The “don’t” side of craps is usually given short shift when gambling writers delve into it. Why is that? Because it is (seriously) considered the “dark” side of the game. It is the side that should be avoided at all costs. It’s as if you are throwing your lot with the devil.
How so? Well, most craps players prefer to play the “rightside” of the game and they look at the “don’t players” as if they are the betrayers of their fellow craps players. After all, the “don’t” players are somewhat similar to Satan, as they are more than likely hoping the opposite hopes of the “rightside” players.
Often the “don’t” players are betting that the “rightside” group of the players will lose when the horrible 7 is thrown by the shooter. That is an awkward time at the table. At least, I find that so. I like to think of craps as “we are all in this together.”
Yes, on some occasions that 7 helps both the “rightside” player, who is betting on the “come” which wins when a 7 is thrown, and the “don’t” player.
The “don’t” players are often referred to as the “darkside” players or simply as the “darksider,” who wants the point number or any number they are betting against, to be knocked off the board when the 7 thrusts its ugly self onto the layout. And obviously the seven can come up a lot.
The rightside players consider this a betrayal of the game and they don’t like the don’t players, those beastly darksiders, and would prefer that they don’t play at the same table as they do. In fact, some rabid rightside craps players (and there are plenty of those) wish the darksiders didn’t even exist. (I’m ending using quotes for the groupings from here on in.)
If you know the game of craps, you are certainly familiar with darksiders. On the rightside, the come-out roll wins for the player if a 7 or 11 appears. But for the darksider those are two losing numbers. The darksider wins if a 2 or 3 is thrown which loses for the rightsiders. The 12 is a push.
The come-out roll is good for the rightsiders but bad for the darksiders. The rightsiders will win eight times and lose four times. After that it is all in the darksiders’ favor because the 7 wins the game for the darksider as that number has 6 chances to hit. That is more than any other number in the game. On the come-out roll, the darksider loses three times and does not have an edge.
The house edge against the darksider is 1.36%. The edge against the rightsiders is 1.41%.
Playing the Game
From this point the game gets slightly more complicated. When the point number is established; the rightsiders will win if that number is rolled but the darksider will lose. But if the 7 is rolled, more than likely it will be, the rightsider loses and the darksider wins.
If the rightsider is betting on a lot of numbers, either through come betting and/or place betting, a 7 will wipe him or her out. That’s a big hit. And a big win for the darksiders.
About 95% of craps players are rightside players and only about 5% are darkside players. These are approximations. I never took a real survey.
The Odds
Now there is a little bit of a wrinkle here as both rightsiders and darksiders can make use of a bet called “the odds.” This bet is made after the point is established (it can also be made on the come bets and don’t come bets). Come odds are used by the rightsiders; don’t come odds are used for the darksiders. In addition, odds also apply to the point bet.
Overall, taking or laying the odds are good bets. The house has no edge on these bets.
The rightside player puts however much the casino allows behind his “line” bet – the “line” is the pass line. He will be paid the true value of the bet. So, if a 4 is the point, the payment will be 2 to 1 on the odds bet; if the point is a 5, he or she will be paid 3 to 2; the 6 and 8 will pay 6 to 5; the 9 will pay 3 to 2 and the 10 will pay 2 to 1.
The darksiders can lay the odds, that is they can take the long end of the odds bet. The darksider would have to place twice as much money behind his or her bet if it were a 4 as the 4 has two to one odds against it. (The 10, 5, 9, 6 and 8 can also be wagered this way. Come and don’t come bets can also use the odds.)
You can see that as the game shifts towards the point number and the come bets, the rightsider is behind the eight-ball a little. But the darksider is in good shape. He or she has a slight edge at the game.
Now, when those sevens roll, the rightside players will groan or curse and if a darksider is at the table, well, many rightsiders will tend to be irritated or angry at the darksider winning money while the rightsider lost his or her money.
Projection is a powerful instinct and many rightsiders project on the darksider the bad luck they are experiencing. The darksider caused it. This is, I guess, a normal reaction. There is no cause for it.
The Captain’s Take
My mentor, the great legend of Atlantic City, the late Captain, first introduced me to the darksiders. I was in the process of learning the game of craps and how to shoot the dice. The Captain said, “See that guy over there?” I looked.
A short man was making a bet, a don’t bet on the line when the shooter got the dice.
