Pop quiz: What’s the best gambling film ever?

a) Casino

b) The Gambler

c) The Sting

d) None of the above.

Surprise. It’s d) none of the above. I’ve just seen a Mike Hodges gambling film that blows all previous casino and gambling films away. Croupier is a sophisticated thriller that chronicles one man’s descent into the gambling underworld.

Yea. Yea… it sounds cliché, and it would be if it weren’t for a ridiculously well-crafted script, gripping character portrayals by Clive Owen (before he was Clive Owen) and Alex Kingston (of ER fame) and a back-story that, even without all the high-rolling exploits, provides a sinister snapshot of the human condition.

Owen plays Jack Manfred, a writer who takes a job as a Croupier to cover his bills. He soon finds that his casino exploits make for a great story. Unfortunately, the great story stuff proves to be temptation, mystery, adultery and all the otherwise fun things that are always, unfortunately, forbidden. The plot thickens as Jack realizes he is his own book’s anti-hero. It’s a modern film noir and an engaging story.

And if the above artsy-smartsy analysis doesn’t appeal to you….See the film for its casino insights, which include a thrilling profile of a dealer’s life and behind-the-scenes information on how casinos really operate.

If you’re a Craps fan, the energy of the scenes set round the Craps table is almost as invigorating as actually playing the game; the costumes and set design are pure casino sensuality; and the language employed by characters in the casino proves just how true-to-life Hodges script is. Makes that kiddie-film, 21, that everyone raved about a few years back like a Project Greenlight movie.

The game of Craps focuses on one player known as the “shooter,” and the first roll of the dice can mean a great deal of winnings if you bet on the shooter to roll a seven or eleven and he/she succeeds. Hot streaks are renowned in Craps, and if you or the shooter gets on a hot streak, then you will be in line to receive a windfall that you never expected.

The craps table historically generates more noise and emotion from its patrons than any other game in the casino parlor. There are two reasons for this emotional display. First, the game of craps is determined by a single roll of the dice. Over the years, fortunes have been won and lost with this simple roll of the dice. Therefore, the game is over and done, sometimes, in a flash of a few seconds. All the suspense in the one roll is released if the roll is a number to your liking. Since the great majority of the players at the craps table bet on the shooter, or the one that rolls the dice, the emotional reaction is instantaneous and unanimous. The second reason is that since the players at the table are generally all supportive of the shooter, a bond between the players begins to develop as the game progresses.

The same thing occurs in online craps. Although the yells of excitement are generally heard only by family members and neighbors with their windows open, players are quick to dash off e-mails to one another, exchange phone numbers, and correspond in their mutual chat rooms. The online craps table as a place where you can make friends.

Buy Bet—This bet is a wager that a particular number comes up before a 7 is rolled. The odds are not as good as when you bet the pass line and come bets. However, if you must bet a number, at least the numbers 4 and 10 pay a decent return.
Lay Bet—This bet is the exact opposite of the buy bet. With a lay bet, you are wagering that the 7 will come before the number you lay the bet on. For example. You lay bet the 5 and if the 7 comes up before the 5, you win the lay bet. I like this bet a little more than the buy bet.
Big 6 or Big 8 Bet—This bet is similar to a come bet except the odds are even money giving the casino a 9.1% advantage. In this bet, you need an 8 or a 6 to come before a 7 is rolled. Please, do yourself a big favor and avoid making a bet of this nature. This is a fool’s bet.

If you avoid these three bets, you will have an opportunity to stay in the game longer and have a better shot at winning a big pot. When you win that pot, retire for the evening as a winner.

Let’s try a hand and see if you understand the basic Craps rules. Suppose the shooter rolls a 6 and you’ve bet on the shooter to pass. Then the game progresses to the next level. If you decide to place a bet on the odds of a 6 coming before the shooter rolls a 7, place your bet on the odds bet line. If a 6 is rolled before the 7, then you win your pass bet plus the odds bet at 6-5 odds. If the shooter, however, rolls a 7 first, then you lose both the pass and the odds bet.

