Roulette and craps hosts (2 Viewers)

[EastCoastCali]

I love craps and roulette, but I’m curious how people host it at home. I assume either people are just very experienced and quick with the math or have professional experience doing it, but the thought of trying to host one or both seems so daunting given the payouts for all the bets. I can’t imagine I’m the only one who thinks it would be fun to host either one but simply won’t even entertain the idea because it seems very difficult as a dealer. Curious people’s thoughts or info possibly simplifying the idea.

 

[Okku]

When we play here at work, we always generally use the same people for craps. Guys that know the game really well and constantly play it. That way they know what the payouts are. They're quick, make it fun for everyone and overall very simple.

 

[Huskerchipper]

I think Craps would be quite a challenge. Very complex for most novices.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Keep it 4 or less people, hopefully half the field knows what they r doing, take ur time no rush enjoy it, and learn the tricks of what to bet to keep everything in multiples of $5 for pay outs. Not necessarily bet in multiples of $5 but try to ensure payouts are in multiples of $5.

 

[Timmah]

As someone who has been in table games for over 25 years, I wouldn’t host craps or roulette myself.

Craps is very complicated. The average person isn’t going to grasp the prop section. Plus you can take a big hit if they catch a roll. And remember, all your guests will most likely be betting the pass line. So if one wins, they all win.

Roulette is an easier game for the players. The math for you might get old having to figure out the straight up bets, splits, corners, street, and line bets, then add them all together. Again, you could take a huge loss of they catch a good run of numbers. Also, you have to muck up the chips after every roll. Depending on the number of players, that could be hundreds of chips per spin.

 

[doublebooyah85]

I’m also assuming you’re playing a tournament style.

Everyone buys in for $20, whoever wins the most at the end is the winner etc

Hosting a bank would be very dangerous to @Timmah point.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Thought this was post was going to be about this @Rhodeman77 @Hornet

https://www.facebook.com/share/XAQoQXed2skR3HW6/?mibextid=79PoIi

 

[allforcharity]

It took me a long time to add roulette to my casino tournament, not because it's hard to run or calculate payouts, but the sheer amount of infrastructure is very costly. Dedicated table, custom felt, full size roulette wheel in good working condition, 1200+ custom chips per set. I'm very lucky to have PCF friends to help with it all.

 

[EastCoastCali]

Appreciate all the info and thoughts gents, kind of reaffirmed my suspicion to steer clear lol. Not worth the headache/expenses it would seem. And besides the tournament idea which I didn’t consider, I didn’t fully consider/think about if someone goes a real roll how quickly that could go bad for me. I’ll just stick to hittin pairs and missing draws.

 

[Huskerchipper]

It is definitely a fun thought! My wife and I love Roullette and it could be a blast but realistically the amount it would be used vs the cost just doesn't pan out for me personally. Reminds me of buying home gym equipment that turns into a clothes hanger.

 

[SetToBean]

Appreciate all the info and thoughts gents, kind of reaffirmed my suspicion to steer clear lol. Not worth the headache/expenses it would seem. And besides the tournament idea which I didn’t consider, I didn’t fully consider/think about if someone goes a real roll how quickly that could go bad for me. I’ll just stick to hittin pairs and missing draws.

There are options for cheaper and less infrastructure heavy roulette hosting if you’re fine with not providing the 110% authentic casino experience.

I just use a layout mat, a 20” Dal Negro wheel, and 1400 dice chips + some more high denominations from another set (I know, but compromises had to be made at the time I bought it given that it was the only real option for colour coding other than custom roulette chips which wouldn’t get enough use to justify the cost). and a dining/long camping table. Dolly marker off Amazon, and boom, ready to go. I don’t have a hardcore enthusiast playerbase but they’re still in awe.

Craps is certainly harder, but I’ve recently started a simple portable set that’s 90% of the way there. Again, not much in the way of construction: I got a layout mat, stick, ON/OFF puck(s) and a piece of wall rubber (or two for a full table), DIY’d some lammers and it was good to go.

A full bank of nice chips is an ask unless you already have one favourite set you’ve already bought an excess of. On YouTube, Sin City Living has a pretty awesome series of videos for learning the basics of dealing (<8 hours total) and with some practice you should be able to get to a home game standard (don’t compare yourself to craps dealers with years of experience and intensive training and the benefit of the box catching bad habits - that'll set unrealistic expectations for some rando in their house).

If playing for money, I would only ever do it in a tournament style.

 

[SetToBean]

Appreciate all the info and thoughts gents, kind of reaffirmed my suspicion to steer clear lol. Not worth the headache/expenses it would seem. And besides the tournament idea which I didn’t consider, I didn’t fully consider/think about if someone goes a real roll how quickly that could go bad for me. I’ll just stick to hittin pairs and missing draws.

have made some edits to my previous comment so check again.

Going with this instead of dedicated tables was both a cost and portability issue for me - I rotate hosts a lot and provide a little casino night entertainment on occasion at friends’ social events so this has been borne out of those constraints.

