Crap wagers that put you
in lollipop land
31 December 1999
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
On numerous occasions you recommend only pass
line bets with odds and placing the six or eight
on the crap table. How about listing the worst
bets in craps so us rookies can stop playing
them? Larry J.
Below are the list of sucker bets found on a
crap game along with their house edge.
Big 6 & 8 (9.1%)
Hardway 6 or 8 (9.1%)
Hardway 4 or 10 (11.1%)
Any craps (11.1%)
3 or 11 proposition (11.1%)
2 or 12 proposition (13.9%)
Any 7 (16.1%)
Oh yes, those deceptive offerings like hopping-hardways,
world bets, horn bets and insurance type wagers
will get you free membership, courtesy of casino
management, to the tootsie-pop club.
Dear Mark,
Why is it that when you win once, you keep
betting because you believe you'll be lucky
enough to win again? Sally O.
Sally, I will sum it up in two words: euphoric
recall. Far too many gamblers believe in the
adage that you should never go a day without
making a bet because you might be walking around
lucky and not even know it.
Unfortunately, Sally, it is an inane approach to
gambling that generally results in nightmarish
consequences.
Dear Mark,
How important is money management to winning in
the casino? Steven S.
Without hesitation, Steven, I would call money
management the life or death of your casino
visit. What good money management principles
will do is minimize your losses and in most
cases protect your winnings. Furthermore, by
combining sound bets with practical money
management techniques you will always maximize
your chances of leaving the casino a winner.
Dear Mark,
Could you please clear up some confusion about
how the draw cards are actually dealt in video
poker? Are not the five draw cards dealt at the
same time as the first five cards I see on a
screen? Frank L.
Many players, even video poker experts, believe
that the machine initially deals 10 cards: five
up cards that you visually see, plus one
additional card concealed underneath each card
on the screen. Not true. It strictly depends,
Frank, on who manufactured the video poker
machine.
IGT, the largest producer of video poker
machines that you will encounter in a casino,
operates their equipment as follows:The first
five cards are displayed, and any additional
cards needed are taken from the top of the deck.
But IGT is not the only manufacturer of video
poker machines. There are quite a few others
that engineer their machines to work in the
manner you described in your question. So,
Frank, because IGT produces the most video poker
machines in use, a generalized answer would be:
The draw card you receive will resemble kitchen
table poker where the next card being dealt is
off the top of the deck.
Dear Mark,
In blackjack, must your hand include a "black"
jack to have what is considered natural? D Jason
G.
Any two-card hand that totals 21 (an ace coupled
with a 10, jack, queen, king) is considered a
natural.
Dear Mark,
Could you please explain what betting limits are
in a casino? Steve K.
Betting limits establish both the minimum and
maximum amount of money you can wager on one
bet. You cannot wager less than the minimum nor
more than the maximum posted on the table game.
Betting limits vary from casino to casino, pit
to pit and even table to table, Steve, so always
look for a game within your financial resources.
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