Once you have mastered this aspect of the game, I would suggest you then get on a free game online casino site and play a number of hands until you have absorbed the concept completely.

The game of Craps is based on the probability of the roll of two dice. All of us as children played board games in which dice played an integral roll. Before you can get into the more sophisticated aspects of the game, the first thing you should know is how to get started. The game of Craps begins when the players make a bet on the player who rolls the dice. This player is known as the “shooter,” and the bet is predicated on his roll. Your initial bet is whether or not the shooter will roll a 7 or an 11 and, if he doesn’t, can he duplicate the roll of the dice a second time before he rolls a 7. This is called the come bet. Let us review this initial bet once more in a little more detail. If you bet on the shooter to pass, or win the point, you place a wager on the pass line. If he rolls a 7 or 11 or duplicates his first roll, you will win on this bet. If, however, he should roll a 2, 3 or 12 on his initial roll of the dice, he loses and so do you if you bet on him. If the initial roll is a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, then the shooter rolls the dice as many times as necessary until he either rolls the same number or he rolls a 7. If he can duplicate his first roll, then everyone who bet on the shooter wins; if the shooter rolls a 7 before he duplicates his first roll, everyone who bet on him loses.

Once you absorb this aspect of the game, I suggest that you go online to one of the online casino sites that offer free Craps plays, and get used to making your initial bets.
 

Buy Bet—This bet is a wager that a particular number comes up before a 7 is rolled.  The odds are not as good as when you bet the pass line and come bets.  However, if you must bet a number, at least the numbers 4 and 10 pay a decent return.
Lay Bet—This bet is the exact opposite of the buy bet.  With a lay bet, you are wagering that the 7 will come before the number you lay the bet on.  For example. You lay bet the 5 and if the 7 comes up before the 5, you win the lay bet.  I like this bet a little more than the buy bet.
Big 6 or Big 8 Bet—This bet is similar to a come bet except the odds are even money giving the casino a 9.1% advantage.  In this bet, you need an 8 or a 6 to come before a 7 is rolled.  Please, do yourself a big favor and avoid making a bet of this nature.  This is a fool’s bet.

If you avoid these three bets, you will have an opportunity to stay in the game longer and have a better shot at winning a big pot.  When you win that pot, retire for the evening as a winner.

Don’t be intimidated by the amount of money that other players bet.  Stay within your pre-set budget.
Don’t raise your bets when you’re on a losing streak; don’t hesitate to raise your betting amounts when you are winning.
Don’t predicate your next bet on what was rolled over the past half dozen rolls or so.  One roll of the dice has nothing to do with the next roll.
Don’t bet large when you first enter the game.  The casino still maintains the edge with every dice roll.  However, you can certainly play for a longer period of time if you bet in small amounts first, and followed by larger amounts if you are ahead of the game.
Don’t play too long and risk losses or having to return your winnings to the casino.

If you follow these few directives, you’ll live to play online Craps another day!

Some bettors at the Craps table are impatient with the rolls of the dice and they want to bet certain numbers after the initial roll of the dice.  For instance, you might want to cover a bet on the number 10 if it is uncovered by you on the board during the come portion of the betting.  So, if you cover the 10 and the shooter rolls a 10, you’ll win at 9-5 odds.  You must remember that if you are going to bet the 10 and return 9-5 odds for your investment, you must bet on the casino Craps table in multiples of 9. Therefore, you should bet 9 or 18 or some other derivative of 9.  These bets are known as “Place” bets.

Place bets are to the casino’s advantage because they don’t pay off with the odds you’ll receive with an odds bet or a come bet.  However, place bets do add to the fervor created at the Craps table.

The come bet is similar to the pass bet because in the above illustration, if the shooter rolled a 7, 11, or an 8, you would have won the come bet.  Likewise, if the shooter had rolled a 2, 3, or 7, you would have lost your come bet.  It is quite possible to win and lose on the game of Craps, and that is what makes it exhilarating for the online player.