Best places in LV for craps

[grouchie]

going to Vegas at the beginning of May and while mostly playing NL Holdem I have been setting money aside for other delights.

One of the things I want to do is play a decent amount of Craps as it always seems to be an exciting game. Whenever I get a chance to go to a casino i've been watching and played a little bit last night for the first time while having a deal explain some stuff to me.

All in all a good time.

So, I ask, where are the good cheap games in vegas if anyone that looks in this forum plays.

[Yeknom58]

If you ask me the best place downtowm or on the strip is the plaza downtown.

3$ pass line with 10X odds. There are places with more odds but I didn't see the 3$ pass anywhere else. If you go to some place off the strip of downtown you may find cheaper games.

[chucksim]

Downtown the Golden Gate had a $2 (10x) craps game going one night last year when I was there. Dollar chips, so you still had to bet $6 to place the 6 or 8. It was funny that the table was jammed and they raised it to a $3 game....table CLEARED OUT. For one lousy dollar, people up and ran. Most of them were placing $6 or $12 6's and 8's and only taking single odds anyway!!!

About 5 years ago, I went to the Gold Coast in the afternoon and they had a $.25 game going!!! $1 minimum on the line, not sure of the odds, but they played with quarter chips, so bets on the 6 and 8 were $1.50. $40 buy in lasted all afternoon into the evening, walked away with about $90, and got hammered in the process!!!

Sadly, the last few times I've gone looking, the game was nowhere to be found. Unlike AC, however, $5 games abound in a lot of nice casinos, though.

[grouchie]

this is good to hear, the casino nearest me the min is $10.

I'm likin this 5 and under idea.

thanks for the replies

[Photoc]

There are 2 joints in Henderson that offer 1.00 craps with 10x odds. They use .25 cent chips to offer real payouts. 1.50 place on 6 or 8 pays 1.75 (7 to 6). Be forewarned, these are breakin joints, but usually a boxman/floor/pit boss is there to insure the dealers are doing things properly, but they are just learning. This will not be a fast game.

The Eldorado (http://www.eldoradocasino.com) on S. Water St. will be easier to get near the table and comp pretty easily for an hour of play.

Jokers Wild (http://www.jokerswildcasino.com) on Boulder Highway and Warm Springs will have the same 15 local yocals grinding out their 1.00 pass/dont pass and 1.00 come with min odds all day, but still fun to play.

[PhatCasino]

what exactly is Dice Control? is it a myth or do people actually do it and get backed off from craps?

[bkfizz02]

Was there about a year ago and found a nice 3$ pass bet game at the Imperial Palace. The blue tables were kind of weird, but you get used to it when the money is rolling in. They didn't offer grandfathering when the limit changed, but it was nice because the house kept paying us.

Also, I don't recall the odds being much better than the standard strip 3,4,5X .

Have fun. /images/graemlins/spade.gif

[lefty rosen]

Dice control is manipulating the dice where you roll anything but a 7. It does work but not many people can do it.......

[PhatCasino]

[ QUOTE ]
Dice control is manipulating the dice where you roll anything but a 7. It does work but not many people can do it.......

[/ QUOTE ]

have you ever seen a pit boss back a shooter off for dice control like they would for counting cards?

[jrobb83]

Casino Royale on the strip has a $2 pass line bet with 100x odds.

[PhatCasino]

[ QUOTE ]
Casino Royale on the strip has a $2 pass line bet with 100x odds.

[/ QUOTE ]

2x,3x,4x odds etc.... how does the odds bet work?
thanks

[Luv2DriveTT]

[ QUOTE ]
Casino Royale on the strip has a $2 pass line bet with 100x odds.

[/ QUOTE ]

Check out the Stations casinos. Photoc & Al_Cappone to one about 10 mins North-East of Freemont on the highway, that had $2 passline and 100x odds.

TT /images/graemlins/club.gif

[jrobb83]

Pick up Mason's Fundamentals of Craps for a good, easy to read explanation of all the bets.

Basically the odds bet is an additional bet you make behind your pass or don't pass line bet. While the house has an edge over the pass line bet, it does not have a built in advantage over your odds bets. So the larger your odds bet is relative to your pass line bet, the lower the house advantage over your total bet. So if you are betting $200 a roll at craps in the bellagio with 3x4x5 odds, the house has a much larger advantage over you than if you were playing at Casino Royale and taking full advantage of the 100x odds, and making a $2 pass line bet and taking odds for $200.

The house advantage over your $200 bet at Casino Royale is negligible; the only reason they offer those odds is because it's a low-roller joint and very few people take advantage of the high odds allowed.

[Photoc]

[ QUOTE ]
Check out the Stations casinos. Photoc & Al_Cappone to one about 10 mins North-East of Freemont on the highway, that had $2 passline and 100x odds.

