NEWSLETTER

================================================= Thursday, February 1, 2001

Crapshooter and Sharpshooter

I have two articles for you: Split Bets by Larry Edell, the author of the Crapshooter newsletters, followed by the diary of Sharpshooter by Jerry Patterson's co-author of the book Casino Gambling announced last week.

In the center area of the craps table there is an area called "Proposition Bets." These bets have high payoffs and are very popular,but also have low chances of winning. However, instead of betting these numbers individually, players have found that they can increase their chances of winning by betting on more than one number at a time and "splitting" their bets. A split bet is a bet that covers two numbers but only pays off for one of them. An example of this is the very popular "C & E" bet, standing for Craps and Eleven. If you give the dealer "$2 C & E," it means you are really placing $1 on Any Craps (2, 3 or 12) and $1 on the eleven ("Yo").

Any Craps pays 7:1 and the "Yo" pays 15:1. So, on the very next roll only, if the 11 comes up, you would win $15 for the Yo, and lose your $1 for the any craps. In addition, the dealer will give you only $13 back and leave $2 up for another C & E bet. If you don't want this to happen, you need to say "my C & E bet down please," and you will get the full $15.

The Any Craps bet is a different story. This will win if the 2, 3 or 12 rolls, but only pays 7:1. Normally if the 2 or 12 rolls you get 30:1, and if the 3 rolls you get 15:1. But you are paying a little extra to be able to bet on all three numbers at once. So, if you bet $2 C & E and the next roll is a 12 (or 2 or 3) you will get $7 but you lose the $1 Yo bet. Again, the dealer may keep your $2 bet up for the next roll and give you only $5 unless you request that your bet be taken down.

Another popular bet is the Hi-Lo bet (the 12 and 2). Although these are included in the "any craps" bet, the Hi-Lo bet pays more - a lot more.

While any craps pays only 7:1, the Hi Lo pays a whopping 30:1! As with all split bets, this is a one roll bet only. So if you bet $2 Hi-Lo, and the 2 or 12 hits, you win $30 but lose the other $1 bet. Again, call "my bet down" unless you want to leave it up.
If you combine all these split bets (the 2, 3, 11 and 12) you get a horn bet, which lets you bet all four numbers at once in $4 increments. In the horn bet, the 3 and 11 pay 15:1 and the 2 and 12 pay 30:1. But if you win one horn bet, you will lose the other three, and all four bets will stay up for the next roll unless it is taken down.

You can also combine a horn bet with a split bet. For example you can bet $5 and call it "Horn High," which is a $4 horn bet but with $2 on the twelve. A "Horn Lo" is $4 horn but with $2 on the 2. A good use for these split bets is to protect your pass line bet. As you know, the pass line wins on the 7 or 11 but loses on the 2, 3 or 12 ("any craps"). When you make a pass line bet you can now protect it with a $2 C & E (for an extra Yo bet), a $4 horn, or even a $5 horn high bet!

You can receive a FREE issue of The Crapshooter Newsletter, the only newsletter devoted exclusively to craps, just by sending two first class stamps to The Crapshooter, Dept INT, PO Box 421440, San Diego CA 92142. You'll also get a FREE catalog and a special FREE offer!

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Editor's Note: Sharpshooter is one of the two co-authors of Jerry Patterson's book **Casino Gambling** and the instructor of the PARR Home Study Course on Dice Control.

If you like the information in this report, you should purchase a copy of **Casino Gambling** for just $13.95. There are seven chapters in this best selling book on craps, five of which are on dice control.

Chapter 09: Basic Craps
Chapter 10: State-of-the-art Advantage Craps Systems
Chapter 11: Calculating the Player Advantage for Dice Control Craps
Chapter 12: The Rhythm Roll (Dice Control) for Casino Craps
Chapter 13: Betting Tactics for Advantage Craps
Chapter 14: How to Maintain and Improve your Craps Advantage

These chapters give you all the data you need to practice and create your advantage at the craps table. If you become serious about the game and want classroom, dealer school practice and in-casino instruction to complement what you've learned in the book, you can check out the PARR Home Study Course.

It's best to start by purchasing the book. Order **Casino Gambling** from the secure order form.

Please note that a $10 handling and shipping cost is added to the price of $13.95.

I kept a journal on my last trip out to Vegas. Good, bad or ugly, I was going to tell it like it was, complete with Sharpshooter insights. The team wasn't with me on this one, so I had three full days to frolic on the Strip's south side as I saw fit.

7:00AM (EST) - I awoke to the alarm. Happy Thanksgiving! After a shower, shave, etc. I headed off to pick up my brother, Rich. We arrived at the International terminal at about 9:00AM. Check in went smoothly and so did the 3-1/2 hour flight. We arrived in Vegas at 1:30PM, uh... make that 10:30AM Pacific Standard Time. The bags were forwarded over to Ballys, where we were staying. I spotted a driver holding a sign with my last name on it as we walked down "rental car row" in the main terminal. "We get a limo? ...Cool!" my brother responded. "Stick with me, kid, and you'll do all right," I replied. A black limousine whisked us off to the hotel; so far, so good.

