How to Tell the Dealer What You Want
Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 3:32 pm
Over the course of our weekend get together in Tunica it became abundantly clear to me that some of the attendees were not as familiar as they should be with the various bets and how to communicate their press or regress moves to the dealer. For example: Why say $10 five, $12 six, $12 eight, $10 nine when you can say it all with "$44 Inside?" So that's a phrase you need to know. I'll list some more of them later on.
You also need to know how to communicate your press moves to the dealer. If you want to increase your $10 Place bet on the five by one unit you can say "Up a unit," or "Five goes to $15." If you want to increase your bet to $20 you can say "Press it." If you want to power press it to $25 drop a dollar and say "Make it look like a quarter." The dealer will know exactly what you want.
If you have an $18 eight and tell the dealer to "press it all the way" you're going to end up with your $21 win stacked on top of your $18 base bet, resulting in an incorrect sized bet of $39. The odd $3 on this bet will end up getting paid even money, so you're giving up EV playing this way.
If you tell the dealer to "parlay it" when your place bet hits he will assume you mean you want to press it all the way and you'll end up in the same position. In fact, the term "parlay it" should only be used in relation to prop bets and even money bets. You can parlay a Field bet, a Pass or Don't Pass bet, or a hardway. I wouldn't parlay a place bet.
Let me take you through some of the common bets and presses. Let's start with:
$22 Inside. That's $5 on the five and nine and $6 on the six and eight. When any number hits it pays $7. Your options are to "take me down," "same bet," or "up a unit." You could also come down on the five and nine and leave just the six and eight working. Or you could utilize my squeeze box play. Example, if the five rolled and pays $7, tell the dealer to bring down the five and make the six look like $18. Another move from $22 inside is to drop $5 on any payoff and press the six and eight to $12 each. Just say "Make my six and eight look like $12 each." There are a bazillion other options, but this should give you the right idea.
Let's say that you are playing the Pass Line and the six is established as the point. You want to bet the rest of the inside numbers. You ask for "$16 inside," $32 inside," $48 inside," etc. Or, if you're like me, you might toss in "$22 inside - high on the eight." That will get you $12 on the eight and $5 each on the five and nine. Let's say you have $48 inside plus the point and the eight rolls. The dealer will cut out $21 to pay you. You can push $16 of it back to him and say "make it look like $64 inside." You can lock up $21 and regress to $16 inside by saying "make it look like $16 in." You can drop $3 on top of the payout and "Press the eight to $42." I like that last one because next time the eight rolls I get to drop $1 and say "Fifty for one."
What if you want to bet the four, five, nine, and ten? Those are the outside numbers. Okay, the five and nine can be inside numbers or outside numbers - depending on how you bet them ($22 inside or $20 outside). One of my favorite bets is $100 out. That's $25 each on the four, five, nine, and ten. A hit on the five or nine pays $35. A hit on the four or ten payps $50 for $1 (vig). That two for one payoff on the four and ten opens a world of opportunity - especially if you like to press in pairs. Let's say you have $25 on the four and ten and the four rolls. The dealer will tell you to drop a dollar and he'll cut out two green chips. You can "make the four and ten look like $50 each," or "same bet" it and have both bets paid for. If you prefer you could press only the number that hits. "Four goes to $50" and you lock up $25. Or you could "press it all the way" and go to $75 on the four. Ballsy play.
This particular sub-board is loaded with press-moves and betting strategies. I encourage all of you to read them and familiarize yourself with the language of the game. Meanwhile, if you have a favorite press play or a way to communicate your moves to the dealer in "shorthand" let's hear it. The newbies can use your help.
You also need to know how to communicate your press moves to the dealer. If you want to increase your $10 Place bet on the five by one unit you can say "Up a unit," or "Five goes to $15." If you want to increase your bet to $20 you can say "Press it." If you want to power press it to $25 drop a dollar and say "Make it look like a quarter." The dealer will know exactly what you want.
If you have an $18 eight and tell the dealer to "press it all the way" you're going to end up with your $21 win stacked on top of your $18 base bet, resulting in an incorrect sized bet of $39. The odd $3 on this bet will end up getting paid even money, so you're giving up EV playing this way.
If you tell the dealer to "parlay it" when your place bet hits he will assume you mean you want to press it all the way and you'll end up in the same position. In fact, the term "parlay it" should only be used in relation to prop bets and even money bets. You can parlay a Field bet, a Pass or Don't Pass bet, or a hardway. I wouldn't parlay a place bet.
Let me take you through some of the common bets and presses. Let's start with:
$22 Inside. That's $5 on the five and nine and $6 on the six and eight. When any number hits it pays $7. Your options are to "take me down," "same bet," or "up a unit." You could also come down on the five and nine and leave just the six and eight working. Or you could utilize my squeeze box play. Example, if the five rolled and pays $7, tell the dealer to bring down the five and make the six look like $18. Another move from $22 inside is to drop $5 on any payoff and press the six and eight to $12 each. Just say "Make my six and eight look like $12 each." There are a bazillion other options, but this should give you the right idea.
Let's say that you are playing the Pass Line and the six is established as the point. You want to bet the rest of the inside numbers. You ask for "$16 inside," $32 inside," $48 inside," etc. Or, if you're like me, you might toss in "$22 inside - high on the eight." That will get you $12 on the eight and $5 each on the five and nine. Let's say you have $48 inside plus the point and the eight rolls. The dealer will cut out $21 to pay you. You can push $16 of it back to him and say "make it look like $64 inside." You can lock up $21 and regress to $16 inside by saying "make it look like $16 in." You can drop $3 on top of the payout and "Press the eight to $42." I like that last one because next time the eight rolls I get to drop $1 and say "Fifty for one."
What if you want to bet the four, five, nine, and ten? Those are the outside numbers. Okay, the five and nine can be inside numbers or outside numbers - depending on how you bet them ($22 inside or $20 outside). One of my favorite bets is $100 out. That's $25 each on the four, five, nine, and ten. A hit on the five or nine pays $35. A hit on the four or ten payps $50 for $1 (vig). That two for one payoff on the four and ten opens a world of opportunity - especially if you like to press in pairs. Let's say you have $25 on the four and ten and the four rolls. The dealer will tell you to drop a dollar and he'll cut out two green chips. You can "make the four and ten look like $50 each," or "same bet" it and have both bets paid for. If you prefer you could press only the number that hits. "Four goes to $50" and you lock up $25. Or you could "press it all the way" and go to $75 on the four. Ballsy play.
This particular sub-board is loaded with press-moves and betting strategies. I encourage all of you to read them and familiarize yourself with the language of the game. Meanwhile, if you have a favorite press play or a way to communicate your moves to the dealer in "shorthand" let's hear it. The newbies can use your help.