Musical Dice -- My Craps Blog

     My main gowl of this trip is to try to get a 500 Club for this month, thus completing the cycle for the entire year. Getting at least one 500 Club each month in the same year is something I'd never accomplished (I'd come close a few times), and something I want to accomplish. Hopefully I'll only need this trip to do that.

     This time, we're staying at L'Auberge for the first two nights, and the Golden Nugget for the last two nights. This time, the room wasn't ready yet, so I went into the casino to play.

     I got into a craps game on a $15 table. At first, things were a kind of rocky. The table was pretty choppy at first, and I fell behind some. But one good thing that came out of this was the fact that I started to feel like I was starting to get my roll back. For a day or two before this trip, I was practicing my throw, using more of a pendulum swing, gripping the dice with my fingers all the way down, holding them tightly in place, and holding on to them until I can guide them more to where I'd want them to go. My first shoot at the table using this was an 8. Though not my best shoot by any means, I still got the sense that I was on the right track. I'm not sure I made money off that roll, but it felt good, regardless. Anyway, a friend of mine then shot the dice, long enough for him to make the small (which I didn't have a bet on), and for me to make a little of my money back -- more on that later. The second time I shot the dice was when I got my money back. Both times, I was shooting from Stick Left 1, using the Hardway dice set. I used the same mechanics as for my first shoot, and this time, I made the Small. The only reason why I didn't have a bet on it this time, was because I did initially, but the first roll of this shoot was a 7 winner, and I decided (as I usually do) not to replace the All-Tall-Small bet. Maybe I should re-consider that for next time. Anyway, I ended up shooting 19 times, enough to get my money back (I'd invested $900 total), plus $75. Not the biggest win, by any means, but a very gratifying win, given that it was my shoot that got my money back, plus the fact that I may have discovered something that works, as far as my shooting the dice.

     Afterwards, we went back up to the room to watch some of the football games. I also had a family Zoom meeting with some of my relatives who live in the Cleveland Ohio area. Hardly worrying about trying to get a 500 Club, huh?

     Fortunately for me, that moment came after the family Zoom meeting was over. He had a little time to play before our dinner reservation at the Ember Steakhouse. This time, I played blackjack. After a little chopiness at the table early on, I had a few wins in a row, and I decided to raise my bets from $50 each to $100 each. The dealer had a six on top, and I even doubled down on one of the hands. I had gotten a bad card, but was greatly relieved when the dealer busted. That was it! I had finally made my goal! For I'd won $600 at that blackjack table. Needless to say, both me and Mrs. MusicalDice were very happy as I then colored up and left that table.

     We then had a very delicious steak and salad dinner at Ember Steakhouse. I suppose having finally accomplished a personal goal makes a meal taste even better. My initial intention from there was to go to the Horseshoe to play some poker, but it seemed like they couldn't get a game going (Mrs. MusicalDice had phoned ahead while we were still at the restaurant). No matter. As I told her, whatever happens from this point on to the end of the year is just gravy, for I'd already accomlished what I'd set out to accomplish on this trip. Besides, I'm content to say that I won a total of $675 on my first day,

     After we finished eating, we walked by a craps table, and watched, without playing. Mrs. MusicalDice wanted to do this, but for me, there wasn't even an impulse for me to play--and a very good thing that was, for the table was ice cold with lots of early seven-outs. I didn't even want to play blackjack, for that win had gotten me slightly ahead for the year for that game. I didn't want to risk blowing that just yet. From there, Mrs. MusicalDice and I went back up to our room, where we watched the ending of the football game between the Bills and the Rams, and then watched the game between the Chiefs and the Chargers.

