Your recent question QoD (3/25/2017) about learning to be a dealer intrigued me. Would learning how to deal craps ultimately make you a better crap player?
[Editor’s Note: This question is a response to an answer penned by Andrew Uyal, a new QoD writer and author of the upcoming book, Blackjack Insiders. Andy wrote the following.]
Being a "better crap player" is a pretty fluid concept.
If you mean would you understand the game better, absolutely. Does that translate into being a “better” player? Let’s take a look.
First things first. Craps is a wholly negative-expectation game. Though some bets have a very low house advantage, there’s no way (other than dice control or cheating) to overcome with any strategy the edge against the player. Thus, over time, all crap players are losers. As legendary gambler Nick “the Greek” Dandolos used to say, “The best long-term attack at craps I know of is to play the don’t-pass line and lay the odds. Using that system, I’ve lost millions of dollars.” And as Peter Griffin, author of the blackjack bible Theory of Blackjack, used to say, “An expert crap player is akin to an expert cigarette smoker.”
Now, as far as the short term and entertainment are concerned, even if you spend the money on attending dealer school and learn not only the ins and outs of the game, but the technical skills to deal it, you still need the discipline not to throw your money on the really bad bets. You can go to school and become the best crap dealer in Vegas, but if you can't resist the urge to put $100 on the field and make a $10 hard-10 hop bet, knowing how to pay off complicated wagers very fast won’t do you much good.
A few things often happen to crap dealers when they play the game, or any dealers for that matter. One, they forget everything they know about the game when they belly up to the table and end up playing like any other gambler. Or they know the game so well that they'll devise their own "foolproof strategy to beat the game."
One dice crew I worked with designed the "perfect betting strategy." Everyone pitched in for a buy-in of $5,000, then spread it over many different bets, some bets hedging others. With all the bets they put out, the only roll that would break them was a 10. If any other number rolled, they'd make something like $1,000.
My response to this was, "I see tens roll all the time."
Part of the plan was also to only play one roll at five different casinos — as if a roll of the dice at one casino has a better chance not to come up 10. Needless to say, things didn't go according to plan.
So you can see that being a dealer doesn't necessarily translate into playing the game well. If you want to understand craps better, you can peruse a plethora of websites and books out there that’ll give you good information.
I don’t disagree with Nick the Greek, but for my money, the best bet on the table is the pass line with full odds. It's true that the don't-pass has slightly better odds, but I don't like recommending it, because it's just no fun. Everyone resents you and you have to wait till the 7-out to collect. That's why I usually recommend the pass line. Shortly behind that is placing the 6 and/or 8. Anything beyond those you’re just hoping to be in the right place when the dice get hot.
If you do decide to learn how to deal craps, you're better off getting a part-time dealing job and earning a salary and tokes, rather than trying to make money by playing.
