Gaining an edge at the craps table is possible. It is not easy. It requires lots of practice. However, the edge than can be achieved is much higher than any blackjack card counting method.

There are several components to dice control and all of them must be mastered to obtain an edge at the craps table. The Dice Control 101 series will cover them all. In this installment betting strategies for the dice controller will be covered.

To review from the last installment on betting into your edge: It can be difficult to determine your actual edge as a controlled shooter. Calculating your SRR over several thousand throws can help give an indication, but using Smart Craps software will give a better assessment.

It is hard work to win at craps, and making bad bets makes the job more difficult – if not impossible. In order to win at dice control, you must bet only the very best bets. You must eliminate the gambler in you to become an advantage dice controller.

In the last installment, the best bets and the worst bets for dice controllers to make were discussed. In this installment, we are going to explore three types of betting strategies – conservative, moderate, and aggressive.

One of the greatest enemies of controlled shooters is overestimating what their edge is, and playing according to this inflated edge. Too many dice controllers do this and end up losing their money.

If you are a card counter in blackjack and the count goes to +6 because many small cards have been dealt, your edge is essentially static – based on the cards that remain to be played. No matter how you feel – physically or emotionally – the count is the count and nothing will change that edge. In blackjack, your edge is static. It is not dependent on outside influences or events.

In a normal, random craps game the house edge is also static. No roll relates to any other roll – each roll is independent.

As a controlled shooter, your edge is not static, it is dynamic – constantly changing based on myriad influences. The reason for this is that you are dynamic. If the table is a little longer – or shorter – than you like, or somewhat bouncier, or much bouncier or deader than you like, it will affect your performance. Just because you have established an SRR (or Smart Craps edge) at home does not mean the edge is accurately transferable to the casino.

Just as some baseball players hit better in certain parks and worse in others, your results will change with the game and its conditions and, also, as you change. With the dynamism in controlled shooting (or any athletic event), we need to build a betting strategy based on statistics that could change drastically due to all manner of situations not inherent in the math of the game itself. For example, a box man who harps about hitting the back wall, even though the dice are hitting the back wall, could take a controlled shooter out of his game. Or it could make a controlled shooter even more intense and focused – shooting even better than normal.

Most advantage players will establish their edge, and bet a fraction of their bankroll into that edge. For example, a blackjack player with a one or two percent advantage might bet one or two percent of his total bankroll. He will do this every time the game shows a one or two percent edge (based on the count). It is very rare for an advantage player to vary his bets when he has a one or two percent edge because the results of inevitable losing streaks will wreak havoc with his bankroll if his bets are larger (i.e., risk of ruin).