If you do end up playing cash value craps in any way, probably best to offer the most favourable rules available (triple field 12, AUS/UK prop bet payouts, buy/lay commission on win, etc.).

Also, the simple craps (stick still in transit so ersatz substitute currently in use) and roulette sets pictured below (spacing on the roulette table not final - pics taken during setup and before adjustment)

 

[Sparkynutz]

Craps is very difficult to master. I would not reccomend it. My buddy hosts it about once a year if that.

Roulette We play more often.
We both have Wheels and enough chips that each player gets their own color.
We typically play tournament style with a random blind timer paying top 2-4 places depending on how many playing.
I can accommodate 13 players at once. More than can fit at a single table playing holdem. I think he can accommodate 9 or 10
Fun time! Need to host it again soon.

 

[SetToBean]

Craps is very difficult to master. I would not reccomend it. My buddy hosts it about once a year if that.

For the players or the dealer? For the players, absolutely. I recently had the first trial of my craps set with 4 players, 2 with no casino experience at all and 2 with some casino experience but not in craps. Was an effort but I managed to get them through the Pass/DP, field, place bets, and the hardways, but didn't even try Come/DC. Even then, the people struggling still got the basics and were having fun despite not being sure on some things.

For the dealer, I think there's a personal element. If someone already enjoys authentically dealing poker, roulette, or blackjack at home it's difficult but not impossible, and very satisfying. The more experience and passion you have for dealing the easier it comes (to a home game standard, not a casino standard).

 

[SetToBean]

In terms of chip count for hosting craps, I’ll update here on how my set goes at a second, larger scale test run. I had some people be extra extra keen so I am getting a bit over ambitious and hosting 6-8 players.

Set is 300/350/300/200/50/50 for $1/$5/$25/$100/$500/$1000, nominal $10 pass line minimum, so I’ll see whether colouring up gets annoyingly frequent or not.

 

[Sparkynutz]

In terms of chip count for hosting craps, I’ll update here on how my set goes at a test run. I had some people be extra extra keen so I am getting a bit over ambitious and hosting 6-8 players.

Set is 300/350/300/200/50/50 for $1/$5/$25/$100/$500/$1000 so I’ll see whether colouring up gets annoyingly frequent or not.

Hmm. Lots of player chips to keep track of locations and hope they didnt get bumped to another players location on table.
Thats why we just use colors. chips are $1, plaques are $100. Players turn in a full rack for a plaque when or if needed.

 

[SetToBean]

Hmm. Lots of player chips to keep track of locations and hope they didnt get bumped to another players location on table.
Thats why we just use colors. chips are $1, plaques are $100. Players turn in a full rack for a plaque when or if needed.

I’m going to be relying on proper craps bet positioning and enforcing dealer vs self-service bets as a personal challenge, as I’ve gotten a 8ft table and now have space to set up chip racks to act as a substitute for the rails used to reference player bets on real craps tables.

Play-money test run anyway so any errors are a learning experience with no harm done this time around.

 

[Phoe9x]

To teach new players, you can refer them to color up, he has a great video teaching his kids how to play. I used that same method to teach my wife to play and now we love playing for fun.

If you’re interested in learning how to deal properly, look up CEG dealer school. It’s a simple flow if you already know they payouts.

 

[SetToBean]

In terms of chip count for hosting craps, I’ll update here on how my set goes at a second, larger scale test run. I had some people be extra extra keen so I am getting a bit over ambitious and hosting 6-8 players.

Set is 300/350/300/200/50/50 for $1/$5/$25/$100/$500/$1000, nominal $10 pass line minimum, so I’ll see whether colouring up gets annoyingly frequent or not.

This went ahead with a gradually increasing player count from 3-8 and the set got by, although I mixed in an extra 120x $5 from a different set to supplement for 470 total. I didn’t have to dip into those extras but got close. Overall, didn’t have to ask anyone to colour up, but likely only because people weren’t really pressing at all during long rolls - if they did they’d have exhausted the 5s and forced colour ups.

Dealing craps solo to 8 players even just for play money was definitely a unique experience, very much worth the time and effort investment for the satisfaction of pulling it off.

 

[DirtyTIVA]

Was not worth the effort. Roulette wasn’t really worth it either. Blackjack easily the most value for effort and space. Just my 2 cents.

 

[allforcharity]

Blackjack definitely is best bang for buck. Roulette is just plain fun if you can pull it off. I have no regrets expanding that way, though I know my investment $ is through the roof.

 

[TheChipVault]

Here's a fun one... can anyone tell me what this paid without using a calculator? I have a friend that ran these numbers live, instantaneously and correctly while I was playing. For the record, I could not do it correctly on the spot.

Time to leave the table after playing for hours, I have to go to a meeting. Rather then color up and cash out I take the entire stack and put it on the horn. I had no idea how much it was. Roller throws a 2. Dealer counts the horn bet. I had $427. There is a short delay as the dealer, pit boss and my friend argue over the correct pay out amount. They pay me correctly and I press the horn from $427 to $854. Roller throws 11. Correct amount is paid out quickly and I press the $854 to $1281. Roller throws 12. Correct amount is paid. Horn is pressed to $1708 and does not hit. What do I walk with? How long did it take to calculate?

