Page 8 - Jackpot Magazine South ~ May, 2025

PLAY TO WIN
Best to mind your manners when playing craps
“Were you raised in a barn?”
~ Common idiom, probably originating from a Southern mother
In honor of Mother’s Day this month, we are going to follow Mother’s Manners. Not our mother, but the mom of gaming enthusiast and Jackpot! columnist Frank Scoblete. Scoblete, author of I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps! and several other books, wrote in a column for Jackpot! about his mother’s belief in proper manners.
He said his mother wanted him to be respectful of others’ feelings and to keep his mouth shut if he didn’t have something nice to say. Of course, she didn’t expect him to roll over if someone was being nasty — but he also shouldn’t be “the bore in the room” without real provocation.
Scoblete continued, “I’ve
more or less kept to my
mother’s manners dictum. No
doubt I have written my share
of articles and chapters in my
books where I attack certain gambling ideas that are patently false and if truth be told, I’ve been somewhat unkind to the sad sacks who postulate those ideas. But I am generally a decent sort and when I play craps I adhere to all the superstitions that other players think reflect reality and I make sure I bet at the appropriate time and I never express my disappointment in a shooter who sevens out quickly.
“I think my playing technique should be the behavioral norm — and it is for many players — but there are so many other craps players who make the game somewhat trying for the rest of us,” Scoblete wrote.
In that spirit, we offer his list of things players should avoid doing when playing
craps. Scoblete calls these “Mommy’s Manners.”
• Do not whine
and moan about your losses. Other players don’t really care if you win or lose. They are interested in their own bets, not yours. No single player is the center of the craps universe; even the shooter is merely a part of the whole shebang.
• Do not slap the shooter on the back or yell up into his nose so he smells your beer and garlic breath. If he is having a good roll and you are making money, you can clap if he hits a number you’re on. Respect the body area of the shooter.
they made.
• The dealers know the proper order of payouts. No need to ask
when you are going to get paid. They will get to you.
• Take some care with throwing the dice. Players whose dice constantly land in the dealers’ chip piles, often knocking these over, can delay the game and annoy the other players. If your dice tend to fly off the table then you must slow down the speed of your throw. You can also injure other players if a die or both dice whack them in the face.
• Do not give instruction in the game to other players. Do not tell them how to bet or how much to bet. If a new player enters the game and asks for advice tell him to ask the dealers.
• Do not hold your drink over the table. A spilled drink stops the game until the crew can clean off the table.
• Do not blow on the dice. Aside from being disgusting, no one wants to hold dice that might have your germs on them.
• Feel free to set the dice in any configuration you please but learn to do so quickly. Dice setters who take months to arrive at their set are annoying to everyone at the table.
• Do not mention the word “seven” as many superstitious craps players think this will cause the seven to appear.
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• Do not slam your fist down on the railing or scream or moan or become a mess if someone sevens out. Everyone keep your disappointments to yourself. If you throw a fit, other players will become uncomfortable. After a while you’ll be
sevens out. Just thought of as the craps plague.
•Donotbuyinorcolorupwhenthe shooter is holding the dice. Also, arrange your chips by denomination so the dealers don’t have to waste time doing so.
• Know what bets you have on the table. Do not slow the game down arguing over this or that bet. You should know exactly what you are wagering and also what those wagers pay should you win them. A lot of time can be wasted by shooters not remembering what bets
8 JACKPOT! MAGAZINE • May 2025
THE SOUTH’S LARGEST GUIDE TO GAMING & FUN • www.jackpotmagazine.com