Some gamblers believe that you can recover your losses by doubling your bet every time you lose. This is known as the Martingale system. The idea is that when you win, the win will be big enough to cover your previous losses. There are two problems with this system: You may run out of money before you win. You can only double your bet so many times because of table limits, and so occasionally you will hit the table limit before winning – and this will be very expensive.

To bet with the shooter, you must place your bet in an area marked ""Pass Line", before the new shooter rolls the dice. The so-called "Pass Line" is a strip on the table layout marked by two lines roughly two inches wide and it rims the entire table layout across from the Box Man. To bet against the shooter, you must place your bet in an area marked "Don’t Pass". This area is a strip on the table layout and it rims the table directly above the "Pass Line".No matter what stage the game is in, whether on the "Come Out" roll, or in progress, you can jump in immediately and place any bets. The only exception to this is the bet called the "Pass Line" bet with odds", which can be made only on the "Come Out" roll. You can, however, bet with the shooter even while the game is in progress by placing a "Pass Line" bet without odds. Placing your chips halfway over one of the two lines framing the "Pass Line" area does this.