2:00PM (PST) - After check-in and lunch, we headed up to check out our room where our bags were already waiting for us. We unpacked and unwound for a half-hour. I set up my practice rig and began throwing the dice. Thirty tosses and only three 7's; I felt good. But then the dice starting "popping" on me a little and I threw three more 7's in the next six throws!

After analyzing the situation, I came to the conclusion that, for some reason, my revolutions on the dice had shifted slightly. Instead of landing flat, the dice were more on edge and were a little too lively. I brought my thumb up a little higher on the grip to kill some of the backspin. That did the trick and I threw twelve more times with only one 7. I felt ready to take on the tables.

4:30PM - We bellied up to a table. I had the dice and my favorite table position ... stick left. I bought in for $300 and began betting $25 units, but after five attempts with the dice, I was almost even (maybe one or two units down). These tables were a little softer than my practice box and I hadn't quite turned the corner yet.

Rich grew impatient and went off to the blackjack pit. I changed tables and got my position and the dice again. This time things looked better. I held the cubes for over 20 minutes. My $300 turned into $700! I had made four point passes and hit several inside numbers along the way. I liked the way the dice were reacting at that table so

I decided to stay, hoping to get the dice back at some later time, with minimal damage to my bankroll. I placed a $30 six and a $30 eight. My plan was to take one hit for $35 and regress down to $18 each. At that point I would only have $1 at risk, but a quick seven out took my 60 bucks. I tried again on the next shooter. Three throws later ... you guessed it -- "seven out, line away," the stick called out. All right, let's try the don't side, but a quick seven on the come out claimed my quarter. $200 later, I concluded I would leave the table with some profit. I walked around the pit, but all of the stick left positions were taken.

6:00PM -- I found my brother at a quarter blackjack table. It was a handheld double-deck game. He seemed to be holding his own. I asked him, "How are the cards treating you?" which translated means, "What's the count?" "Decent," he answered, meaning slightly positive. I put four green chips aside and sat down.

7:25PM -- "Hey, we got to go!" Rich exclaimed, looking down at his watch. "Are you sure? I've got these guys right where I want them!" I replied with a grin. The dealer shook her head (I was up a whopping $25). We hit the cashiers' cage and made a break for the Sports Book.

After we hooked up with a friend, we headed west on Flamingo Road. It was a beautiful, clear night. I could see all the lights down the strip. This is Vegas and as many times as I've been here, I still get excited! We parked the vehicle and walked inside the Rio -- a pretty nice casino -- colorful, but not too overly done. It's a fun, festive environment.

We reached the lounge, sat down, ordered a round and enjoyed a show featuring Nat Turner. He had a unique style and could do no wrong. The audience was eating out of his hands. By the end of the night, he had us all singing Commodores, Earth-Wind and Fire and Marvin Gaye tunes. We finally turned in at about 1:00AM.

11-26-1999 8:00AM -- The alarm went off. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. "Yeah, that's right. I'm in Vegas," I thought. Rich was already in the shower. I skipped breakfast and practice, opting for a shower and a quick cup of coffee.

We went down and found an open craps table. I bought in for $500. I was not able to get anything going, but didn't feel bad about my throw. $300 later we decided to hoof it over to the Bellagio. Messing around with $5 units on other shooters and waiting to get the dice, I dropped $200 before deciding to take a walk ($200 is my normal stop-loss). I was down $285 for the trip now and was feeling a little frustrated. Then I saw an open table on the other side of the pit . . . I'm there! $10 on the pass line and two fast sevens on the come out.

I looked at my watch. It was about 9:30AM. Everything looked good. The dice were coming out together, going through identical motions, landing and stopping with minimal bounce. I established a point of 5, pressed up my odds and came right back with a 3-2 combo, making the point.

Somewhere along the way, the table filled up with excited players, but I hadn't noticed. At one point I remember hearing the Boxman say to me, "Sir, you're making a believer out of me." Unphased, I kept on with my routine -- first the set, then the carefully balanced grip and then the soft delivery.

Finally, because there were so many line bets at the other end of the table, the inevitable happened. One die hit an odds bet and turned off to the side. The seven appeared and ended the party. I was brought out of my trance by a rousing round of applause. I looked down at the racks in front of me. They were filled with barber poles of red and green chips. I glanced at my watch... 10:12AM! A 40- to 45-minute roll! I quickly took inventory... 65 units net! I wish I had pressed up a little more aggressively but, oh well, I'll take it.

"I must have made a dozen passes," I said as I pushed the stacks of red and green forward to be colored up. "You made 10 points," the boss said, not sounding too happy about it. I picked up my purple and several blacks, placed a red chip on the line for the boys and started towards the cashiers' counter. I saw Rich. "Where were you, man? I just had a dinosaur roll," I said, showing off my assortment of colors. "Yeah," he said, sounding disappointed. "By the time I realized what was going on, it was too late.

That table was so packed you couldn't fit a knife blade in there," he lamented. "Well, I probably had the roll of the weekend and was only betting $10 units," I said, sounding a little disappointed myself. By the time I sevened out, I had only pressed up to single green units. Usually, that is where I start.

Jerry's Comment: If Sharpshooter would have practiced first, before the session, as he usually does, and had a normal breakfast, he probably would have played with more confidence, started with his usual green units and won over twice as much. He was in too much of a hurry to get started and skipped the practice session.

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