A Winning Day at Craps in Las Vegas

Four of us made a habit of going to Las Vegas a lot. We'd fly from Detroit usually on a charter flight and stay at whatever hotel was cheap, clean, and convenient to The Strip. Two of the group planned a trip without me and I gave one of them $10 and asked him to bet it at Craps.

"But," he said, "I don't know how to play that game."

I explained how easy it was. You simply put your money on an appropriate bet and let someone else roll the dice. If the dice made your bet true, you won. If the dice made your bet false, you lost. On the bet I wanted him to make on the "Pass Line", the casino had a very minor advantage.

He agreed to bet for me and said that he would add $10 of his money, making a total of $20.

"But," he said, "You'll have to tell me exactly what to do."

You walk up to the table. He gave me a look that implied he wasn't so dumb that I needed to get that basic. You lay your $20 on the table. One of the dealers - yes, they're called dealers even though they don't deal - will take the money and give you 4 red chips.

You'll be betting a Martingale system that increases your bet when you win. Around the outside of the green playing surface, there's a pathway that says "PASS". Put two of the red chips there. The game will start. If you win, one of the dealers will give you two more red chips as your winnings (you double your bet). If you lose, one of the dealers will take your money.

As long as you win, you keep increasing your bet like this: $10, $20, $30, $40, $50, $50, $75, $100, $100, $200, $300, $400, $500. Then stay at the $500 until you lose.

When you lose once, change your next bet to the minimum you're betting. Any time you lose twice in a row, quit and cash in your chips. That's important. Don't lose more than twice in a row. Sometimes when I've won a few bets, I'll stop after one loss - but NEVER go beyond two losses.

"Okay," he said and took my money.

Several days later he was back home. I asked him how it went. "Bet $10 and lost. Bet $10 again and lost again so I quit" was his abbreviated reply.

Later in the month I made a weekend trip on a charter air flight. Before I left, the previous friendly bettor came up to me and said "Here's my $10. Bet for me." I took his $10.

It was sunny and bright in Las Vegas. I walked a lot. One afternoon I was walking up The Strip. I decided to stop at the Imperial Palace and bet his $10 along with $10 from my meager bankroll.

There was 4 our 5 people playing at the table when I got there and I laid my $20 on the table. I got my four red chips and put two of them ($10) in the area for pass line bets.

The fellow rolling the dice rolled a seven and I won. I now had $30.

I raised my bet to $20.

The fellow rolling the dice rolled the dice and a four came up. When he rolled the dice again, another four came up and I won the second time. I now had $50.

I raid my bet to $30. If I lost the $30, I would be even and could go back to Michigan and give my friend back his $10 I'd have a break-even for me.

The fellow rolling the dice rolled again and an eleven came up. I won. I now had $80.

I bet $40 and won. I bet $50 and won. I got excited. I had to dig a little piece of paper from my billfold where I'd listed what amounts to bet. I hadn't dreamed that I would have $170 in front of me.

My next bet was $50 again. I won that one. I looked at the paper and swallowed hard.

I bet $75 and won. I bet $100 and won. I now had $395. I checked my reminder sheet and bet $100 the second time. I won.

I bet $200. Then I bet $300. Then $400. The people at the table were getting excited. I was already excited. I won the $400 bet and then bet $500.

I won the $500 bet and they wouldn't let me raise the bet because I was at the table maximum. I bet $500 again and won.

Then, it happened. I bet $500. The fellow rolling the dice rolled a six. The players that wanted a six to repeat were talking to the table, imploring it to allow a second six. A seven came on the next roll. That's a loser. They scooped my $500 bet in and stacked my chips on their side of the table.

They waited for me to bet. "I'm done," I said and picked up my chips. I lots of black chips ($100) and some green ones ($25) and red ones ($5).

I took them to the cashier's window and got money for them - $1895. When I got back to Michigan and split the winnings with my friend, he was almost unbelieving that it had worked.

I told him that most of the time you're going to lose your $10. Sometimes you're going to win $10. Rarely you're going to win a bunch like we did.

The key is to quit when you lose. You have to quit after a second loss. If you are having an unlucky day, do not continue to play. Luck does not have to get better.