I wanted to do a quick recap of my trip last Sunday to cache creek.
Friday i was talking on the phone with my buddy. Both of out girlfriends were going to be out of town for the weekend, so we made our plans to screw around on Sunday. I wanted to go to a live casino and try betting the way suggested to me in my other post about going to Tahoe.
We rolled out of the east bay area about 8am and got to the casino about 9:30, good time.
I had stated to my friend that my reason to going was to play craps, that's it. I wanted to go sunday because i knew it would be a $10 min table on sat night.
Sure enough the craps table was already going with about 5 people playing and yes $5 min.
The sign on the table was '5-500' and nothing else, so i bought in for my 200 BR and asked what the table odds were. The dealer replied that it was 3-4-5. Did not matter because of the BR, but i was curious.
Played for about three hours total, at any point i was never down more than 80, and after it was all done i had came up by 97 when i colored up. My win goal was 100, so i call that close enough and toss the dealer the two dollar chips.
The play i used was close to what was Rec by the other members, but new for me as i had become used to playing pass+1x+place 6/8, this time i did PL+1X+2 comes1x ea.
If the point was made i had to decide whether to let the come bets ride out or add more, and if i was up, I would add one for a total of 4 working #'s. Worked out....mostly.
As per the advice from this board, i asked to keep my come odds working during come outs, and this did make me nervous....lost a couple times and won a couple times. Keep the faith, in the math that is! So i will prob do that more, but not if running low on chips.
Another thing i did that was out of my norm was to tip generously, I have read many comments here about this subject, and to be truthful i used to only tip the 'boys' was when i sometimes would play the hardways at 1/ea and 1 for them. Toss in a red.
This time was much different though, after hitting two points, I played 1PL followed by 1Xfor them.
the first time i did this it won, and i felt more respect from the dealers. Over the three hours I did this 7-8 times and it won 5 of those, plus I also did hard 10/4 two way for $2 only when it was the point. This hit for them also! It did seem to raise the dealers enthusiasm for the game, and i liked that. Also knowing that because of me they had another 30-40 in tips.
So, all done it was a great day. Left ahead, tried new things, and added close to 100 to the Tahoe BR. Sorry about rambling on here, should I have just put this in blog??
My advice to anyone reading- Try something new, but remember the Wizard's signature.

My first thought upon reading your post was, 'Is there a California casino that has a 'real' craps game, or is this some version of card craps?' So I went to the casino's web site, to their page for table games, and found that they don't even list craps of any kind as a game that they offer.
Next, I downloaded a copy of their gaming rack cards, and, sure enough, they list rules for craps. In the fine print, it just says 'Dice do not determine the outcome. See game for details.'
So what's the full story?

Yes, it is based on cards.
One red die, Faces odds, 1,3,1,3,1,3
One Blue die, Faces even, 2,4,2,4,2,4
Higher number displayed is the card turned over, three cards dealt, top sluffed, and one card in red box and one card in blue box, whichever die shows a higher number indicates which box for the dealer to reveal.
My friend hates this version, and i prefer the 'real' thing, but this works fine. I think it's 8 decks of A-6.

Their cards have pictures of the dice on them, so there are 36 cards for the 36 possible dice combinations.

Thanks for the clarification. I have played that version of card craps someplace in California.
If the game is to be card craps, I really prefer the version in which the shooter rolls two standard dice. The box man has six cards, Ace through six, that he shuffles for each new shooter and then places them in six rectangles on the felt marked one through six. When the dice are rolled, they dictate the two boxes (or just one box in the case of a double), and the card(s) in the box(es) indicate the value of the roll. It is essentially equivalent to rearranging the pips on the faces of the dice with each new shooter. Rearranging the pips makes it more complicated for someone who thinks he can control/influence the dice, but the feel is very much the same as a real craps game, and the dealer has less frequent intervention in establishing the outcome.
I can't remember which California casino had that version when I was there. I have also played the version in which there are no dice at all, just cards that are shuffled and revealed.

Gambling calls to me...like this ~> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nap37mNSmQ

Doc - Sorry to give you false hope. I don't mind the card version, but some people do.
I would prefer to go to reno/tahoe, but that place is close to home, not too far for a day trip.
NicksGaming - Thanks, i was wrong above, they are pics of dice on the cards
Timspeed - Why do you like jackson best? is it better somehow or just the game structure?
I have played cache creek, thunder valley, and river rock, but none of the Socal ones, or jackson.
I have plans to hit up lakeside inn per the recs here.
I can hardly wait, Tahoe bound in ~48hours. I'm going to work late tonight and try to earn an extra hundred or two, can't hurt right.

Gambling calls to me...like this ~> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nap37mNSmQ