The Craps Mini Field-Place System Tested
by Steve “Heavy” Haltom

Craps is a game where players make wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. The craps table at any casino is always packed because this isn’t your typical game of dice. Saying that craps is a casino game played with dice is like telling people that Mount Rushmore is a sculpture of some dead guys. The All Sevens Set is the most popular dice set currently being used at the craps tables on the Come-Out roll. It has the ‘seven’ showing on all sides and if executed correctly, it will give you the best chance of hitting a natural (7) or (11) and winning on the Come-Out.

Regardless of the fact that no system out there will beat a negative expectation game over the long run, articles about betting systems and strategies seem to get far more positive comments from readers than any other articles we publish. For that reason, in this article we’re going to focus on none other than with the infamous Field-Place System. Sold in magazines, bookstores, and on-line under dozens of different names for sixty years or more, the Field-Place System is one of the oldest strategies around. These days a popular variant is called the Iron Cross. Barstow used to call a similar strategy the Treadmill, which in itself should tell you what he thought of it. It’s been marketed as the 87% System, the Anything but Sevens System, the Fremont Street Grind, and under at least a dozen more names – many of which I won’t mention here because they were the names the players came up with for this play after investing hundreds of dollars in it and losing thousands more.

The play itself is relatively simple. Most of you are well acquainted with it. You make Place bets on the Five, Six, and Eight plus a bet in the Field. The Field bet covers the Two, Three, Four, Nine, Ten, Eleven, and Twelve. You’ll sometimes see urban players running a similar strategy using the Big 6-8 bet instead of Place betting the Six and Eight. These guys like the “self-service” bets like the Big 6-8 and the Field and play more of an intuitive game than most of us. Irregardless, the idea is to cover every number on the dice except the Seven. It’s better to make two unit bets on the place action and one unit bets in the Field but you can play it at the one unit level, which is what we’re talking about here when we discuss the “Mini Field-Place System.” You risk four units total and you are guaranteed some sort of a win (or a push on the urban version assuming the player also places the five) on every toss – unless that Seven shows. For players who first “discover” this system it’s often some sort of a “Eureka!” moment. They believe they’ve found the Dutchman’s Lost Mine. Then they take it to the table and learn the truth about Fool’s Gold.

How do the payouts work in this play? Let’s assume a $5 game that pays double on the Two and triple on the Twelve in the Field. You’ll have to wager $6 each on the Six and Eight Place bets but can get by with $5 on the Five and in the Field, so your total wager will be $22. Now, you could take that same $22 and bet $22 inside, but you’d only get paid if an inside number rolled. Remember, the Field-Place System, which we’re playing at the table minimum, gets you paid on every decision unless the seven rolls. Here are the payouts:

Two Rolls – Pays $10 in the Field
Three Rolls – Pays $5 in the Field
Four Rolls – Pays $5 in the Field
Five Rolls – Lose the $5 Field bet – win $7 for the Place bet – Net Win $2
Six rolls – Lose the $5 Field Bet – win $7 for the Place bet – Net Win $2
Eight rolls – Lose the $5 Field Bet – win $7 for the Place bet – Net Win $2
Nine Rolls – Pays $5 in the Field
Ten Rolls – Pays $5 in the Field
Eleven Rolls – Pays $5 in the Field
Twelve Rolls – Pays $15 in the Field

So far the math looks great on this system. It’s all win win win – pay pay pay. Of course, on your two strongest numbers – the Six and the Eight – your wins are diluted by your loss in the Field. The loss on the win on the Five Place bet in the Field also dilutes the win there. Those diluted payoffs – combined with the frequency at which the Seven rolls in relation to the other numbers – turn this into a negative expectation strategy. On average, for every 36 rolls of the dice you’ll win $123, but you’ll also lose $132. That’s a $9 loss over 36 rolls, or .25 cents a roll for those of you who are struggling with Common Core math.

