1. Home
  2. Hobbies & Games
  3. Casino Gambling

Bankrolling

by Larry Edell

Bankrolling is one of the most important things to keep in mind BEFORE you play craps. There is really nothing like being at a hot table during a long winning streak! But, you need to have sufficient capital to stay in the game and, at the same time, produce a small profit until the streak presents itself.

The way to do this is to figure out your bankrolling BEFORE you start playing. Let’s say you have a session buy-in of $300, and want to make it last for an hour. If you bet $50 pass line with double odds ($100) you will spend $150 per bet, so your money might last just a few minutes. This probably is not quite enough time to latch onto a good hot streak!

Further, if you bring just $300 to gamble over a 3 day weekend, and plan to have six sessions, that only gives you $50 per session. Unless you find a $1 table, you’re not likely to see any streaks at all! On the other hand, if you bring $900 with you and want to play three sessions, that gives you $300 per session. If you bet $5 pass line with double odds ($10) your bet total is only $15. There might be one pass line decision every 2-3 minutes, so your $300 buy-in will now last for at least twenty decisions, or about an hour. This longer time at the table will enable you to look for a streak of multiple passes, so you can increase your bets while you’re winning and make even more money!

If you wager this way, your buy-in ($300) would be twenty times your bet size, which is considered more than adequate. In fact many Crapshooters would prefer a 10X ratio, which would allow you to either increase your individual bets, or buy-in for a smaller amount.

But what are you really looking for when you play craps? Are you looking for scattered small wins with no game plan? Or are you looking for a consistent method to increase your profits on a regular basis? Since the casino has a built-in edge on all craps bets, the only way you can profit consistently is to stay in the game as long as possible, and hope for a streak so you can increase your bets - and your profits!

And, as always, good luck at the tables!

**********************************************************
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 first class stamps to The Crapshooter, Dept. , PO Box 421440, San Diego CA 92142. You’ll Also receive a FREE catalog and a special FREE offer!

Previous Features

Explore Casino Gambling

About.com Special Features

Holiday Central

What to eat, where to go, fun things to do and how to save money on the perfect gifts. More >

Scrapbook Technique Gallery

Use these ideas to inspire your own uniquely beautiful pages. More >

  1. Home
  2. Hobbies & Games
  3. Casino Gambling

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.