     There's one more thing I feel I have to mention before I conclude this blog entry for this first day of our trip: While we were watching the Chiefs/Chargers game, my wife and I were talking about our friend who shot the dice at the craps earlier, and in fact, had made me a little money on his roll. He had even won some money when he completed the Small. What I'd found so surprising about all that, was the fact that when he crapped out, he left the table completely broke! He didn't even retain any of the money he'd won on his previous rolls, for he kept making these long-shot bets that didn't hit. How this relates to the football game, was, as one of the commentators pointed out, early on, the Chargers were attempting all the long passes, or home-run plays, as the commentator put it, that didn't work. This was just like what my friend was trying to do at the craps table--go for the home run. Yes, I know, many people who gamble, don't value money like do, and they play just for the fun of it. They get a huge thrill out of long-shot bets hitting, and thus hitting the proverbial home run. However, I don't subscribe to this way of playing. For I play to win, not just for the sake of playing. And to use that baseball analogy, I'm more for getting on base, getting over, and getting in, step by step (like John cokos discusses on his craps vlog). For many baseball games are not won with home runs, but with steady and consistent base hits. In craps, that means the Place bets hitting. No, they don't pay out as much on a single hit, as does one of those long-shot bets like the Yo or the Box Car bets (which also contain a much higher casino edge than do the Place bets), but they more consistently pay out. I firmly believe that playing this way, instead of always playing the long-shot sucker bets is a much better way to play craps, and I also believe this is why I ended up ahead at that table, while my friend ended up broke. And from the commentator was saying, regarding the football game, he was saying that the Chargers should have done more shorter passes, and run the football more. Again, as Mrs. MusicalDice told me during the game, some people have fun just playing and making those long-shot bets. To me, winning is the most fun. That's all for now.

     Day 2 began in a very bizarre way. I was looking for my house keys. I couldn't find them anywhere. Mrs. MusicalDice helped me try to find them. No keys. Mrs. MusicalDice told me that I'd probably left my keys in our bedroom. I'm usually the one to lock the house when we leave the house. But this time, I wasn't the one to lock the house. Just so I could calm down, I said that until I am told differently, I will keep the faith that my keys are indeed in our room in their usual place (I later discovered that was indeed the case).

     My initial intention was to play poker first at Golden Nugget, getting there before the poker room opened. But this keys fiasco made that impossible. Of course, the poker table was full by the time we arrived at Golden Nugget. So I got on the list, atd went into the main casino to play, instead.

     I went to a $15 craps table and got into a game. I fell behind at first, having to invest a total of $700. Eventually, it was my turn to shoot. I was standing at the right outer corner, and I decided to use the Yo-Yo dice set. Using the same kind of mechanics, I ended up with a somewhat similar shoot to the last one, even to the point of my first roll being a 7-winner. But this time, I decided to go back up on the ATS bet, keeping the faith that I could get a hit, like I would have, yesterday. Eventually, I hit the small, and got paid $175 (including the initial Small bet). In fact, I shot 18 times, and my profit marging was exactly that payout!

     I was hoping to be able to play poker, and possibly add to this win. But a seat at the poker table still wasn't available. So the win remained as is.

     It wasn't until after Mrs. MusicalDice and I had lunch that the poker table finally became available to me. So I played there for the next 2 hours while Mrs. MusicalDice shopped. Without getting into detail, I ended up $272 ahead. After this big win, I definitely wanted to try to add on to this, and possibly get another 500 Club.

     I then went back to the craps table, still at Golden Nugget. This time, I stood at Right End, waiting to shoot. After a while, I tip-toed into the game using my One-Place Don't strategy, putting 25 on the Don't Come, and 24 on the 8. That hit, and I branched out to another number, then another on subsequent hits. I eventually had bets on all the inside numbers for 4 units each. I did lose the DC bet, but apparently, had a total of 8 hits on the numbers for $28 each. Erroneously thinking that I'd made enough to complete the 500 Club, I took down the bets and colored up. I ended up $199 ahead for the craps session.

     I then played blackjack, and after 2 rounds, I won $50 for a total casino win of $521. A second 500 Club on this trip? Who would have thought that?

     That would be all the gambling I'd do for this day. But as I said before, I'd rather have the quality of wins, not merely a quantity of gambling sessions. Overall, I won a total of $696 for this day. Currently, I am $1371 ahead for this trip. And I only had 4 casino sessions on this trip! Will I be able to add to this profit margin? Find out on the next day!

     Today, we switched properties, as the last two nights of our trip, were booked at the Golden Nugget.

