I admit, I started gambling on my grandmother’s little electronic poker game. I would pull it out of her purse when she wasn’t looking because I liked the thrill that going against fate gave me. I still like to gamble. I’d say about once a month my friends and I head up to the casino on the river. We keep talking about Vegas, but that’s been in the works for years. Anyway, I would be the first person to say that a little fun at a casino is well worth the money spent.


Most people pragmatically plan to lose money when they go into a casino while still secretly wishing that they would hit it big. After all my years of experience, I still can’t tell you a sure fire way to guarantee a jackpot, but I do know how you can increase your odds of winning, cut your overall losses, and still have a lot of fun. You just need to make your home in the casino at the craps table.


Craps is a fast and exciting game. I figure, if I’m going out to have a good time, there is no point sitting at the casino’s slots all day. Instead, I would rather bet on rolls and see what my quick decisions can get me. Additionally, I like craps because the casino house edge is the lowest. This means that the percentage of your money that the house expects you to lose is minimal. In craps it is around 1% whereas on a game like roulette it is 5% or more. This means that even if you’re not a great player, you shouldn’t lose too much.


There are two different ways that you can bet on craps. One is a passline bet and the other is an odds bet. I’m a passline man myself; I’d rather concentrate on my friends and my beer than on placing two bets per game. This is how a game goes for me. First I place my bet, usually about a dollar. Then someone at the table rolls the dice. If they roll a seven or an eleven, I win. A two, three, or twelve means I lose. However, if they roll any of the other numbers, they need to roll that one again before rolling a seven or I lose. Passline bets give me the thrill of playing the odds, but without all the math and strategy that goes into some other casino games.


Some people like to place odds bets after the first roll. Behind your passline bet you can place an additional bet that pays out on straight odds, no casino house edge. A four or ten gives you a 2 to 1 payout, a five or nine pays 2 to 3, and a six or eight pays 6 to 5. You can try out the odds bet, but I like my casino time a bit more relaxed. One bet per hand at a craps table is more my style.