Page 8 - Jackpot Magazine South ~ October, 2025

PLAY TO WIN
Halloween tale about the mysterious Darksider
They called him the Darksider. He alwaystookthelastseatatthetable.Black coat. Pale hands. Eyes that didn’t blink when the shooter made his point. He bet the Don’t Pass line, always. Quiet. Precise. Like he knew the outcome before the dice even left the shooter’s hand.
“That guy’s cursed,” one of the dealers whispered. “The dice hate him so much, they do exactly what he wants.”
And every year, the same thing happened: the table would be hot until he arrived. Then came the sevens. The groans. The bankrolls vanishing like smoke.
And when the table was empty, and the pit boss had gone pale, he’d stand, rake in his chips — all black — and leave. Never once looking back.
~~~
Gaming enthusiast Frank Scoblete, author of several books, including I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps!, wrote about craps play in several columns for Jackpot! He wrote about being a Darksider
or a “Don’t” player, meaning one who is betting against the shooter making his point. And, because they are betting against the shooter, they often are the most disliked person in the game of craps. This is in contrast to “Rightsiders,” who bet with the shooter to win.
Scoblete said Darkside players
tend to be somewhat quiet at the tables. The range of decent bets for Darksiders is severely limited and most Darkside bets stink, said Scoblete.
The best Darkside bets reflect the best Rightside bets — Don’t Pass and Don’t Come. The house edge on these bets is a small 1.4 percent (or 1.36 percent if you count pushes). Such an edge means that for every $100 you wager on the Don’t Pass or the Come, your expected loss over time is $1.40.
For those Rightsiderswhonever
think in terms of
Darkside bets, here is
a quick primer: On
the Come Out roll, the Darksider wants a 2 or 3 to hit, thereby making him money. There are only three ways these two numbers can appear. The 12 is a tie. The Darksider loses on the 7 and 11 — and there are eight ways to make these two numbers. So this is where the house has a crippling 8-to-3 edge over the Darksider and where the casino makes its money off them.
Once the Darksider gets on a number, the edge of casino over the Don’t player now reverses itself. Now the Darksider has an edge on every number since the 7 comes up six times and the other numbers come up somewhat less or far less. The 6 and 8 come up five times each sotheedgefortheDarksidebetonthese numbers is 6-to-5. The 5 and 9 come up
four times each so the edge is 6-to-4 or 3-to-2. The 4 and 10 come up three times each so the edge for the Darksider is 6-to-3 or 2-to-1.
wipe a Darksider off the board as he or she hits number after number and point after point. If you get
on a number and the shooter knocks you off it, then wait for the next shooter. In this way you will preserve your bankroll.
Yes, it is possible you could run into a string of losses from successive shooters but that occasion is highly unlikely. If you want to play your strongest game from the Don’t side then go with the one-bet-per-shooter method. You’ll save money and still be in the action.
~~~
Now the rest of the story.
The table was ice cold. Chips were gone. Spirits broken. “You cursed us,” someone muttered as the last seven hit. “Every damn year...”
The Darksider stood slowly, gathering his mountain of chips. He looked at the table, really looked, as if weighing something. Then he placed one black chip in front of each player still standing. No words. Just a cold tap on the felt.
The Darksider turned to the next shooter, a young kid with sweat on his palms and hope behind his eyes, handing him the dice.
“Your turn,” he said.
The shooter picked up the dice. Rolled. Eleven. Cheers erupted.
Next roll, an eight. Then six. Then 10. Point after point was hit. Stacks grew.
The table caught fire, roaring louder with each win. But the Darksider said nothing. Just watched. Still. Calm.
And when the shooter finally sevened out everyone had tripled their stacks.
The Darksider was gone.
“Who was that guy?” someone asked. The dealer smiled. “No one knows. But
every Halloween, he comes to take the cold, so the rest of us can burn.”
Play To Win Again
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establish a 1.5 percent
highest we should play against, the smart Darksider is left with only the Don’t Pass and Don’t Come bets as the two bets in his or her arsenal. But don’t despair, like the Rightside player, the Darksider has the option of “laying” odds on his bets.
Now here is the really bad news. If we house edge as the
8 JACKPOT! MAGAZINE • October 2025
THE SOUTH’S LARGEST GUIDE TO GAMING & FUN • www.jackpotmagazine.com
How should a Darksider structure his attack? Personally, I would only bet one bet per shooter. This eliminates the possibility that one hot shooter can