Visited Harrah's in Joliet, IL this past weekend for a birthday dinner and some craps. No one could hit a point. I was down $600 and decided to go darkside. It seems that every time I play darkside all my bets get picked off. I hate playing darkside, but I sometimes get tired of getting blown up and want to change. This strategy never works for me. I just flat bet the don't pass\come. Does anyone else have this experience?
I think we've all experienced variance in the casino. Regarding the don't/do aspect I say "To each his own." Personally, I prefer the pass line because I don't like laying the odds particularly on the 4 and 10 where you only get paid 50 cents/dollar on the odds bet.
I hate those sessions when it is nothing but point-seven-out. It gets boring and will piss me off. I understand variance and that some days will just not be your lucky day or whatever. But at the very least I want to get some good play out of my dollars! But I never play the darkside and will ride out the wave on the passline until I have enough and walk away.
If the table is choppy...........all ya can do is either wait it out by just playing EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVELY ( meaning just minimum bet---maybe just on the line or don't--- )or walk away for awhile...
When I first started playing Craps I would try to flip flop. 4 points set and 4 straight 7-outs. Time to change to the Dark Side. 2 points set and both hit. Table turning, go back to right. 3 points set and 3 straight 7-outs. Something happens with the stock market. Wow, stock it performing well. Time to put my money there. Shit, drops $50/share. With Craps, I have predetermined I only play Pass. Have a fixed buy-in and when the money is gone so am I. Will rather try another session later that day, but won't flip flop or pull out extra money (like I did a few trips back). Now I will slow play but won't change.
I very rarely play dark, but I'll never switch in the middle of a session. I know it doesn't matter, but it's super annoying to keep losing on the dark side after you switched.
As you are well aware (i hope) the dice have no memory. Just because it has been cold doesn't mean it will stay that way. (Cold Hand Fallacy) . Or that it is due to change (Gambler's Fallacy). So switching to dark side because you think the table is cold, is not a good reason. HOWEVER, if i am at a table that has been cold, I am not having any fun. So what I do is quit for a while. That is the only thing that works for me! Come back later after a break. Now for you, switching to the dark side might be fun. (Positive fun ev) but for me it is not that case.
It really is tough to hit a choppy table. I've had days like that, where you roll and roll and nothing comes up to hit a point. Then I've switched dark side and the points just keep coming. Of course, at least that's better than just getting wiped.
Last time I played craps (the El Co), everyone at the table was playing dark...yes, everyone! So, when I joined in and put my $5 on the passline, the other 12 (or so) players all starting in on me, telling me I'd regret it - that it was a dark-side table - that I was odd-man out, etc. I laughed at them & told them they'd ALL be joining me on the passline in few minutes! Dice came to me when I walked up, since all of the others passed them along to me. We all laughed at that. They just knew I'd point-7. Within 5 minutes, everyone was on the pass and everyone was winning...lasted almost an hour, I loved it. I used to play the "don't" in the 80s...did ok with it...never layed odds - just the dont-pass & dont-come. I'd sometimes buy a dont 4 & 10. But it was a miserable way to play. Hard to have fun when everyone at the table is on the other side. Funny thing is though - that when I was the only one on the positive side at the El Co, everyone was still fun & still in great spirits. Anyway - these days, I play the same at every table: $5 line, double odds, place the 6/8 for $12 each. After two 'same bets', on the 6/8, I place 5/9 for $10. I press bets to $24/$20, and same-bet them the rest of the way. (On truly "hot" tables, I've been known to press higher, but that's rare enough to not really count....the El Co run was one of those rare exceptions).
whenever I visit Maryland Live, the $100 minimum craps table usually has everyone betting the don't pass, including the shooter himself. The $25 tables are another story. (pass-line, single odds, huge money on hardways, etc.) Personally, I generally won't touch anything more pricey than a $5 table. And usually I play double odds on the pass, with a 6 & 8 at the minimum (pressure on repeated hits)