Whoa, '50s flashback at State Street
By adamg - 2/4/08 - 8:05 pm
Third Decade reports spotting three guys playing craps - and a fourth acting as a lookout - at the State Street T stop today:
... At first I thought the location was a little weird (a dark, dirty, stairway at State), then it kind of hit me that they were playing craps. I didn't know people still played that.
Comments
'Playing' craps? 1950s? The
'Playing' craps? 1950s? The blogger is obviously, how shall I say, melanin-disabled.
Melanin disabled?
As in white?
Johnny Winter?
I think they mean "melanin deficient" or "melanin challenged".
Melanin disabled = an albino
A lot of bloggers have "about" pages these days
You might want to check out Third Decade's.
yes, "playing craps"
Mark is obviously, how shall I say, narrow-minded.
I wrote "playing craps" because that's how I heard my grandparents generation talking about it. Never seen anyone younger than them play or talk about it, except in movies. Sure it's played in casinos (at the craps table, isn't it?), but this is the first time I've seen a street game.
Dice
You need to get out more in the City. Granted, it is unsusual to see people shooting dice in the financial district, but if you look behind any bar in any of the less affluent neighborhoods of the city there is a chance that you will see a group of guys shooting dice. You might also want to turn on MTV sometime and watch virtually any Rap video.
thanks for the advice, but...
My surprise came from seeing the game played "live." I grew up and still live in Roxbury, used to live in Hyde Square (JP) and Orient Heights (East Boston), and spend time in Mattapan, Dorchester, Allston, Chinatown, and East Cambridge. I've also spent time in less affluent sections of NYC, Philly, and London. I get out plenty.
Why is it so hard to believe that this is the first time I've seen it? Maybe you should re-examine your ideas of what life in the city is like, especially if you're getting your information from (M)TV. Or better yet, take your own advice and spend time in those areas yourself.
As you said, Bostonian, while walking around those areas there's a chance that I would see guys shooting dice. But there's also a chance that I won't.
Did they steal the one that went down Washington Street too?
So you're on some kinda poor person road trip? Some manner of Yelp? You're telling me that only poor people play dice? What do white people play? Yahtzee!
First Hand Experience, Thanks
I grew up in Dorchester and regularly spend time there, as well as in other neighborhoods througout Boston. I find it hard to imagin that you have not seen this activity because I have seen it several times over the past year alone, as I indicated, passing bars in less affluent areas of the City. By referring to MTV I was merely suggesting that if you think that playing dice in public is unheard of, or something from the 50s, you should pay attention to pop culture, as it has virtually become a cliche activity among gangster rappers and is frequently featured in videos.
Maybe
Your interlocuter prefers the front side of bars rather than the back... I know I do.
Being in my third decade in Boston
I don't see how this is linked to the 50's. I still remember this stuff going on regularly in the 80s and early 90s.
I vividly remember my boyfriend leading me through a North End rat warren past sentries to a hidden school yard where we placed an order, gave a guy some money, and he returned with a paper bag. There was a uniformed Boston Cop overseeing the proceedings.
It was a lot different from my childhood experiences of driving to a Native American reservation to buy high-caliber fireworks!
Craps
Maybe I saw too many "Bowery Boys" movies as a kid, but I always associate craps with life in New York from the '30s through '50s (including a certain musical based on "Romeo and Juliet," the name of which I dare not mention).
Time of Day?
This stuff seemed to be going on most at mid day. Mostly older guys in odd public spaces. I haven't seen much of it since 1995 or so - perhaps a crack down or something.
Maybe this sort of activity makes Gov. Patrick think that casinos are viable?
Best Odds
Craps is not just a 50's street game...also, I've seen guys "shootin' dice" all the time. It's a fav activity of street crews biding time while slinging rock.
Do a Google Video search for "shooting dice" or "shootin dice".
In the meantime, craps tables have the best odds in a casino. A smart player with a little luck can do really well at a table.
Craps = Best Odds?
While a craps player can get some very decent play for his/her buck, the best odds are available at a blackjack table, if the player has done the work of learning how to count cards and/or shuffle track.
Craps: A bet on the pass line, without odds, carries a 1.41% disadvantage to the player. Don't Pass is slightly better, at about 1.39%. Blackjack's risk, off the top with knowledge of basic strategy, runs in the neighborhood of .40%.
