I do disagree, but not how you’d think. Play the Pass with max odds, (up to 5x as noted; ideally do a 3-4-5 style, as is common at Indian casinos), and make your Place bets on 5 and 9 instead of 6 and 8. They pay the same, but cost $5 instead of $6.
Here’s an excellent newbie strategy:
Find a $5 table that has room for you. Since you can’t, park yourself at a $10 table and play:
$10 Pass, with $15 odds on 4/10, $20 odds on 5/9, and $25 odds on 6/8. (This simulates 3-4-5 odds for a $5 table on a $10 table.)
Also play two Place bet progressions: $10 5 and $10 9, skipping one if it is the point. When either hits, (paying $14), toss down your lowest denomination chip and say “press to 25”, which is all the pressing that number gets. If either Place bet hits again, press the other one to $25 as well. Leave them both at $25.
That’s a ton of action, and the variance is survivable. The potential wins are astronomical. (Every $25 hit pays $35, and I’ve seen five or six consecutive 5s/9s, not to mention how many total for a single shooter.)
As a low variance alternative, try the darkside instead:
$10 Don’t Pass
$10 Don’t Come every single roll once a point is established
The downside to the darkside is that nobody cheers with you.
If you somehow manage to fight your way onto a $5 table, nothing changes in either strategy, except that you only need to put $5 on the Pass Line instead of $10. (Assuming they allow 3-4-5 odds.)
5/9 is superior to 6/8 because the numbers are multples of 5, instead of 6, and the payout ratio is 7:5 instead of 7:6. You see more 6/8 rolls than 5/9, but trust me, that extra white chip is nothing but an annoying nuisance. Instead of $25 paying $35, you have to put up $30 to win $35, and instead of the initial $22 outlay, which is basically a single point’s worth of money, you need to lay out $32, and the pressing is much more annoying for the dealer.
This advice assumes you are unfamiliar with craps and are looking to have fun. If you knew craps inside and out, and wanted the best chance to win big with the least possible risk, my advice would be completely different. In fact, because you wrote the following: “That being said, I also know that there are things I can do that, at the very least, will slow the amount of time it takes for me to lose all my money.”, I will offer that strategy to you. But be warned: it’s boring as hell, especially for a newbie to craps who doesn’t understand what’s going on. And everyone at the table will helpfully let you know that the odds are “smart” bets.
Bring exactly $300 to a $10 table. Play:
$10 Pass Line, no odds. If you lose, keep trying.
If you win, let it ride and add another $10, for a total of $30.
If you win, let it ride and add another $10, for a total of $70.
If you win, let it ride and add another $10, for a total of $150.
If you lose at any point, restart at $10. Once you win the $150, take that $300 off the table and put it in your pocket. That matches the $300 you bought in with. Keep playing until you run out of the original $300. You have (approximately) a 49% chance to break even, 27% chance to lose $300, and 24% chance to win $300. This strategy will take about 2 hours, regardless of how you do. This strategy is designed to meet the criteria I quoted, and is my personal preferred method of play.