For many of us a $12 Six and Eight or $22 Inside was our first venture into Place Betting. We’d read all of the books recommending Pass Line with Odds and two or three Come Bets with Odds as the best way to play. We’d had some success, but just as many failures. We tired of watching Come Bets get established, only to never repeat before the ugly number reared its head. Eventually we listened to those who said things like “Come Bet numbers have to roll twice for you to get paid,” and “you have no choice over which number you get with Come Bets” and started considering Place Bets. And the most popular choices for Place Betting were to Place the Six and Eight – or Place $22 Inside.
Placing the Six and Eight for $12 each or Placing $22 inside is well within the bankroll limitations of the average player. A $200 – $250 buy in will fund either option for around ten shooters – giving you a chance to catch a decent roll and win a few bucks. The great thing about both of these bets is that there are multiple options available after that first hit. Let’s look at a few.
First off, let’s talk about regression betting. Regression betting means that you reduce the size of your bets after a hit or two in order to reduce your sevens exposure for the hand. Let’s say you have $12 each on the Six and Eight and the Six rolls. The dealer pays you $14. You pick up your chips and tell the dealer to “Make my six and eight look like $6 each” and the dealer hands you an additional $12. You now have a total of $12 action on the six and eight and have a $2 profit locked up in the rack. And that allows you even more options should the six or eight roll again.
Now consider the lowly $22 inside wager. You’re actually risking $2 less from the get-go, and that first hit is only going to pay $7. So let’s play it out. Say the Five rolls and it pays you $7. At that point you “regress” by bringing the Five and Nine wagers down – leaving you with $6 each on the six and eight. That leaves you $12 action, and $5 net “at risk” to the Seven. Regressing off $22 inside is a little tougher than regressing off a $12 Six and Eight – because the payoff is twice as much on a $12 Six or Eight. With $22 inside you have to get that second hit to put yourself in a profit position – and that’s tough on the working man.
Through the years we’ve discussed dozens of methods for limiting exposure. My friend John Patrick has long been a proponent of “one hit and down” instead of just regressing. That way you have a decent shot at collecting a few bucks on every shooter. Of course, the dice don’t know who is tossing them or what numbers rolled before.
Back in the day I often told players to give the shooter three or four shots at hitting your Place action – and if that didn’t work to take the bets down and just wait for a decision on your Line bet (Pass OR Don’t Pass). But the same thing applies there as well. The dice don’t know what roll it is or who is tossing the dice.
These days my betting decisions are much more influenced by “indicators” at the table. Some folks refer to a lot of these indicators as superstitions, and that’s okay. But I kind of look at that like a working man looks at the guys he’s working with. If John is spending all of his time sitting in the shade instead of turning a shovel – do we really need John working for us? If Bob is working twice as much as Bill shouldn’t we pay Bob twice as much? And if a good looking gal walks by wearing a skimpy costume and offering free drinks – do we really think anything is going to get done on the job?
As working men we have one major responsibility – to bring home the bacon and care for our families. Make sure you keep it all in perspective while at the tables.
