Aggressive Craps Strategies

by Frank Scoblete

This lesson is about playing Aggressive Craps Strategies at the Learn to Play Craps program.
There is a great in-between, an area of craps play that can be rather daring, yet still based on sound principles of both math and logic and can, when things are going right, yield much more in the way of return than can traditional approaches -- and all this without more risk, in fact, all this with substantially less risk in most cases.

It is called Aggressive Craps. It is played to win money at the tables and drain the casinos dry with comps. Aggressive Crappers are more interested in betting on selected shooters than they are betting the lowest possible house-edge bets -- and with good reason.
In fact, these Crappers are banking on select shooters changing the actual odds on the game to favor other kinds of betting than the traditional Pass and/or Come with Odds.
 
Certain assumptions are inherent in any system of craps play, or any gambling system for that matter. There are three fundamental assumptions made:

1. Certain shooters can change a slightly negative game into a slightly positive game for certain players who know to bet these shooters. These shooters are dubbed “rhythmic rollers” or, more recently, “Golden Shooters.” Some shooters can and do control their rolls to the extent necessary to achieve this shift from slightly negative to slightly positive.

2. Golden Shooters will tend to be consistent in their dice rolling and in the resultant dice faces that show. This consistency will be seen with their dice-sets, delivery and style of betting.
To take advantage of a Golden Shooter, you must adapt your betting style to  the Golden Shooter as “one size” does not fit all in this realm. That will often mean deviating from the mathematically best bets.

A Tale of Two Shooters
There are two shooters in this aggressive craps tale: A and B.
Shooter A just winged the dice down the layout as if he were trying to not only hit the back wall but send the dice right through it. Shooter B, however, took great care with his dice sets, grip, and delivery.
But is Shooter B, the shooter who takes deliberate care with his rolls, really a Golden Shooter? Is he really capable of changing the nature of the game so that an astute bettor, such as you, can take advantage of his roll? From the information I’ve given you, you could not state definitively one way or the other.

Here is what the above information tells us:
1. Aggressive Craps: Shooter A is definitely a random roller, not a rhythmic roller.
He couldn’t possibly have any control over the dice at all.
You bet on all the shooter A’s of the world and craps can’t possibly be anything more than its mathematical underpinnings -- which is to say, you will lose in the long run that percentage of your total action based on the types of bets you make. Period.
Shooter A is a waste of your time. Why risk your money on him?

2. Shooter B has a chance to be a Golden Shooter as he seems to be very careful with his dice set, delivery and betting.
As you watch Shooter B, it is obvious that he thinks he has some effect on the dice or he would not take such deliberate care with his roll.

3. If both Shooter A and Shooter B have absolutely no control whatsoever over the dice, or if rhythmic rolling does not exist and Golden Shooters are merely a figment of my overactive imagination then betting only on Shooter B and avoiding Shooter A is still a smart move!
Why? Because you have cut your exposure to the house edge!

4. Aggressive Craps: Shooter B is also very much aware that he is playing two distinct aggressive craps games against the casino when he rolls.
He is playing the game of craps and all that that entails, but he is also playing the comp game. That’s right. His deciding to Place his numbers before his come-out roll and leaving them off during the come-out roll indicates that he is aware the floor person will record his maximum spread -- $170 + his Pass Line wager -- and not his spread when his Pass Line bet might bump down the Place bet. Bumping down the Place bet and taking Odds usually reduces the “comp” spread because most casinos do not give you credit for the Odds bet -- an important thing to consider.
Another important thing to consider is that his bets are not working, not at risk, yet still earning him comp credit.

5. Therefore, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by assuming that Shooter B is a Golden Shooter. If he isn’t, so what? You have cut your exposure to the house edge so you are actually reducing your losses. That’s a gain. But if he is a Golden Shooter, then you have a chance to play a positive-expectation craps game!
And that could be a terrific gain indeed.

Agressive Craps: Betting On Shooter B
Since you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain by avoiding Shooter A and betting on Shooter B, the next question is how should we bet on him? Should we go the traditional Pass/Come with Odds, or should we figure some other method of betting?
I’d like to propose that in Shooter B’s case above, we deviate from tradition and mimic his bets because those are the numbers he’ll tend to hit! If he is indeed a rhythmic roller and our longed-for Golden Shooter, he will tend to hit certain dice combinations more often and he’ll tend to bet what has made him money in the past.
It makes sense then to bet with him then. That would mean Placing the 6 and 8 and Buying the 4 (if you can afford it).
Would the casino have a significantly greater edge on you if you did mimic Shooter B? Not really. Placing the 6 and 8 comes in with a house edge of 1.52 percent, while buying the 4 for $25 or $50, and only paying the vig if you win, comes in at about 1.3 percent.

Essentially, you are making a bet that has a combined house edge close to that of the Pass Line or Come when you don’t take odds.
Of course, skillful, professional, rhythmic rollers have different dice sets for different parts of the game.
For example, on the come-out where the 7 is a desirable number, you might see them use one set and, once the point is established, you will note them set an entirely different way.
You’ll note that they do this every time it is their turn to roll -- come-out roll, one dice set; attempting to make the point or other numbers, a different dice set.

Still, most Golden Shooters will not be that accomplished and they will, sadly, not be found 50 percent of the time as in the example of Shooters A and B above.
Indeed, you will probably discover that the overwhelming majority of players will be more like Shooter A than Shooter B and that even those players who do take care with their dice sets will often just fling the dice down the table once those sets are completed or, conversely, those who take great care with their shooting style will often not care how the dice are set before they shoot.
Neither of these types is a Golden Shooter. They just have developed a bit of style in their shooting.
 
Aggressive Craps: How Much Time Do You Have To Kill?
Many players don’t have the luxury of going to casinos daily or weekly and/or don’t have the patience or desire to hang around waiting for just the right prescription of dice-set and delivery before they plunge into the fray.
Such players are understandably anxious to get into the action. If that characterizes you, then there is also a way to put into effect the Aggressive Craps principles above.
Bet more on the Golden Shooters and much, much less on the other shooters.

If you are normally a $60 bettor when you are fully spread out, then drop down to a $30 spread on all Shooter A types. But when Shooter B types come along, go to $90 and take your shot. In fact, you will save yourself some money doing this as Shooter B’s do not make up anywhere near 50 percent of all shooters.
When you are on your low bets, play a traditional, tight game of Pass/Come with Odds. But when you are going on the Shooter B types mimic their betting with this caveat -- avoid any bets that have a house edge of four percent or higher.
That leaves you essentially betting the Place numbers in accord with the shooter (if the shooter does this) or going up on the Come if the shooter prefers this style.
 
Aggressive Craps: Luck Helps Those Who Help Themselves
I have been playing craps a long, long time and it never ceases to amaze me how many long-term players, when it is their chance to roll, just fling the dice and hope for the best.
Some shooters don’t even look as if they want to win.
Some don’t even look where they are throwing the dice; they look away. These shooters have no style, no panache, and no real chance of beating the game in the long run of their own individual rolling careers.
Once again, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by attempting to utilize a controlled dice-set and delivery.
You have nothing to lose by concentrating on making yourself a Golden Shooter. If you love to play craps anyway, why not give yourself a chance to win on your own rolls?
At the very least, taking great care with your form will engage you more than just chucking the dice down the table.

The Aggressive Craps players can cut their overall risk by not betting every shooter (or by betting less on the random rollers) and cut into the casino comp coffers by tipping the right way and betting at the right times. Why bother playing any other way?
 
Aggressive Craps is followed by Craps Vig
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