Musical Dice -- My Craps Blog

     It's hard to believe that Mrs. MusicalDice and I have taken 50 trips out to Lake Charles Louisiana in the past 5 years. That's an average of nearly one a month. That said, it's been nearly three months since we were last there. How will we do? Stay tuned and find out!

     Some changes had taken place at Greatland Tours, the charter bus company that gets me and my wife to and from Lake Charles. First of all, the prices went up. Second of all, the buses are smaller with less capacity. Thirdly, the bus we rode on was a rickety old bus, and it seemed that just before the bus was supposed to get on the freeway, leaving the station in Houston, it had to stop. This may be due to a one-car-per-green light at the freeway entrance, which would be another change. Anyway, when we got to L'Auberge, we were able to check in right away.

     Unfortunately, things got off to a horrible start. I first played blackjack, where the table was abysmal. I ended up losing $950 there, before going to the craps table. Not much better there, as the shooters kept crapping out early before I could make it to my regression strategy. I made sure I didn't lose as much at the craps table, as I did at the blackjack table. I "only" lost $508 there, for a total casino and day loss of $1458.

     My mind was telling me "Stop! Stop! Stop!" for the day, and I listened. My wife and I did have a great meal at Ember Steakhouse. Afterwards, we just relaxed in the room for the rest of the night. It is what it is.

     The gambling didn't start until mid-day on this day. I first played at Bolden Nugget, where I played blackjack. Things started on a positive note, as I won $225 at the table. Maybe I could try to get my money back for this trip...

     I did try to get onto a craps table at Golden Nugget, but the table was full. That explains what happened next.

     Then, I walked back to L'Auberge, while my wife went shopping. I first played craps, and I played more conservative than I did yesterday. On someone else's shoot, I managed to get my money back plus $68. I was happy for that.

     Then, I played blackjack. Fortunately, the table was quite different this time. I ended up winning $500 there, in fact, for my first 500 Club in nearly 3 months, for a total session win of $568. Maybe I'm on the right track again.

     But that all got blown to pieces when I went to the Horseshoe. The only thing worth playing over there was craps, so that's what I played. Unfortunately, the table was horrible. Nothing I did was working out, whether it was Come bets or regression bets. I lost $843 at the Horseshoe. So much for trying to catch up on this trip!

     There was another bright spot on this trip, for when we got back to L'Auberge, from the Horseshoe, I played blackjack, and due to a cute light-skinned black woman wearing a tight green sweat outfit, who let me play two hands, while she sat out, I got to play, and very quickly won another $500. Two 500 Clubs in the same day! This hasn't happened in 2½ years! (you'd have to go back to October, 2023 to see the last time that happened to me) In fact, for the day, at that point, I was up $450.

     Before dinner, still at L'Auberge, some time later, I'd won $125 at the blackjack table, and I figured I'd try my luck at the craps table. Wrong move! I got off to a rocky shoot, then had a decemy shoot of 15 times to get most of my money back. Unfortunately, the dice turned south, and I couldn't get any more decent rolls in. After 3 times in a row of a simple one-hit regression strategy failing, I left the table, and declared myself all gambled out for the trip. I list $823 at this craps table, for a net loss for the session of $698, and a net day loss of $248. My total loss for the trip was $1706. ARGH!!!!

     I admit, I wasn't very well-focused on this trip. A big reason for that was because for the past few weeks, I'd been working most intently on a personal software developing project that has been taking A LOT of my time that I would have otherwise used for preparation for this trip. So today, instead of gambling, I worked some more on the project, and I made some significant progress. As for my next gambling trip, it will either be later on this month with another Lake Charles trip, or next month in Vegas. I'm also thinking about doing a DC strategy with the bet just big enough to cover 2 Place Bets. Hopefully, I'll have better results. That's all for now!

     Mrs. MusicalDice and I had just come back from a week-long stay in Fayetteville TN to celebrate the 18th birthday of the daughter of one of her best friends. The daughter also graduated from high school a few days later. We returned the night of May 19th, and less than 12 hours later, we went back out to Lake Charles. We both agreed that this is the time to get the trips in, for in about a month, for six weeks, I won't be able to go anywhere (something personal, related to my health). We also have two major gambling trips already booked for June before this happens. Keep all this in mind as you read the story of this trip.

     Given how tired I really was, still recovering from Fayetteville, it is no wonder I wanted nothing but short easy gambling sessions this first day. The first gambling session, at L'Auberge (where we checked in) accomplished this. After winning a quick $50 at the blackjack table (leaving the table after discovering someone there who didn't know what he was doing), I played craps. I employed a Don't strategy where I placed on the Don't Pass, enough money to cover two Place bets, then after the point was established, placed two of the other numbers, then removed the Don't Pass bet after two hits, enough to pay for the Place bets. It seemed that for the short time I was there, each time I employed this strategy, I would have been better off not removing the Don't bet, for the shooter would soon crap out. But how was I to know that, especially given how cold the dice were here last time? Anyway, I left the table $35 ahead, for a total session win of $85. Just getting my feet wet.

     Then we went to Golden Nugget, where I played blackjack. It was more of a struggle to get my money back than I would have liked, but at least I did get it back plus $65. I then tried to get into a craps game, but the table was full.

