What is the 'Best' Progression for You?

1. Craps Place Bet Vs Buy

You have read the books, you have taken the class and you have practiced your throw religiously for several weeks. You are finally to the point where you feel you can go attack the casino and make a 'withdrawal' at the craps table. When you finally arrive you notice a table that has your position available and it is not very crowded. You move to the table, buy in and the dice are about to be passed to you. You focus on the dice in the center of the table; determine what you need to do to quickly set the dice. The stickman slides the dice in your direction. You quickly set them, focus on your spot and launch them. They travel beautifully together, land softly, touch the back wall and die together. Your point is established and you place the six and eight for $12 each. You continue to roll for who knows how long. You are completely in the zone, hitting number after number. You are oblivious to your surroundings. All you energy and attention is on the dice. Eventually you are pulled from your zone by the inevitable words: 'Seven-out, line away.' You look at your watch – you have been rolling for 35 minutes. You are ecstatic. Everything has worked just the way you dreamed. Then you look at your chip rack and put the haphazardly placed collection of chips in order and count them. You find you are up 15 units. This is great, you think, but with a 35-minute roll it should have been more. Then it dawns on you – you did not press your bets.

Players have the option to make either a Buy 5 or Place 5 bet, or a Buy 9 or a Place 9 bet. It confuses many players which of these wagers is a better option. Making the proposition more difficult is the fact that the Buy or Place bets each can offer a better house edge in certain circumstances. The net payoff is the same (i.e., $35) for both bets, but with the Buy bet, you risk only $24 instead of risking $25 with the Place bet. When the shooter rolls a losing 7-out, you lose $25 with the Place bet; whereas, you lose only $24 with the Buy bet. Why would you give the casino that extra dollar?

This is a very common occurrence among those who are reasonably new to careful shooting. You get into the zone and just don’t think about anything but throwing the dice. What you need to do is find a way to increase your bets and do it in a nearly automatic way. There are many progression methods available, but many of them require some mental gymnastics that tend to throw you out of the zone. Keep in mind that it is always prudent to only increase your bets on profits. If you are betting the six and eight, you will need at least two wins – three is better – before starting any progression. If you are betting the inside numbers you need three to four wins before increasing your bets.

Two of the simplest progressions are the press-and-pull (or the pull-and-press variant) and the up-a-unit. As the name implies, the press-and-pull progression alternates between pressing the place bet when the number hits and pulling the profits when it hits. For example you place a $6 six. The first time it hits you take $6 of the $7 you win and press the six to $12. The next time a six rolls you take the $14 win (pull) and put it in your rack. Next hit on the six you use $12 of you $14 win and press the six to $24, etc. Since the dealer automatically knows the amounts you need in order to press a bet, the only thing you need to remember is whether you want to press or pull. This can be easily tracked by putting the same number of chips as you have place bets flat in the chip rack beside each other. For the press-and-pull progression have the chips pointing toward the table – indicating that you want to have the money go in that direction when the number hits. Once you press a bet, flip the corresponding chip to face you – indicating that you want to money to go in your direction when it hits the next time. Keep alternating as it hits.

The up-a-unit progression adds one unit to the place number each time it hits. Using the same $6 place bet on the six, the first time the six hits, you say 'up a unit, please' and the dealer will put $6 of your $7 win on the six and give you $1. The next time the six hits, the dealer will take $6 from your $14 win and add it to the bet on the six and give you $8. Each time the six hits, the dealer will add $6 to the bet and return the difference to you. This is the simplest progression of which I am aware. The only thing you have to remember is 'up a unit'. It is also noteworthy to mention that until you have hit a number at least 7 times, you will win more money playing up-a-unit than press-and-pull. The only exception is hitting the 5, 6, 8, or 9 exactly two times using the press-and-pull method.

So there you have it - two simple progression strategies. What could be simpler than just saying 'up a unit, please' each time a number hits? Also, this simpler method actually pays better most of the time. Remember two things, however, only raise your bets on winnings and practice is the key to performance and practicing progressions at home will make them a natural part of the routine. Make progressions a part of your winning strategy. For more please read more about progression betting strategies with Parts 2 and Part 3 in this series.

Also remember; accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

Stickman

Although the game of craps is sometimes considered difficult, it is widely-preferred in both land-based and Internet casinos. The great variety of bets provides players with the opportunity to choose the best ones for them and offers excitement and an excellent gaming experience.

The Place Bet

The so-called Place bet is considered as a pretty simple one. To be precise, there are two different types; the first one is called “Place bet to win,” and the other, “Place bet to Lose”.

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Place bets could be made at any time during the game and offer fast action. In fact, when played online, such bets require no waiting time. In addition, a great advantage is the fact that the bet could be made or taken down whenever the player wants, which is why it is called a “standing” bet.

When it comes to making a Place bet, players wager on the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. If they have chosen to put their wager on the “Place to Win bet”, the player bets on the probability of the shooter rolling any of the above-mentioned numbers before rolling a 7. On the other hand, when the “Place to Lose bet” is made, the player wagers on the chance for a 7 to be rolled by the shooter before rolling any of these numbers.

There are three possible outcomes of such a bet. First, the place number could appear, and then the player wins. Then, the player loses his bet if a 7 appears. The third outcome includes any other number that could appear apart from the place numbers and the 7, this would mean nothing in terms of winning or losing.

Sometimes, players who use the place bet use all of the aforementioned numbers for maximum action. This strategy, however, is not consistent enough which makes it inappropriate for long-term betting. In addition, the player would need a large bankroll in order for him to cover all six winning numbers.

Place Bet Payout Options

This type of craps bet offers payouts that are quite good, especially in comparison to the ones provided by other craps bets. As a matter of fact, the payouts are nearly identical to true odds but are usually a bit smaller.

The actual odds of rolling a 4 or a 10 are 2 to 1. When the shooter throws a 5 or a 9, the odds equal 3:2, while the odds of them throwing a 6 or an 8 are 6:5.

As already mentioned, the payouts of winning Place bets are pretty good. The payouts for rolling a 4 or 10 are 9 to 5. players get 7:5 for rolling 5 or 9, and 7:6 for rolling 6 or 8.

Regardless of the fact these payouts seem relatively good, they are slightly lower in comparison to the ones of true odds. In addition, the house edge varies depending on the combination rolled.

For example, the casino advantage is the largest when a place 4 or 10 is rolled and amount to 6.67%, which is a pretty high house edge. When a place 5 or 9 has come out, the casino advantage equals 4.00%, while the house edge is the lowest for rolling out a place 6 or 8 – 1.57%.

Craps Place Bet Vs Buy

As evident, the house holds a substantial advantage over the player who has chosen to use a Place bet, especially on the outside numbers. Of course, all of these numbers could be covered through the pass line or come box. In case that they are played with the Free odds bet, they would provide the casino with less than 1% advantage. However, there is a difference when played with the Place bet, as the player is given the chance to select the number and go directly to it.