Learn to deal casino Craps, Blackjack, Baccarat and Carnival Games.
The following video demonstrates the pressing of Place Bets 6 & 8.
To "press" a Place Bet means to double the original bet, usually by using the payout of the bet. Doubling a Place Bet may also be referred to a "full press", as opposed to pressing by one unit. e.g. $12 pressed one unit to $18 instead of a full press from $12 to $24.
Generally, when performing a full press, the cap of the Place Bet is handed off to the player and the full amount of the payout is added to the remaining portion of the original bet.
Usually, procedures, rules or concepts are taught in absolute terms, "always" do "A" or "never" do "B". However, there is almost always an exception to the general rule. For the most common 6 & 8 Place Bet presses handing off the cap is the correct way to do it.
A good method to measure if handing off the cap is going to work is to determine if the cap is equal to the number of units of 6 in the bet. $6 divided by 6 equals 1. A $6 Place Bet does have a $1 cap, therefore, handing off the cap does work.
Generally, if the bet doubles, the cap should double too.
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The following video clip demonstrates how to press both 6 & 8 Place Bets from $12 each to $18 as well as pressing from $60 each to $90 each.
The physical procedure, the mechanics, for both presses is exactly the same. The only difference is the color of the cheques.
It is good practice to set up four players, two with $12 each on the 6 & 8 and two with $60 each on the 6 & 8. Alternate the players' bet amounts, as done in the video, to re-enforce the fact that the move is less about dollar amount and more about the number of cheques.
Base dealers' hands are not referred to as "left" and "right", but, rather "inside hand" and "outside hand" in relation to the dealers' position at the table. The hand closest to box person is the inside hand as it is also closest to the inside or middle of the table. Obviously, the outside hand would be the hand farthest away from the box person, closest to the outside of the table.
The base dealers' working stacks of cheques are always positioned in front of the dealer the same way they are in the bank with the lower denomination cheques towards the outside and the highest denomination cheques on the inside for game protection.
In the video the student has the $1 white cheques on her left which means she is on third base where her right hand is the inside hand and her left hand is the outside hand. If on second base the dealer's left hand would be the inside hand and the dealer's right hand would be the outside.
The repetitive use of the terms "inside" and "outside" can make the explanation of the moves sound wordy and confusing. So, if you get confused know that it is perfectly normal and just keep replaying the video and re-reading the explanation until you get it. If you feel the need to take a break and rest your brain, do so. Multiple short practice sessions are more productive than one long cram session. As with everything, practice makes perfect. Giving up only makes you unable to do it.
For this move it does not matter which of the two bets wins because they both pay the same $14. We need to use $12 of a $14 payout to press two bets $6 each. So $14 minus the $12 we need is $2. The end result is the player gets $2 change and their 6 & 8 Place Bets are pressed from $12 each to $18 each.
To press the 6 & 8 from $12 each to $18 each cut out the $14 payout directly in front of you in the Come by picking two red cheques with your inside hand and four white cheques with your outside hand. The two stacks of cheques should be cut out in the Come reasonably close together, if not actually touching. Yes, the student in the video does have her payout spaced a bit too far apart for my liking.
With the $14 cut out in the Come, do the following:
As you practice this move, say "take one, leave one" as you take one, leave one. Your words should be in sync with your hands.
It is very important to strive for slow and accurate in the beginning. Speed will develop naturally with experience. Fast and sloppy is ugly. Smooth and controlled is your goal. To the beginner's inexperienced eyes everything appears to be moving much faster than it really is.
"Control, control, you must learn control!" - Yoda
A Place Bet on the 5 & 9 has a 4% house advantage which makes it a bad bet when judged by the 2% standard.
The house edge on a Place Bet 5/9 can be calculated as follows.