TT

[/ QUOTE ]

Incorrect there sir. That was Boulder Station and it was $2 line with 10x odds, not 100. But we still had a great time. I got bumped up a level in their player card system. I'm a "gold" member now! hehe I think the comps come a bit quicker now but I still need to show activity.

Boulder Station is right off the Rt 95 (I 515) exit for Boulder Highway.

[lefty rosen]

No I haven't but I have only seen one guy even try this. I'm not a regular at the craps tables. This guy was semi-sliding and putting the dice on numbers. He claimed that he was going to be asked to leave the man won about 6K and made about 20 passes in a row. I don't know if he was very good or lucky but I do know it's possible.......

[Yeknom58]

"This guy was semi-sliding"

If the pit boss requires you to hit the back wall while throwing I think dice control is 100% impossible.

[lefty rosen]

Yeah he never hit the wall he did toss the dice reasonably far though but they never touched the wall which technically is illegal. There is a reason why the craps walls have spikes on them.......

[kenberman]

100x odds, loud music, great location, packed with lots of drunks.

great place.

Like I said, it gets really crowded there, so you have to go on "off" times.

[Luv2DriveTT]

[ QUOTE ]
Incorrect there sir. That was Boulder Station and it was $2 line with 10x odds, not 100.

[/ QUOTE ]

hmm... I could have sworn it was 100. I was coughing my guts out that day (still am by the way, problem is chronic sinusitis) so I might have missed it.

TT /images/graemlins/club.gif

[ThaHero]

Other than Mason's book, are there any other books on craps that are worthwhile? It seems some people win big here, even though I thought it was slightly +EV? I believe this, blackjack, poker, and video poker will be the only games I play when I go to Vegas. Maybe not even blackjack.

[chucksim]

[ QUOTE ]
Other than Mason's book, are there any other books on craps that are worthwhile? It seems some people win big here, even though I thought it was slightly +EV? I believe this, blackjack, poker, and video poker will be the only games I play when I go to Vegas. Maybe not even blackjack.

[/ QUOTE ]

The only craps book I ever bought (years ago) was John Patrick's Craps. Should have left the "s" off of the end to be more accurately titled. Horribly condescending tone through the book. Explained the game OK enough, but his betting systems aren't worth much.

I should look at Mason's book, but I never bought another Craps book because it's simple enough for me to have fun and lower the expectation as much as possible (for me)...pass line, odds as high as is comfortable, place the 6 and 8. You'll never get the edge, so there's not much more to know, IMO.

Love the game for excitement, though. When in the pit, I only play Craps and Pai Gow Poker anymore. PGP is significantly -EV, but it is low variance, so you can bet big and get hammered without a ton of risk. Free booze and staying up a bit on the comp ladder is definitely +EV for me.

[grouchie]

Yeah, i've been reading through John Patrick's Crap book as well.
He does have quite the condescending tone and when he goes over a strategy that he doesn't like, it's pretty damn obvious.
He appears to have problems being objective, though he writes about a couple of things he doensn't particularly like and says something like "Why you'd want to play like this when obviously my way is better is beyond me."
Doesn't use those exact words, but i'll be damned if that's not what it feels like he wanted to write.

What I really liked about the book was that he stressed bankroll considerations and gave what he felt your bankroll per session would have to be to bet certain ways.

[ThaHero]

Thanks for the heads up guys!! ^^^^

I know that Craps is still -EV but it's one of the lower ones correct? I just plan on getting on a hot table and riding it for a while, not risking too much money on Craps. Plus it's so exciting. It's definately better than Slots IMO. But of course most of my (hopeful) winning will be from Poker. Just wanted to get some alternatives.

[tylerdurden]

[ QUOTE ]
I know that Craps is still -EV but it's one of the lower ones correct? I just plan on getting on a hot table and riding it for a while...

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL. I know that the lottery is -EV but I just plan on winning.

[grouchie]

Craps is a slightly -EV game from my understanding. But, in the casino, it has one of the lowest house edges if you bet properly.
Much like you, I plan on winning most of my money through poker when I hit Vegas, but really, how can you not be drawn to the excitement of the craps game.

Last time I played, I went on a hot roll and made some chick over 200 bucks (i know that doesn't sound like much, but she bought in for 40 bucks).

[chucksim]

Agreed. Patrick's best points are stressing proper bankroll requirements and some of his money management points. It is refreshing to hear someone talk about how much you really need to play these games. The pits would be empty if people really realized that, though.

The rest of Patrick's stuff....meh....

[Photoc]

Woa, slight thread derailment here, lol. Went from best locations...to book discussion. Isn't there a forum for that stuff? hehe

[Phat Mack]

I was playing a .25 game at Railroad Pass, out towards the Dam, a couple of months ago. Went with some craps dealers who got into an "obscure bet" contest, and had a blast. I think I also saw some daytime quarter games at the Station casinos.

Now if only someone tell me where to find the mechanical horse races...