Of course, what the system player is looking for is enough variance in the game to put him ahead so that he can walk away with a win. He may approach the game with a number in mind – say to win $150. But to get the kind of variance he needs on a dollar per dollar basis he can’t rely on volatility alone. So he has to increase his bet size. Instead of betting $5 on the Five and $6 on the Six and Eight he tests out different amounts. Say $50 on the Five, $60 on the Six and Eight and $25 in the Field. The logic is that he’s always assured of getting green chips in his payout so he’ll reach that $150 win objective quicker. The problem is that variance is a two-edged sword. To front that sort of average bet he needs a session bankroll of $1500 instead of $150. The stack of quarters extracted from every decision adds up quickly. And don’t forget – you only WIN one bet at a time. When the Seven shows ALL of those bets lose. I recall standing next to a guy who was playing the system at this level once. He was loudly bragging to everyone at the table how great it was as he locked up a full rail of green chips. Then he started to get quiet as the chips began to migrate back to the other side of the table. In the end he gave it all back plus what he bought in for – and went back to the ATM for a bankroll infusion and re-buy. He had the volatility he needed. He just didn’t have the discipline to quit while he was ahead.

Out of curiosity, I noodled around and found an archival test of the Field-Place System against the 72 Hours at the Casino book. Admittedly, the 14,967 rolls in that book have a slight dark-side bias, so it was obvious that the system would fare worse than in the statistical example cited above. It was even worse than I expected. The total win was $50,969. The total loss was $56,628. The net loss was $5,659.

72 hours at the casino. 72 of the most miserable hours of your life. It works out to about 36 two hour sessions or 18 four hour sessions. Hell, there was a time when I played that much in a single weekend. These days it might take me a month to get in that much play. Still, do you have an extra $5,659 to lose making $5 minimum bets?

Neither do I. And now you know why I hate this play.

Do yourself a favor. Just say no to this sort of thing and learn to beat the game by influencing the dice and betting the dice right.

Heavy’s & DarthN8r’s

Back to Biloxi 2021

February 26th – 18th

2021 is just around the corner – and that means Heavy and DarthNater are heading “Back to Biloxi” for the February 26 – 28 Biloxi Beach Bash.

Craps players – you’ll absolutely LOVE Biloxi casino’s generous odds, automatic Buy bets on outside numbers, friendly dealers and easy comps. No matter how much weight you put on over the 2020 holidays – your flip flops will still fit. And if your toss isn’t quite where you want it to be or if you haven’t quite figured out how to maximize your winnings at the table – don’t fret. Heavy and DarthNater will show you the way.

This exciting weekend starts with FOUR BoneTracker Training Sessions. Two Basic BoneTracking Sessions for those of you just learning the software, and Two Advanced BoneTracking Sessions for those of you who have the software down pat but want some expert analysis of your toss results. The Basic BoneTracking class will take you through all of the information you need to know to be able to track and analyze your own rolls in BoneTracker, including the data entry page and the transition tabs. The Advanced BoneTracking Sessions will build on that and provide you with a personal analysis of 720 of your own rolls while taking a deep dive into your best dice sets for every number on the layout. Each of these sessions is limited to just TWO players each – four students for the morning sessions and four students for the afternoon sessions. The cost of these sessions breaks down as follows:

Basic BoneTracking Class: $299

Advanced BoneTracking Class: $399

BOTH Basic and Advanced Classes Combined: $649

Students signing up for the Advanced BoneTracking Class must submit a book of 720 rolls in BoneTracker format a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the class (by February 12) to allow time for the coaches to complete their analysis of the rolls.

Again, only FOUR slots total are available for the Basic and Advanced sessions. Due to the limited number of slots available expect these slots to sell out quickly. Sign up early if you wish to lock one of these slots in. First paid – first served. Note that the BoneTracker slots are not available on the Axis Power Craps Golden Ticket option.

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Sign on for the BoneTracker Sessions at the following links:

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Basic BoneTracking Class: $299 – Click Below:

Advanced BoneTracking Class: $399 – Click Below:

BOTH Basic and Advanced BoneTracking Classes: $649 – Click Below:

It’s hard to beat a weekend with old friends and new, fresh-from-the-Gulf seafood, including some of the best craps games in the country. On Friday night, conditions permitting, we’ll hold our traditional Meet and Greet Get-Together. We’ll hook up at a local Beachfront Bar to knock back a few, renew old friendships and make new ones.