The 5/9 are bet in units of $5.00. With the true odds of 3:2 a $5.00 bet on the 5/9 should pay $7.50, but, it doesn’t. It actually pays $7.00. The sum of the bet, $5.00, plus what the bet should pay according to the true odds, $7.50, is $12.50. The sum of the $5.00 bet and the actual $7.00 payoff is $12.00. The difference between $12.50 and $12.00 is $0.50.
$0.50 divided by $12.50 is 0.04. When expressed as a percentage equals 4%. The house edge on a Place Bet 5/9 is 4%.
Now let's do the same math, but, this time for $36 5/9.
According to the true odds, $36 should pay $54. But of course, it doesn't. It pays $50. The $36 bet plus the $54 it should pay equals $90. The $36 bet plus the $50 it actually pays equals $86. The difference between 90 and 86 is 4. Four divided by 90 equals 0.04444 or 4.44%.
Betting $36 on the 5/9 in order to receive an even $50 instead of dropping $1 for $50 increases the already bad 4% house edge to 4.44%. That is not a good move.
The moral of the story? If you are going to bet a 5/9 Place Bet, bet in units of $5.
Generally, the cap on a 6/8 Place Bet will represent the number of units of 6 in the bet. The cap added to the entire bet will produce the payout for the bet when the cap does equal the number of units of 6 in the bet.
From $6 to $96 there are three out of sixteen bets whose cap does not equal the number of units of six in the bet, when set up properly. Those three bets are $54, $78 and $84. When setup properly the caps should be $4, $3 and $9 respectively. However, it is possible to set up these bets in such a way that the cap does represent the number of units of 6 in the bet.
Pictured below are the sixteen bets from $6 to $96 set up correctly along with the three bets set up so their caps do equal the number of units of 6, as a break in dealer might do. This is for demonstration purposes only. DO NOT set up $54, $78 and $84 with caps which do represent the number of units of 6 in the bet.
click on image to enlarge
Calculating the house edge or house advantage on most craps bets can be illustrated using cheques with the exception of the Pass Line/Come and Don’t Pass/Don’t Come as those calculations are more complex.
The house edge on a Place Bet 6/8 can be calculated as follows.
The 6/8 are bet in units of $6.00. With the true odds of 6:5 a $6.00 bet on the 6/8 should pay $7.20, but, it doesn’t. It actually pays $7.00. The sum of the bet, $6.00, plus what the bet should pay according to the true odds, $7.20, is $13.20. The sum of the $6.00 bet and the actual $7.00 payoff is $13.00. The difference between $13.20 and $13.00 is 20¢.
20¢ divided by $13.20 is 0.0151515 or 0.0152. When expressed as a percentage equals 1.52%. The house edge on a Place Bet 6/8 is 1.52%.
The 5/9 are bet in units of $5.00. With the true odds of 3:2 a $5.00 bet on the 5/9 should pay $7.50, but, it doesn’t. It actually pays $7.00. The sum of the bet, $5.00, plus what the bet should pay according to the true odds, $7.50, is $12.50. The sum of the $5.00 bet and the actual $7.00 payoff is $12.00. The difference between $12.50 and $12.00 is 50¢.
50¢ divided by $12.50 is 0.04. When expressed as a percentage equals 4%. The house edge on a Place Bet 5/9 is 4%.
The house edge on a Place Bet 4/10 can be calculated as follows.
The 4/10 are bet in units of $5.00. With the true odds of 2:1 a $5.00 bet on the 4/10 should pay $10.00, but, it doesn’t. It actually pays $9.00. The sum of the bet, $5.00, plus what the bet should pay according to the true odds, $10.00, is $15.00. The sum of the $5 bet and the actual $9.00 payoff is $14.00. The difference between $15.00 and $14.00 is $1.00.
$1.00 divided by $15.00 is 0.0666666 or 0.0667. When expressed as a percentage equals 6.67%. The house edge on a Place Bet 4/10 is 6.67%.
Now that we understand how to calculate the house edge or house advantage we can apply the same technique to the Big 6 & 8, the Field and all Prop bets.