     Just before our dinner reservation at the Ember Steakhouse, we played once again at L'Auberge. Once again, my game of choice was blackjack (due to time constraints this time). I won a quick $100, leaving after this woman at the table said that one of the other players hit a 14 with a 6 on top. She gave me a dirty look as I left the table. I would see this woman at my blackjack table at least one more time on this trip, and she'd always react the same whenever I'd leave ahead. Anyway, the dinner was delicious at Ember Steakhouse, as usual. Afterwards, I decided to play blackjack again. One craps table was a $25 table, and I wasn't up for that just yet. The other craps table, a $15 table, was completely full, so that's why I once again opted for blackjack. There, it was a colossal battle, necessitating a Round 2 buy-in, investing a total of $1000, and getting down to my last $175 before coming back. I did end up $100 ahead at this table too, for a session win of $200, and a day win of $350.

     I don't know how I managed the energy for three gambling sessions this first day (usually it's one or two the first day), but I did. After my wife and I returned to our room, after this session, we both crashed. That's all for today.

     After breakfast at L'Auberge, I decided to get into a craps game this time. The only table open at this time was a $25 table, but I was determined to give it a go. I started out using the same Don't strategy that I used yesterday. But this time, I kept getting sniped on the Don'ts, and each time I would then switch to the light side, it would end quickly with a seven-out. I was up for a fight this time, going to a Round 3 buy-in. But after a long while of this, it was clear that I was not going to win this fight, and I left the table $1075 down.

     I then took the remaining $425 of my craps buy-in, and played blackjack with it. At first, it looked like I just might make up for my loss at the craps table, but that turned out not quite to be the case. I did manage to parlay that 425 up to 1200 for a $775 win at the blackjacktable, but a session loss of $300. As I told the dealer, there was a specific reason why I decided to stop at that point before the table got worse. That reason was, I was still ahead for the trip at this point, albeit only by $50.

     After luncg (rotisserie chicken in our room), we went to Golden Nugget, where I first got into a craps game. At first, playing the Don't strategy was somewhat successful, but they then got sniped, and I switched to light side. I ended up investing $900 before I got it back. This time, there was a shooter that went on a hot streak, and I was even able to play what I call my Quarters strategy, where I have quarter-level bets on each of the numbers, then with each hit, raise the bets by a quarter (or $30 in the case of 6 or 8). I was able to parlay 6 and 8 up to 150 apiece, and on at least 3 occasions, I was able to get triple-digit payouts, on which I'd be yelling "Bull-llackout!" I actually did receive a black chip for one of those hits. I was cutting up pretty good at this craps table, something I hadn't been able to in quite a while. I ended up $293 ahead at this table (if only I hadn't gotten into trouble earlier). I felt pretty good coloring up, let's just say.

     Silly me, I thought I'd try for a 500 Club playing blackjack. Unfortunately, the table was horrible, and I ended up losing $475 there. So I took that craps win, and turned it into a session loss of $182. Now I am down for this trip ($132). Argh!

     I gambled one more time this day, and that wasn't until after dinner at a Chinese restaurant at L'Auberge. This time, I decided to play blackjack. Here, I was seated next to this drunk yahoo, who was cheering me on, as long as I was playing. The table was kind of bad at first, but then I battled back to where I finished ahead $125. Then this guy gives me crap about leaving the table ahead. Gee whiz, I can't win, even when I'm winning! Apparently, while I was cashing in my chips, this guy even complained to Mrs. MusicalDice about my leaving the table! That fell on deaf ears, of course, since my wife is very familiar with the way I play, and she stands by what I do.

     That was it for the day, as far as gambling goes. Overall, I had a net loss of $357, which meant that at this point, I was down only $7 for the trip. I should be able to make THAT up, right?

     After breakfast and before check-out, I played blackjack, at L'Auberge. Curiously, the dealer said he was surprised to see me playing blackjack instead of craps (I guess he'd seen me earlier on this trip playing craps). Also curiously, he advised against playing at this blackjack table, saying that it was not good. I saw one other person at the table, and he did not look hapy. Well, I played one round, winning $100, then decided to take his advice. That win was enough to get me back in the black for this trip ($93).

     I had one more goal for this trip, and I achieved this after my wife and I checked out. Back to the same blackjack table from earlier. This time, my goal was to restore all the hundred bills back to my gambling money, as I was two short. But how's that possible, given that I had gotten back ahead earlier this morning? Here's how: After each gambling session, I only put the hundred dollar bills back into my gambling money. The smaller bills I get upon cashing in my chips, I put into my regular wallet, instead of my gambling money money wallet (makes for extra spending cash). I don't know how many other gamblers do this, but I suspect that I'm not the only one. So anyway, my goal now was to win enough to put those two hundred dollar bills back into my gambling money wallet. Take a fool's advice, it's always good to have win goals in mind, no matter what the reason. ANYWAY, I played blackjack, and once again, that woman who gave me a dirty look for leaving when I was ahead on the first day, was at my table. This table was good, and I didn't lose a single hand. But I was REALLY given a dirty look by this woman when I left the table $275 ahead. Whatever. I made my goal without having to visit any additional casinos. I declared myself all gambled out at this point, finishing $368 ahead for the trip.

     Admittedly, three craps sessions for this trip doesn't seem like enough, but hey, I was focused on the game that I have the highest win percentage at, and that is blackjack (I win roughly 3/4 of the time playing blackjack on average, compared to 2/3 of the time on average playing craps). Craps is my favorite casino game, regardless, but I was determined to come out a winner on this trip, after having so many losing trips earlier in the year. I stronly suspect there will be a lot more craps playing on my next trip, which will be in Vegas early next month. Until then! ☺