Place Bets

     I like to take a conservative approach when I first start to bet at the craps table.
     I make a $6 place bet on both the six and eight and I take them down or call them off after one to three wins.
     I try to avoid betting the 4, 5, 9, 10 until the table heats up enough to warrant it. See below for odds/house edge.
     Naturally when the table is hot, I keep the bets up and will press them every other win. But we are just starting out, trying to get a feel for the table. I don't want to leave my bets up and at risk for too long, so what I want to do is to pull profit off before a seven is thrown.

     In this example, let's say that you have just $12 in your rack to start. You make two place bets of $6 each on the six and eight. You do not press them.

This table shows you what happens when you take your bets down/off after the 1st, 2nd or 3rd win.

This table shows you what happens when you leave your bets up till the seven is thrown.

     By playing conservatively and taking your bets down/off after one to three wins, you are lowering your risk and ensuring a profit. (provided that the shooter throws one or more of your numbers before sevening out)

     You need to have your place bets win three times just to win $2 more than if you took the bets down/off after just one win.

     In the above table you can see that if you take your place bet down after one win you will have a $7 profit. You need to have your bets win at least three times for you to win just $2 more, and in doing so, you are taking the risk of losing all your bets before the three wins to a seven.

     The math is the same for any bet amount. You need to have your bets win two more times to win a slight bit more profit than if you just took you bets down/off early in the roll.

     How many times have you taken you bets down and then the shooter starts to throw those very same numbers? It doesn't make a difference as long as the shooter sevens out before throwing a third number you would of had a bet on.

     For example; you take your place bets down after two wins and the shooter throws one of the numbers you had a bet on. So what. If the shooter sevens out, you would have lost money by leaving the bets on. Now the shooter throws another one of the numbers you had. Again, so what. The difference is only a few dollars. Not worth the risk of a seven showing up. If the shooter continues to throw the numbers you had covered you will lose some profit, but think about it, how infrequently does a shooter throw a lot of your numbers during an average roll?
     Naturally on a hot table, which we can recognize by using my system, we would leave our bets working and we would start to press them.
     Most shooters, though, will seven out after four or five rolls. Every once in a while a shooter will throw those extra few numbers, but the difference is only a few dollars and in the long run, you will save your stake and increase your profits by being conservative and taking your bets down after one or two hits.

     Thoughts, comments, etc can be made to me at starchip@live.com