Never, since my younger days when I was in Dealer's School, have I had so many gamblin' type questions thrown at me that demanded such precise answers. More than three quarters of the mail pertains to craps -- not only how to play the game, its theory and odds, but mostly how to win when indulging in it. What that shows me is how stanch a craps player all you pilgrims are!

So, Harold -- and you'll know which Harold you are by the question -- you said that you were reading about a strategy of playing on the Don't side and that you needed some clarification on … "It goes like this, you said: "Lay the Pt (Point) after the come out roll as a hedge to get your DC (Don't Come) established. That becomes the primary number. Remove the lay against the Pt (Point). How do I do that? Please go through an example and tell me in detail how to do that? Is that a fairly good method?"

Well, Harold, not knowing what the strategy is/was prior to this point I'm going to have to assume you have a Don't Pass bet on the come out roll. After you get a point established, this don't play now is to lay against the point an amount you stand to lose on a bet you make on the Don't Come. This is done because of the "naturals" that come out on any given roll (all 6 combinations of 7's and the 2 elevens). Now if your lucky enough to get another number, the lay bet comes down (off) because now you got two #'s that are in your favor to hit and you get even money instead of lay bet prices. As I read on with your question, an example is needed.

Example: You can pick any number to lay against -- say 4 or 10, because the odds are 2 to 1, easy.

Lay $40 against the 10 to win $20; cost ya a dollar, for vigorous true odds don't come free. Net win $19.

At the same time (same roll) you're makin' the lay bet, make a Don't Come bet slightly less than you stand to win if a seven rolls and you lose the Don't Come bet. If the bet gets behind another number (4,5,6,8,or9), you take the lay bet down and you now have the percentages on your side. The situation now is that you have your money on the don't side of a number and getting even money for it.

Of course we can't teach the dice the odds, as they are liable to roll anything. Is this what one would call a fairly good method? Well, just about any method is a good one if you're lucky. But always remember one thing: If you do find a way to beat the tables, they wont let you play it!

Sooo, Pilgrim, bring it on. And Good Luck To Ya!