Pooh Pooh the Hardway
3 March 2006
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
In craps, is there a difference between a
hopping hardway and a regular hardway? Is either
worth playing? Clint F.
With a hardway, Clint, you are betting that a
matching pair of dice will appear before a 7, or
before two dice of the same total value are
rolled. When the face of the dice are rolled as
2 and 2, it is considered a hard 4; the 3 and 3
is a hard 6; the 4 and 4 is a hard 8; and the 5
and 5 is a hard 10. Using a hard 8 as an
example, you lose if a seven is rolled, or an
eight the “easy” way (6 and 2, 5 and 3, or a 7
and 1).
With a hopping hardway, you are betting that a
certain matching pair will appear on the next
roll. This one-roller pays 30-to-1, compared to
a payoff of 9-to-1 for the run-of-the-mill hard
6 or 8, or 7 to 1 for the hard 4 and 10.
Although all proposition bets like a hardway
have high payoffs, the casino advantage on them
is between 9-11%; far too high to chance them
with your hard-earned money. The only thing
hardways are good for is the house. Besides,
Clint, they don’t call ‘em hardways for nothing.
Dear Mark,
What is the "allowable" size difference in a set
of five dice on a craps table? The reason I ask
is, I got some game-used ones from a casino I
frequent. They are numbered 1230 and 1232, which
I figured to be part of a five number set. We
got bored at work and measured them on our
Coordinate Measuring Machine. We found a .0007
variation from all sides of the pair. David S.
Games management is the second line of defense
when a new deck (set) of dice is introduced on a
crap game. Prior to their baptism, a pit boss
will inspect the dice with a micrometer to make
sure they were produced to a tolerance level of
.0005 of an inch.
The first line of defense is the dice maker.
That manufacturer deals in tolerances of .0002,
with imperfections discarded, making the random
nature of a dice throw a certainty.
The most unlikely scenario is that dice 1230 and
1232 were from different decks. They could be
from a slightly larger than normal set of dies
allowing more tolerance, or they were
lackadaisically inspected upstairs and somehow
slipped through.
Either way, I doubt that the extra .0002”
deficiency from one die to another would affect
the outcome of the rolls. Next time you happen
to run into a couple ten-thousandths of an inch,
just ask ‘em.
Dear Mark,
With super mega lottery jackpots usually being
split by more than one winner, do you have any
recommendations for how to play that would put
you in position to be a sole winner? Peggy S.
Of late, Peggy, there has been single ticket
winners of both the Mega Millions and Powerball
lottery games.
To be a sole winner of any lottery, you just
need to select numbers that nobody else picks.
Simple enough. So, since most people tend to
play birthdays and anniversaries, don't pick all
your numbers under 32. Don’t play geometric
sequences on the card, such as rows, columns,
and diagonals. Don’t play a numeric sequence,
such as 42-43-44-45-46-47, and especially not
1-2-3-4-5-6, since over 50,000 players have
marked that sequence in the past when the
jackpot was enormous.
What I can’t help you with, Peggy, is beating
those insurmountable odds.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "Gamblers
everywhere are eating better these days; even
the buffets--some of which barely used to count
as edible--are serving top-notch nosh." --Buster
Phillips
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