Return to Cherokee aka 9-hour turnaround

After receiving monthly free play coupons for Harrah's Cherokee, I decided to take them up on their $20 generosity. It was going to be another "trip during the hours i was supposed to be working", hence the 9-hour turnaround. I departed home at 5:15am and drove straight through, arriving at 8:15. After grabbing the free play coupon and dicking around on my phone for a few minutes, i entered the casino and began my scouting. They had one craps table open, $5 mins, lots of old guys playing...aka a great table. There were about 10 spots taken, so since the table was kinda full, I made the choice to keep walking.

I decided to put the free play to use to begin today's stint. After fumbling around three different VP machines, wondering why the ticket wasn't being accepted, i read the back and realized that slot machine does not equal video poker. Begrudgingly, i spun around and went over to a Golden Buffalo bank and fed it the free tickie. Some button pounding later, i emerged with a $65 cash out. Sweet!

I pocketed the TITO and went back to the VP. I popped in $100 and played for about 15-20 minutes, not hitting anything substantial (other than a few full houses and flushes). I cashed out of the VP, down $35 for the session...but still up about $30 for the morning.

It was now time...time for the reason i made the trip - craps. I had been watching many craps videos on youtube, mainly to learn how to bet the Don'ts, but the rabbit hole that is Youtube lead me to lots of strategy videos. There was one that i liked that combined a large Don't Come bet (as a hedge) with smaller place/come bets, and I had been practicing it on a craps simulator on my phone. I went back to the table and the same old guys were still there...a good sign. I stood between the stickman and a player and watched for a few minutes as the table became heavy with bets of all varieties. I finally walked over to step up, and one of the old guys kindly asked me to wait until the shooter was done, which was seconded by another guy to his left. I said "sure" and stepped back to where i was, letting the shooter finish...which happened 4...7...out.

I went back to the open spot, and the two guys thanked me for not jumping in and being patient. I told them that i understand and didn't want to disrupt the table's mojo. I plunked my $300 down and started going about the new system. It took a few shooters to get used to the amount of chip outlays required, but the plan worked well. I missed a few Come bets, but it didn't hurt me too bad. Overall the table was really good - each shooter lasted on average about 20-25 rolls before crapping out. When the dice finally came around to me, i was running short on time, so i passed. When the guy finally crapped out after yet another good roll, there was a mass cash-out of the table. The old guy next to me must have had over $4000 in front of him... He had a stack of blacks that was as long as my entire chip stack, and the rest of that rail was filled with greens. His other rail was about 3/4 full with assorted blacks, greens, and reds. I wish i stuck around so i could have gotten a better idea of what he walked away with, but alas i did not. I plunked down my whites and some reds for the dealers and headed to the window. The craps session netted me a $180 profit, for a total win of $210 for the day. It was nice to stop at the bank on the way home and make a deposit.

If you were interested in the craps strategy, here it is:

 

a few times during my hour+ stint at the table, the All Small or the All Tall paid out. I'd say just about everyone at the table except myself was playing those bets (plus the All Numbers bet), so the table would basically stop for about 6-8 minutes for the payouts for just that bet.

 

I've never been on a weekend, but the few times i've gone they have always had $5 craps, and that included a weeknight as well.
Yeah, it was a really good table. It wasn't the loud, openly cheering table but pretty reserved. There were two guys who were giving each other crap (no pun intended) at opposite ends, but other than that it was low key. I like both kinds, but i like a winning table the best!