     However, it wasn't until after we had lunch that I had my first gambling session. That was at L'Auberge because Mrs. MusicalDice forgot to cash in one of her slot machine tickets. While she did that, I played craps. This time, it was like a BOMB had gone off at that table. Whatever magic I had the first two days was gone today, as I kept PSO-ing. What gives? I used the same mechanics as before on this trip, and it was even at the same table where I had the first craps win. I was in a different position--right end this time. Anyway, at length, I lost $653.

     After my winning back 100 at the blackjack table for a session loss of $553 at L'Auberge, we walked back to Golden Nugget. By that time, the winds were really blowing, and these winds were getting increasingly cold. The high in Lake Charles eas 70° and that was around the time we switched properties. A cold front is coming through, and I guess it mirrored how the tables were, for the most part. I did manage a $50 win at the blackjack table at Golden Nugget, once we reached the casino.

     One more gambling session took place that night at Golden Nugget. It started off good enough with w $302.50 win at the blackjack table. I thought I'd try to add to that at the craps table. Some ill-timed plays made me fall behind, and despite better shoots (I had three shoots of 7-10 at first), I couldn't catch up. I even shot a 17 on my fourth shoot, it wasn't enough to get my money back. I was standing at right end using my Yo-Yo dice set. I ended up losing $245 at the craps table.

     At that point, I was still $57.50 ahead for the session. Given my results at the poker table the previous day, I thought I'd try it again. Well, even though I played pretty well, I wasn't immune to bad beats and an ill-timed bluff. Bottom line: I lost $280 at the poker table, for a total session loss of $222.50. A net loss of $725.50. I'm still $645.50 ahead for the trip. If it weren't for the fact that there's something else I want to do on the trip, which I can't do until tomorrow, I'd probably declare myself all gambled out, for I'm determined to stay ahead for this trip. More tomorrow.

     I only had a few more things I wanted to do on this trip (if I'd known I'd get a 500 Club early on this trip, this would only have been a 2-night stay in Lake Charles instead of 4). One of those things was to play poker at the Horseshoe. So I decided not to do any more gambling until I played there. When my wife and I got there, the poker game wasn't ready yet (not enough players at first), so I played craps. Fortunately, it was a nice easy short session that I won $24 on the tail end of someone else's shoot. When I cashed out, the poker table was just about ready.

     Unfortunately, poker didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. At first I did good, but after a couple of bad beats, I admit, I went on tilt, and lost $618 before leaving after 3½ hours. A net casino loss of $594. I was determined to stay ahead for this trip, so after that loss, I declared myself all gambled out, finishing $51.50 ahead for the trip.

     The only other thing left to do was dinner at the Chart House, a real upscale restaurant on a remote part of the Golden Nugget casino, but in a separate building (giving the upper class country club folks a sense of distance from the rest of society). The food and the service were both superb. The amnience was great--a dimly lit room, a fireplace, and a great view of the lake. The meal was one of the most expensive meals I've ever had, but it was well worth it.

     Since I've already declared myself all gambled out for this trip, and am not about to make the same mistake I did on the last day of the Vegas trip, there are only a few things left to say in conclusion of this trip, and this year.

     First of all, I ended up $51.50 ahead for this trip, as previously stated. At least the trip as a whole remained on a positive note. And I won't have to do any more trips this year to accomplish my 500 Club goal. For this year, overall, yes, I lost more money than I won, but I did end up ahead for the year playing blackjack. I lost more money playing craps than playing poker, although I feel more confident about my craps playing abilities than I do my poker playing abilities. As far as win percentages this year, my poker win percentage is only 50% compared to about 63% playing craps, and about 86% playing blackjack. Going forward, I see myself concentrating less on poker, and continuing to work on my toss of the dice, playing craps, and less betting on other players, and more betting on my rolls early on. Blackjack will always be blackjack. although I plan to only play at those tables who have less than 3 decks, as that's where I seem to have the best results. I guess I'd just laid my gambling New Year's resolutions. Let's just all see how this all works out in 2025. Until then, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! ☺