How To Plan A Table
by Larry Edell
One of the hardest things for a Crapshooter to do is to leave the table. This is because he is really motivated to stay! If he's winning, he wants to stay and make more money. If he's losing, he wants to stay and recoup his losses. This, unfortunately, ends up being a player's way of donating a lot of money back to the casino!
If you want to make money, you need to plan your table. You need to set things up in advance and stick to your plan. Craps is fun, but if you keep on losing every time you play, it won't be fun for long! You need to have a table plan every time you play.
For example, if your buy in is $1000 and you are a $50 bettor, you can plan to leave when you've won or lost $200. However, if your buy in is $50 and you're a $5 bettor, a $200 goal is unrealistic - $10 is more like it. Further, you need to plan exactly what kind of betting you're about to do - even before you color in.
Something that has always helped me is to carry a small pad and pen with
me at all times. Before I approach the table, I formulate and actually write
down what I'm going to do. Every time before I actually go to the table,
I write down three things -
1. Buy in - $500
2. Win/loss limit - $100
3. $10 Pass line w/2 odds and place 6 & 8 for $12 each
Later I note the results so there are actually four things on the page -
(1) Placed money (2) limits of my betting (3) Assign myself a system to use,
and (4) Noted results. So to compress things I write
1. P - $500 (For money Placed)
2. L - $100 (for win/loss Limit)
3. A - pass w/odds + 6&8 (for Assigned system)
4. N - +$30 in 40 min (for Noted results)
I always leave the pad on my chip rack so it reminds me not to be greedy when I'm winning and stupid when I'm losing. And it works! Give it a try! So the next time you play, remember to PLAN your table!
And, as always, good luck at the tables!
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Larry Edell is the Editor of The Crapshooter Newsletter and author
of two craps books and numerous articles about the game of craps. I have
been a subscriber to his newsletter since 1995. In 1996 I met Larry at a
Gaming Convention and was impressed with his passion and knowledge of the
game. Larry's monthly articles appear here as a regular feature. If
you would like a free copy of The Crapshooter Newsletter send two
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