The Captain explained that this man, a short, squirrelly type of guy, was carefully making his bet. I noticed that he didn’t look at anyone at the table but some of the players were grunting. Remember this was 1990 and the table had many World War II and Korean War veterans. They seemed upset. You could see their lips snarling. Nothing like a snarl to alert you to the inner feelings of someone.
The Captain explained that this individual was a darksider, a player who played the opposite of most players, as he was betting against the dice. He didn’t want the rightside players to make any points or numbers. He wanted a quick seven-out. And the rightsiders knew this.
This was probably my fourth or fifth visit to Atlantic City. It was my first sight of a darksider. I didn’t know such a bettor existed, although I know I read about them but they were outside my conscious perception. I was kind of singularly focused on my craps education.
The Captain explained that the majority of darksiders played alone and would furtively come to the table and quietly place their bets. You’d usually notice them up in the corner of the table. They really didn’t bother him one bit.
Welcome to the New World
Now, the Captain’s sense of things was true for the 1990s but I once was at a table that was crowded with darksiders. Maybe six or seven of them. This was at Bally’s in Atlantic City. It was the late 1990s. Maybe, 2000.
You have to realize that Atlantic City had a lot of characters who played in the casinos. Some of these characters were interesting and worthy of a kind of appreciation, maybe even respect. Others certainly were not.
The group at the table playing the darkside were loud. They all sounded something like a poor version of Robert DeNiro. In short, they were true lowlifes. They would make anyone uncomfortable.
There were a couple of other players who were trying to shoot. “Come on fella,” said the guy who appeared to be the leader of this mob. “Let’s see what you can do.” And they all placed don’t pass bets.
The new player shot the dice and established a point and then sevened-out. “Oopsy daisy!” said the leader. His gang laughed derisively. I was just standing watching but the other two guys at the table didn’t shoot.
The problem was that there were only two tables opened at Bally’s, and one was full of players; the other was the table I was looking at. This was about two in the afternoon. The casino was not crowded at this time of the day or this day of the week. I was waiting for the Captain but I was a little early.
“Hey, buddy,” said the leader who was lighting up a cigarette. “Why don’t you shoot? You shoot; go ahead. You might get lucky, right? Make some money.”
“No thanks,” I said. “I don’t know the game,” I lied. “I’d hate to make you lose.”
“We ain’t losing,” said the leader. The others laughed. Half of them were smoking. They were an annoying bunch for sure. I walked away. Being near these players was off-putting.
That gang were the most obnoxious players I think I ever encountered. They were out of a Scorsese movie doing the worst parts.
Soon after, the Captain arrived with several of his crew. The casino opened another table and the Captain took his spot, as did the Arm, and Jimmy P. There were a couple of other players who came to the table too. So, we had a session.
The Scorsese gang then came to our table. We had a pretty high minimum bet ($25, which was high in those days) but no one cared about that.
All of them made their don’t pass bets. The Arm was shooting. She rolled several sevens in a row. The gang guffawed.
“Keep that up and we’ll lose,” laughed the leader, lighting up another cigarette. It was a non-filtered cigarette I noticed. In fact, his fingers were somewhat yellow from the nicotine. Figures.
“You might want to leave,” laughed the Captain. “This lady can shoot.”
Now while “this lady can shoot” was a true statement, she told the Captain she didn’t feel like shooting after she sevened-out. And we left. The obnoxiousness of the gang was too much for her. By this time, she was hitting 80 years old. So was the Captain.
After this, the Captain and the Arm passed away. I wish this story would have ended with the Arm destroying the Scorsese gang but, well, it didn’t. Sometimes the good guys lose. And that’s the way it was and is.
Did Anyone Else Play the Darkside?
In my craps career, I never played with a friend who was a darksider or even stayed at a table with one if that person was loud. Usually, darksiders stayed quiet. Today, you do get some players who cheer if the dice clobber a rightsider but these people aren’t legion.
The concept of going against people who were rooting for me to fail turned me off. I wasn’t superstitious but shooting at a table while other players were hoping I would fail just didn’t sit well with me.
Once at the Venetian in Las Vegas I went to a table and had a great roll with two darksiders at the table. They left. I stayed.
I don’t have too many great stories about knocking out darksiders. I may have done so a few more times than I didn’t do it, but still, I didn’t want to play with players who were rooting against me.
In the End
The darkside isn’t for everyone and that is why most gambling writers aren’t all that interested in writing about it. Still, it should be covered, at least superficially. Well, I did it!
All the best in and out of the casinos!
