Lesson Eight

How Much Does it Cost to Play?

If you are going to play, you have to pay. So, how much does a craps player need in order to play?

Emotional Bank Roll

A lot goes into to answering this question. Each individual must examine several things closely related. Here are just a few things to consider.

How much disposable income a player has to play with is directly proportional to how much a player can afford to comfortably lose? This goes to the player’s emotional bankroll.
Do not play with money that you cannot afford to lose or if you are uncomfortable risking.
Dice games will have different minimum bet requirements. The player is advised to play the minimum bet that is most comfortable.
Playing money should be kept separate from the rest of your money.
Understanding that with the House Odds, you are not expected to win. How comfortable are you with losing?

The Money in Your Bankroll

You will discover, that when it comes to this issue of how much money is needed for your play, the answers are as varied as the plays them selves. It is recommended that in order to give yourself and your money a fair shot at a game, that you buy-in for 30 units. For a $5 line better with double odds, this would be $150 for one session of play. Add 30 units for every additional bet if you are going to make more than the one line bet. (Place Bet, Come Bet)

Figuring for a weekend trip of playing, a $5 player making one bet, may want to have five playing stakes of $150 each for a total of $750.

Understand, this does not mean that you have to lose or play all the money. You can quit playing anytime that you wish. Play responsibly always!

If you only have say $100 or $50 to play, accept the fact that you enter a game handicapped, under bankrolled. Not a big deal as long you understand that you are not likely to win, or win much. At the same time, you cannot lose much.

Most important is accepting Craps as a game and to play it as a game that cost money just like so many other forms of adult entertainment. Know your limit for loss!

Pay Now or Pay Forever

There are additional costs that can occur. Those costs can depend on how much you want to invest in yourself in order to improve and enhance your level of skill. Knowledge is power. The more tools that you acquirer in your gaming tool bag, the more of a leg up or an edge you will have to help you win. Over coming the House Advantage is doable. Become a savvy player.

Think of it this way; either you can be at the mercy of the casino or you can show no mercy as an advantage player. Learn how with DiceSetter.com!

Stayed tuned to www.dicesetter.com and trust us to keep you informed, on the cutting edge, with support material, books, the newsletter, articles, the Forum, audio, DVD’s, coaches, workshops, gaming seminars and home study courses.

You investment in the education necessary on the front end, will no doubt, save you money over the many years of playing by trial and error. Learn from those skilled and qualified, teaching the game or pay for your mistakes. Really!

Tipping The Boys

The last thing to mention here before we close out Lesson Nine is compensating or tipping the dealers. Dealers really do compare to wait personal in restaurant. They are in the game to serve you. The casino provides the meal, the game, and the dealers take orders and serve up the game. It is appropriate therefore for players to be generous with a gratuity. Between ten and fifteen percent, is measurement by thumb. The percentage could be based on your buy-in or what you win. We leave it to you. Again, kind of like in a restaurant experience perhaps, you tip according to the service and entertainment value.

Here are some ways to tip the dealers:

Ø Dealer hand-in. Simple toss a tip or toke to the dealer saying “For the boys!”

Ø Tip out the lose chips at the end when coloring up.

Ø Tip by making bets for the “Boys”. Here’s how!

a. When betting for the Boys, the casino will not enforce minimum bet requirements. So,

$1 could be the minimum bet on a $10 minimum bet table for example.

b. Make a Pass Line bet and say, ”The Boys are on the Line.”

c. Make a Pass Line bet with odds and say, “The Boys have shoes!”

d. Control or piggy-back a bet. The Boys’ bet is on top of your same bet. This means you control the bet and as the dealer’s wins, you decide to either reinvest the winnings or hand it all in for the dealers to collect. Example: To control a Pass Line bet, put the dealer’s bet on top of your Pass Line bet and say, “The Boys are on my back!” When the bet wins, you can now have double the Boys bet in action. When it wins a second time, your one unit bet for the Boys now is four times larger. Cool! They will like that too. You risk one they get four!

e. Another way to control a bet is with a Hardway for the dealers under control. If you include yourself, you would say, “Two way parlay, Hard Six!” You would then toss a two-unit bet to the stickman. All the profit from a win is reinvested on that hardway number. When it hits the second time, they will love your forever.

Ø There a number of other ways of making bets for the Boys. Because you are usually betting smaller bets, (recommended) the high vig bets are usually favored by the Boys. When the bet hits, it hits big. This being said, making line or a line bet with odds will more likely get the boys the money and in the end, that is the goal.

Ø Consider the money won or lost with dealer bets in figuring your 10% to 15% gratuity.

Take care of the dealers. They work hard at their job and they really do work for you. It is a stressful job as most players do not know or exhibit proper craps table etiquette. Being polite and tipping goes a long way to having an enjoyable session. Winning or losing!

This concludes your Playing 4 Keeps Craps Lessons. We hope that you have learned a lot and that you continue to pursue the knowledge of winning. Thank you for joining us and hurry back soon!

See you at the table!

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The Do's and Don't of Dice