When allowed maximum odds at craps, the odds against the player can be lowered significantly. 10x odds will bring it below .20%. 100x odds, if you can find that, makes the house advantage tiny, albeit with extremely high outlay and risk. In the sense that you can do this without any arcane knowledge, or fear of being barred, it does beat blackjack.
However, the only casino table game that presents an honest opportunity for the player to hold an actual advantage is blackjack (21).
(Sorry. I know this isn't a forum for casino gambling, but I figured that since I have the knowledge, it couldn't hurt to put it out there for whomever might benefit.)
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Who can count a 6 deck shoe with hidden deck?
Besides the blackjack club from MIT, that is.
Even odds betting at craps doesn't require any skill or much knowledge to perform correctly. Playing a perfect blackjack game does (just to get to the "best odds"). There's a lot more tolerance for mistakes in craps and occasionally as you mention, they'll give you bonuses. In the meantime, casinos everywhere have decided to spike blackjack against the player more by modifying their rules.
The threshold to play some money at craps is also usually lower on the table than those of blackjack meaning it's easier to get some money in and try to make it grow to a modest sum...rather than needing a wad of cash to even start playing at a $25 blackjack table (today's general minimum bet).
Sure, a perfect blackjack game (with friendlier house rules than you'll find in nearly every casino today) will net you a smaller advantage over craps, but aside from learning how to force a dice roll, getting even odds on the craps table takes no effort for nearly the exact same odds as perfect blackjack.
Counting down a 6 deck shoe
Counting down a 6 deck shoe isn't all that hard. Using the simple plus-minus, all you have to do is be able to add or subtract ones. Anyway, the most common in this region (Foxwoods, Mohegan) are 8 deckers. Again, not tremendously hard, IF you're willing to put in the practice. As far as profitability is concerned, good house rules help, but the major factors are penetration and how much action the joint will give you before turning up the heat. And I don't know where you're playing, but there are still thousands of tables out there where you can get down for $5 or $15, rather than $25. Me? I preferred black action.
My point wasn't that craps can't be a decent and fun bet. It certainly can. I've enjoyed myself at craps tables. I was just saying that, no matter what odds they're willing to let you lay, you can't beat the house in the long run. Short term? Sure - anything can happen.
By the way, I've also done some experimenting with controlled rolls of dice. I'm of the belief that it certainly can be done, given the right circumstances and enough practice, but doing it in a casino with the stipulation that you have to hit the back wall with 'em? WAY harder than counting.
(Adam: Hope you don't mind the discussion too much.)
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Mom's Washing Machine
My grandma could roll dice like nobody's business. She'd drive down to Reno and hang at the tables until her pockets burst. I have no idea how she did it, but she usually paid for her trip and had enough money left to splurge on something.
She came back one day when I was about 13, grabbed my mom, took her to JC Penney's and bought her a washer and dryer for the trailer - the first one we had ever had! Another time, she bought my dad a computer.
Odds are the were clawing
Odds are the were clawing cee lo not craps. How could you shoot craps on a stair case?
Would you rather they play
Would you rather they play dice or be robbing you? Better keep that ipod in your inner pocket and the blackberry hidden or you might get jacked.
This is why the T doesn't go to Rozzie.
Exactly
The T used to go to Rozzie, but the roving hordes of scary brown people who roam the cracked alleys of Rozzie's post-apocalyptic moonscape were driven into a frenzy by the smell of white people's blood. The bloodthirsty mob robbed all the poor white people at the station, then stole all the trains, then picked up the tracks themselves. The railing on the back porch of my dilapidated triple-decker is made from a stolen T rail, and the steps were made with purloined crossties. The red roses grow high every year, fertilized with the blood of white babies.
Be afraid! Be very afraid!
Holy Shit!
When did this happen Gareth? This all stems from some guys on melatonin playing dice?
It was the great Rozzie Revolt back in aught-one
I still use some of the train ties as stakes for our tomato plants up here in the fortress.
I Remember It Well
About the only place they didn't destroy was The Pleasant.
Or maybe they did; hard to tell.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
This post would have been so much better had...
..they been playing Three Card Monty, complete with a cardboard box table and a hat for stashing money in when its time to scram from the cops.