| Personally, I've found that if you tip the dealers
(more on tipping later) the boxman takes it upon himself to bump up your
average bet a little. It always pays to tip the dealers. Anyway, the
boxman also handles player disputes, and is charge of the casino's bank
of chips, which is in front of him, in the middle of the table. The
boxman is the most experienced casino employee at that particular table.
Occasionally an inexperienced dealer might make an unpopular decision,
and the boxman can overrule it. The man with the stick is called the
stickman. He technically is one ofthe three dealers, and they all rotate
shifts around the table, so each dealer takes turns with the stick. The
stickman retrieves the dice and pushes them to the shooter, taking care
not to display the dreadful seven, which of course, is bad luck. The
stickman also takes care of the proposition bets, and helps the other
two dealers, who are on the other side of the table (surrounding the
boxman) handling all of the players' bets. Behind the craps tables is an
area called the "pit". Players are not allowed walk through this area.
In the pit are floorpersons, who are one step above the boxmen. Their
primary concern is to watch out for cheaters, and keep track of rated
players. When you first check in and ask for casino credit, or when you
leave and ask for a comp, or if you switch tables, this all will be
handled by a floorperson. Supervising all of this is the pit boss. He is
in charge of all of the casino personnel at all of the tables. You will
rarely see this person - usually when you have a dispute regarding
ratings or table play you will be speaking with a floorperson, not the
pit boss. So - let's say something strange happens during your play and
the dealer closest to you disagrees with what you want. For example you
have $10 hard six and the shooter throws wildly and the dice bounce
around all over the table and somehow end up sitting on top of each
other. If they were separated on the table it would show your hard six,
but the dealer calls out "no roll!" Your first appeal would be to the
boxman, who could overrule the dealer. If he doesn't, you can yell "Stop
Play, I want to talk to the pit boss!" and a floor person will come over
and see if he can resolve the situation by talking to the boxman. If he
can't he'll call over a pit boss. Usually, it won't get that far. The
boxman knows that it is more important to keep the players at his table
in his casino, than it is to pay off a few hundred disputed dollars.
Casinos are very competitive these days and they will do a lot to keep
you as a regular patron. Remember, you have a lot of power when you play
- don't let the dealers push you around!
Secret # 2: Your best friend is NOT at the craps
tables! The person who is charge of keeping you as a regular patron
is not in the pit area, but in his or her own office. This would be your
casino host. He really has the final say on your comps (you'll learn
lots more on comps and casino hosts in a later article) and is in charge
of keeping you happy and satisfied - but he supervises comps only and
has nothing to do with table play. You should talk to him about your
rating, and make sure you get everything that's due you. If you don't
already have a host, just pick up a house phone and ask for one. It's
their job to help you, so be sure to take advantage of their services!
Secret #3: Proposition bet limits are NOT posted!
Now that we know the casino personnel, let's take a quick look at the
craps table itself, and learn some things that are often overlooked.
There are signs on both sides of the craps table announcing what the
minimum and maximum bets are. For example, one sign might say "$10 to
$1,000, 2X odds". This means that the minimum flat bet is $10, the
maximum flat bet is $1,000 and the casino offers two times odds. There
are usually several tables in the pit area, with different stated
limits. It is not uncommon to see four tables, each with different
minimums - $2, $5, $10 and $25. Usually on weekdays the minimums are
lower, and on weekend evenings, the minimums are as high as the traffic
will allow. In the evenings, when all the tables are in use, the house
will usually raise all of the minimum bets, no matter what they are. The
minimum and maximum bets apply to flat bets only, not proposition bets.
If you want to bet higher than usual on the 2, 3, 11 or 12 you should
ask the dealer what the upper limits are as they are never posted. I've
seen people bet progressively on the "Yo" only to have the dealer call
"No Bet" when a low limit (sometimes $25) is reached. Be careful, and
ask the dealer. Make sure of the prop bet limits before you bet!
Secret # 4: Use chips to track the table. On
the table, there are grooved chip holders in the sides to hold yourchips.
You can also use one of these racks to track the table. Just usea red
chip for pass-line winners and a white one for don't pass winners. This
way you can see which way the table is going. Instead of tracking the
pass/don't pass, you can also track sevens, or inside numbers. Use a red
chip to count the sevens and a white chip to track the 5, 6, 8 and 9
rolls. If there were more than six sevens during the last 36 rolls, it's
time to increase your place bets. If there were less than 18 rolls of
the 5, 6, 8 and 9 (again in 36 rolls), it's time to bet more inside and
less outside. When you do make your bets it is not really necessary to
know all of the various odds combinations, as the dealers will readily
give you that information if they know it. But a little extra knowledge
never hurts. |
