On that particular day that Mike called, he mentioned discipline. He said he realized he didn't have discipline, only after he got ahead and pushed the money back to the casinos. The times he won, he took for granted. The losing sessions made him realize how many times he was up, and refused to leave. Mike is an excellent player who is now putting the finishing touches on his game. If he stays at it, the casinos will have a rough time getting into his bankroll.

Several years ago, while I was in Las Vegas, I was in one of my losing streaks, and just killing time walking downtown.

I went into the Fremont Hotel and heard a buzzing around one of the crap tables. I walked over and saw right away what the attraction was. Some guy was betting $2,000 a shot on the Don't Pass Line. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was one of my close friends, a guy named Arthur. Arthur was as broke as I was. In fact, a few nights earlier, he and I took a bus ride into Los Angeles so we could get a few hours sleep for $2. That was the cost of a roundtrip. We didn't have money for a room, so it was a nice place to grab a few winks.

It turns out that Arthur put a few bucks together and got into this crap game. He caught a cold table and started shoveling it in.

Anyhow, the game progressed and Arthur continued to add to his winnings. Finally, a slight, gray haired gentleman picked up the dice and placed a $1 chip on the Pass Line. My buddy Arthur pushed $4,000 on the Don't Pass Line. The man threw a 10. That means to win his dollar he needed to make another 10 before a 7 showed. Arthur needed a 7 to come before a 10 to win $4,000. Arthur then laid $8,000 odds against the 10. That means he was betting a total of $12,000 to win $8,000. He was betting that a 7 appeared before a 10.

PART I / PART III

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