So I'm sure most of you craps players have noticed this as well, but I thought it would make for an interesting discussion. Have you ever noticed that many craps dealers and even more craps players, have no concept of the math behind the bets and payouts? For instance, I don't think many people understand why their odds bets pay what they pay. Further extrapolating that, I don't think many people know why you always want to have an even number on your odds for a 5 or 9. Same with placing the 6 or 8.

As far as dealers go, it's really entertaining watching many of them at either a local joint, or a grind joint when you start putting more action in play that just the table minimums. That's because most of them don't actually know payouts or any of the math, they just know that a $6 6 will pay $7 when it hits. A $42 6 makes their head spin.

And don't even get started on the dark side betting. It's like a completely foreign concept to most players. Everything is just the opposite, but they can't wrap their head around why you would play the Don't when you get paid "more" on the PL. They have no concept of the odds of rolling a 7 vs. any given point.

I'm sure you've all noticed these things as well. It begs the question, are people that bad at math? Is it the way they learn the game? Christ there's a thread on TOS that some genius said it makes more sense to put all your money on the DP instead of the DP with odds, "because the comps are better that way". For fucks sake why not just put it all on the hard 6 or boxcars if you're after comps. Makes me want to bang my head against a wall...

 

yes.

and a lot of people are just plain stupid.

 

I think (hopefully) that this would be just beginning players or casual players that would not know the math or the true odds for each number. After all, there is a reason that the 5/9, 4/10, and 6/8 pay out as they do. Also, most rookie craps dealers at off-strip or grind joints would only learn basic payouts, as that is what all the players there are doing - placing minimum bets. All of the higher end casinos and veteran dealers surely know higher payouts and why the payoffs are what they are. most of the dealers I play with at the MGM have been dealing craps forever. One of my favorite crews has something like 125+ years of experience including the boxman. The youngest crew member has like 26 years in. A good veteran craps crew makes the game more enjoyable as well as reminding you if you are missing a regular bet, etc.

 

Some of them are new craps players, but a lot of them aren't. Same reason you see morons betting $25 on the PL on a $5 table with no odds. Or in an extreme case, I once saw a guy in Aruba betting $10k on the PL with no odds. They aren't new to the game, they just never learned the game correctly or don't understand the math behind it. Like I said before it gets really screwy when you start talking dark side. People talk about how the odds bet on the PL is the best bet in the house, then turn around and wonder why on earth you would put odds on your DP because it pays less than even money. They're both equally as good, but people are too dense to realize it...

 

Well, we all know that there are a lot of morons, lol

 

I also think that a lot of people just cozy up to the craps table and just put down a bet, and only know that they want a six to show before a seven is rolled. These aren't serous players. Anyone who states that craps is their main game, should know what's going on

 

I think that's pretty accurate, although I disagree on the serious players part. I actually think the majority of craps players (and I'm talking every craps table around from $3 to $1000 mins) simply know that when they make a bet on the table, that they're hoping that number "X" shows up before a 7. That's the general gist of my post. I don't think most people really understand the mechanics of the game, simply "if I bet on X, I want X to happen before a 7". They don't know or think about what the odds are, or why the payout is what it is, etc. Just A+B=C

Obviously this probably becomes less common the higher you move up on the craps food chain, but in general I think that describes more than half of the craps players out there, and includes those who would be considered "serious" craps players...

 

The suckers at the tables are the ones that haven't figured out the house advantage is high on most of those bets.

Therefore, the short answer is no, those people aren't good at math.

 

I think that this is similar to sports betting. A lot of people like to bet underdogs for the >1 payout. Maybe I'm the exception, and I dont bet a lot of sports, but when I do, I am not going to bet much if any on a -150 or higher favorite.

 

Huh, I guess that would be true at the lower limit tables. I have been playing at a $100 table for so long I guess I just don't see it as often as our table is mostly empty. Or, I am not paying attention to if the others players have a clue or not.

Next time Shifter and I play together, I will have to keep an eye on him and see if he knows what he doing, and if he is getting paid correctly!