What about the 5 and 9?

[twizforpros]

Hello. I too am new to the forum and have enjoyed reading the posts and tips.

For years I played Pass Line and 2 Come bets with Odds in LV just like my friend showed me. It was a yearly (or every-other-year) 2-day trip for a 3-day stay, and since shooting craps was what I had come to do, I wasn’t very disciplined about leaving after three straight PSOs or whatever; I’d just let my small bankroll determine when to stop playing.

Recently WinStar, an Indian Casino about an hour north, put in two craps tables. Cards instead of dice and you have to pay a dollar Ante with each come out roll (technically the first time you put $ at risk within a point cycle), but the arithmetic’s the same and you can still make the corny jokes. I’m retired now and have even less play money, so I’m trying to learn to play smarter. My first book was an old copy of Patrick’s Advanced Craps I found at HalfPrice books. Recently, based on advice in this Forum, I bought and am learning to use WinCraps, and I have a Kindle copy of Grafstein’s Dice Doctor on my Amazon wish list.

Lots of questions; I’ll ask this one first.

On a recent trip north, I took a hint from a Patrick discussion on getting past the come out roll while playing the Dark Side. I bet both ways on the come out and then decided what to do based on the point. If a 6 or 8 showed, I put single odds on my pass line and placed $6 on the sister. If a 4 or 10, I’d put $10 odds behind the DP bet. This gave me a wallet-friendly (though still a stretch) exposure of either $10 or $11 per hand.

But what if the 5 or 9 showed? Bet right or bet wrong? I ended up placing the 6 and 8 when this happened because I worried I’d be arrested for stupidity if I just left DP and PL bets laying there by themselves, plus I wanted $10 action.

A lack of co-operation from the cards, too much enthusiasm for hard way bets for the dealers and the Ante grind conspired to make this a “losing” trip, but I was proud that I was able to bring myself to take down my place bets after two hits. Gotta eat this elephant “one bite at a time….. “

Any advice on the 5 and 9? Any general comments on playing both sides of the fence like this?

And, which sub-forum is best for WinCraps questions/discussions?

Thanks

[vegasfan2010]

Welcome to this site. You will enjoy your visits here.

I find that sometimes the 5&9 are the most popular numbers. I think you need to see how the dice are reacting. Sometimes they never show up very often.

Tracking the table results should help.

[AtGame7]

You will get a wide variety of answers for this, and rightly so. To each his own. I am currently enjoying playing as a favorite once past the come out roll. How you get past this come out roll is up to the individual. If you are playing pass and don't pass (doey/don't) then I don't care what the point is, I'm laying odds against it.

Personally if I am on a small bankroll I LOVE the Doey/Don't. While it somewhat increases the house edge it does allow me to play for the minimum without exposure to the front line beating the naked DP can take.

As far as the 5/9 go, you have to find what is comfortable/fun for you. Personally I am always laying against the number these days and I'm loving it. Perhaps you can just go with the number if the table is running hot and against it if the table is cold? It's really up to the individual as laying odds on either side should be a zero sum game in the long run.

Good luck.