I've Got 8 More: This Cat's Life

Letter From Las Vegas 4, July 2007
It’s over 100* today and it will be that way for the next few months. That’s OK. I knew what I was in for when I moved here.

I also knew that becoming a Las Vegas “local” would mean some changes to the way I approach my craps game. As appealing as it might sound, living in the gaming capital of the world and having hundreds of tables to choose from, all day, every day has it’s pitfalls. But approached with a little planning and common sense, those hazards can be minimized and the plusses fully enjoyed.

With the approaching “Great American Crapshoot” coming up in just a couple of weeks, I thought it would be a good time to talk about one of the pitfalls I’ve learned about the hard way:

Expectations – Realistic and Not.

Specifically, I’m thinking of expectations of profit when joining another, or several DI’s at the craps table.

Since arriving, I’ve had the chance to shoot with quite a few DI’s all of varying skills. We’ve had good sessions and totally forgettable ones too. No huge monsters and plenty of PSO’s too. Yet almost all of the people who have joined me at the tables have skill.

You’d think with all that skill that we’d be routinely taking home yards of cash for our efforts. Actually, I find it easier to make money on my own than with other good shooters.

When I’ve talked to the well-know local players, to a man they tell me the same thing; “You can’t hit the tables with everyone who comes to town. The game is too tough and when you are with friends you’ll bet differently than the way you do on yourself.”

Now, these aren’t anti-social curmudgeons. These are guys who know how to win and also love to play.

In two weeks, with dozens of good and excellent players coming to town, we have a great opportunity to rake in some cash. But will it happen?

How many times have we read (and written) trip reports that end, “all told, we lost a few hundred, but it was well worth the great time we had with some great folks.” ?

In fact, many of those same reports mention one or two monster or mini-monster hands and probably the author saw more than a few shooters who were posting well-above average SRR’s during the whole trip…and they still lost money.

I only mention this because since moving here, I’ve learned first hand and from watching at least a dozen visiting DI’s shoot that you won’t keep your money if you don’t manage your betting as strictly as you do for your own shooting.

I remember the first time a “Big Name” shooter came to town. I was practically spending the money we were going to make before he got off the plane. As it turned out, that was my first losing streak since arriving a month earlier.

Since then these are the lessons I’ve learned:

The tables are always there. They’ll be there when you are ready. Even over a 3-Day trip, you can be selective.

No matter what, craps is a tough game to consistently profit from. Recognize success when you see it in front of you. I would trade every future monster hand to know I would never PSO again.

The same game that makes you money when playing craps alone will be the game that makes you money when with other skilled shooters.

It’s very tempting to look to another DI to do the heavy lifting and bet more than your game plan dictates. This is especially true if you are not shooting well yourself. The truth is, you have to qualify, with your own eyes, every shooter you consider betting.

More players to bet, skilled or not, means you’ll need a bigger bankroll to weather the inevitable cold streaks.

There’s no such thing as a “Sure Thing.”

The shooter who has 1 point hand after 1 point hand is waay ahead of the game.

If casinos can profit consistently from a House Advantage of just a point or two we can and we should, with a Player Advantage that is often much larger.

None of the above is news. The same common sense and discipline that we apply on our solo trips holds true with larger groups. It’s just very tempting to think that, “With all this talent, somebody is going to have a big hand!”…and then to start betting for it.

I hate to sound negative about what promises to be a great time coming up. I’m not. I think we have a great opportunity to bring a lot of talent to bear and to walk with some nice coin for our efforts.

And I’m really looking forward to hanging out and hitting the tables. But all of that will be so much more memorable if, on Monday we all have more money than we had before the GAC.

See you in a couple of weeks.

-DC


“DeadCat” 2007