Don’t Let the Don’t Player Make You Don’t

They are out there. They are the bane of the game of craps, the killers of positive karma. They are the despised ones. They are the "Don’t" players. Also called "Dark-side" players, could the association with the "Prince of Darkness" be any clearer?

For those who know very little about craps, a don’t player is someone who bets the Don’t Pass Line instead of the Pass Line. Pass Line players bet the shooter will re-roll the point number before throwing a 7. The Don’t player bets the dreaded 7 will show before the shooter makes the point. He is betting against the shooter (and most of the rest of the players at the table).

When the shooter eventually sevens-out and all the right-side players are having their money scooped up by the dealers, the don’t bettor is happy. It is like he is getting rich off the misery of others. Actually, he is making money as most of the rest lose theirs. Heck, come to think about it, he is hardly better than an ambulance-chasing lawyer. (My apologies to the very few don’t bettors that I consider among my friends).

Anyone who has played the game of craps – even for just a little while – has run across these guys.

Even the most random shooter who takes "them bones," rattles them around in their hand, wings them to the far end of the tables and snaps their fingers as they complete their throw has disdain for the don’t bettor.

"How dare they bet against me?" the shooter says to himself (or herself). "Don’t they know they are messing up the good flow of this game?"

As a practiced careful shooter, the presence of a wrong-way bettor can be even more upsetting. I know it has been for me.

As someone who has "practiced until the fingers bleed," I fully expect to make at least a few points every time I have the dice.

As the competitive person I am, when I used to see someone betting the Don’t, I would immediately get a combative attitude.

"I’ll show this guy," I thought. "He’ll be sorry he ever bet against me"

My whole focus became busting this guy.

Usually, I couldn’t care less about the point number – I wanted to just keep hitting numbers. That’s how I made my money. Making a point was just a bonus.

With someone betting Don’t Pass, I became preoccupied with making the point. Rather than using my normal set and just throwing numbers, I would change my set to try to make the point.

Ordinarily, I set for sevens on the come-out. It is a good way to see how the dice are reacting and make a little something at the same time. Not with a don’t bettor, I wouldn’t. Nope, there would be no setting for sevens when he was around. Why should I make him money by hitting a 7 when he had don’t come bets working.

Sometimes the changes in routine would work. (It is such a great feeling to send a don’t player packing). However, most of the time, my shooting performance would suffer.

Why was this?

It is actually very simple. I new it, but my competitive nature got in the way of my seeing it while I was at the table. In order to be consistent, you need to do things automatically. You cannot think too much. You need to be in a "zone" – running on autopilot.

Changing your routine gets in the way of this. Changing sets from the norm means you are thinking. The more you think, the harder it is to get into a zone – the harder it is to be consistent.

Watching other things at the table gets in the way of consistency. If you are worried about what someone else is betting, you are not focused on your task – throwing the dice softly and consistently.

So, my advice?

Forget about other players. Noticing and worrying about what they are doing is going to hurt you – not them.

Focus on what you can control – your set, grip, delivery and your attitude. Play the game like you do in practice. Perform your normal routine. Ignore what others are doing.

Play your game on your terms. You have the dice. You have control over what will happen. Don’t forfeit your advantage because of something another player at the table is doing.

If you normally set for sevens on come-out, by all means set for sevens with a don’t player. So what if he makes money when you deliver that beautiful 4-3. You are in your routine and the dice are doing what you want them to do. You will make money – that is what really matters.

Don’t worry about what the point is. Throw your normal set and collect money on the numbers you hit.

Being successful in the game of craps involves knowledge, practice and skill. These things will give you an advantage. Play to that advantage. If you happen to have a "dark-sider" at the table, you will have a much better chance of turning him around or running him off by playing your game instead of becoming combative and throwing everything you worked so hard for right out the window.

Happy rolling.

Remember, If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.

Stickman