Let’s be clear: I will always be a poker purist. Full stop. With that said, the fact that poker is most often played in casinos has exposed me over the years to a bevy of casino games. There are hundreds of casino games out there, and as a poker purist I mostly stay away from the overwhelming majority of them. With that said, I’m sure that at some point I’ll get into studying baccarat odds, plus the game of craps has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Re: the latter, I’ve only ever had two real encounters with it, and both left lasting impressions on me for very different reasons.
Story #1: “Put It on Hard 8”
Before one of my early trips to Las Vegas as a young 20-something, my cousin in Los Angeles found out I was going and pressed a $20 bill into my hand. “Put it on Hard 8,” he said.
I had absolutely no idea what that meant, nor did I have the faintest clue how the game of craps worked. Still, I told him I’d do it.
When I finally made my way to a craps table on the Strip, I walked up and told the boxman what I wanted to bet on. He smiled and said, “Just hold on a minute, I’ll let you know when you can place your bet.”
A few moments later, he called out, “Place your bets!” and I handed over my $20, repeating what I’d memorized: “Twenty on Hard 8.”
Wouldn’t you know it – the shooter rolled two fours. Hard 8. Just like that, I’d turned my cousin’s $20 into $200!
I collected the chips and immediately made a beeline for a pay phone to call my cousin in L.A. “You’re not going to believe this,” I told him, and when I explained what happened, he burst out laughing.
When I got back from the Vegas trip and handed him the $200, he was kind enough to give me $20 for my trouble.
Story #2: Craps Curiosity at Choctaw
Fast forward to May 2022. I was in Durant, Oklahoma, covering the WPT Choctaw event. On Shabbat (when I don’t work and when I can’t handle money) I decided to take a quiet walk around the casino.
Passing by the craps pit, I noticed a crowd forming around one of the tables. The energy was magnetic. After years of barely understanding a single thing about the game, my curiosity finally got the better of me.
At first, I just stood back and watched. The shooter rolled and players cheered or groaned as chips moved across the felt. Eventually, as a few people drifted away, I mustered up the courage to approach the stickperson and inquired whether it was okay for me to hang around the table and ask a few questions.
He smiled and said, “Sure, go ahead.”
It’s been over three years now, so I don’t remember all the questions I asked (or all the answers he gave) but I do remember learning who the three casino staffers were at the table: the base dealers, the stickperson, and the boxman. He explained a few of the slang terms like “snake eyes,” “hard eight,” and what it meant when someone rolled a 7 or 11.
He even told me about a couple of the longest rolls he’d ever seen – 40 or 50 throws without a seven – where everyone at the table was making money hand over fist seeing that the shooter had “hot dice”.
Conclusion: Still on the Sidelines
To this day, I still don’t really know what “craps odds” are, nor would I feel comfortable making wagers at a craps table without some guidance from experienced players. But I do know one thing: every time I see a live craps game, the players look like they’re having an absolute blast.
It’s loud, it’s fast, and it’s full of excitement. It’s the kind of contagious energy that makes you want to grab the dice and join in. So maybe, someday, I’ll give the game of craps a proper roll.