Pictured below is the same photo from the "Why Place Bets Pay What They Pay" post which demonstrates visually why Place Bets what they pay and why the house edge is what it is.
The money on the line between the Field and Come represents the portion not paid on the bet. That amount divided by the sum of the bet and what the bet should pay according to the True Odds results in the house edge.
Know thy game.
A dealer may not know the house advantage on bets and still be good enough to deal the game, but, a good dealer strives to be better than “good enough”. Knowing the house advantages is not necessary to physically deal a game, but, knowing the house edge is a part of your game knowledge.
A superior dealer knows their game.
Occasionally you may have a player walk up and toss you a purple and ask for $500 Inside. That is "no bet this roll."
If you have the time before the dice move you can ask how the player would like that set up, but, you should not assume anything.
Five hundred Inside is a shot waiting to happen. Although the non-shot-taker may take offense to being "no bet" on that roll it is good game protection and nothing less than proper procedure.
The honest player may claim, "there's only one way to set up that bet." Unfortunately, their honesty makes them naive. There are many ways to set up $500 Inside. The two best ways for a shot taker are pictured below along with the what most people mean by $500 Inside.
If you assume the player wants $150 each on the 6 & 8 and $100 each on the 5 & 9 the shot taker will wait for the roll and then say they didn't want what you set up.
If the 5 rolls the shot taker will claim what they really wanted was a $5 9, $30 each on the 6 & 8 and $435 on the 5. Of course. That way they make $609. If the 6 rolls the shot taker will claim they really wanted $10 each on the 5 & 9, a $30 8 and a $450 6. Then they make $525.
In either case the shot taker stands to at least double their money because the dealer opened themselves up to a shot by booking an improper bet.
A proper bet in a series of Place Bets, i.e. Across, Inside or Outside, are made in an equal number of units on every number, not an equal dollar amount nor a variety of dollar amounts which, individually, are proper bets. Equal units on every number and equal units only comprise a proper series of Place Bets.
The bet the non-shot-taker means by "$500 Inside" should be booked as, "$500 action Inside. One-fifty each on the 6 & 8, hundred each on the 5 & 9."
Pictured below is the reason for why Place Bets what Place Bets pay.
On the 4 & 10 a $5 bet should be paid $10 according to the True Odds of 2 to 1. But the 4 & 10 don't get paid 2 to 1 because the house needs to have an advantage on the bet in order to keep the lights on. So, the casino keeps $1. One dollar less than $10 to $5 is $9 to $5. Hence, 4 & 10 Place Bets are paid 9 to 5.
On the 5 & 9 a $5 bet should be paid $7.50 according to the True Odds of 3 to 2. But the 5 & 9 don't get paid 3 to 2 because the house needs to maintain an advantage. So, the casino keeps the 50¢. Fifty cents less than $7.50 to $5 is $7 to $5. Hence, 5 & 9 Place Bets are paid 7 to 5.
On the 6 & 8 a $6 bet should be paid $7.20 according to the True Odds of 6 to 5. But, again, the 6 & 8 don't get paid 6 to 5 because the house needs to have the advantage. So, the casino keeps the 20¢. Twenty cents less than $7.20 to $6 is $7 to $6. Hence, 6 & 8 Place Bets are paid 7 to 6.
The following picture compares minimum Place Bets to minimum Put Bets with maximum odds at various casinos with 5x odds, 10x odds and 20x odds.
The bets next to stick and next to base have a $15 minimum and 5x odds for a combined house edge of 0.326%.
The bets two from stick and two from base have a $5 minimum and 10x odds for a combined house edge of 0.184%.
The bets three from stick and three from base have a $5 minimum and 20x odds for a combined house edge of 0.099%.
The following picture is a combination of the Place Bet set up drill and the Pass Line Odds drill.
Both the Place Bets and Odds are in units of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 10 red cheques. After completing the drills for each Point with all red bets and paying color-for-color the drills shall be repeated with green, black and purple cheques in the same number of units, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 10.