Don't want to hijack the thread. But can you imagine having to deal with that in a home game?

 

[EastCoastCali]

 

[Timmah]

On behalf of all craps dealers, SMH. At least two of the four bets were proper bets.

I can payout each bet without using a calculator. However, tracking the profit drawn is not something we would do, nor have I ever had to. The player would simply place their chips on the table and we would count it and color them up.

I dealt a craps tournament before. Between players not knowing what they’re doing , to improper bets, to prop section hell, we only ran one and never looked back.

I agree that blackjack is probably the best bet for home games.

 

[TheChipVault]

At least two of the four bets were proper bets.

Yes... I was literally trying to throw the money away and walk and they didn't catch it and I honestly didn't know it was odd. The dealers and staff knew me pretty well and it wasn't really a big problem. It did cause the delay after the first roll. after the disagreement the pit ruled to take the bet and I lost the odd change. the dealer wasn't happy about it so when I pressed the bets he took them out of spite I think... saying something like "that's the way we are playing tonight.. OK"

tracking the profit drawn is not something we would do, nor have I ever had to.

you guys (craps dealers) are really good at math in general. profit tracking is not something you have to do but I just figured it would be fairly easy. but this one was a MESS

 

[Timmah]

Yes... I was literally trying to throw the money away and walk and they didn't catch it and I honestly didn't know it was odd. The dealers and staff knew me pretty well and it wasn't really a big problem. It did cause the delay after the first roll. after the disagreement the pit ruled to take the bet and I lost the odd change. the dealer wasn't happy about it so when I pressed the bets he took them out of spite I think... saying something like "that's the way we are playing tonight.. OK"

Not sure how long ago this took place. When I broke in, we didn’t have computers at the game. There was only one computer in the pit and the pit clerks used it to enter the manual rating card in. You really had to be good at math, orr at least have someone that was.

Today we have computers at each game. As a supervisor/pit boss, we have calculators built into the rating system. Basic, roulette, and craps. Today, we would just punch in the bet to see what it payed. Todays craps dealers don’t have to have the skill set that us “old timers” had to have.

 

[TheChipVault]

I dealt a craps tournament before. Between players not knowing what they’re doing , to improper bets, to prop section hell, we only ran one and never looked back.

Exactly the point I was making. Craps and home games are a disaster.

Not sure how long ago this took place.

If I had to guess the year ... 2014

Anyone else actually trying to solve the problem... it is impossible to solve without knowing exactly how the first wager was handled. and how the dealer applied that going forward.

 

[SetToBean]

Here's a fun one... can anyone tell me what this paid without using a calculator? I have a friend that ran these numbers live, instantaneously and correctly while I was playing. For the record, I could not do it correctly on the spot.

Time to leave the table after playing for hours, I have to go to a meeting. Rather then color up and cash out I take the entire stack and put it on the horn. I had no idea how much it was. Roller throws a 2. Dealer counts the horn bet. I had $427. There is a short delay as the dealer, pit boss and my friend argue over the correct pay out amount. They pay me correctly and I press the horn from $427 to $854. Roller throws 11. Correct amount is paid out quickly and I press the $854 to $1281. Roller throws 12. Correct amount is paid. Horn is pressed to $1708 and does not hit. What do I walk with? How long did it take to calculate?

Don't want to hijack the thread. But can you imagine having to deal with that in a home game?

Speaking about home games, my layout doesn’t have spots specifically for horn bets or whirl bets, so any combined bets are placed separated, and I skip the step of automatically replenishing losing bets via subtracting from winnings when one of the horn numbers rolls. It’s not traditional but when running the whole table solo on stick some things have to be streamlined.

My prepared excuse for any annoyed players who want the convenience of bets being left up is that I use the UK/Australia pay table for hop bets that is more favourable and has nightmarish keys (or so I say, I have not bothered to figure out those keys).

 

[SetToBean]

I dealt a craps tournament before. Between players not knowing what they’re doing , to improper bets, to prop section hell, we only ran one and never looked back.

I feel like my limited experience dealing solely to non-gamblers outside of my poker games and having attempting self-teaching has differed. We had people betting all the centre action pretty smoothly, and the only pain point was units of $6 vs $5 but that was solved with prudent “I’ll come back to you sir/madam”.

Now there was only play-money but that wasn’t a total simplifier given it encouraged silliness, but didn’t end up being enough of an issue to detract from the experience.

It’s definitely only a game worth learning for home use if the host-dealer gets intrinsic enjoyment from dealing casino games itself and not just from hosting because that is such a huge part of the effort-reward ratio. It works for me because being on stick at home is so much damn fun.

I’m likely still in the honeymoon period of a new setup so I’ll see if I’m eating my words a few events down the line.

 

[SetToBean]

And obligatory set update. A much smaller table was used for the bank on the actual day.