you and would like to take your game to the next level, I cover card counting in my new book. My system keeps track of all the cards as they are dealt, and has a betting and playing strategy according to the count.

By playing this way you have a mathematical advantage over any casino. Then it will be you, not the house, who has the advantage when you sit down to play. My book How to Become a Blackjack Jedi, by TJ Jorgensen, is available in digital and printed versions at Amazon.com. $

Writer TJ Jorgensen has been a professional Blackjack player for over 20 years. He is well known for his tournament play and has beaten some of the top tournament players in the world. He has also won the World Series Of Blackjack. His newest book “How To Become A Blackjack Jedi” is available online at Amazon.com.