If Covid restrictions prevent us from getting together as a large group we’ll break up into a couple of smaller ones and hit some of our favorite haunts. Hungry? We know some local joints that serve great bar-food, and if you want oysters that were reefed up in the Gulf that morning there are plenty of options available.

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Afterwards you’ll be on your own to hit the casinos alone or in teams to take on the tables. But don’t be out partying all night and don’t blow the bankroll before you’ve even stepped into the classroom because Saturday morning Nate and I will have serious craps training on our minds.

Saturday’s class will take place at the local dealer school down the beach in Gulfport. This class will offer the best of both worlds. All attendees will have the opportunity for hands-on coaching from both Heavy and Nate. We both teach the traditional on-axis toss and both have the same objective – getting you the best, most profitable toss ever. Heavy’s primary betting focus is on right-side play while Nate loves the Don’ts.

Among the material we’ll cover:

Table Positions – stick left isn’t the only spot in town!

Correct Dice Sets and how to get there quickly!

Correct Grip for you based on the physical shape of your hand.

Correct Toss for you – depending on your physical stature and ability.

Focus, Breath Control, and Landing Zone

Visualization and the Mental Edge

Right Side Betting Progressions, Money Management and Discipline

Basic Don’t Play

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Each attendee will receive a one-on-one toss analysis and a written toss improvement plan. But don’t just come out for the personal toss instruction. You’ll learn even more by watching Heavy and Nate coach the other attendees. Of course, if you DO get bored you can always hit the dealer school’s third table for an “open” practice session. That’s right – the school we use in the Biloxi market has three full sized craps tables so you’ll have plenty of time to work on your throw before heading to the casinos.

Saturday’s session is available stand-alone at the following pricing:

First-time student tuition for students who have never attended a Dice Control Seminar in the past is $995 for the full day Saturday PLUS all Live Casino Sessions on Sunday. New Students sign on via PayPal at the following link:

Axis Power Craps New Students – $995 – Click Below:

Golden Touch Craps Alums, Howard Rock ‘n Roller Alums, and Dice Coach Alums – in recognition of the fact that you learned an on-axis type toss with these organizations we offer a $100 discount off our New Student tuition. Your tuition for the Full Day Saturday and all Live Casinos on Sunday is $895. You can enroll at the following links:

Axis Power Craps Competitive Trained Alums $895 – Click Below:

Axis Power Craps Alums can sign on the full day Saturday for $695. If you have one of those $100 Black Chip discounts from a previous class, I will rebate $100 to your PayPal account in exchange for that chip – reducing your net cost to $595 for the full day. That includes all Live Casino Sessions on Sunday. Alumni Students enroll at the following links:

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Axis Power Craps Alums $695 – Click Below:

Want to strengthen your game even more? On Sunday morning Heavy and DarthNater will be back at the dealer school with their Advanced Betting Strategy Seminar featuring Heavy’s favorite right side moves and DarthNater’s top Dark Side strategies. This is the same great content we’ve taught at our Darksider’s Ball classes and our highly acclaimed Right or Wrong Weekend Seminars. Remember, if you don’t learn to play the Don’ts you’re guaranteed to lose around 50% of the time at craps. Learn to play the Dark side and pick your entry points correctly and you will increase your win rate dramatically. Learn to increase your profit on your right-side play and your bankroll will grow even more. That’s exactly what this Advanced Betting Session is all about. The cost? Just $359. Sign on at the following link:

Sunday Advanced Betting Strategy Session: $359 – Click Below:

Remember, Axis Power Craps is the oldest continuously operated dice control school in the business. DarthNater and I have known each other for almost 20 years and between us we’ve trained thousands of students – some who have themselves gone on to become some of the best dice controllers around. Our joint seminars in recent years are in the books as some of the best ever. Between my Right-Side approach to the game and DarthNater’s Dark Side approach – you can’t go wrong.

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Space IS limited and Biloxi is our most popular seminar location year in and year out. Make your plans and sign on today.

As always, your tuition covers the cost of the seminar itself and all hand-out material. Attendees are on their own for transportation, meals, and accommodations. Remember, these events are intended to be instructional – educational weekends. While many players walk away from these events winners – there is no guarantee that you will win at any casino session. It’s still gambling and you could lose. Don’t gamble with money you cannot afford to lose.

See you on the beach in Biloxi!

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