Winning Craps Tournaments
Most gamblers know all about poker tournaments but many are surprised to learn that there are also craps tournaments. This surprise stems from the idea that poker is a “skill game” while craps is a game of chance. While it is true that craps players rely heavily on luck, a little practice can go a long way in helping you win a major craps tournament.
Starting Tips For Tournaments
Before we take a look at any craps strategy, let’s start by going over some craps tournament basics. Before you sign up for a craps tournament, you should carefully review the rules. Some tournaments are gambling marathons where you just have to make the most bets in a set period of time. Others pin you against the competition see who can win the most.
Once you know how the tournament is set up, you can start asking the more detailed questions. For instance, some tournaments have large minimum bets while others are completely free. If you’re investigating a free tournament, make sure to ask if the prize pool is effected by the number of players who sign up. While you’re on the subject, it may be helpful to know how many entrants are allowed as this will define the pace and the difficulty of the tournament.
When you get your starting chip stacks, make a point of carefully counting them. Mistakes are sometimes made, and starting a craps tournament without enough chips is a huge disadvantage!
Before you sign up for any tournament, you should find out how long it is expected to last. The last thing you need to do is sign up for a four-day tournament on the last day of your Las Vegas vacation. Most tournaments take place over the course of a few hours but multi-day tournaments are not unheard of.
A Winning Strategy
Everybody has a different take on the perfect craps tournament strategy but if there is one universal truth, it is that you must play with an “all or nothing” mindset. This means you need to determine how much you need to win to advance to the next round, and then play with the goal of winning it all or going broke. There is no point in protecting a bankroll that is too small to carry you through to the next round.
During the final rolls of the tournament, if you are not the chip leader, you’ll need to carry on with the aggressive mindset. To try to steal the lead, you should be betting the maximum allowed bets. The chip leader is the only player who should even think about playing conservatively.
During the middle stages of each round your betting will be more reasonable. By making smaller bets, you can keep in the game until the crucial moments and survive through cold streaks. One great way to decide the appropriate bet size is to simply copy your competition. Once you know which players are the biggest threat, you can mimic their betting to keep them from getting ahead.
Luck Still Plays A Roll
Having success with craps tournaments depends on careful strategy, poise, and some impressive betting moves but in the end of the day, lady luck is still a huge factor. Even trained dice controllers are at the mercy of fate and no amount of preparation can guarantee a win.
A lot of craps tournaments are held as promotional events in land casinos. To make them worth your while, it’s pretty common for the casino to offer free rooms, meals, and even cash back to entice craps players. Programs like these can soften the blow of a fairly-likely loss.